Stone Lake Fishing Guide, Sawyer County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  You will find Stone Lake in Sawyer County, Wisconsin. The surface lies 1,289 feet up. At 501 acres this is proper open water rather than a pond. On our Sawyer County list it sits near the top for size. Some 12 miles away sits Hayward, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Saint Paul, 97 miles distant. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Stone Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Sawyer County include walleye, brown trout, largemouth bass, muskellunge and northern pike. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Stone Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 9°F in January up to 67°F in July. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It holds true on Stone Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. A launch point is recorded some half a mile off. Expect a half a mile walk in from where the car goes. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Little Stone Lake at 0.9 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the position on Stone Lake before loading the car.