Catfish Fishing Guide

Catfish & BullheadDocumented in 52 graded lakes across 1 state

Catfish fits the catfish niche: tolerant of warm, turbid water, often present in productive (eutrophic) lakes. 52 lakes in our dataset have a record. Catfish is narrowly distributed — only 52 lakes in Wisconsin have a documented record. The constraint is usually habitat: cold water, specific depth profile, or river connection.

Catfish-bearing lakes are often productive systems — the kind where the fish do well even when clarity does not. Cross-reference the Catfish lake list below against the letter grades: lakes with both an A or B grade and Catfish documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

Catfish Seasonal Forecast & Techniques

Part of the LakeQuality Fishing Forecast. Spawn trigger: Warm-water bottom feeders; spawn in cavities and cover in early summer. Forage: Cut bait, insects, crayfish, and scavenged matter — they feed by scent. For a forecast tuned to a specific lake's measured clarity and depth, open that lake's forecast.

Season	Where they hold	Structure & cover	Technique
Spring	shallow-to-mid 4–15 ft	warming flats, inflows, channel edges	cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom
Summer	holes & channels 8–25 ft	deep holes, cover, current — feed hard in warm water	cut/prepared bait on the bottom, best after dark
Fall	mid 8–20 ft	holes and channel edges	cut bait
Winter / Ice	deep 15–35 ft	deep wintering holes	slow, fresh cut bait

Clear-water tactics:fresh cut bait on the bottom, after darkStained-water tactics:scent-heavy prepared/cut bait — clarity barely matters to a scent feeder

Total Lakes

Wisconsin lakes →

Avg. Grade

57 ft

Avg. Depth

Water Quality of Catfish Lakes

13%

17%

31%

Best Catfish Lakes by Water Quality

Top 50 lakes with catfish ranked by overall water quality grade.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Depth	Species
1	Green Lake	Green Lake	WI	A	236 ft	7
2	Lake St Croix	St. Croix	WI	B	60 ft	7
3	Silver Lake	Kenosha	WI	B	44 ft	7
4	Little Hills Lake	Waushara	WI	B	20 ft	5
5	White Lake	Waupaca	WI	B	10 ft	5
6	Lake Waubesa	Dane	WI	B	38 ft	7
7	Tichigan Lake	Racine	WI	B	63 ft	7
8	Green Lake	Green Lake	WI	B	236 ft	7
9	Wind Lake	Racine	WI	C	47 ft	6
10	Chippewa Flowage Lake	Sawyer	WI	C	92 ft	8
11	Chippewa Flowage -North of Cranberry Bars Lake	Sawyer	WI	C	92 ft	8
12	Amacoy Lake	Rusk	WI	C	20 ft	7
13	Chippewa Flowage -Moore'S Bay Lake	Sawyer	WI	C	92 ft	8
14	Yellow Lake	Burnett	WI	C	31 ft	8
15	Chippewa Flowage -Pokegema Lake	Sawyer	WI	C	92 ft	8
16	Kendal Lake	Iowa	WI	C	17 ft	5
17	Green Lake East Basin	Green Lake	WI	C	236 ft	7
18	Lake	Columbia	WI	D	24 ft	7
19	Lake Puckaway	Green Lake	WI	D	5 ft	6
20	Petenwell Flowage Lake	Juneau	WI	D	44 ft	8
21	Lake Kegonsa	Dane	WI	D	32 ft	7
22	Honey Lake	Walworth	WI	D	6 ft	5
23	Lake Koshkonong	Jefferson	WI	D	7 ft	7
24	Mason Lake	Adams	WI	D	9 ft	5
25	Buffalo Lake	Marquette	WI	D	8 ft	5
26	Chippewa Flowage -Winter Dam Lake	Sawyer	WI	D	92 ft	8
27	Clam Lake	Burnett	WI	D	11 ft	7
28	Lake Wissota	Chippewa	WI	D	64.4 ft	8
29	Lake Mendota	Dane	WI	D	83 ft	8
30	Chilton Millpond	Calumet	WI	D	7 ft	5
31	Little Lake Butte des Morts	Winnebago	WI	D	18 ft	7
32	Garner Lake	Richland	WI	D	8 ft	4
33	Silver Creek Estuary Lake	Green Lake	WI	D	236 ft	7
34	Lake Winneconne	Winnebago	WI	NR	9 ft	8
35	Lake Butte des Morts	Winnebago	WI	NR	9 ft	8
36	Bughs Lake	Waushara	WI	NR	18 ft	4
37	Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade	Columbia	WI	NR	24 ft	7
38	Dairyland Reservoir	Rusk	WI	NR	70 ft	8
39	Lake Poygan	Winnebago	WI	NR	11 ft	8
40	Lake Wisconsin Columbia Co.	Columbia	WI	NR	24 ft	7
41	Danbury Flowage Lake	Burnett	WI	NR	10 ft	8
42	Clam River Flowage Lake	Burnett	WI	NR	29 ft	7
43	Moon Bay Lake	Chippewa	WI	NR	64.4 ft	8
44	Lake Delton	Sauk	WI	NR	16 ft	5
45	Lake Shangri-la	Kenosha	WI	NR	24 ft	4
46	Voltz Lake	Kenosha	WI	NR	24 ft	4
47	Lake Wisconsin Palisade Street Bay	Sauk	WI	NR	24 ft	7
48	Green Lake	Green Lake	WI	NR	236 ft	7
49	Upper Backwater Lake	Jackson	WI	NR	19 ft	6
50	Upper Clam Lake	Burnett	WI	NR	11 ft	7

Showing top 50 of 52 lakes with catfish.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes have catfish?

Catfish are found in 52 graded lakes: 52 in Wisconsin. The average water quality grade of lakes with catfish is C (Fair).

What are the best lakes for catfish?

The best catfish lakes by water quality are Green Lake, Lake St Croix, Silver Lake, Little Hills Lake, White Lake. These lakes have the highest water quality grades among all lakes where catfish have been documented by state DNR surveys.

What other fish are found with catfish?

Catfish are most commonly found alongside largemouth bass, northern pike, panfish, walleye, smallmouth bass. These species share similar habitat preferences in the region's lakes.

Other Fish Species in Catfish Lakes

Largemouth Bass Lakes

Found together in 52 lakes · 2,593 total

Northern Pike Lakes

Found together in 52 lakes · 2,487 total

Panfish Lakes

Found together in 51 lakes · 1,152 total

Walleye Lakes

Found together in 45 lakes · 1,982 total

Smallmouth Bass Lakes

Found together in 39 lakes · 953 total

Musky Lakes

Found together in 25 lakes · 419 total

Fish species from state agency survey, stocking, and public fishing-access records; water-quality grades from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys. Species profiles are general reference; always check current state regulations before fishing.