Porcupine Lake, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Porcupine Lake in Florence County, Wisconsin. Height above sea level is 1,532 feet. The water covers some 38 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge runs 1.2 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. You are 10 miles from Stambaugh, Iron River. The big place round here is Green Bay, 102 miles distant. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Porcupine Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Florence County, recorded fish include brown trout, rainbow trout and largemouth bass. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. Porcupine Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 10°F to 65°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid April. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Plan any trip to Porcupine Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lake of Dreams, 2.3 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Porcupine Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.