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Big Lake

By Manitowish Waters. 827 acres, 61 feet at the deepest.

827acres
61 ftdeepest
2public boat landings

Ice on Big Lake

No ice reports from Big Lake in the last two weeks.

What folks saw out there, not the DNR. No ice is safe ice; check it yourself.

Send a report All ice reports

Fish

  • Common: musky, panfish, smallmouth bass and walleye
  • Also there: largemouth bass and northern pike

How the DNR lists them. It doesn't say how the fishing is.

Boat landings

Water and bottom

  • Bottom: 60% sand, 15% gravel, 10% rock, 15% muck
  • Kind of lake: a drainage lake: a stream runs in and out

Invasive species

The DNR has found banded mystery snail, Chinese mystery snail, purple loosestrife, rusty crayfish and yellow iris here.

State law: before you leave the landing, pull off any plants and critters, drain all the water out of your boat, motor, livewell and buckets, and never move live fish away from the lake.

The DNR's boat and bait rules

Depth map

Wisconsin DNR lake survey map of Big Lake, with depth lines in feet

Wisconsin DNR lake survey map, mapped August 1973. Mind the north arrow; some of these old maps are turned sideways. It's old and not for navigation; shorelines and depths change. The DNR lists the lake at 827 acres today. The DNR's original (PDF)

Lake facts from the Wisconsin DNR's page for Big Lake, checked October 24, 2026.