Boulder Junction is definitely more of a walleye, smallmouth bass and muskie area, but there are some lakes to fish for largemouth bass as well. In the Northern Highland Fishery Research Area, some anglers target largemouth bass on Spruce Lake, however, it can definitely be hit or miss and is a little bit of a challenge to get a canoe, kayak or inflatable boat on the water. Escanaba Lake & Lost Canoe Lake will also attract plenty of anglers and you can target largemouth bass on both of them. There are a lot of smaller lakes in this area that also have good populations of largemouth bass and panfish. Many anglers will target bass in these lakes with canoe, kayaks, rowboats and inflatable boats.
Northern Highland Fishery Research Area
Escanaba Lake
Escanaba Lake is a 303 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 26 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. Muskie, largemouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake. Northern pike are listed as present. The DNR website doesn’t mention smallmouth bass, but they are in Escanaba Lake as well.
Lost Canoe Lake
Lost Canoe Lake is a 279 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 41 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish are common in this lake. Muskie and smallmouth bass are listed as present.
Spruce lake
Spruce Lake is a 16 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 16 feet. Fish include panfish and largemouth bass. Panfish are abundant and largemouth bass are common in the lake. It is a carry-in boat landing at the bottom of a hill. It isn’t the easiest place to get a boat into, but the canoe slide does help you get your canoes and kayaks down to the water.
Other Lakes in This Area
Allequash Lake
Allequash Lake is a 406 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 24 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, panfish are abundant in this lake. Muskie, northern pike, walleye and largemouth bass are considered common in the lake. Smallmouth bass are listed as present.
Fishtrap Lake
Fishtrap Lake is a 339 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 34 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, muskie, walleye, largemouth bass and panfish are common in this lake. Smallmouth bass and northern pike are listed as present. The lake’s water is moderately clear.
Little John Lake
Little John Lake is a 151 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 19 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and trout. According to the Wisconsin DNR, trout are abundant in Little John Lake. Muskie, walleye and largemouth bass are common in the lake. Smallmouth bass and northern pike are listed as present.
Upper Gresham Lake
Upper Gresham Lake is a 362 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 32 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, panfish are abundant in the lake while muskie, largemouth bass and walleye are considered common. Northern pike are listed as present.
Whitney Lake
Whitney Lake is a 226 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 8 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, largemouth bass are common in this lake. Northern pike and panfish are listed as present.
Wolf Lake
Wolf Lake is a 403 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 28 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie, walleye, largemouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake while smallmouth bass are listed as present.
