Fishing at Tarbert Lake, Polk County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  The Polk County end of Wisconsin holds Tarbert Lake. The setting is lake country bush. Surface area is around 42 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The bank runs about 1.1 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Head to Luck, 7.2 miles away, for anything you forgot. The big place round here is Saint Paul, 50 miles distant. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Tarbert Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Records held for Polk County cover brown trout, rainbow trout, northern pike and largemouth bass. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Tarbert Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 70°F for July and 10°F for January. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early April. In an average year the thaw lands around early April and the freeze near late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On Tarbert Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Herby Lake is 0.4 miles off. Where Tarbert Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.