Lakeside Bliss In The Area
The Winsted area boasts its share of numerous lakes for fishing, recreational fun, and beautiful scenery.
Winsted Lake, located at the edge of downtown Winsted, is just one of these lakes.
With the help of the Winsted Lake Watershed Association, there have been giant strides in the lake’s cleanliness and recreational value the past few years.
The lake offers a public swimming beach, which is maintained by the city and the association, and is located in Mill Reserve Park on the lake’s west side.
A nice size dock is also located on the lake’s west side to fish from or just to enjoy the view.
The public access is located on the lake’s southeast side near the Luce Line Trail intersection.
With a maximum depth of 12 feet, Winsted Lake has been one of the hottest fishing lakes in the area with large northern pike and slab crappies being caught in good numbers.
The lake is aerated in the winter, creating areas of thin ice that are well marked during the winter season.
Other area lakes within miles of the city of Winsted are Lake Mary, Dog Lake, Lake Ida, Lake Ann, Round Lake, Lake Emma, and Dutch Lake.
Lake Mary, located just miles northeast of Winsted is a 196-acre lake with largemouth bass, crappie, and sunfish. Walleyes and northern pike have been stocked in this lake and have done well.
Winsted Sportsmen’s Club maintains a very nice public access on Lake Mary’s southeast corner.
Just east of Lake Mary is Dog Lake. This lake’s public access on the north shore borders beautiful Oscar and Anna Johnson County Park.
Just 96 acres in size, it is known for excellent winter crappie fishing and good pan fishing throughout the year.
Lake Ida, located in close proximity to Lake Mary and Dog Lake, is 80-acres in size and one of the top pan fish lakes in the area and also home to some decent size northerns. At times, the lake is covered with anglers fishing for good-sized sunfish, especially in the winter. The lake’s public access is located on its northeast corner.
Lake Ann, located approximately six miles north of Winsted is 386 acres and
18.5 feet at it’s maximum depth with seven feet of clarity. It is full of panfish and is also known to be one of the area’s top walleye lakes. It’s rock pile in the center of the lake is a hot spot for walleye anglers. The access is located on the west shore with ample parking and a concrete boat ramp.
Connected to Lake Ann to the east through a small channel is Lake Emma. It is a very shallow lake and measures 177 acres in size and approximately 14 feet at it’s deepest.
The lake provides for excellent angling for pan fish and is a very popular waterfowl hunting location in the fall.
The lake’s steep access is located on the east shore.
Located between Lake Mary and Lake Emma is Round Lake. In this small lake anglers can mainly find crappies. Its public access is located on the east side.
Dutch Lake, located approximately a mile north of Lake Ann, is another small body of water measuring 157 acres in size. Its public access is located on the south shore.
The lake is known for good spurts of crappie fishing in the winter and excellent northern pike fishing in the spring.
Other lakes within a small radius of Winsted include Howard Lake, Big and Little Waverly, Swan Lake, and Collinwood Lake. These lakes are very fertile, have public water accesses and are excellent fisheries.
There are number of lakes located in the Winsted area which are not considered fishing lakes and are without public accesses. These are Grass, South, Butler, Long, Louzers, Milky, and Yager.
For more information on fishing in the area and the latest fishing reports, read the outdoors column by Chris Schultz in the weekly Herald Journal (also available at www.herald-journal.com/outdoors).
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