There are smallmouth bass in so many lakes up in Sawyer County and on some of the better lakes, you can find good numbers of smallmouth bass with some big fish available too. The Chippewa Flowage gets a lot of attention from smallmouth bass anglers. There are plenty of big fish on the flowage, but you’re going to find very good numbers of smallmouth bass on the east side of the lake with lots of fish in the 12 to 16 inch range. Several of the other large lakes are also home to some very good smallmouth bass fishing. Round Lake probably gets the most attention from serious smallmouth bass anglers here, but Grindstone Lake, Lac Courte Oreilles and Moose Lake are all worth fishing for smallmouth bass too. Take a look below to learn about more of the waters that are home to smallmouth bass.
Larger Lakes
Chippewa Flowage
The Chippewa Flowage is one of the best bodies of water to fish in all of Wisconsin. It is a premier fishery for many different species of fish. Anglers target muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish on the flowage. Largemouth bass and northern pike have been showing up in better numbers, especially in the clearer, weedier western basin. The smallmouth fishery has become outstanding in the darker, river-connected waters of the eastern basin. Walleye have always been here in good numbers, however, the flowage is known for its abundance of smaller walleye.
This is a unique fishery because it fishes like a big water destination, but most of the lake is protected well, so you can fish the majority of this lake with a smaller boat with no problems. A bigger, faster boat is nice to get you around the lake faster, but if you have a smaller boat, you can have a blast here too.
The Chippewa Flowage is also home to the world record muskie that weighed in at 69 pounds and 11 ounces. There are plenty of places to stay on this body of water and many fishing guides are available to help you have a better fishing trip.
Lac Courte Oreilles
Lac Courte Oreilles is a 5,139 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 90 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 3 public boat landings. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, northern pike are abundant in this lake. Muskie, walleye, smallmouth bass and panfish are common in the lake. Largemouth bass are listed as present. The water is very clear.
Round Lake
Round Lake is a 3,294 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 74 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 3 public boat landings. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and walleye are abundant in this lake. Panfish are common in the lake. Northern pike and muskie are listed as present.
Grindstone Lake
Grindstone Lake is a 3,176 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 60 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 2 public boat landings. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. Muskie, northern pike and smallmouth bass are common in the lake. Largemouth bass and panfish are listed as present.
Nelson Lake
Nelson Lake is a 2,716 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 33 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 6 public boat landings. Fish include northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. Largemouth bass and panfish are common. Smallmouth bass and northern pike are listed as present. The water is murky.
Lake Chetac
Lake Chetac is a 2,400 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 26 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from multiple public boat landings. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish are abundant in the lake while smallmouth bass and walleye are listed as present.
Moose Lake
Moose Lake is a 1,559 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 21 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, muskie, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie and walleye are abundant in the lake while smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common. Largemouth bass are listed as present. The water is moderately clear.
Quiet Lakes
Lost Land Lake, Teal Lake, and Ghost Lake make up the Quiet Lakes. These lakes are located in the Hayward, Wisconsin area and they stand out from the other lakes in this area because they have a 10 mph speed limit, but no motor size limit, so you can have use your boat with a big motor, but you just can’t go over 10 mph on the lake. This prohibits waterskiing and jet skiing, which makes these lakes much quieter and calmer. It’s a great place to enjoy some excellent fishing without the big wakes from other boaters, although, it is going to take you a little longer to cover water and fish different spots. Anglers fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, muskie and panfish.
Learn more about fishing the Quiet Lakes.
Spider Lake Chain of Lakes
The Spider Chain of Lakes is located 14 miles northeast of Hayward, Wisconsin in Sawyer County. This chain consists of 5 interconnected lakes and are known for being a good fishery for walleye, muskie, bass and panfish.
Sand Lake
Sand Lake is a 949 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 50 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. Muskie and northern pike are common in the lake. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish are listed as present. The water is murky.
Sissabagama Lake
Sissabagama Lake is a 805 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 48 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. Muskie and panfish are common in the lake. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike are listed as present. The water is murky.
Whitefish Lake
Whitefish Lake is a 800 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 105 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout and panfish. According to the DNR, northern pike are abundant in this lake. Muskie, walleye, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are common in the lake. Trout and panfish are listed as present. The lake’s water is moderately clear.
Windigo Lake
Windigo Lake is a 503 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 51 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. The other species of fish are listed as present. The water is moderately clear.
Smaller Lakes
Barker Lake
Barker Lake is a 213 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 12 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, muskie and panfish.
Birch Lake
Birch Lake is a 364 acre lake located in Washburn County. It has a maximum depth of 73 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from 2 public boat landings. Fish include northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, panfish, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye are common in this lake and smallmouth bass are listed as present.
Blaisdell Lake
Blaisdell Lake is a 341 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 19 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, panfish are common in the lake while all the other species are listed as present.
Blueberry Lake
Blueberry Lake is a 292 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 29 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, largemouth bass are abundant in the lake while walleye and panfish are considered common.
Connors Lake
Connors Lake is a 410 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 82 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, muskie and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in the lake while muskie, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common. Largemouth bass are listed as present. The water is moderately clear.
Durphee Lake
Durphee Lake is a 198 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 16 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, panfish are abundant in the lake while largemouth bass are considered common. Smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye are listed as present.
Hayward Lake
Hayward Lake is a 191 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 17 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout and panfish. According to the DNR, northern pike are abundant in this lake. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish are common in the lake. Muskie, trout and walleye are listed as present.
Lower Clam Lake
Lower Clam Lake is a 214 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 30 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, muskie and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye, smallmouth bass, muskie and panfish are common in the lake while largemouth bass are listed as present. The water is murky.
Mason & Evergreen Lakes
Mason & Evergreen Lakes are a pair of smaller lakes that receive less fishing pressure than many of the bigger, popular lakes in the area. However, the fishing can be quite good here, especially if you can venture from Mason Lake into Evergreen Lake. The canal that leads back in Evergreen Lake can be challenging to get through depending on your boat and the current water levels. Ideally, it’s a great place to venture back into with smaller rowboats, canoes, kayaks or inflatables. Most anglers do report that the fishing is better in Evergreen Lake, but both lakes have fishable populations of several different species of fish. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish.
Mason Lake
Mason Lake is a 197 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 39 feet. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in the lake while muskie are common. Largemouth bass and panfish are listed as present. Smallmouth bass weren’t listed on here, but there are survey efforts done by the DNR that do show a small population of smallmouth bass available as well.
Evergreen Lake
Evergreen Lake is a 204 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 25 feet. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie and walleye are common in the lake while largemouth bass and panfish are listed as present. Smallmouth bass weren’t listed on here, but there are survey efforts done by the DNR that do show a small population of smallmouth bass available as well.
Osprey Lake
Osprey Lake is a 214 acre lake located in Sawyer County . It has a maximum depth of 32 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye, muskie and panfish. According to the DNR, largemouth bass, walleye and panfish are common in the lake while northern pike, smallmouth bass and panfish are listed as present.
Pacwawong Lake
Pacwawong Lake is a 148 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 6 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskie, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish are common in the lake while smallmouth bass, walleye and muskie are listed as present.
Radisson Flowage
Radisson Flowage is a 178 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 12 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, muskie, walleye, sturgeon, catfish and panfish. According to the DNR, all of the species of fish are listed as present in the lake.
Winter Lake (Price Flowage)
Winter Lake (Price Flowage) is a 257 acre lake located in Sawyer County. It has a maximum depth of 22 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from multiple public boat landings. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie are abundant in the lake while largemouth bass are considered common. Walleye, smallmouth bass and panfish are listed as present.
