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Rating depth structure for largemouth bass.
Shared by DepthScout anglers. Exact spots stay private, always.
1,193-acre reservoir in Forest County, Wisconsin. The lake tops out around 10 ft. The contours come from a model of the real basin shape and its known max depth. Read them as probabilities, not soundings, and keep them out of navigation decisions. The rest of this page walks each species through its year, using the map's own scoring.
Drawn out, this is 1,197 acres of water rimmed by 13.8 miles of bank, with 3 islands in the mix. That shoreline is heavily fingered (development index 2.9) — bays, points and pockets everywhere, which multiplies the fishable edge. The whole water is littoral — nothing here runs deeper than ~15 ft, so it's all weed-and-bait territory. End to end it runs roughly 2.7 mi, about 1.5 mi across. The water lies in Forest County. The nearest mapped water is Whiteye Lake, 1 mi to the south.
Spring yellow perch on Little Rice Lake hold shallow, usually 3 to 10 ft. Depth-wise the year is flat: 3 to 10 ft in summer, 3 to 10 ft once it turns cold. The chart's best answer is Shallow bay flat — weed flat, 3 ft, prime for spring. Prime time lands in early morning. The summer box starts with a drop-shot micro plastics or a small spoon tipped with worm.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 10 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Small jig + curly tail, Perch-pattern micro crank |
| Summer | 3 to 10 ft | dawn | Deep basin (9 ft) | Drop-shot micro plastics, Small spoon tipped with worm |
| Fall | 3 to 10 ft | midday | Deep basin (9 ft) | Jigging spoon (small), Perch rig / spreader |
| Winter | 3 to 10 ft | midday & dawn | Deep basin (9 ft) | Tungsten jig + spikes, Rattle spoon (small) |
Spring puts northern pike in skinny water — 2 to 8 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 3 to 10 ft, wintering in 3 to 10 ft. Spring northern pike concentrate at Shallow bay flat, a prime-rated weed flat around 3 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning and the evening. A bucktail or a weedless spoon over cabbage covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | #5 inline spinner, Spoon (red/white) |
| Summer | 3 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Bucktail, Weedless spoon over cabbage |
| Fall | 3 to 10 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Big rubber (Bull Dawg style), Husky-style jerkbait |
| Winter | 3 to 10 ft | midday | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Tip-ups, Large jigging spoon |
In spring, largemouth bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 10 ft. Summer keeps them at 3 to 10 ft, and they winter in 3 to 10 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 3 ft, rated prime for spring largemouth bass. Time it for early morning and the evening. You won't need more than a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait most summer days.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 3 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 3 to 10 ft | midday & dawn | Main-lake point (8 ft) | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 3 to 10 ft | midday | Break off the point (5 ft) | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Spring puts crappie in skinny water — 2 to 8 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 3 to 10 ft, wintering in 3 to 10 ft. Winter crappie concentrate at Deep basin, a prime-rated deep basin around 9 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning and the evening. A jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 3 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 3 to 10 ft | dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 3 to 10 ft | midday | Deep basin (9 ft) | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
The spring pattern is a shallow one: bluegill in 1 to 6 ft. As the season builds they drop to 3 to 10 ft, wintering in 3 to 10 ft. Top water on the chart: Shallow bay flat, a weed flat in the 3 ft range, prime in spring. Time it for early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 3 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 3 to 10 ft | midday | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 3 to 10 ft | midday | Deep basin (9 ft) | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
When the water first warms, pumpkinseed slide up into 1 to 8 ft. By summer they slide out to 2 to 10 ft, and by winter most fish are in 3 to 10 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Shallow bay flat: a weed flat around 3 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in the evening and early morning. Keep a micro tube or a sponge spider (fly) rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 8 ft | midday & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Micro jig under a float, Tiny beetle-spin |
| Summer | 2 to 10 ft | dusk & dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Micro tube, Sponge spider (fly) |
| Fall | 3 to 10 ft | dusk & dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 3 to 10 ft | dawn | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
6 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 9 ft, is the deepest of them.
Access data: Wisconsin DNR - Boat Access Sites, Shore Fishing Sites, and DNR Parking Lots. Confirm conditions and fees locally before you launch.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Wisconsin waters are set by the Wisconsin DNR — and special regulations can apply to Little Rice Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Wisconsin fishing regulations →
Little Rice Lake is about 10 ft (3 m) deep at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.
Anglers target yellow perch, northern pike, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed on Little Rice Lake. These come from the Wisconsin DNR's per-lake fish listing; where the DNR lists a group (panfish, catfish, trout) the specific species are resolved from Wisconsin's fish distribution by the lake's location, depth and habitat.
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 3 ft of water that rates prime for yellow perch in spring. The interactive chart above rates every spot for each species and season.
For yellow perch, the summer bite is best in early morning. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Fishing on Little Rice Lake is regulated by the Wisconsin DNR. Check the official Wisconsin regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.
Whiteye Lake 1 mi · Atkins Lake 4 mi · Clear Lake 5 mi · Tank Lake 5 mi · Peshtigo Lake 5 mi · Pine Lake 5 mi · Metonga Lake 6 mi · Lake Lucille 7 mi · Little Pine Lake 7 mi · Rice Lake 8 mi · Bishop Lake 8 mi · Mars Lake 8 mi
See how Little Rice Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Wisconsin · best northern pike lakes in Wisconsin · best crappie lakes in Wisconsin · best bluegill lakes in Wisconsin
More water nearby: Forest County fishing maps (120 charts). Browse all Wisconsin fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.