20 Best Wisconsin Lakes For Fishing (2023 Updated)

I purchased the Great Lakes version and used it on 10,000 acre Portage Lake in Houghton county Michigan. I trolled 65 miles of shoreline in six days using the LakeMaster gps map. I wanted to target trolling in 12 feet of water in a new lake for me.

The gps data on the SD card matched up nearly perfect with sonar depth. I ran a split screen so I could compare gps data and sonar at the same time. Great product and makes learning new water a very simple accurate process.

Being able to know the water depth out in front of the boat was an advantage for trolling and absolutely put more fish in the boat.

I thought somewhere along the line somebody would’ve thought about being able to get an account linked with the chip and you would be able to also to use this on your phone. From what I can tell its just another way for these guys to charge extra money for having to purchase maps separately on the fish smart app instead of being able to somehow use the lakemaster chip you just spent all that money on.

I see something about bluetoothing to you phone but then you have to spend another $6,7,800+ to upgrade to a newer unit. Very disappointed you have to purchase a card for each head unit as well. Very poorly thought out product.

My experience is limited with the product, but Im excited to continue using it. I had been feeling like I was spending more time studying maps than fishing, especially when on unfamiliar waters. The map quality is amazing! Excellent detail for most of the lakes that I fish.

I was able to use the Smart Strike a few times and it definitely helped me get on fish faster. They werent always active, but I was able to mark them. It was a huge advantage versus blindly heading from break to break.

I could easily see a dozen recommendations and hop from location to location. Now, if it could only tell me what lure and technique would get fish on the hook Id be all set!.

I only had two bags of these. I purchased them two years ago before I went to Canada. I meant to use them, but the 100 pounds of other lures came first. This year, we went when the Pike were in shallow in the weeds and I figured that hooking this up on a swimbait hook, weedless could possibly work and after a little tinkering with the presentation it was dynamite.

By the end, I had everyone in our boat hooked on these. I attached it to a steel leader and worked it in 1-15 ft deep. The best way to work this is to jerk HARD up or to the side. The only reeling you should be doing is reeling in slack.

Jerk, reel in slack, jerk reel in slack till it’s back to the boat. The jerks have to be with enough power to set the hook. After dinner one of the nights we went out to this bay for just over an hour with these and we pulled in 7 Pike, 5 over 30″ with a 42″.

Big Walleyes love them too and even a couple big Smallies gave them a good whack. You won’t be disappointed.

If you are looking for a soft jerk bait look no further. No other brand reacts how zoom does. This bait is the top of the line when it comes to soft jerk baits all others are imitators.

Great shad body soft plastic if you don’t want the boot tail. Sink nice and slow with an unweighted EWG hook. Or put it on a jig head if that’s your thing. Wish they came in a larger size.

Tarpon 105 Review Last weekend I went kayaking with my family with the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 105 kayak. I kayak a lot but usually with a different kayak. This time I just wanted to try a different kayak.

When I first started paddling the kayak, I realized that it seemed a little heavier than some of the other kayaks I have paddled. Because of this extra weight, it was a little harder to paddle. It felt like I was paddling a barge.

It just felt really heavy and slow. Another thing was the handling of the kayak. It was very hard to keep going in one direction. It felt like with every paddle it would go the opposite direction of where I wanted to go.

However, there were a few good things about the kayak. The seat was very comfortable. It was the best kayak seat I have ever sat on. Another positive thing is the stability. Usually when getting into a kayak it will wobble a little bit and I would have to find some balance and then get into the kayak.

In this kayak, I could sit down with relative ease. Overall, I would say that there definitely are some positives and negatives about this kayak but for me the negatives outweigh the positives.

I bought my Tarpon 105 from Black Creek Outfitters in Jacksonville in 2021. I love the light weight and size. It’s easy to load and transport. It is very comfortable. Tracks great. Really unexpectedly great tracking considering the size of the boat.

I have had a major problem with mine. The straps that hold the back of the seat have broken twice now. The first time, the place I bought it replaced them for free. Now they are out of business and the Wilderness System website says they don’t make the part anymore which is puzzling since stores are still selling this boat.

I am searching for at least a replacement strap. At best a new seat. I would not recommend it until this strap problem is correct.

