Pickerel Lake near Spooner: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Look for Pickerel Lake in the Sawyer County part of Wisconsin. Height above sea level is 1,266 feet. It covers about 7 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Sawyer County list holds plenty of bigger water. The closest town, Spooner, is 14 miles distant. Saint Paul sits 92 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Pickerel Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Sawyer County, recorded fish include walleye, brown trout, largemouth bass, muskellunge and northern pike. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The near bank of Pickerel Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 9°F and July at about 68°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. Averages suggest open water from about mid April through to roughly late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. That is the shape of the year on Pickerel Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Scoot Lake sits 1.3 miles off and takes the overflow. For Pickerel Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.