Thunder Lake in Marinette County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Marinette County entry here is Thunder Lake, in Wisconsin. The ground around here is lake country bush. With some 134 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. A shoreline of some 1.9 miles keeps the choices simple. On our Marinette County list it sits near the top for size. Head to Gillett, 25 miles away, for anything you forgot. Further out sit Oconto Falls (27 miles) and Peshtigo (28 miles). It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Thunder Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Marinette County include brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, bluegill and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Take Thunder Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 12°F to 68°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid April. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about early December in an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Thunder Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Eagle Lake is 0.6 miles off. Nothing on Thunder Lake should be assumed from this page alone.