Surprise Lake Fishing in Forest County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  You will find Surprise Lake in Forest County, Wisconsin. The water sits 1,614 feet up. The water measures roughly 4 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Our Forest County list holds plenty of bigger water. 0.4 miles away sits Crandon, the nearest town. Green Bay sits 84 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Surprise Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for Forest County names brown trout, largemouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike and bluegill. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Treat Surprise Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 10°F and July at about 65°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Surprise Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. A boat ramp sits half a mile away, so trailered boats can get on. You will be walking about half a mile from the nearest car park. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. If the gate is shut, Clear Lake at 1.1 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the position on Surprise Lake before loading the car.