SHAWANO Lake fishing field guide

Shawano County, Wis. WBIC 322800 19 species

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Uncommon. Black crappie dominate here.

White crappie

Pomoxis annularis

Count the dorsal spines to tell them apart: six on a white crappie, seven or eight on a black.

Illustration of a white crappie, Pomoxis annularis.

When to go

Best months for white crappie on Shawano Lake: May.
January: good.
February: good.
March: fair.
April: fair.
Prime
May: prime.
June: good.
July: fair.
August: fair.
September: fair.
October: fair.
November: fair.
December: fair.
Spawn 62–68 °F
Ice, most years Ice
  • Prime
  • Good
  • Fair
  • Slow
  • Season closed

When white crappie spawn here

May and June, when the shallows hold 62 to 68 °F

White crappie spawn a little later and a little warmer than black crappie, and in this system they are the far less common of the two. Expect to catch them by accident while you fish for blacks.

Why the year looks like this

The 2023 survey did not target white crappie, so no abundance number exists. Fish the black crappie calendar and sort them at the boat.

Seasons come from the Wisconsin DNR regulation page for WBIC 322800, for the 2026-27 license year. The month ratings and the spawn dates are angling practice for this lake, not DNR findings. The spawn moves with the water temperature, so treat the dates as a normal year and the temperature as the trigger.

What the DNR measured

Shawano Lake data
The 2023 survey reports black crappie only.
Season
Counted as panfish: no minimum length, 10 per day.

What that means on the water

Every crappie the DNR tabled in 2023 was a black crappie. If you catch a white crappie here, it is worth noting. They tolerate murkier water than blacks, and this lake is murky.

Where to find it

  • Fish the same brush and weed edges that hold black crappie.

How to catch it

  • A 1/16 oz jig and a crappie minnow under a slip float.

What to tie on

Sizes and weights, not brand names. Every picture is a real piece of tackle, and the drawn plates carry a ruler. The full gear page explains the words.

Two bare lead jig heads and a third rigged with a green curly-tail plastic body.

Lure · Start here

Panfish jig

1/32 oz round head, #8 or #10 hook. Chartreuse, black, or white.

A ball of lead moulded onto a hook. You thread a soft plastic body onto the hook, or you hang a waxworm off it, and it sinks at a steady rate you can count.

On this lake. This is the single most useful lure on Shawano Lake. Hang it 18 inches under a slip float on the north shore flats and it catches bluegill, pumpkinseed and crappie all summer. Count it down along the weed edge in 6 to 12 feet after the spawn.

  • January: yes.
  • February: yes.
  • March: yes.
  • April: yes.
  • May: yes.
  • June: yes.
  • July: yes.
  • August: yes.
  • September: yes.
  • October: yes.
  • November: yes.
  • December: yes.
Slip float rig A slip float rig from top to bottom: bobber stop, bead, sliding float, split shot, and a jig, with the fishing depth marked. THE SLIP FLOAT RIG The float slides up the line until it hits the stop, so you can fish 14 feet down and still cast it. SURFACE BOBBER STOP A knot you slide up or down to set the depth. BEAD Keeps the knot from pulling through the float. SLIP FLOAT An inch of foam. It slides on the line, it does not tie on. SPLIT SHOT One BB, about 12 inches above the jig. 1/32 OZ JIG Tipped with a pinch of crawler or one waxworm. SET IT TO THE FISH 2 to 6 ft on the spawn 8 to 14 ft through the summer Crappie in Shawano Lake suspend off the bottom. A bait under them catches nothing, so find the depth on your electronics first and set the stop to it.

Terminal tackle

Slip float

1 inch foam slip float, one bobber stop, one bead, one BB split shot.

A float with a hole through it. The line runs through the float, so the float sits at the reel while you cast and slides up to the stop knot once the bait sinks. That is how you fish 14 feet deep with an 8-foot rod.

On this lake. Crappie on this lake suspend at 8 to 14 feet next to submerged weeds from June to August, and they do not come up for a bait. Find the depth on your electronics, set the stop to it, and leave it there.

  • January: no.
  • February: no.
  • March: no.
  • April: yes.
  • May: yes.
  • June: yes.
  • July: yes.
  • August: yes.
  • September: yes.
  • October: yes.
  • November: no.
  • December: no.
A fathead minnow, the small baitfish sold for perch and walleye.

Live bait

Fathead minnow

A scoop of fatheads for perch and walleye. Ask for crappie minnows, which are the same fish a size smaller, for crappie.

A two-inch baitfish, sold live by the scoop. Hook it through both lips for trolling and drifting, or through the back behind the dorsal fin to hang it under a float.

On this lake. The perch bait for the Shawano Outlet, which grows the only perch in this system that pass a foot. Fish it on the bottom on a plain #6 hook and a split shot.

  • January: yes.
  • February: yes.
  • March: yes.
  • April: yes.
  • May: yes.
  • June: no.
  • July: no.
  • August: no.
  • September: yes.
  • October: yes.
  • November: yes.
  • December: yes.

Seasons and limits come from the Wisconsin DNR regulation page for WBIC 322800, for the 2026-27 license year. The lures, depths and water temperatures are angling practice for this lake, not DNR findings. Rules change every license year, and the DNR page is the authority.

Spots on this lake for white crappie

No named area on this lake is tagged for white crappie. Read the list under “Where to find it” instead, and see the full spot map.

Records and rules

Season on Shawano Lake
Open all year.
Limit
Counted as panfish. No minimum length, 10 per day.
Wisconsin state record
3 lbs 13.1 oz, 16.5 in
Where the record came from
Cranberry Marsh, Monroe County, 2003-05-04
Registers as a trophy at
15 inches, DNR live-release standard

Other fish here

Illustration of a walleye.

Walleye

Sander vitreus

 Illustration of a muskellunge.

Muskellunge

Esox masquinongy

 Illustration of a northern pike.

Northern pike

Esox lucius

 Illustration of a largemouth bass.

Largemouth bass

Micropterus salmoides

 Illustration of a smallmouth bass.

Smallmouth bass

Micropterus dolomieu

 Illustration of a black crappie.

Black crappie

Pomoxis nigromaculatus

 Illustration of a bluegill.

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus

 Illustration of a pumpkinseed.

Pumpkinseed

Lepomis gibbosus

 Illustration of a yellow perch.

Yellow perch

Perca flavescens

 Illustration of a rock bass.

Rock bass

Ambloplites rupestris

 Illustration of a white bass.

White bass

Morone chrysops

 Illustration of a lake sturgeon.

Lake sturgeon

Acipenser fulvescens

 Illustration of a channel catfish.

Channel catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

 Illustration of a black bullhead.

Black bullhead

Ameiurus melas

 Illustration of a freshwater drum.

Freshwater drum

Aplodinotus grunniens

 Illustration of a common carp.

Common carp

Cyprinus carpio

 Illustration of a bowfin.

Bowfin

Amia calva

 Illustration of a golden shiner.

Golden shiner

Notemigonus crysoleucas