Nelson Lake Fishing near Nashville, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Out in Langlade County, Wisconsin, sits Nelson Lake. Height above sea level is 1,627 feet. It covers about 7 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is high ground by Wisconsin standards. Head to Nashville, 8.9 miles away, for anything you forgot. The nearest city of size is Green Bay, 85 miles away. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Nelson Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. 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. Species logged across Langlade County include brown trout, rainbow trout and largemouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Nelson Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 10°F in January up to 66°F in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Open water usually runs from mid April until about late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Nelson Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Otter Lake sits 1 mile off and takes the overflow. Check the current arrangement for Nelson Lake.