Spider Lake

Up in Douglas County, Spider Lake is a lake with a published profile of about 52 acres and a maximum depth of 17 feet, and that gives you a simple feel for the lake before tackle choices even matter.

The basic picture

I would rather get two useful clues than make twenty random stops by making an honest pass along shoreline cover, weed edges, and the first clean drop away from the bank and that is usually enough to tell you whether to stay shallow or start looking farther out.

What anglers can target

The current fish list for Spider Lake includes Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, 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 remember that a species list does not tell you exactly where the fish are.

How I would spend the first few hours

Before I made the drive to Spider Lake, I would pick a small part of the lake and try to understand it before worrying about everything else, then I would verify the latest bag, size, and season information before fishing.