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Big Portage Lake

By Conover. 586 acres, 40 feet at the deepest.

586acres
40 ftdeepest
18 ftaverage depth
1public boat landing

Ice on Big Portage Lake

No ice reports from Big Portage 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: smallmouth bass and walleye
  • Also there: panfish and largemouth bass

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

Boat landings

Water and bottom

  • Water: very clear
  • Bottom: 70% sand, 15% gravel, 15% rock
  • Kind of lake: a seepage lake: no stream in or out, it's fed by rain and groundwater

Invasive species

The DNR has found banded mystery snail, Chinese mystery snail and rusty crayfish 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 Portage Lake, with depth lines in feet

Wisconsin DNR lake survey map, mapped August 1966. 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 586 acres today. The DNR's original (PDF)

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