Vilas County is home to some incredible smallmouth bass fishing. You can find lots of lakes with good numbers of smallmouth bass and plenty of lakes with some very big fish too. On many of the action lakes, it is possible to have 30 to 40 fish days if you figure out the lake and are willing to use some live bait. Without live bait, 20 to 30 fish days are still very possible as you learn some of these lakes up here. In the spring, it is not uncommon to hear of anglers lake hopping and putting up 50 plus fish days when the bass are in the shallows.

Below, we have it organized by towns to help you learn about the entire county’s best smallmouth bass waters.

Arbor Vitae, WI

Arbor Vitae is a small town, so there aren’t as many lakes here, but there are some smallmouth bass available. Sparkling Lake is a smaller lake, but holds a healthy population of smallmouth bass in its deep, clear waters. Big Arbor Vitae Lake is known more for its muskie, walleye or panfish, but smallmouth bass are here too. There are a lot more largemouth bass in this lake than smallmouth bass, but the smallies are here in fishable numbers with some quality fish too.

Big Arbor Vitae Lake

Big Arbor Vitae Lake is a 1,070 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 41 feet. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, walleye, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie and walleye are abundant in the lake while panfish and largemouth bass are considered common.

Sparkling Lake

Sparkling Lake is a 157 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 60 feet. Fish include muskie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie, walleye and smallmouth bass are considered common in the lake. Largemouth bass and panfish are listed as present.

Boulder Junction, WI

Boulder Junction is home to some incredible smallmouth bass fishing. Whether you choose to fish the special regulation lakes in the Northern Highlands Fishery Research area or some of the other lakes up here, you can find good numbers of smallmouth bass with big fish too.

In the fishery research area, anglers can catch lots of smallmouth bass in Nebish Lake, although, most fish will run on the small side. Nearby, you can stay in the research area and head over to Pallette Lake to find solid numbers of smallmouth bass with a lot of quality fish due to the special regulations on the lake. Nebish Lake has a decent boat launch while Pallette Lake is gated, so you will have about a quarter mile carry-in to get onto this lake.

Outside of the research area, White Sand Lake & Trout Lake are both solid smallmouth bass lakes with some big fish potential too. Trout Lake is huge, so plan on having a solid boat to get you around this lake to find the better spots. Both of these lakes have a lot of deep water, which can make it tough to find some active bass, but they are definitely there in both lakes if you’re willing to put in some work to find them.

Nebish Lake

Nebish Lake is a 93 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 52 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include smallmouth bass and panfish. Smallmouth bass are abundant in this lake. It is more of an action lake, but if you’re looking to catch a lot of smallmouth bass, Nebish Lake is a good one to fish.

Pallette Lake

Pallette Lake is a 180 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 60 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include northern pike, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, smallmouth bass and panfish are common in this lake. Northern pike are listed as present.

Trout Lake

Trout Lake is a 3,864 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 117 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from multiple public boat landings. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, muskie, walleye, northern pike, trout, smallmouth bass and panfish are common in this lake. Largemouth bass are listed as present.

White Sand Lake

White Sand Lake is a 746 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 71 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, muskie, walleye and smallmouth bass are common in this lake. Northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish are listed as present.

Conover & Phelps, WI

There are some lakes in this area with smallmouth bass available. Stormy Lake offers some decent smallmouth bass fishing, but the fishing can be tough because the water is so deep and clear. Big Sand Lake, Long Lake and Spectacle Lake are all worth fishing for smallmouth bass. While these lakes can provide some good smallmouth bass fishing, you are really close to some really good smallmouth bass lakes in nearby Eagle River, Wisconsin. Keep scrolling down to learn more about the lakes in the Conover & Phelps area as well as the Eagle River area.

Big Sand Lake

Big Sand Lake is a 1,427 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 56 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, smallmouth bass and walleye are considered common. Largemouth bass and northern pike are listed as present.

Long Lake

Long Lake is a 886 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 88 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout and panfish. According to the DNR, smallmouth bass and walleye are considered common in the lake while all the other species of fish are listed as present.

Spectacle Lake

Spectacle Lake is a 166 acre lake located in Nicolet National Forest of Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 35 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout and walleye. The lake’s water clarity is very clear. This lake is uncrowded and it is known as a good bass fishing lake for both largemouth & smallmouth bass.

Stormy Lake

Stormy Lake is a 523 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 63 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from one public boat landing. Fish include panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and trout. According to the Wisconsin DNR, smallmouth bass and trout are common in this lake and the other species of fish are listed as present. The lake’s water clarity is very clear.

