Brusher Lake

If you are looking at Brusher Lake, you are looking at a Polk County lake and its basic numbers come out to about 67 acres and a maximum depth of 17 feet, and that is a much better place to start than pretending every lake fishes the same.

Size, depth, and the lay of the lake

The first trip does not need a giant tackle plan with my first few stops centered on shoreline cover, weed edges, and the first clean drop away from the bank before making the day harder than it needs to be.

The fishery on paper

Recorded species at Brusher Lake include Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Perch; which gives me a good reason to start with weeds, wood, rock, or docks for bass and weeds and easy cover for panfish, and then let the actual bites decide what comes next.

My game plan

If I had a few hours to figure out Brusher Lake, I would pick a small part of the lake and try to understand it before worrying about everything else, then I would check the current Wisconsin rules before the first cast.