← Wisconsin fishing maps

Best lake sturgeon lakes in Wisconsin

34 Wisconsin waters hold lake sturgeon. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. A living fossil and the biggest fish in the north country — a bottom-feeding giant managed as a trophy, mostly catch-and-release fishery.

1. Castle Rock Lake — 35 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
2. Holcombe Flowage — 62 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
3. Biron Flowage — 23 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
4. Wisconsin R Fl C3-Stevens Pt — 25 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
5. Dairyland Reservoir (Flambeau) — 70 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
6. Park Falls Flowage, Upper — 17 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
7. Lake Winneconne — 9 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
8. Trego Lake — 36 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
9. Ladysmith Flowage — 19 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
10. Danbury Flowage — 10 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
11. Clam Lake — 11 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
12. Yellow Lake — 31 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
13. Old Abe Lake — 36 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
14. Little Lake Butte Des Morts — 18 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
15. Butternut Lake — 32 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
16. Thornapple Flowage — 19 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
17. McKenzie Lake — 71 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
18. Big Falls Flowage — 45 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
19. Round Lake — 24 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
20. Radisson Flowage — 12 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
21. Clam River Flowage — 29 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
22. Pixley Flowage — 23 ft max · Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie, Bluegill
23. Lower Clam Lake — 14 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
24. Little Yellow Lake — 21 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
25. Mercer Lake — 24 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike

…plus 9 more Wisconsin waters holding lake sturgeon.

Find the closest lake sturgeon waters to you →

When to fish lake sturgeon in Wisconsin

• Spring 3–15 ft — Spawning runs stack fish below rapids, dam faces and river mouths — check the regs, many runs are closed water.
• Summer 15–40 ft — Soft-bottom flats and holes near current — sturgeon vacuum larvae and snails off the mud, mostly after dark.
• Fall 15–45 ft — The prime rod-and-reel season — fish feed hard on deep mud and channel bends before winter.
• Winter 20–60 ft — Fish pod up over deep mud basins — the famous Winnebago spear season happens over exactly this pattern.

Also in Wisconsin: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best sauger lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes

Lake Sturgeon elsewhere: Ontario · Minnesota · Michigan