Wagner Lake in Douglas County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Wagner Lake is a Douglas County water, Wisconsin side. Beyond the shoreline you have mixed forest. Roughly 44 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Hayward is the closest town at 22 miles. For a city, Saint Paul is 106 miles off. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Wagner Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Douglas County list yellow perch, walleye, white sucker and black crappie. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Wagner Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 68°F and January at 9°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid April. The water is typically free of ice between mid April and late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Wagner Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For walleye, a jig and minnow near the bottom is the standard; evenings beat middays. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Bluegill Lake, 0.6 miles out. Check the current arrangement for Wagner Lake.