Bass Fishing Wisconsin

[cyfan964]

Looking for some recommendations in Wisconsin.

 

My son and I normally go to northern Minnesota on our annual fishing trip, but would love to check out some Wisconsin waters this year.  Will be a completely new state to us.

 

We'll be coming from central Iowa with our own boat.  Looking for a place that we could rent a cabin on the water.  Our boat is just a 16.5' Lund, so need to avoid really big water that could get overly choppy.  

 

Looking to target Large and Smallmouth mainly.

 

Would love any input or advice from people in the area.  Love visiting Wisconsin, I've just never really fished it.

 

 

[dwtaylor]

google "Best smallmouth lakes in NW Wisconsin?" and there are some good suggestions from another popular bass fishing forum.  I have never been in that area though.  

 

I moved up to northeast/central WI 12 years ago from your neck of the woods.  Rarely do I go more than 2 hrs from Oshkosh (where I live) and find myself fishing the wolf river by new london the most.  Its good for both species and a smaller boat is preferred.  Its not traditional smallmouth fishing though because you are fishing around a lot of wood and heavy cover so its really more or less like fishing brushy creek, but with current if that makes sense.  The wolf is not as wide as the des moines river above the dsm metro area, but it is deeper and has a little more current.  The water is cleaner as well.

 

 

[cyfan964]

16 hours ago, dwtaylor said:

google "Best smallmouth lakes in NW Wisconsin?" and there are some good suggestions from another popular bass fishing forum.  I have never been in that area though.  

 

I moved up to northeast/central WI 12 years ago from your neck of the woods.  Rarely do I go more than 2 hrs from Oshkosh (where I live) and find myself fishing the wolf river by new london the most.  Its good for both species and a smaller boat is preferred.  Its not traditional smallmouth fishing though because you are fishing around a lot of wood and heavy cover so its really more or less like fishing brushy creek, but with current if that makes sense.  The wolf is not as wide as the des moines river above the dsm metro area, but it is deeper and has a little more current.  The water is cleaner as well.

 

 

 

Thanks for your input!  Nice to see another Iowa State fan :).  I've been looking around the Hayward, Wisconsin area. Lac Courte Oreilles looks like it might be a good fit.

 

[BassinBrett]

There are lots of SB around the Hayward area. It has musky too!  

[Vilas15]

If you end up over in Vilas county I could help you out with some info. We fish a 16.5' Lund as well and it's perfect size for those lakes. I also went to ISU but for grad school.

[cyfan964]

On 3/2/2025 at 3:23 AM, Vilas15 said:

If you end up over in Vilas county I could help you out with some info. We fish a 16.5' Lund as well and it's perfect size for those lakes. I also went to ISU but for grad school.

Thanks so much!  We need to hit that area in the future for sure!

 

[Dan N]

Fox Lake has some great fishing, for large mouth, great size average. 
Big green has both, and can be awesome, but maybe a little tricky to figure out. Lake Winnebago is big, but plenty of bays and areas to get out of the wind. I live on Winnebago, and it’s been known as “ The walleye factory “ but bass fishing has gotten really good in the last several years. 

[TheBaitMonkey]

12 minutes ago, Dan N said:

Fox Lake has some great fishing, for large mouth, great size average. 
Big green has both, and can be awesome, but maybe a little tricky to figure out. Lake Winnebago is big, but plenty of bays and areas to get out of the wind. I live on Winnebago, and it’s been known as “ The walleye factory “ but bass fishing has gotten really good in the last several years. 

The in-laws just moved to a house on the SE part of lake Winnebago can’t wait to find the bass there! 

 

 

For OP - Little Sturgeon Bay could be fun to fish too, but a little bit of a hike across the state. I’ve fished it in a kayak a lot; some of the best smallie fishing in the country and your boat should be good.

[Dan N]

I live on south end. I believe the man made humps are the way to go, they on the mapping info available on graphs. 
also had some good luck around some docks and typical shallow water stuff. 
I believe it might be better further north around islands and humps. More smallmouth up north towards Oshkosh