Fishing Pierces Lake in Portage County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Pierces Lake falls in Portage County, part of Wisconsin. It stands 1,070 feet above sea level. The far bank is a conversation away, so keep low and quiet. On size it sits at the modest end of our Portage County list. Amherst lies 7.7 miles from the water. Green Bay sits 65 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Pierces Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Portage County: brown trout, rainbow trout, common carp and bluegill. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Pierces Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 70°F at the top of summer and 14°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early April and starts locking again about early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Pierces Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Jim Lake sits 0.4 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Pierces Lake as something to verify.