Mud Lake Fishing near Cumberland, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Mud Lake falls in Polk County, part of Wisconsin. The land about it is pine and birch. It covers about 14 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Cumberland lies 7.8 miles from the water. Turtle Lake lies 9.7 miles off, Luck another 15 miles. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork. There is enough here to keep coming back.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Polk County list brown trout, rainbow trout, northern pike and largemouth bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Mud Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 69°F and January near 10°F on the long-run figures. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Mud Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Miller Camp Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the position on Mud Lake before loading the car.