Handles nicely and the tracking is great. Love the multi-adjustment seat, secured tackle box, and magnetized bottle holder. It would be really nice if scupper hole plugs came with it for all that money.

Thanks for enclosing the holes under the seat tho. There’s no way to secure anything in the front dry well. A friend of mine has a 2018 Tarpon 100 that has eyelets in the dry well so you can at least clip something in.

All in all it’s a really nice kayak and I’m loving it. Thanks Appomattox River Company for your Covid-19 safety precautions when loading my kayak.

Outstanding lure. It’s been around for a long time. I’m 73 and when I was about 9, my dad had this lure along with hula poppers and I learned how to use the lures at that time. I’ve taught my kids, my niece and nephew plus my grandkids.

I have caught large and small mouth bass with this lure, in a different color and still have the original one that my dad and I used. Any Arbogast lures are very good.

They work/worked excellent in water with grass just under the surface. The unique popping action and movement made for a successful fishing day in the lake near home. A few people fish it but don’t seem to have much luck.

The Jitterbug was introduced to me by my late father and I watched him slam the Bass at times with this bait when nothing else was working. The green color is best in clearer waters in my opinion. The black is good in most cases regardless of water conditions.

Finally, the popper,is a mixture of the two.

Best top water ever. Been using a jitterbug since 1948. Two months ago I ordered two 3/8 oz which was 2 1/2 inch long. When they arrived they were the 1/4 oz, 2 inch. I contacted Bass Pro and they reshipped the order.

When this second order arrived, they did the same thing again, shipped the 2 inch 1/4 oz. As I was trying to figure out why Bass Pro couldn’t get it right, I found the problem. They were mis labeled.

On the outside they were labeled 3/8 oz, which is the 2 1/2 inch (and what I wanted) but inside was the 2 inch 1/4 oz. I contacted Bass Pro again explaining the problem and ask them to please measure the lure inside the package.

They never contacted me back. Now, I’m stuck with 4 of the 2 inch which I don’t need.

I inserted it after the software up grade for my 788ci. It does not show the topo maps of Lake Almanor. Not happy with it. My Navionic hotMap MSD/PREM-W6 chip worked well with depth maps the western Lakes, however, The Lake Master chip did not show topo depths.

I thought you could select a Lake and it could give you this detail, however, I have not been able to get it to work. The GPS is shower than the Navionics card. Perhaps I need better instructions to enjoy all the features.

I plan on calling you guys when time permits and get this figured out. the boat is in the garage not the lake. I could not get the simulator to work. I have been a Huminbird customer for ever. I need to get this system to work.

My Best, Pete Lana.

I was one of the lucky ones who got this Wisconsin V-4 in March. I have all the other Smart Strike versions also. All of them I have really like but the Version 4 has so many more lakes in total, and so many more in high definition.

I really like the mapping and the smart strike sure helps on lakes for the first time or for different times of the year for finding fish. Easier to pattern them and then u can refine your search and highlight only the best areas.

The depth highlighting and hazard markers sure make it way safer to navigate new waters and keep your boat from damage. This chip is money well spent. Stay safe and good luck!.

This plastic has been a top seller for years everywhere for a reason. I like to fish it on a Texas rig with a pegged 1/8 oz. bullet weight. Its slim profile allows it to get deep into cover and slip through vegetation with ease.

Tex-spose the hook and jerk it through grass or laydowns. A lot of anglers may not know this, but this plastic is also the best bladed jig trailer there is. When rigged on something like a Chatterbait or a Thunder Cricket the fluked tail will flick, wiggle, and get you a lot of bites.

An American-made product at $4 a pack? This is a no-brainer!.

I love fishing Zoom Super Flukes, especially shallow. It sinks slowly and is very flexible. The tail kicks nicely when worked as a jerkbait. I catch a ton of bass on these, and the pickerel like them, too (which for me is a bonus because taking a pickerel home for dinner is a great treat after a day bass fishing.

) I rig it weightless Texas style on a wide gap hook and it works great. My favorite colors for clear, highly pressured water are: watermelon red and bluegill.

Love the flukes. They are cheap and very effective way to catch some nice bass. Had to try the lemon shad color for my river since chartreuse is a top producer. I think these actually do better with the added pearl color.

