White Lake in Shawano County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Wisconsin holds White Lake, in Shawano County. The water sits 814 feet up. It runs to roughly 162 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 2.4 miles in total. On our Shawano County list it sits near the top for size. Bonduel sits 4.8 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Pulaski is 10 miles and Shawano 11 miles. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on White Lake

  Sounding records show water to about 9.8 feet. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Shawano County cover brown trout, northern pike, largemouth bass and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. White Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 14°F in January and 69°F in July. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. The lid usually goes in early April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages suggest open water from about early April through to roughly early December. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Anyone fishing White Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. The nearest alternative is Pautz Lake, 6.1 miles out. Where White Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.