Fishing at Roach Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Roach Lake lies in Vilas County, in Wisconsin. The surface lies 1,644 feet up. At about 46 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The full circuit measures close to 1.1 miles on foot. It is high ground by Wisconsin standards. For a base, Lac du Flambeau sits 13 miles out. Green Bay sits 126 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Roach Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for Vilas County names bluegill, yellow perch and walleye. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Read Roach Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 9°F and July at about 65°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Roach Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Scaffold Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. Confirm access to Roach Lake locally before you travel.