North Lake Fishing near Little Round Lake, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Out in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, sits North Lake. Height above sea level is 1,391 feet. It runs to roughly 137 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 2.3 miles of margin, front to back. Few waters listed in Bayfield County are bigger. Nearest town is Little Round Lake, 13 miles off. Saint Paul is the closest city, 122 miles away. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on North Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Bayfield County, recorded fish include rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch, rainbow trout and white sucker. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The shape of North Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 66°F on average, January about 8°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on North Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Fawn Lake, 0.5 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Ask locally about North Lake if anything is unclear.