Eagle River, WI

The smallmouth bass fishing is very good on some of the lakes in the Eagle River area. Some nice smallmouth bass are caught on the Eagle River Chain of Lakes, but you won’t usually find large numbers of smallmouth bass on the chain. If you do find them though, it is not uncommon to catch a bigger fish as anglers do report bass in the 3 to 5 pound range here. The better bass fishing near this town is definitely on the lakes just outside of town.

The best bass lakes near town are technically not in Vilas County, however, they are close to Eagle River, so we are listing them here. When you click on the links though, it will take you to our Forest County, Wisconsin fishing section of our website. Butternut Lake gets the most attention here from anglers who are looking to target smallmouth bass. The water is clear, it has an excellent boat landing and plenty of parking, so this is an easy choice for most anglers visiting here. Butternut Lake is home to large numbers of smallmouth bass with some big fish too. Franklin Lake is also very good for numbers and quality fish, but the boat landing can definitely give you problems when the water is low. There is a campground on the lake too, which appeals to some people. Kentuck Lake and Anvil Lake round out these smallmouth bass lakes just outside of town. Kentuck Lake can be very good early in the year, but gets tougher to fish when the weeds come in thick in the middle of the summer. Fishing the deeper weed line is key to finding some of these bass through the summer and fall. Anvil Lake has some decent bass fishing available too, but most anglers prefer to fish Butternut or Franklin Lake.

Anvil Lake

Anvil Lake is a 377 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 32 feet with moderately clear water. Fish include smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are common in the lake while the other species of fish are listed as present.

Butternut Lake

Butternut Lake is a 1246 acre lake located in Forest County. It has a maximum depth of 42 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from public boat landings. Fish include panfish, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. The lake’s water clarity is very clear. According to the DNR, smallmouth bass and walleye are listed as abundant. Panfish are listed as common and northern pike are listed as present.

Franklin Lake

Franklin Lake is a 839 acre lake located in the Nicolet National Forest of Forest County. It has a maximum depth of 46 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. The Wisconsin DNR lists smallmouth bass, panfish and walleye as common on this lake, but many anglers report it is also a good northern pike lake even though the DNR has pike listed only as “present” for this lake. The water is very clear on this lake.

Kentuck Lake

Kentuck Lake is a 1001 acre lake located in Vilas, Forest Counties. It has a maximum depth of 40 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from public boat landings. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and walleye. According to the DNR, muskie, panfish, smallmouth bass and walleye are common in the lake. Largemouth bass are considered present.

Lac du Flambeau, WI

The Lac du Flambeau area is a very popular smallmouth bass destination. Located close to Minocqua, there are so many places you can fish for smallmouth bass here. In Lac du Flambeau, the Lac du Flambeau chain of lakes offers some very good fishing for numbers and quality depending on the lake you choose to fish. Off the chain, anglers do well on Little Trout Lake & Squirrel Lake. On many of the other lakes in the area, smallmouth bass will be secondary, but they are still there, which means you have so many options for catching smallmouth bass without having to drive very far.

Big Crawling Stone Lake

Crawling Stone Lake is a 1483 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 87 feet. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. The water is very clear as well. According to the DNR, panfish and walleye are common in the lake. Muskie, northern pike, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are listed as present in the lake.

Fence Lake

Fence Lake is a 3483 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 86 feet. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, trout and walleye. According to the DNR, muskie, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and panfish are considered common in the lake. Largemouth bass and trout are listed as present.

Flambeau Lake

Flambeau Lake is a 1166 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 78 feet with very clear water. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, muskie, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake while northern pike are listed as present.

Little Crawling Stone Lake

Little Crawling Stone Lake is a 113 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 44 feet and very clear water. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake. Muskie, walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass are listed as present.

Little Trout Lake

Little Trout Lake is a 1,007 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 98 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie, smallmouth bass and walleye are considered common in the lake. Largemouth bass, trout and panfish are listed as present.

Long Interlaken Lake

Long Interlaken Lake is a 380 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 65 feet with very clear water. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake. Muskie, northern pike and walleye 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.

Land O’Lakes, WI

The Land O’Lakes area is home to some incredible fishing. There are so many lakes in this area and many of them have good fishing for something. If you’re looking for smallmouth bass, there are so many lakes where you can catch them, but some lakes definitely have higher populations of them. Big Bateau Lake and Jute Lake are smaller lakes that offer solid fishing for smallmouth bass. There are some bigger lakes here as well that offer good smallmouth bass fishing, but they aren’t so big that you will find yourself totally overwhelmed trying to learn the lake. Black Oak Lake & Big Portage Lake are under 600 acres & Big Lake is 780 acres. These lakes all offer potential for numbers and quality fish and will have less fishing pressure than some of the popular lakes that you will find in the Minocqua area.

