Washburn County does have some muskie waters available, however, this area of Wisconsin does not compare to some of the better counties for muskie fishing in Wisconsin. In nearby Sawyer County, you have a lot more options, but there are a few lakes listed below that you should take a look at if you want to target muskie if Washburn County.
Bass Lake
Bass Lake is a 187 acre lake located in Washburn County. It has a maximum depth of 35 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass and walleye. According to the DNR, walleye are abundant in this lake. Muskie, panfish and largemouth bass are common in the lake.
Lake Nancy
Lake Nancy is a 757 acre lake located in Washburn County. It has a maximum depth of 39 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from public boat landings. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, panfish are abundant in this lake. Northern pike, walleye and largemouth bass are common in the lake.
Lower McKenzie Lake
Lower McKenzie Lake is a 206 acre lake located in Washburn, Burnett Counties. It has a maximum depth of 17 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, panfish, northern pike and largemouth bass are common in the lake.
Matthews Lake
Matthews Lake is a 267 acre lake located in Washburn County. It has a maximum depth of 26 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, panfish and largemouth bass are abundant in this lake. Muskie, northern pike and walleye are common in the lake.
McKenzie Lake
McKenzie Lake is a 1129 acre lake located in Washburn, Burnett Counties. It has a maximum depth of 71 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and sturgeon. According to the DNR, muskie, northern pike and walleye are abundant in this lake. Panfish and largemouth bass are common in the lake.
Middle McKenzie Lake
Middle McKenzie Lake is a 527 acre lake located in Burnett, Washburn Counties. It has a maximum depth of 45 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from a public boat landing. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye are common in the lake.
Shell Lake
Shell Lake is a 2513 acre lake located in Washburn County. It has a maximum depth of 36 feet. Visitors have access to the lake from public boat landings. Fish include muskie, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and walleye. According to the DNR, smallmouth bass and walleye are abundant in this lake. Muskie and panfish are common in the lake.
Using Leaders for Muskie
Muskie have some serious teeth. Use quality steel leaders to avoid bite-offs. If you are fishing clear water, you may need to go with a fluorocarbon leader to get bit. Most anglers will not go any lighter than 100 lb. fluorocarbon for muskie and don’t be shocked if you lose a big fish due to a bite-off. Some anglers go as heavy as 140 to 150 pound fluorocarbon. Ideally, you want to be as stealthy as you can so you can get more bites, but if you go too light with the fluorocarbon, you risk losing fish and possibly killing some big fish due to the lures getting stuck in their mouths.
Best Baits for Muskie
There are many types of baits to target muskie. Anglers don’t have as many options when using live baits since many of the fish that muskie eat can not be used as bait. Suckers and big chubs are usually the best options for most anglers that want to use live bait. For artificial lures, there are a variety of big baits to throw. Most anglers fish with bucktail spinners, some type of swimbait, topwater lure or jerkbait when chasing muskie.
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Best Rigs for Muskie
There aren’t too many different rigs for muskie fishing because you only have so many options for throwing some of the gigantic baits needed. Also, most anglers use lures for muskie or big sucker minnows, so you really don’t need too many rigs to target muskie. However, there are still several rigs you should know about, especially if you are going to be using live bait.
The Carolina rig, drop shot rig and quick strike rig are some of the best rigs for muskie.
Best Techniques for Muskie
Anglers use a variety of techniques for muskie. Casting is most popular, but jigging and trolling are also very effective techniques. Learn more about some of the best techniques for muskie page.
Learn More About Muskie
Our muskie fishing section has tons of tips on the best lures, live baits, where to catch them and how to catch them.
Visit our muskie fishing website to learn more.
