Phernetton Lake in Burnett County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Burnett County, Wisconsin, you have Phernetton Lake. This is lake country bush country. It runs to roughly 58 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 1.3 miles in total. Start from Spooner, 19 miles down the road. The big place round here is Saint Paul, 80 miles distant. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Phernetton Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Records held for Burnett County cover brown trout, northern pike and largemouth bass. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Phernetton Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 69°F and January near 9°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Phernetton Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. For a change of water, Lost Lake is 0.4 miles distant. Signs at Phernetton Lake carry more weight than any list.