Fishing at Seidel Lake, Florence County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  In Wisconsin, Seidel Lake falls inside Florence County. The setting is pine and birch on every side. Around 50 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. About 1.4 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. The closest town, Iron Mountain, is 14 miles distant. Green Bay is the closest city, 94 miles away. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Seidel Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Florence County records list brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass and bluegill among the fish reported. The county list is broader than any single water. At Seidel Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 11°F and July at about 66°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan any trip to Seidel Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Failing this one, try Sea Lion Lake III, 1.6 miles away. Where Seidel Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.