Big Bateau Lake

Big Bateau Lake is a 236 acre lake located in Vilas County and Gogebic County. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, smallmouth bass and panfish are common in this lake. Largemouth bass are listed as present.

Big Lake

Big Lake is a 780 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 30 feet. Fish include muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in the lake while muskie, northern pike, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake. Largemouth bass are listed as present.

Big Portage Lake

Big Portage Lake is a 586 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 40 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, smallmouth bass and walleye are common in this lake. Largemouth bass and panfish are listed as present. The lake’s water clarity is very clear.

Black Oak Lake

Black Oak Lake is a 564 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 85 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include trout, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, panfish are abundant in this lake. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike are common in the lake. Trout and walleye are listed as present. The lake’s water clarity is very clear.

Jute Lake

Jute Lake is a 191 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 23 feet. Fish include muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake while muskie and largemouth bass are listed as present.

Manitowish Waters, WI

Manitowish Waters is a small town, but a very nice town with some excellent lakes to fish. If you’re looking for smallmouth bass, there are 2 lakes that stand out here. Little Trout Lake is a good-sized lake that anglers like to fish for smallies. Manitowish Lake is just under 500 acres and a very solid smallmouth bass lake.

Little Trout Lake

Manitowish Lake

Manitowish Lake is a 496 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 61 feet and the water is moderately clear. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, muskie, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye are considered common in the lake while the other species of fish are listed as present.

Presque Isle, WI

Presque Isle, WI has so many lakes with smallmouth bass in them. There are definitely some trophy-sized smallmouth bass in this area, but on many of the area lakes, plan on catching lots of smaller bass. These action lakes can still be a lot of fun though when the bite is on. Some of the popular lakes that anglers fish for smallies in this area are Oxbow Lake, Crab Lake and Lynx Lake. Carlin Lake, Big Lake & Wildcat Lake also have good populations of smallmouth bass. Presque Isle Lake can be a tough lake to fish for smallmouth bass, but there are some very big fish in that lake. The deep, clear water makes it tough, but it is one of the best lakes in this area for catching a big smallmouth.

Big Lake

Big Lake is a 827 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 61 feet with moderately clear water. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, muskie, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish are considered common while largemouth bass and northern pike are listed as present.

Carlin Lake

Carlin Lake is a 155 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 36 feet. Fish include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, smallmouth bass and panfish are common in this lake. Largemouth bass are listed as present. The lake’s water clarity is very clear.

Crab Lake

Crab Lake is a 909 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 60 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include walleye, muskie, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. It’s a very good numbers lake for smallmouth bass with some big smallies here too. Fish the rocky points, shorelines and islands and you’ll find plenty of smallmouth bass willing to bite. There is also some decent muskie fishing here too with some big fish available as well.

Lynx Lake

Lynx Lake is a 307 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 48 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include walleye, muskie, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, muskie, walleye and smallmouth bass are common in this lake. Largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish are listed as present.

Oxbow Lake

Oxbow Lake is a 523 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 44 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include walleye, muskie, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, walleye are common in this lake and all of the other species of fish are listed as present.

Presque Isle Lake

Presque Isle Lake is a 1165 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 103 feet with very clear water. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, muskie and walleye are considered common in the lake. The other species of fish are listed as present.

Wildcat Lake

Wildcat Lake is a 293 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 38 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, muskie, walleye, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in this lake. Largemouth bass are listed as present. The lake’s water is moderately clear.

Sayner & Star Lake, WI

The towns of Sayner and Star Lake are very small, but there are several lakes right here in this area. However, the smallmouth bass are secondary on the lakes right by these towns. If you’re looking for good smallmouth bass lakes, head just outside of town to the Northern Highlands Fishery Research area where you can learn more about the lakes that we talked above near the top of this page. Nebish Lake & Pallette Lake are great lakes for smallmouth bass. Trout Lake is not too far from these towns either.

St. Germain, WI

The St. Germain area has several lakes that have smallmouth bass in them, but on most of the lakes, smallies are a secondary species. Some of the popular lakes in this area will offer some smallie action, but don’t expect to catch huge numbers of them. If you target bass on the following lakes, you should run into some smallmouth bass: Big St. Germain Lake, Little St. Germain Lake, Found Lake, the Rainbow Flowage and Lost Lake.

Winchester, WI

Winchester is a small town with some very good fishing lakes, but you won’t find a bunch of awesome smallmouth bass lakes here. They are secondary on most of the lakes here, however, the smallmouth bass fishing is solid on Birch Lake.

Birch Lake

Birch Lake is a 506 acre lake located in Vilas County. It has a maximum depth of 45 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include walleye, muskie, northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the Wisconsin DNR, muskie, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish are common in this lake. Northern pike are listed as present. The lake’s water is moderately clear.

Smallmouth Bass