Love the action. Can’t beat the flukes from Zoom!!.

This is an incredible worm. I did the tail in chartreuse spike it. If the bite is slow put a 4 mm glass rattle in it. I get LOTS of bites on this worm. Most water color is either clear, stained, black or greenish brown.

Try to match your worm to the color of the water. The U tail is very lively and generates quick strikes. I’ve caught bass up to 6 lbs on this worm. Cons. they are very fragile. Usually I only get about 2 fish per worm.

Cant beat this worm. Bass hit this with the a little good taps. Can go wrong with Chartreuse. Clear, murky, or dark waters, them fish no where to find it. Tungsten with a glass bead sometimes does the trick.

This is an outstanding product and an outstanding color. Zoom is a really great company and they take great pride in their products. I prefer Mag II worms but I like this color. Academy has them at the right price.

I must confess, I purchased a half dozen of these bad boys when they launched. The need to re-up hasn’t come around, yet. With that said, this bait calls in some fish! Superb walk the dog action. You can tell some time was spent dialing in the design.

My only complaints are the size, and hooks. Here in Florida, I couldn’t tell you how many 1lb largemouth have exploded on a 6″ spook. The hound certainly doesn’t discriminate catching small fish with its small profile.

It does fool the big ladies, but for a topwater plug I feel it should be larger. For a smaller topwater I suppose it makes sense to use lighter wire hooks. The ones from the first run I purchased had really light hooks and they bent easily, even on light rods, line, and drag.

Maybe this has changed since the launch? Most hard baits require treble hook upgrades anyway, and for the price point the hound still overs lots of value, and catches a ton of fish. #flobass.

I love top water fishing and I have tried a LOT of poppers. None are quite like this. Its sturdy, well designed, the rattle is amazing, its action is nice and bloopy, and (I can’t stress this next part enough) it catches fish.

This is the gold standard for me. I have bought it in every available color. It just works.

I’ve fished for the majority of my life, and most of the fish that I’ve caught have been top water blow ups. I’ve had this lure for maybe 2 months and I’ve already lost count on how many fish I’ve caught with it.

This thing is by far one of, if not the best top water I’ve ever used. Id also like to add that I have used a lot of 6th Sense lures/baits and have yet to catch anything😉 Googan keeps it simple, and they know why they’re doing.

This spoon has worked really well for perch and pike, can’t wait to try it on walleye. I don’t remember how the treble hook broke on mine, but it did, although I doubt it broke from being bitten. I use the silver shiner colour, but I haven’t tried any others.

I started with the silver, and now have all the colours as they work so well for ice fishing. Routinely out fishes all of my other lures. I did need to replace the trebles with a bigger Size to stop losing so many minnows.

I was using the glow version not the rattle. The action is a little off since its plastic but walleye didn’t seem to mind have had success using them for crappie too. Would love a little heavier version.

Every trip to the lake from May through October this year we have caught and released large rainbows, cutthroat and cutbow cross’ with the Thomas Cyclone being the most productive of our lures. The largest caught and released was on a Gold Cyclone, a 27 1/2″ Rainbow by my wife.

My largest on the same lure was a 22″/ 7 1/4# Rainbow.

I like to fish with a lot of lures, but on days where I can’t seem to get a bite I go to these Thomas Lures. They are my go to on bad days, and I always catch at least one fish on slow days. Last time I went I caught a 17 in Rainbow on my 2nd cast with it.

I’ve caught bass, crappie, walleye, and trout on these lures. My favorite. Wish my wife didn’t lose them all the time though.

I took this on a backcountry (Eastern Sierra) fishing trip and was catching a lot of brook trout. Unfortunately I got snagged and lost it. I’ll definitely buy another!

I use the Red, White and Gold. should be outlawed! Amazing how well it works on Rainbow and Brown Trout. I carry only 3 lures when I fish the rivers; and the one that performs the best is the Kamlooper, I switch up if I get a strike but miss the fish.

But 90% of the time I use the Kamlooper, I’ll also switch off just to give the fish a variety of things to look at. I have fished a different spoon or spinner and then changed over to the Kamlooper and fished the exact same place and BANG, a hit where just seconds before the fish ignored whatever when by.

Casts great even in windy conditions.

