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Rating depth structure for largemouth bass.
Shared by DepthScout anglers. Exact spots stay private, always.
199-acre lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. The lake tops out around 40 ft. The contours are modeled from the water's real shoreline and maximum depth. Treat them as a rough guide, and never use them for navigation. The rest of this page walks each species through its year, using the map's own scoring.
The drawn water covers 199 acres wrapped in 3.1 miles of bank. A middling shoreline index (1.6) gives it some bays to work without being a maze. Roughly 71% of the water is 15 ft or less as modeled, the band where the food chain lives. Figure 0.9 mi of water from one end to the other, 0.7 mi at the beam. It sits in Vilas County. If the bite dies, Patterson Lake is 1 mi to the southwest.
Start shallow in spring: walleye sit in 4 to 15 ft that time of year. Warm water sends them out to 15 to 35 ft; cold water stacks them in 20 to 40 ft. Top water on the chart: Break off the point, a drop-off in the 18 ft range, prime in fall. Fish it in the evening and early morning and you'll meet the bite. Throw a crawler harness on bottom bouncer or a deep crankbait (trolled) until the fish tell you otherwise.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 15 ft | dusk & dawn | Main-lake point (10 ft) | 1/8 oz jig + minnow, Hair jig |
| Summer | 15 to 35 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (18 ft) | Crawler harness on bottom bouncer, Deep crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 12 to 40 ft | dusk & night | Break off the point (18 ft) | Jigging rap, Jig + big minnow |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | dusk & dawn | Deep basin (34 ft) | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Rattle bait |
Spring puts yellow perch in skinny water — 3 to 12 ft is the zone. Warm water sends them out to 10 to 30 ft; cold water stacks them in 15 to 35 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 5 ft, rated prime for spring yellow perch. Plan around early morning in the warm months. A drop-shot micro plastics or a small spoon tipped with worm covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | Small jig + curly tail, Perch-pattern micro crank |
| Summer | 10 to 30 ft | dawn | Break off the point (18 ft) | Drop-shot micro plastics, Small spoon tipped with worm |
| Fall | 12 to 35 ft | midday | Deep basin (34 ft) | Jigging spoon (small), Perch rig / spreader |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday & dawn | Deep basin (34 ft) | Tungsten jig + spikes, Rattle spoon (small) |
Spring muskellunge on Whitefish Lake hold shallow, usually 3 to 12 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 25 ft, and by winter most fish are in 15 to 35 ft. The chart's best answer is Break off the point — drop-off, 18 ft, prime for fall. Prime time lands in the evening and early morning. The summer box starts with a double-10 bucktail or a topwater (walk-the-dog / creeper).
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | Smaller bucktail (#8 blades), 6" glide bait |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | dusk & dawn | Main-lake point (10 ft) | Double-10 bucktail, Topwater (walk-the-dog / creeper) |
| Fall | 8 to 30 ft | midday & dusk | Break off the point (18 ft) | Big rubber (Bull Dawg style), 10"+ glide bait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Deep basin (34 ft) | Large rubber, crawled slow |
Early season largemouth bass use the shallows, holding in 2 to 10 ft. Summer is an 8 to 20 ft game here, winter a 15 to 35 ft one. The chart's best answer is Shallow bay flat — weed flat, 5 ft, prime for spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Break off the point (18 ft) | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Main-lake point (10 ft) | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Spring crappie on Whitefish Lake hold shallow, usually 2 to 8 ft. They move out to 10 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 15 to 35 ft. Put Deep basin first on the milk run — a deep basin near 34 ft that grades prime for winter. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled).
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Break off the point (18 ft) | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Break off the point (18 ft) | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Deep basin (34 ft) | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Spring bluegill on Whitefish Lake hold shallow, usually 1 to 6 ft. By summer they slide out to 4 to 15 ft, and by winter most fish are in 10 to 25 ft. The chart's best answer is Shallow bay flat — weed flat, 5 ft, prime for spring. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday | Shallow bay flat (5 ft) | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 10 to 25 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
Whitefish Lake also holds pumpkinseed (2 to 10 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Whitefish Lake carries 6 mapped structure features, topping out (or rather bottoming out) at Deep basin, about 34 ft down.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Wisconsin waters are set by the Wisconsin DNR — and special regulations can apply to Whitefish Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Wisconsin fishing regulations →
Whitefish Lake is about 40 ft (12 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 walleye, yellow perch, muskellunge, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed on Whitefish 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.
Break off the point is the top-rated area: a drop-off in about 18 ft of water that rates prime for walleye in fall. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
For walleye, the summer bite is best in the evening and 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 Whitefish 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.
Patterson Lake 1 mi · Lucy Lake 1 mi · Wyandock Lake 1 mi · Jerms Lake 1 mi · David Lake 1 mi · Placid Twin Lakes 1 mi · Placid Twin Lake, North 1 mi · Sunday Lake 1 mi · Havener Lake 2 mi · Gunlock Lake 2 mi · Shishebogama Lake 2 mi · Crawling Stone Lake 2 mi
See how Whitefish Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Wisconsin · best walleye lakes in Wisconsin · best crappie lakes in Wisconsin · best bluegill lakes in Wisconsin
More water nearby: Vilas County fishing maps (507 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.