Fishing at Trout Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin

• Overview

  This water sits in Vilas County, Wisconsin. The water sits 1,608 feet up. Around 6.1 sq miles of open water: conditions change from one end to the other. You have roughly 18 miles of edge to choose from, which rewards a scouting trip. Of the waters listed here in Vilas County, this is the largest. For a base, Lac du Flambeau sits 12 miles out. Eagle River lies 22 miles off, Rhinelander another 31 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Trout Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Public occurrence data for Vilas County names bluegill, yellow perch, walleye, largemouth bass and rock bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. At Trout Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 9°F in January. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Trout Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Parking is mapped about half a mile from the bank. A camping area sits within half a mile of here. There are picnic tables half a mile away. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Allequash Lake sits 2.1 miles off and takes the overflow. For Trout Lake in particular, ask before you travel.