Shay Lake in Oconto County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Shay Lake is set in Oconto County, Wisconsin. The setting is pine and birch. Surface area is around 68 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Bank access stretches around 1.4 miles in total. Size puts it in the front rank of our Oconto County list. The town to know is Gillett, 19 miles out. After that come Oconto Falls at 22 miles and Legend Lake at 23 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Shay Lake

  Measured depth reaches about 35 feet at the deepest point. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Oconto County, recorded fish include brown trout, largemouth bass and bluegill. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. At Shay Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 13°F in January up to 68°F in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Shay Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is recorded parking some half a mile off. Mapping shows a jetty some half a mile off. A camping area sits within half a mile of here. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Failing this one, try Turtle Lake, 1.2 miles away. Check the position on Shay Lake before loading the car.