Musky Shop Northwoods Lake of the Month: Sevenmile Lake
As all anglers must, digging through mounds of information for scraps of lore and musky sightings can feel like an overwhelming task. So Musky Shop thought it might be time to do some of the hard work for our readers and dissect the many lakes of Northern Wisconsin to give tourists and natives some insight on some of our local waters.
Finding the lake for you can be a daunting task when looking at the sheer number of Wisconsin lakes that are purported to hold the monster musky. Every guy and his brother have some advice on where they last saw a whopper and where to spend the majority of your summer vacation, but often times those stories lead to a lot of dead ends, so depending on where you want to hang your hat, there are loads of lakes in Wisconsin that keep a low profile or are far off the beaten path. These lakes might be your best bet for a quiet getaway and some fantastic fishing.
First up, we’d like to highlight Sevenmile Lake on the far edge of Oneida County. Sevenmile Lake lies in both Oneida and Forest County’s and is surrounded by land owned by the US Forrest Service. Outside of fishing, Sevenmile Lake is surrounded by beautiful forest hiking trails, small campgrounds, and some maintained recreational areas. It’s a family friendly lake with definitely beautiful scenery. The National Forrest Service maintains the 1.5-million-acre park surrounding the area so there is definitely no lack of beautiful natural vistas.
For the lake itself, Sevenmile is rated by the DNR as a A2 musky lake. It has some natural reproduction and gives up more numbers than trophies, which makes it a great place for casual fishing. The lake itself is approximately 518 acres and 43 ft at its deepest point. It is relatively clear without the stain of many lakes in the North Woods. Sevenmile is a bit of haul from the Musky Shop, but if you are familiar with or staying in the Eagle River area, it’s a quick 20-minute trip as it sits slightly South East. Sevenmile is known for having a sandy bottom that some might prefer when utilizing electronics.
As for fishing, the bag limits for bi-catch on Sevenmile Lake are great if you wanted to pursue some of the other forage in the area. Musky in the lake tend to put on weight quickly as the Cisco population is always abundant. Because of the feeding patterns, it wouldn’t hurt to temp the local muskies with a lot of natural coloration. Musky Shop can make some great recommendations to get yourself in front of a toothy monster. In clear lakes, we want to pull away a little from high flash as it tends to create a strobe light underwater. Great alternatives would be painted blades to catch the attention of those predators, a lure such as Spanky Fireball #10 in Wonder bread or Black would be great.
To work those deep edges, a Livingston Jointed Pounder in Shimmer Shad or a Bull Dawg in Cisco would be a hit with the bigger lurkers. As you move into the late part of the day and want to hit the shallow edges of the lake, we recommend getting your hands on Poe’s Giant Jackpot or Bucher Dancin’ Raider in darker/natural colors. A walk the dog style bait gives you added action when competing with heavy forage over a sometimes-preferred tail plop bait. And as mentioned before, the lake is weighed down with plenty of smaller targets if you need a break on some lighter tackle too.
It’s important to note for traveling anglers that Sevenmile has only two public launches, the better of which charges a small maintenance fee, and the other might be a tough go for novice launchers. The campgrounds might be closed by the park service but there is a small resort on the North end of the lake, 7 Mile Pinecrest Resort, which has 16 cabins. Also, located on the West side of the lake is a local pub and grub for snacks and drinks, Lindy’s Hideaway, which offers a laid-back local atmosphere and respite from a day of fishing.
All told, Sevenmile Lake is a great all-around lake for a relaxed vacation. Though some summer months do report more guests and watercraft than others, it never hurts to call the locals for the lowest traffic and best opportune time for angling. Despite Sevenmile being a bit of a haul from Musky Shop, we hope you will stop by and let us know how the fishing went if you make your way out to Sevenmile this summer. Tune in for more lake highlights in future blogs to let our readers and clients know what Northern Wisconsin has to offer.