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Numbers add up on fishing trip

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Something big - probably a northern pike or largemouth bass - went after a nightcrawler and a weedless spoon while hidden beneath this batch of lilypads on Spruce Lake in Taylor County. Greg Seubert Photo

Ten waters, eight counties, two days

By Greg Seubert


The idea came to me while paging through a book of Wisconsin county maps.

How many lakes, ponds and rivers could I fish in two days?

How many counties could I visit?

Also, could I return to some fishing holes from the past while visiting some new places?

Could I do all my fishing from shore without a boat?

The answers, in order, are 10, eight, uh-huh and yes.

Aug. 2
Waushara County
• 6:40 a.m. to 7:10 a.m.: Gilbert Lake. Crystal-clear water and heavy boat traffic can make Gilbert Lake, located about six miles northeast of Wild Rose off of County Trunk K, a difficult lake to fish.

That’s not the case early in the morning, however.

Gilbert’s 139 acres contain northern pike, walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass and panfish. The lake has a maximum depth of 65 feet.

It didn’t take long to find bluegill, perch and a 12-inch largemouth while fishing from public boat landing dock, located just off of County K on 23rd Road on Gilbert’s east shore.

There are several other lakes within a few miles of Gilbert Lake, including Long, Pine, Wilson, Kusel and Round. Most of them have public landings.

Gilbert is also near the Pine River System Fishery Area, which includes the Pine River and seven of its tributaries: Lower Pine, Jones, Davis, Clayton, Upper Pine, Kaminski and Little Silver creeks in Waushara County. These streams are quality trout waters. Numerous stream bank improvement projects over the years enhance the area’s excellent trout fishing opportunities.

Portage County
• 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.: McDill Pond. The Wisconsin River flows through Stevens Point, but the area’s best fishing just might be found on this 247-acre impoundment of the Plover River.

The fishery has apparently recovered after the state Department of Natural Resources closed the pond to fishing in 2011. The closure came after the McDill Dam, which forms the pond, began leaking. The pond was also drawn down 12 feet in 2008 to control Eurasian water-milfoil, which had a significant on the fishery, which includes northern pike, bass and panfish.

The Post Road landing has a large parking area for several trailers, but a boat might not be necessary. I caught several large bluegill while fishing from shore at the landing.

Another landing is located on the pond’s north side on Heffron Street in Stevens Point.

I could have stayed at McDill rest of the day, but there were more places to check out.

Marathon County
• 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Windmill and Lily Pad ponds. Marathon County is home to the 6,300-acre Big Eau Pleine Reservoir, but the largest fish of this trip came out of tiny Lily Pad Pond in the Hamus Nature Preserve and Recreation Area in Marshfield.

There was a time when Marshfield wasn’t on the map as a fishing destination. Unlike its central Wisconsin counterparts – Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids – the community did not have the advantage of the Wisconsin River flowing through town.

That all changed with the opening of the Hamus Nature Preserve and Recreation Area on the city’s north side.

Besides 2.2 miles of rustic and paved trails that wind through woods, prairie and wetlands, the park also includes four ponds: Windmill, Lily, Heron and Cattail.

Two of those ponds – Windmill and Lily Pad – are a great location to introduce someone to fishing. Windmill includes a pair of handicapped accessible docks and plenty of space for shore fishing.

What makes these ponds unique is the park’s catch-and-release policy. They’ve been stocked with largemouth and panfish. There are also bullhead and there are signs at the park asking anglers to not release the bullhead, but to leave them on the ground for birds.

I caught four bluegill in Windmill before heading over to Lily Pad, a pond that is smaller than a lot of backyards.

After landing three green sunfish – a panfish that has the bright colors of a pumpkinseed but is shaped like a rock bass – a largemouth grabbed my piece of night crawler. After battling the fish for what felt like five minutes, I was able to land it without a net. The fish measured 19 inches, which turned out to be the largest fish of the trip.

Good thing I respooled my ultralight reel with 10-pound line, I thought to myself as I released the fish.

Growing up in Marshfield and having to drive or ride my bicycle out of town to go fishing, the Hamus Nature Preserve and Nature Area is a nice addition.

It’s definitely worth checking out.

Clark County
• 5:45 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Sherwood Lake. Unlike northern Wisconsin, central Wisconsin is not exactly blessed with lakes. They’re few and far between, especially in Clark County.

Sherwood Lake, a 114-acre lake with northern pike, bass and panfish, is located about 18 miles southeast of Neillsville off of State Highway 73 in Sherwood County Park.

The park includes a campground and small beach, but not much else. There’s a landing on the lake where I caught five black bullhead that seemed to be getting smaller with each one I landed.

A sign near the landing indicated the dam that forms the lake on Hay Creek failed in 2014 and the lake would be restocked in 2017. There may be other species in the lake, but the bullhead showed up wherever I cast a line.

