Catfish Lakes in Wisconsin

Found in 52 Wisconsin lakes

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.

Wisconsin Lakes

Avg. Grade

Grade A Lakes

Counties

Catfish Lakes Map

Every Wisconsin lake with documented catfish, colored by water-quality grade.

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Best Catfish Lakes in Wisconsin

Rank	Lake	County	Grade	Clarity	Depth
1	Green Lake	Green Lake	A	13.5 ft	236 ft
2	Lake St Croix	St. Croix	B	5.6 ft	60 ft
3	Silver Lake	Kenosha	B	7.1 ft	44 ft
4	Little Hills Lake	Waushara	B	14 ft	20 ft
5	White Lake	Waupaca	B	5.6 ft	10 ft
6	Lake Waubesa	Dane	B	3.2 ft	38 ft
7	Tichigan Lake	Racine	B	5.5 ft	63 ft
8	Green Lake	Green Lake	B	-	236 ft
9	Wind Lake	Racine	C	8.7 ft	47 ft
10	Chippewa Flowage Lake	Sawyer	C	6.9 ft	92 ft
11	Chippewa Flowage -North of Cranberry Bars Lake	Sawyer	C	4.9 ft	92 ft
12	Amacoy Lake	Rusk	C	4.5 ft	20 ft
13	Chippewa Flowage -Moore'S Bay Lake	Sawyer	C	4.1 ft	92 ft
14	Yellow Lake	Burnett	C	6 ft	31 ft
15	Chippewa Flowage -Pokegema Lake	Sawyer	C	5.8 ft	92 ft
16	Kendal Lake	Iowa	C	6.9 ft	17 ft
17	Green Lake East Basin	Green Lake	C	11.8 ft	236 ft
18	Lake	Columbia	D	2.5 ft	24 ft
19	Lake Puckaway	Green Lake	D	4.4 ft	5 ft
20	Petenwell Flowage Lake	Juneau	D	2.3 ft	44 ft
21	Lake Kegonsa	Dane	D	3.7 ft	32 ft
22	Honey Lake	Walworth	D	2.5 ft	6 ft
23	Lake Koshkonong	Jefferson	D	1.7 ft	7 ft
24	Mason Lake	Adams	D	1.1 ft	9 ft
25	Buffalo Lake	Marquette	D	2.5 ft	8 ft
26	Chippewa Flowage -Winter Dam Lake	Sawyer	D	4.4 ft	92 ft
27	Clam Lake	Burnett	D	3 ft	11 ft
28	Lake Wissota	Chippewa	D	3.5 ft	64.4 ft
29	Lake Mendota	Dane	D	5 ft	83 ft
30	Chilton Millpond	Calumet	D	2.9 ft	7 ft
31	Little Lake Butte des Morts	Winnebago	D	2 ft	18 ft
32	Garner Lake	Richland	D	1.3 ft	8 ft
33	Silver Creek Estuary Lake	Green Lake	D	-	236 ft
34	Lake Winneconne	Winnebago	NR	2.5 ft	9 ft
35	Lake Butte des Morts	Winnebago	NR	2.3 ft	9 ft
36	Bughs Lake	Waushara	NR	12 ft	18 ft
37	Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade	Columbia	NR	2 ft	24 ft
38	Dairyland Reservoir	Rusk	NR	1.4 ft	70 ft
39	Lake Poygan	Winnebago	NR	2.5 ft	11 ft
40	Lake Wisconsin Columbia Co.	Columbia	NR	2.2 ft	24 ft
41	Danbury Flowage Lake	Burnett	NR	6.2 ft	10 ft
42	Clam River Flowage Lake	Burnett	NR	2.2 ft	29 ft
43	Moon Bay Lake	Chippewa	NR	3.7 ft	64.4 ft
44	Lake Delton	Sauk	NR	2.5 ft	16 ft
45	Lake Shangri-la	Kenosha	NR	3 ft	24 ft
46	Voltz Lake	Kenosha	NR	9.3 ft	24 ft
47	Lake Wisconsin Palisade Street Bay	Sauk	NR	2.6 ft	24 ft
48	Green Lake	Green Lake	NR	13 ft	236 ft
49	Upper Backwater Lake	Jackson	NR	3.5 ft	19 ft
50	Upper Clam Lake	Burnett	NR	2 ft	11 ft

Showing top 50 of 52 lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Wisconsin lakes have catfish?

Catfish are found in 52 lakes in Wisconsin. The average water quality grade of these lakes is C (Fair).

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 grades from the EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys.