Fishing Report For Petenwell Lake, WI
By Rick Seaman
March 7, 2025
Fishing Reports
Popular Fish Species Petenwell Lake, WI
Walleye
Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Excellent
Walleye migrate along the winding river channel that criss crosses the lake, from one end to the other. Off the edges of the channel are flats, some with humps, that walleye slow cruise in search of food. They may vary the depth of flats from day to day, but they primarily feed close to the bottom. In winter, ice fishing is good along the same river bends. When walleye are in 12' to 25' of water a blade bait or a swimbait is a good way to locate the fish. Jigs tipped with plastics, worms or minnows are very popular. Fan cast and cover lots of water. Locals report spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners are catching walleye while trolling or drifting and bottom bumping.
Black Crappie - White Crappie
Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good
Virtually all the docks on Petenwell Lake have perfect conditions to hold crappie, especially the ones with brush piles placed around them. Crappie fishing has been good for some time now, with plenty of crappie over 12 to 15 inches are caught pretty consistently.. Spring is the premiere time to be on the water as crappie move into shallow coves to spawn. Docks, brush, wood and deep vegetation are a good place to cast small crappie jigs or live minnows. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. Locals report that hooking the minnows behind the dorsal fin is a good way to attack these big crappie.
White Bass
Current Report: Fair
Outlook: Good
White bass hang out on flats and humps just off the winding river channel that criss crosses the lake. White bass tend to start their spawn run once the water temperature gets into the mid 50's. Reports from last year indicate that this begins as early as late May. White bass move upstream into the river area, and running creeks, and congregate for several weeks. This is a prime time to fill the livewells with some fat white bass. Live minnows, swimbaits, curly-tail jigs, underspins, small crankbaits, small jerkbaits, and most any lure that looks like baitfish are catching plenty of fish.
Fish species to fish for...
Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, yellow perch, musky, northern pike, sauger and tiger muskie at Petenwell Lake in Wisconsin.
Petenwell Lake is a 23,000-acre lake, with over 100 miles of shoreline to fish. The lake has populations of both warm-water and cold-water species. Locals report catching bass, catfish, crappie, walleye, sunfish, perch, muskie, sauger, northern pike and tiger muskie. Petenwell Lake is the second-largest inland lake in Wisconsin. In winter, anglers target perch, walleye and muskie while ice fishing. There are many areas with access for fishing from the bank.
Primary fish species to catch
Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.
Today's Weather & Forecast
Fishing Boat Rentals
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Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings
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Marinas
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Fishing License
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Map - Fishing & Camping Areas
Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".
Contact Information
Petenwell Lake
Petenwell Wilderness Park Campground
N14054 21st Ave N
Necedah, WI 54646
608 565-7285
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030725
Petenwell Flowage, Wisconsin Report
WISCONSIN
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Healthy populations of bass, catfish, crappie, walleye, sunfish, perch, muskie, sauger, northern pike, tiger muskie and sturgeon await anglers wishing to go fishing at Petenwell Lake in central Wisconsin.
