What lakes in Wisconsin do you consider to be overrated/never live up to the hype?
Wisconsin Fishing Discussion
Most Overrated Lakes in Wisconsin
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Overrated or underrated is all in the eyes of the fisherman on any particular body of water. Someone looking to catch a couple meals of fish in a relaxing setting is very happy with an out of the way lake that has minimal traffic and gives up some fish while a trophy seeker would be disappointed in that same water. Likewise a body of water known to produce good numbers, with trophy potential and is crowded would be a disappointment to someone looking to relax and catch a meal of fish.
My targeted gamefish of choice are walleyes.From my perspective the quality of fishing for them in Sawyer, Iron, Oneida, and Vilas county is now marginal at best. The scenic beauty of the northwoods is still legendary, however the walleye fishing is sadly overrated.There are many reasons for this and we all know them. There I said it, don't hate on me.
I don't have a dog in this fight, I'm never gonna fish WI other than the MS river. But the proper response when anyone says the the fishing is not good in a certain area is to reply that it requires skill to catch them there so you probably better go somewhere else. It usually leads to a spirited discussion.
I think we have some of the best fishing over all... I agree with the person that time on the water is more important than anything.. Driving 8 to 12 hours to fish not me... Milwaukee to la crosse 3 hours perch walleye panfish game on... Northern Wisconsin for muskie bass panfish no problem... Clear lake High lake lake Alice all good... We have it all I love It here but it is not the good old days.. we all go to our phones and get the best bites in minutes... The days of week old information are gone just like the local bait shops.. A good cup of coffee and B.S. are gone..We all have our own place in this great state mine castle rock just because I spend alot of time up on it... Why cause I bought a place by it...All enjoy what we have no matter where you go.. Good luck may you have a limit of fish or just a fish of a life time.. Fish on...
Fish where you want it's all perspective. I've fished all over, N WI, MN, big southern US reservoirs, etc. If you know what your doing you can catch quality fish in all of them. That being said, I will say without a doubt MN has far better management/regs than the rest. That will no doubt lead to better opportunities on more bodies of water. I've fished the lakes and flowages of the southern half of the state, including the Mississippi, all my life. To me, aside from maybe trophy musky, there isnt a species I feel I would need to drive more than an hour to fish for where I had good chances of catching good #s of quality fish. Then again, everyone's definition of a successful outing is different too. Im to the point where I hate driving, I'd rather spend more time on the water closer to home vs driving hours on end to fish somewhere else, unless it was for a long trip. I know guys who do northern MN or WI for a 3 day trip. That amount of driving seems exhausting to me for that short a time. Again, all perspective. Enjoy your time on the water, wherever you spend it.
A guy catches a big musky on Leech or Vermillion and it’s no problem advertising it because the lakes are huge. A different guy catches a big fish in Vilas County and has learned to keep his mouth shut because the lakes aren’t big and he doesn’t want to draw extra attention to a 500 acre lake. There a bigger fish in the bigger waters of Minnesota for sure but plenty of big fish are being caught in Vilas that guys keep to themselves or share with just a few friends.
Interesting that you assume the pics are a result of many different years combined…
They are all relatively recent, one of them was two weeks ago. The rest are from this summer as well as the previous summer 2020.
The folks who I know that fish Vilas, routinely catch quality fish.
I can repost them showing the date on my iPhone if you like.
Here are a few more that I didn’t edit out the date (all this year) Please note my intent is not any sort of competition, just being honest here. Just as you do well in Minnesota, lots of folks do well in Vilas too.You say you call a spade a spade, I would argue you don’t have the whole deck of cards in your hand when it comes to Vilas County.
Unless of course you’ve fished all 1,500 lakes, then I stand corrected.
I know lots of really good fisherman who choose to fish Vilas, many are on Lake-Link. Suspended Musky and Bass Whacker are certainly two that are on the list. Those guys kill it!At the end of the day I’ve said my peace - you think Vilas County lakes are not a good fishery, so more power to you - it’s all good.
Have a nice evening and enjoy Minnesota.
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