These are one of the best trout lures l have ever used. My Father introduced them to me in the early 60’s. Very hard to find anymore. But l always resupply when I find them. 3/16 is the perfect size.

Caught alot of large trout on them.

Have used these all my life. Best lure on the market hands down for trout. No comparison. Even caught a Big Mouth Bass recently!! Hope they never go away.

I suppose the SD card is okay but don’t trust garmin to verify that it will work for your specific model. Didn’t work for my gpsmap 441s even though the Garmins web site said it was compatible. I don’t know what I can do with the SD card, it’s just junk.

Put this into me GPSMAP 76cxs and nothing happens. It doesn’t bring of maps of lakes or of anything. It has made no difference to my effort to gain lake layouts. Very disappointed and frustrated. I cant even get it registered with Garmin and there is no information which helped to shed light onto this product.

Just what it is supposed to do.

The 2018 us lakevu Hd carts did not work with my 2014-2017 copy write mode 44dy, when place in my garmin fish finder it would say maps unable to unlock. However, I returned it for the 2016 ultra hd lakevu maps and I am impressed with with the details in the maps.

I mainly fish central Louisianan.

Michigan Stinger spoons are one of the best on the market. Live in Indiana and troll these on Wabash river, St. Joseph and on the reservoirs. It’s nice that they come in variety of sizes, have caught plenty of fish on them.

Have caught various species- cats, crappie, stripers and pike. Best speeds 1 to 2. 2, we run the spoons behind dipseys an trip divers 10ft-12ft leaders.

Functionality is good based on results. This spoon design in the larger size has consistently produced walleye > 17” ( my personal minimum) in the central basin of Lake Erie. I get two of every color when I restock my tackle.

One day me and my buddy are out fishing near a dam on a river. I tried about every bait in my box and caught nothing. I got sick of it and started bowfishing while my friend kept catching tons of fish.

He had been catching walleye, bass, and carp with 1 lure. He told me it called a stinger and I immediately bought one from a local store. Now I have about 5 different stingers because they do an amazing job of catching almost any fish.

When your in one of those spots where you really have no idea what to expect. This is a great lure to cast out and bring em’ in. This is a tackle box necessity. I know you will enjoy it.

These baby poppers by Spro are the best frogs out there. I am pulling big lunkers on these luers. Nasty Shad aka “old Faithful” never disapoints. Leopard, Rain Forrest Black and Tropical are also great colors.

The bass just LOVE these frogs and can’t resist slamming them. I am looking for the Spro baby frog regular as well, hope I can find them. The only complaint I have is that after getting beat to hell by 5-7 pound bass, the belly of the frog starts to tear away.

This cause the hooks to sit to high on the frog and allows them to sink. I wish they had a reinforced hole on the belly for the hooks that resists tearing. Good problem to have though and that means I am catching plenty of bass! LOL Great bass bait.

i’ve been fishing spro frogs for about eight years now and they work , very durable and great selection of colors , the popping frog is my fav. it walks easy and pops and fish inhale it better than the regular 65 frogs they don’t always eat but the popping frog on a good day is 100 percent hookup ratio very seldom do they miss the popper , i like killer gill color or red ear because the color of the bottom but white or black will work any color will produce but killer gill and red ear is magical.

I have used many hollow bodied frogs over the past 5 years and it has quickly become my favorite and most productive lure in my boat. I have used approximately 6 different manufacturers of frogs and this is the one I’ve settled on as the most productive.

The leopard pattern is specifically my favorite in the month of May. I catch more numbers on this lure than any other with consistently larger size, the biggest being 22″ and 6 lbs 1 oz. I always buy 2 of them because the leg skirts get pulled off by some of the short strikes.

If your curious about how I use it, I’m throwing it on 50 pound braid on a 7′ heavy action rod bait caster. Good luck, Scott Overton (North Carolina).

They thought of just about everything with this kayak. I knocked off one star for some subtle things that could be improved upon. 1, the rudder. It works beautifully, but when you’re wheeling the kayak around, it’s difficult to keep the rudder housing from dragging the ground (even when rudder is in upright position).

2, there was a small amount of assembly required, and the instructions were difficult to find (YouTube is your best bet here). Even if they just included a little piece of paper that had a QR code linking to youtube instructions, that would be fine.

