Petenwell or Castle Rock?

They are consecutive flowages on the Wisconsin River, Petenwell upstream. The DNR lists Petenwell at 23,173 acres and 44 feet deep and Castle Rock at 13,955 acres and 35 feet, and both share the same walleye rules: 3 a day, 15-inch minimum, with a 20–28-inch protected slot.

What do anglers catch most?

Walleye and white bass. In the DNR's March–June 2023 creel survey, walleye drew 67.4 percent of the effort and white bass 28.6 percent; white bass made up most of the harvest.

Why are some launches unusable in early spring?

Petenwell is drawn down 5 to 6 feet each winter, and until it refills to near full pool only the upper-end launches work, according to the DNR.

Is fishing good at Petenwell Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Petenwell Lake Fishing Report Today (October 2026)

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Petenwell Lake Fishing Report

Today's Fishing Report

The plan, species by species

Before you go

Water and weather

No live gauge on this water

Right now

Bite planner

Which day to fish Petenwell Lake this week

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

Species guide

Walleye

Smallmouth bass

Northern pike

Yellow perch

Catfish (blue, channel)

Crappie

White bass

Muskellunge

When to come: the Petenwell Lake calendar

Species activity by month

Water temperature through the year

Angler reports

Water log, last days

Before you go

License

Regulations

Access

About this water

Fishing Petenwell Lake: the full guide

The flowage

Winter drawdown

What the 2023 creel survey found

Walleye recruitment

Common questions

Nearby waters

Where this page's numbers come from