Topside Lake near Lake Nebagamon: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  In Wisconsin, Topside Lake falls inside Bayfield County. It sits at 1,106 feet above sea level. With some 66 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Bank access stretches around 1.7 miles in total. Few waters listed in Bayfield County are bigger. Lake Nebagamon at 19 miles is the nearest place to stop. Saint Paul sits 141 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Topside Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bayfield County records list rainbow smelt, brown trout, yellow perch, rainbow trout and white sucker among the fish reported. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Topside Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 66°F; by January the average is down near 9°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough mid April. On average, mid April opens the water and late November closes it again. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Time your trip to Topside Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Loon Lake, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For Topside Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.