Snipe Lake Fishing near Eagle River, Wisconsin

• Overview

  Look for Snipe Lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. What surrounds it is pine and birch. Around 211 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. Some 3.2 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. On our Vilas County list it sits near the top for size. 6 miles away sits Eagle River, the nearest town. Green Bay sits 118 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Snipe Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Reported across Vilas County: bluegill, yellow perch, walleye and largemouth bass. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At Snipe Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 9°F in January and 65°F in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It holds true on Snipe Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. 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. For a change of water, Nelson Lake is 0.7 miles distant. Ask locally about Snipe Lake if anything is unclear.