Surrounded by many of the area's more famous fishing waters, Vilas County's Little Spider Lake is often an overlooked resource that offers the potential for some excellent fishing action. There is little public access so there's very little fishing pressure. At 235 acres, with a maxium depth of 23 feet, Little Spider Lake has a mixed structure of weeds and drowned wood that provide an excellent fish habitat.
A clean lake with no inlet or outlet, Little Spider Lake is moderately fertile with a clear color of medium transparency. The lake bottom consists of 50 percent gravel, 30 percent sand, 15 percent muck and 5 percent rock, with laydowns, crib remnants and other shoreline structure. The weed growth includes pickerelweed, lilly pads, cabbage and coontail varieties.
Spring and fall offer excellent opportunities for trophy musky, walleye, northern pike, largemouth and small mouth bass as well as an abundance of panfish. Perch, bluegill, rock bass, crappie and pumpkinseed make up the bulk of the panfish population with bullhead and suckers also present.
Musky and walleye populations are both sustained through alternate year stocking programs, but some natural walleye reproduction appears to be occurring. Musky, large mouth & small mouth bass, as well as northern pike are all self sustaining viable populations.
Although Little Spider's well defined weedlines provide the main fishing attraction, the lakes remaining drowned wood, laydowns and crib structure should not be overlooked. Bright colors, from jig selection to musky lures are a good bet, along with slip bobbering tactics in the weed cover for walleyes.
