Shingle Mill Lake Fishing near Rhinelander, Wisconsin

• Overview

  In Wisconsin, Shingle Mill Lake falls inside Lincoln County. This is mixed forest ground. It runs to roughly 44 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The bank runs about 1.2 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. It sits higher than most water we list in Wisconsin. You are 9.9 miles from Rhinelander. The big place round here is Green Bay, 94 miles distant. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Shingle Mill Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Lincoln County cover brown trout, rainbow trout and pumpkinseed. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Shingle Mill Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 10°F in January up to 66°F in July. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. The lid tends to go about mid April and return around late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That shapes the year on Shingle Mill Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. If the gate is shut, High Lake at 1.9 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the current arrangement for Shingle Mill Lake.