There are so many good places to fish in Oneida County for so many different types of fish. There are some bigger bodies of water here that have a lot more potential than the smaller lakes, however, there are so many smaller lakes here that offer good fishing as well.
Our Oneida County, WI section is a huge section, so there are a few different ways you may want to learn about this area. Take a look below.
View By Towns
We have a page with the towns of Oneida County with a map as well so you can get a better idea of what this county has to offer.
Fishing Towns of Oneida County
Chain of Lakes
There are some very popular “chain of lakes” in Oneida County. Some of the more popular resorts, restaurants and fishing lakes are attached to a chain of lakes. Explore the larger chain of lakes up here.
Minocqua Chain of Lakes
The Minocqua Chain of Lakes are a very popular chain of lakes right in the middle of Minocqua, Wisconsin. It is one of the most popular fishing towns in Northern Wisconsin yet it provides plenty to do for those who don’t want to go fishing. Plan on having plenty of boater traffic during the summer and especially on the weekends. During the peak tourist times, you can still find somewhere to fish in the mornings and evenings though. When the lakes aren’t busy, it is truly an amazing fishery to experience without the crowds. Anglers spend most of their time on the 3 biggest lakes and they fish for a little bit of everything.
Learn more about fishing the Minocqua Chain of Lakes
Rhinelander Chain of Lakes
The Rhinelander Chain of Lakes go right through the town of Rhinelander. This chain of lakes is a popular tourist area and many boaters will enjoy these waters from spring through fall. The fishing is good on the chain for a variety of fish. Anglers target walleye, pike, muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and a variety of panfish.
Learn more about fishing the Rhinelander Chain of Lakes
Sugar Camp Chain of Lakes
The Sugar Camp Chain of Lakes consists of 5 lakes that total over 2,300 square feet. Anglers can move through the chain by boat. This chain of lakes isn’t as popular as the nearby Three Lakes Chain or the Eagle River Chain, but there is some solid fishing in these lakes and many anglers do target them. Anglers target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, muskie and panfish in these lakes.
Learn more about fishing the Sugar Camp Chain of Lakes
Three Lakes Chain of Lakes
Fishing is very good on the chain for muskie and walleye. You can also catch smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike, crappie, perch and other panfish. There are some other lakes in this area as well, but the chain definitely gets the most attention from people visiting this area.
Learn more about fishing the Three Lakes Chain of Lakes
Big Lakes (Non-chain lakes)
Willow Flowage
Willow Flowage is a 4,217 acre lake located in Oneida County. It has a maximum depth of 30 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from public boat landings. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, panfish are abundant in this lake. Northern pike and walleye are common in the lake. Muskie, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are listed as present.
Pelican Lake
Pelican Lake is a 3,545 acre lake located in Oneida County. It has a maximum depth of 39 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, muskie and panfish. According to the DNR, panfish are abundant in the lake while largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskie and walleye are considered common. The water is murky.
Rainbow Flowage
Rainbow Flowage is a 3,153 acre lake located in Oneida County. It has a maximum depth of 28 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 5 public boat landings. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, panfish are abundant on the flowage. Northern pike and walleye are listed as common. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are listed as present.
Lake Nokomis
Lake Nokomis is a 2,274 acre lake located in Lincoln, Oneida Counties. It has a maximum depth of 33 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from several public boat landings. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, muskie and panfish. According to the DNR, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish are common in the lake while muskie and smallmouth bass are listed as present.
Thunder Lake
Thunder Lake is a 1,794 acre lake located in Oneida County. It has a maximum depth of 9 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 2 public boat landings. Fish include panfish, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the Wisconsin DNR, panfish are listed as common in this lake and the other species of fish are listed as present.
Squirrel Lake
Squirrel Lake is a 1,309 acre lake located in Vilas, Oneida Counties. It has a maximum depth of 46 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and and panfish are common in the lake. Northern pike are listed as present.
We also have a larger lakes page with more of the lakes above 500 acres. For this page, we only listed the big lakes over 1,000 acres that weren’t on the chain of lakes. Visit our larger lakes page to learn about the other mid-sized lakes in this area.
Other Lakes
We cover most of the lakes that are 150 surface acres and larger. You will see information on these lakes listed by the town they are closest to. Take a look at the following towns to learn about the awesome lakes to fish in Vilas County.
Hazelhurst, WI
Minocqua, WI
Pelican & Post Lake, WI
Rhinelander, WI
Sugar Camp, WI
Three Lakes, WI
Tomahawk, WI
Town of Lake Tomahawk, WI
Smaller Lakes
The bigger lakes listed above are just some of the great places to fish in Oneida County. Don’t forget about all of the other smaller lakes that are here too. You can target smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike, muskie, walleye and panfish throughout the area and on some of the smaller lakes, you may not have as potential for big fish, but some of the better lakes for numbers will be the smaller, less pressured lakes. To learn more about these waters, take a look at the Oneida County, WI lake finder page.
Rivers
Coming soon
