Rest Lake, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Rest Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. What surrounds it is rolling bush. Roughly 656 acres of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. Shoreline length is close to 6.8 miles, and each section fishes a little differently. Few waters listed in Vilas County are bigger. The closest town, Lac du Flambeau, is 12 miles away. For a city, Green Bay is 144 miles off. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Rest Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Vilas County include bluegill, yellow perch, walleye and largemouth bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The near bank of Rest Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 65°F, while January sits near 10°F. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. 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. On Rest Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Being dammed, it draws down in some seasons and fills in others. A slipway half a mile out gives trailer access. Public data records a pier about half a mile out. Overnight stays are possible half a mile away. A toilet block sits half a mile away. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Vance Lake, 0.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Rest Lake as something to verify.