Staples Lake Fishing near Cumberland, Wisconsin

• Overview

  You will find Staples Lake in Barron County, Wisconsin. The ground around here is mixed forest. At some 338 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. The outline measures near 3.2 miles, so local knowledge counts. On our Barron County list it sits near the top for size. For a base, Cumberland sits 6.8 miles out. Turtle Lake is 7.1 miles and Barron 16 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Staples Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. 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. Species logged across Barron County include brown trout, largemouth bass and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Fish Staples Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 69°F in July and bottoms out near 10°F in January. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Anyone fishing Staples Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Chain Lakes, 0.9 miles away. Confirm before you fish Staples Lake.