Thompson Lake Fishing near Merrill, Wisconsin

• Overview

  The Lincoln County end of Wisconsin holds Thompson Lake. The country here is pine and birch. Surface area is around 30 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. About 1.4 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Merrill at 8.8 miles is the nearest place to stop. Tomahawk follows at 12 miles, then Maine at 19 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Thompson Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Lincoln County include brown trout, rainbow trout, pumpkinseed, walleye and bluegill. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Thompson Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 67°F; the cold one sits at 10°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. On average, mid April opens the water and late November closes it again. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. That is the shape of the year on Thompson Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. The nearest mapped parking is half a mile away, so the last stretch is on foot. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. For a change of water, Horn Lake is 0.4 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Thompson Lake for certain.