Stearns Lake Fishing in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  The Bayfield County entry here is Stearns Lake, in Wisconsin. This is lake country bush ground. About 12 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Nearest place of any size is Little Round Lake, 14 miles away. It is 123 miles to Saint Paul, the nearest city. Not far off: Holmes Lake out at 0.4 miles, Sickles Lake roughly 0.7 miles, Beaver Lake out at 0.8 miles, One Shoe Lake roughly 0.8 miles and Horseshoe Lake out at 1 mile. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Stearns Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bayfield County records list rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch and rainbow trout among the fish reported. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Work Stearns Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 66°F for July and 8°F for January. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid April. Expect the water usable from around mid April until roughly late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Expect Stearns Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Holmes Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Ask locally about Stearns Lake if anything is unclear.