But it was kind of a shot in the dark otherwise. As far as the kayak goes, though, it’s smooth, incredibly stable, comfortable, and rugged. This thing is a fishing machine. And delivery wise, I couldn’t be happier.

The 5th star is just those small design and experience details.

Finally received my kayak after 2 months! The shipping company is terrible; no way to track in real time and do not answer email or phone. That said, I tried out the Lure 11. 5 this weekend. It’s a beast to carry.

The website says 85 pounds without seat and overdrive. Unfortunately the seat is not easily removed. The seat is really awesome, although I could not easily master moving it front to back. The kayak is very stable.

I fished standing up and with the seat raised. The pedal system works great but requires strong legs. The rudder mechanism is very easy to use, and locks in an up position easily when on land. One little convenience item is that it lacks a cup holder, but I think you can add one to the rails.

Overall, I’m really happy with my purchase and can’t wait to be on the water catching fish.

I bought the Moken 12. 5 because my nephew needed a nice kayak and because I wanted something smaller than my Viking Reload, which is a 15-foot beast for offshore use. The simplicity, the wheel in the keel, the nice seat, and the sonar pod makes it well worth the money.

Also, the delivery service used by EcoFishing is sweet. They get it to you with no damage, no cost, and no fuss. I recommend buying whatever kayak you want from EcoFishing and having them deliver it.

Berkley choppo is nice. I alternate between the Choppo and River2sea. Choppo is slightly more affordable, especially when the stubborn Pike like to take souvenirs. Close to cover is where to fish these.

Have had strikes on a pause, a constant retrieve and just at the moment of touchdown. Nothing like a topwater strike to get the early AM or late evening cobwebs out! Both smallies and Largemouth, as well as Pike lov ethese babies!.

Best top water bait to come out in years. But has one major issue; the hooks are very weak and need to be changed before you use. Had a 6lb. 9oz largemouth blow up on one in a tournament. Fishing with light line due to ultra clear water.

Fish jumped like a smallmouth. When we got it in the net, it had 4 of the 6 hooks in its mouth and side. 3 of the hooks were bent 45 degrees toward straight. If it had come loose, it would have cost me big fish and $1500.

Overall a great competitor to the Whopper Plopper. I don’t notice any difference in bite ratio between the two. However color options are more limited with the Choppo, and the prop / tail is less durable.

But otherwise a great all round topwater bait. Highly recommended.

I bought one of these in white back shad a while back, but I wasn’t really a believer in big swimbaits back then so I didn’t use it. Fast forward to a week or so before I go back to college. Figure I might as well break it out and at least try to get my money’s worth.

First cast: three pounder. Ten casts later: five pounder. From a lake I had been fishing all summer where I hadn’t caught anything above two and a half pounds. Amazing lure, would highly recommend.

I hate to give this bait a bad review at all due to how well it swims and looks, but it just doesn’t hold together for much more than a dozen +, gentle, casts. The bait looks and moves amazingly well in the water and with a little tweaking you can get a bit more life from it, however at $6.

50 per plastic swim bait??? I just can’t rectify it. I rigged it with the 5/0 Trokar swim blade weighted swim bait hook and watch out if you can get one to bite in the first 10 or so casts. The problem lies in the small amount of material that is left between the pre-cut hook slot in the belly and recessed top-groove in the bait.

It has a iridescent foil material cast into this area to add some real nice looks to it. However the foil doesn’t laminate very well to the plastic and thus reduces the amount of material retaining the hook, thus allowing the hook to rip out the material between the top and bottom slots along the edge of the foil.

The material is very soft (as it needs to be to give it such a great action) but it just doesn’t have the durability or adhesion to the foil that needed to retain the hook after a small number of casts.

If you skip this beast at all its done in just a few casts. I was very disappointed as this really had me hyped after seeing it in the water after the first few retrievals. I pinned the hook in the second bait after the first one gave way and was able to gain a bit more life from the bait.

I just can’t justify the cost to durability ratio nor feeding toothpicks or spikes to my local bass population.

The second time out on one of the retrieves I noticed the magnet came out and was hanging with the hook. As this was a major part of promotion for the product. I am still able to embed one barb of hook in body so still workable.

We will see when I get a bite how well it holds up.