Time to move on.

Tangled fishing line keeps this tree branch suspended above the Yellow River in North Wood County Park near Marshfield.
Greg Seubert Photo

Wood County
• 6:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.: Dexter Lake. Dexter Lake is located about five miles south of Pittsville on State Highway 80 and is probably one of the area’s top fishing destinations. The 247-acre lake, formed by a dam on the Yellow River, holds northern pike, walleye, largemouth and smallmouth bass and panfish.

Dexter County Park, located on the lake’s west shore, includes a popular campground. The lake also has a pair of boat landings, including one off of Highway 80.

I had fished Dexter several times as a kid, but this was my first time back in several years.

There were a few boats on the lake, but my only action was from a 12-inch largemouth caught under one of the lake’s Highway 80 bridges.

• 7:10 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Lake Manakiki. About 10 miles upstream from Dexter Lake, the Yellow River flows through North Wood County Park, about eight miles south of Marshfield off of County Trunk A.

A pair of dams on the river form 11-acre Lake Manakiki and 5-acre Lake Kaunewinne, two bodies of water that contain panfish and not much else.

A quick stop at Manakiki turned up five small green sunfish.

Time to call it a day. There would be more fish to fry the next day.

Friday, Aug. 3
Taylor County
• 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.: Spruce Lake. Twenty-three acre Spruce Lake turned out to be the gem of the trip. Located in the southern portion of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest between about 20 miles west of Medford off of State Highway 64, Spruce has a maximum depth of 63 feet and gets an annual stocking of trout from the DNR.

According to the DNR, the lake was scheduled to receive 100 adult rainbow trout and 500 yearling brown trout this year.

There’s a small, unimproved landing off of Spruce Lake Road (Forest Road 556). The landing is steep and has a few ruts, but it would be easy to carry a canoe, kayak or small boat from the parking area.

I visited Spruce for the first time in the late 1980s while working for an area newspaper, but can’t remember if I caught anything.

I didn’t know what to expect, but soon caught a bluegill and a small largemouth.

A large patch of small lily pad plants next to the landing looked like a good place to drop a line. Something large – either a largemouth or northern pike – lunged at my night crawler, but missed the mark. It also took a swipe at my weedless spoon, but came up empty again.

Spruce’s shoreline is undeveloped except for a small private dock on the north shore.

The lake definitely had a northwoods feel, although I swear I heard a cow moo from a nearby farm.

While heading to the lake on Spruce Lake Road, I saw a family of turkeys and a doe with her two fawns. None of them were in an hurry to cross the road.

I’d like to return to Spruce sometime with a boat. The shoreline that I saw had a little bit of everything, from reeds to lily pads to downed trees.

• 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Diamond Lake. Diamond Lake County Park is located five miles south of Spruce Lake off of County Trunk F.

Although only five miles separated Diamond and Spruce lakes, the difference was night and day. Diamond Lake is located less than a mile away from a number of farms.

Diamond’s 48 acres of stained water contain northern pike, walleye, largemouth and panfish and a portion of the lake is located in the Diamond Lake State Natural Area.

The county park includes a public landing, fishing pier and picnic area.

Diamond turned out to be the only place on the trip where I didn’t catch a fish or even have a bite, but I did see a loon on the lake. That’s an unusual sight on a lake located in an agricultural area.

Chippewa County
• 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Otter Lake. Otter Lake County Park is a popular attraction on Otter Lake, a 365-acre lake created by a dam on Otter Creek about eight miles north of Stanley off of County Trunk H.

The park includes a boat landing campground, picnic area, fishing piers and plenty of places to fish from shore.

Otter’s fishery includes northern pike, walleye, largemouth and panfish. The lake has a reputation for giving up some large bluegill, but I only hooked a few small ones while fishing above the dam.

The original plan called for heading north to Rusk, Sawyer and maybe Price counties, but a thunderstorm took care of that plan.

It was time to head home, but there was time for one more stop.

Waupaca County
• 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Skunk Lake. Located between Waupaca and Amherst off of U.S. Highway 10, Skunk Lake is one of those out-of-the-way places near home that I like to check out at least once a year. A half-mile hike through the woods leads to one of five small lakes in the Skunk Foster Lakes State Natural Area.

The 14-acre lake is 63 feet at its deepest spot and gets an annual stocking of trout from the DNR. It also holds northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish.

There would be more mosquito bites than fish bites on this trip, however. I ended the trip with six bluegill and a pair of largemouth, including a 14-incher on what turned out to be the final cast.

The totals for the two-day trip included 11 bodies of water in eight counties and just over 450 miles on my car.

Will I do it again? I only visited eight counties, which means there are 64 more to check out.

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