Three benchmarks per species
How big does it get?
Wisconsin keeps no official per-lake record book, so no agency can tell you the biggest walleye ever taken out of Shawano Lake. Three verified numbers exist instead, and together they answer the same question. The DNR measured the first one in this lake. The state certifies the second. The third is the length that earns you a state award.
What each column means
Longest measured here
The longest fish of that species that DNR crews put a tape on during the 2023 comprehensive survey of the Shawano Lake system. Every one of these was caught in a fyke net or by electrofishing, measured, and released.
Wisconsin state record
The largest legally taken on hook and line anywhere in Wisconsin, from the DNR record list. Some of these are 90 years old and several predate length recording.
Trophy standard
The minimum length for the DNR Anglers' Club live-release category. Measure a fish this long from Shawano Lake in front of a witness and you can register it with the state.
The record table
| Species | Longest DNR measured in this lake | Where in the system | Wisconsin state record | Record water and date | Trophy at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Muskellunge
|
49.8 in | Shawano Lake system | 69 lbs 11 oz · 63.5 in | Chippewa Flowage, Sawyer Co. · 1949-10-20 | 45 in |
Northern pike
|
32.2 in | Shawano Lake system | 38 lbs 0 oz · 45.5 in | Lake Puckaway, Green Lake Co. · 1952-08-06 | 40 in |
Walleye
|
27.4 in | Shawano Lake system | 18 lbs 0 oz | High Lake, Vilas Co. · 1933-09-16 | 29 in |
Largemouth bass
|
19.6 in | Shawano Outlet (18.6 in the main lake) | 11 lbs 3 oz | Lake Ripley, Jefferson Co. · 1940-10-12 | 22 in |
Black crappie
|
13.1 in | Wolf River Pond (11.5 in the main lake) | 4 lbs 8 oz · 19.75 in | Gile Flowage, Iron Co. · 1967-08-12 | 15 in |
Yellow perch
|
12.6 in | Shawano Outlet (10.3 in the main lake) | 3 lbs 4 oz | Lake Winnebago, Winnebago Co. · 1954 | 15 in |
Bluegill
|
10.0 in | Wolf River Pond (8.9 in the main lake) | 2 lbs 9.8 oz · 12.0 in | Green Bay, Brown Co. · 1995-08-02 | 12 in |
Pumpkinseed
|
8.5 in | Shawano Lake | 1 lb 3.4 oz · 11.125 in | Silver Lake, Washington Co. · 2020-05-31 | 11 in |
Smallmouth bass
|
not surveyed | — | 9 lbs 1 oz | Indian Lake, Oneida Co. · 1950-06-21 | 20 in |
Rock bass
|
not surveyed | — | 2 lbs 15 oz | Shadow Lake, Waupaca Co. · 1990-06-02 | 12 in |
White bass
|
not surveyed | — | 5 lbs 3.8 oz · 22.25 in | Mississippi River, Vernon Co. · 2019-05-05 | 17 in |
Lake sturgeon
|
not surveyed | — | 170 lbs 10 oz · 79.0 in | Yellow Lake, Burnett Co. · 1979-09-22 | 65 in |
Channel catfish
|
not surveyed | — | 44 lbs 0 oz | Wisconsin River, Columbia Co. · 1962 | 30 in |
Black bullhead
|
not surveyed | — | 5 lbs 8 oz · 21.5 in | Big Falls Flowage, Rusk Co. · 1989-09-02 | 15 in |
Freshwater drum
|
not surveyed | — | 35 lbs 4 oz · 37.5 in | Mississippi River, Crawford Co. · 1992-08-29 | 28 in |
Common carp
|
not surveyed | — | 57 lbs 2 oz | Lake Wisconsin, Columbia Co. · 1966-08-28 | 34 in |
Bowfin
|
not surveyed | — | 13 lbs 1 oz · 31.6 in | Willow Flowage, Oneida Co. · 1980-07-19 | no standard |
White crappie
|
not surveyed | — | 3 lbs 13.1 oz · 16.5 in | Cranberry Marsh, Monroe Co. · 2003-05-04 | 15 in |
Golden shiner
|
not surveyed | — | 0 lbs 9.1 oz · 10.25 in | Lake Mendota, Dane Co. · 2021-03-29 | no standard |
“Not surveyed” means the 2023 comprehensive report published no size table for that species. Those fish live here, and the DNR did not target them, so no measured maximum exists to print.
The eight fish the DNR actually measured
These are the verified maximum lengths out of the Shawano Lake system in spring 2023, ranked. Each one is the biggest fish that swam into a net during a few weeks of sampling, so read every number as a floor rather than a ceiling.
- Muskellunge
- 49.8 inches, spring fyke net
- Northern pike
- 32.2 inches, spring fyke net
- Walleye
- 27.4 inches, fyke net and electrofishing
- Largemouth bass
- 19.6 inches, spring electrofishing
- Black crappie
- 13.1 inches, spring fyke net
- Yellow perch
- 12.6 inches, spring fyke net
- Bluegill
- 10.0 inches, spring fyke net
- Pumpkinseed
- 8.5 inches, spring fyke net
The musky is the headline. 49.8 inches came out of a fyke net in spring 2023, and the DNR trophy standard is 45. A fish that size in a lake with a catch rate of 0.2 per net night means the few musky in here reach genuine size.
The old crappie. The DNR cut an otolith from a 12-inch female black crappie in this system and aged it at 19 years. Growth slows hard around 10 to 11 inches, so a foot-long Shawano crappie has been swimming since roughly 2004.
Registering a fish
- Measure from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, to the nearest quarter inch, in front of one witness.
- Compare against the trophy column in the table. Reach the length and you can enter the DNR Anglers' Club live-release category.
- A kept fish enters on weight rather than length, on a certified scale.
- A state record needs DNR verification of the species, a certified scale, and witnesses. Read the DNR record fish program page before you kill a fish you think qualifies.