Big Saint Germain Lake

For this page, we are talking about Big Saint Germain Lake, a lake in Vilas County and the best current size-and-depth record is about 1,622 acres and a maximum depth of 42 feet, so you can decide whether to fish it slow or break the day into a few different areas.

The water at a glance

If this were my first time here, I would keep the plan basic with a simple look at one manageable section of the lake instead of trying to cover the whole thing before I started digging through the tackle box for a magic answer.

Species worth planning around

The fish data for Big Saint Germain Lake includes Black Crappie, Bluegill, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, and Northern Pike, plus 5 more; so the first trip would at least account for weeds, wood, rock, or docks for bass and points, breaks, and wind-pushed edges for walleye, and make the first hour useful instead of random.

A practical first pass

If the goal were simply to get a feel for Big Saint Germain Lake, I would rather learn one shoreline, bay, point, or break than spend the whole day running around, and I would read the current Wisconsin rules once before the trip so there are no surprises.