← All species

Common, stable, with better size than most Wisconsin lakes.

Yellow perch

Perca flavescens

Netting size structure sits in the 88th percentile statewide. Fish over 10 inches are on the table here.

When to go

Best months for yellow perch on Shawano Lake: January, February, April, and May.

Prime

January: prime.

Prime

February: prime.

March: good.

Prime

April: prime.

Prime

May: prime.

June: fair.

July: fair.

August: fair.

September: good.

October: good.

November: fair.

December: good.

Spawn 45–55 °F

Ice, most years Ice

Prime
Good
Fair
Slow
Season closed

When yellow perch spawn here

April and May, when the shallows hold 45 to 55 °F

Perch drape their egg ribbons on submerged brush and weeds in 3 to 8 feet, right after ice-out. The perch spawn falls between the pike spawn and the walleye spawn on this lake, so mid-April to early May in a normal year.

Why the year looks like this

Perch are the one fish worth a trip in April, because their season is open while walleye, pike and bass are all shut. Midsummer they scatter across the weed flats and run small. The January bite in 4 to 5 feet of flooded timber is what most locals plan around.

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

Length range (main lake, netting): 5.0 – 10.3 inches
Longest in the system: 12.6 inches, in the Shawano Outlet
Electrofishing catch rate: 9.3 per mile, 50th percentile statewide
Fish 8 inches and over: 0.7 per mile, 67th percentile
Size structure (PSD, netting): 56, which is the 88th percentile statewide
Growth: Both sexes reach 8 inches in 4 to 5 years. Average.

What that means on the water

Stable since 2006. The Outlet Channel is the size hot spot in the system, with a PSD of 48 and the longest perch the crew measured. Anglers report Shawano holds large numbers of good perch if you know where to look.

Where to find it

Fish weedy and brushy nearshore water in spring, at 45 to 50 degrees, when perch spawn.
Go to the Shawano Outlet for the biggest fish.
On ice, drill in 4 to 5 feet of water in the flooded timber.
Work the sand flats next to weed beds in summer.

How to catch it

A fathead minnow on a plain #6 hook and one split shot, right on the bottom.
Perch move in schools. When you find one, stay put.
On ice, a 4 mm tungsten jig with two spikes, or a 1/8 oz jigging spoon with a minnow head.

Month-by-month calendar for yellow perch

Fish a minnow on the bottom in the Shawano Lake Outlet for the biggest perch in the system, and the flooded timber in 4 to 5 feet through the ice.

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.

Live bait · Start here

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.

Lure

Tungsten ice jig

4 mm tungsten. Glow white, or plain black with a red hook.

A tiny weight of tungsten on a small hook. Tungsten is denser than lead, so a small bait still drops fast on light line, which is why it replaced lead heads for winter panfish.

On this lake. 4 mm is the local winter standard here for crappie and perch. Tip it with two spikes or one waxworm. Fish it 15 to 25 feet in the west basin hole for crappie, and 4 to 5 feet in the flooded timber for perch.

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

Lure

Walleye jig

1/8 oz in calm water, 3/8 oz in wind or current. Plain lead head, #2 hook.

The same lure as the panfish jig, in a weight heavy enough to hold bottom contact while the boat drifts. You tip it with a live leech, a fathead minnow, or a half crawler.

On this lake. Work it on the sharp inside turns of the drop-off north of Cecil Point, and on the points, not the straight stretches. Lift it a foot, let it fall on a tight line, and watch the line rather than feel for the bite.

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

Live bait

The rest of the bait fridge

Ribbon leeches, waxworms and spikes, all sold within a few miles of the lake.

A ribbon leech is a tough black leech that swims, not the medical kind. A waxworm is a bee-moth larva about the size of your fingernail. A spike is a fly larva about the size of a grain of rice.

On this lake. Leeches carry the walleye bite from May through June. Waxworms and spikes carry the panfish bite from first ice to last, two spikes to a 4 mm tungsten jig.

January: yes.
February: yes.
March: yes.
April: no.
May: yes.
June: yes.
July: yes.
August: no.
September: no.
October: no.
November: no.
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 yellow perch

4 of the 10 named areas hold yellow perch. Tap a marker for the reason.

Spot	Why it holds them
The west basin	The widest and deepest part of the lake, running just under 3 miles north to south. Only 6.16% of Shawano Lake is deeper than 20 feet, and most of that sits here. Winter crappie hold in the basin and summer walleye slide to the edge of it.
North shore flats, off the county park	Sand bottom under weed growth, with the biggest launch on the lake a cast away. The DNR electrofished this shoreline and counted 123.3 bluegill and 85.3 pumpkinseed per mile.
Shawano Lake Outlet	The channel that drains the lake into the Wolf River, and the best-scoring water in the whole system. Largemouth size structure of 73 against 49 in the main lake, and the longest yellow perch the DNR measured at 12.6 inches. Spring runs of walleye, pike and musky pass through it.
Washington Lake	Small, weedy and connected, northeast of the main lake. Crappie density hits the 84th percentile statewide and perch the 88th, but the panfish size structure is the weakest of the five waters. Treat it as a numbers stop.

All 10 spots and the season-by-season pattern

Records and rules

Season on Shawano Lake: Open all year. The ice bite is the one most locals plan around.
Limit: Counted as panfish. No minimum length, 10 per day.
Wisconsin state record: 3 lbs 4 oz
Where the record came from: Lake Winnebago, Winnebago County, 1954
Registers as a trophy at: 15 inches, DNR live-release standard