Catfish Lakes in Wisconsin, 42 Lakes

Catfish fits the catfish niche: tolerant of warm, turbid water, often present in productive (eutrophic) lakes. 42 lakes in our dataset have a record. Catfish is narrowly distributed — only 42 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 each lake's clarity, phosphorus and algae readings: lakes with low nutrient readings and Catfish documented are the best places to start for recreational targeting.

Wisconsin Lakes

Counties

Catfish Lakes Map

Every Wisconsin lake with documented catfish.

Loading map…

Best Catfish Lakes in Wisconsin

Rank	Lake	County	Clarity	Depth
1	Green Lake	Green Lake	13.5 ft	236 ft
2	Lake St Croix	St. Croix	5.6 ft	60 ft
3	Silver Lake	Kenosha	7.1 ft	44 ft
4	Little Hills Lake	Waushara	14 ft	20 ft
5	White Lake	Waupaca	5.6 ft	10 ft
6	Lake Waubesa	Dane	3.2 ft	38 ft
7	Tichigan Lake	Racine	5.5 ft	63 ft
8	Wind Lake	Racine	8.7 ft	47 ft
9	Chippewa Flowage -North of Cranberry Bars Lake	Sawyer	4.9 ft	92 ft
10	Amacoy Lake	Rusk	4.5 ft	20 ft
11	Yellow Lake	Burnett	6 ft	31 ft
12	Kendal Lake	Iowa	6.9 ft	17 ft
13	Lake	Columbia	2.5 ft	24 ft
14	Lake Puckaway	Green Lake	4.4 ft	5 ft
15	Petenwell Flowage Lake	Juneau	2.3 ft	44 ft
16	Lake Kegonsa	Dane	3.7 ft	32 ft
17	Honey Lake	Walworth	2.5 ft	6 ft
18	Lake Koshkonong	Jefferson	1.7 ft	7 ft
19	Mason Lake	Adams	1.1 ft	9 ft
20	Buffalo Lake	Marquette	2.5 ft	8 ft
21	Clam Lake	Burnett	3 ft	11 ft
22	Lake Wissota	Chippewa	3.5 ft	64.4 ft
23	Lake Mendota	Dane	5 ft	83 ft
24	Chilton Millpond	Calumet	2.9 ft	7 ft
25	Little Lake Butte des Morts	Winnebago	2 ft	18 ft
26	Garner Lake	Richland	1.3 ft	8 ft
27	Silver Creek Estuary Lake	Green Lake	-	236 ft
28	Lake Winneconne	Winnebago	2.5 ft	9 ft
29	Lake Butte des Morts	Winnebago	2.3 ft	9 ft
30	Bughs Lake	Waushara	12 ft	18 ft
31	Dairyland Reservoir	Rusk	1.4 ft	70 ft
32	Lake Poygan	Winnebago	2.5 ft	11 ft
33	Danbury Flowage Lake	Burnett	6.2 ft	10 ft
34	Clam River Flowage Lake	Burnett	2.2 ft	29 ft
35	Moon Bay Lake	Chippewa	3.7 ft	64.4 ft
36	Lake Delton	Sauk	2.5 ft	16 ft
37	Lake Shangri-la	Kenosha	3 ft	24 ft
38	Voltz Lake	Kenosha	9.3 ft	24 ft
39	Upper Backwater Lake	Jackson	3.5 ft	19 ft
40	Upper Clam Lake	Burnett	2 ft	11 ft
41	Little Yellow Lake	Burnett	-	21 ft
42	City Millpond	Green Lake	-	236 ft

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Wisconsin lakes have catfish?

Catfish are found in 42 lakes in Wisconsin.

What are the best catfish lakes in Wisconsin?

The best catfish lakes in Wisconsin by water quality are Green Lake, Lake St Croix, Silver Lake, Little Hills Lake, White Lake.

Fish species from state agency survey, stocking, and public fishing-access records; water-quality readings from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys.