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Present, with no bag limit at all.
Black bullhead
Ameiurus melas
The lake bottom is 12% muck, which suits them, and no bag limit applies.
What the DNR measured
- Shawano Lake data
- No stand-alone table in the 2023 comprehensive report.
- Season
- Open all year, no minimum length, unlimited daily bag.
What that means on the water
Bullheads are not a survey target. Nothing in the regulations restricts you, and they are good eating out of cold water.
Where to find it
- Fish the soft muck bottom in the shallow bays.
- Try any backwater off the outlet.
How to catch it
- Put a crawler on the bottom and wait. That is the whole method.
Spots on this lake for black bullhead
1 of the 10 named areas hold black bullhead. Tap a marker for the reason.
| Spot | Why it holds them |
|---|---|
| Wolf River Pond | The slack water above the Shawano dam. It produced the longest crappie in the 2023 survey at 13.1 inches, and its bluegill reach 7 inches roughly two and a half years faster than the fish in the main lake. |
Records and rules
- Season on Shawano Lake
- Open all year. Best in spring, before the water warms through.
- Limit
- No minimum length, unlimited daily bag.
- Wisconsin state record
- 5 lbs 8 oz, 21.5 in
- Where the record came from
- Big Falls Flowage, Rusk County, 1989-09-02
- Registers as a trophy at
- 15 inches, DNR live-release standard
Other fish here
Walleye
Sander vitreus
Muskellunge
Esox masquinongy
Northern pike
Esox lucius
Largemouth bass
Micropterus salmoides
Smallmouth bass
Micropterus dolomieu
Black crappie
Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus
Pumpkinseed
Lepomis gibbosus
Yellow perch
Perca flavescens
Rock bass
Ambloplites rupestris
White bass
Morone chrysops
Lake sturgeon
Acipenser fulvescens
Channel catfish
Ictalurus punctatus
Freshwater drum
Aplodinotus grunniens
Common carp
Cyprinus carpio
Bowfin
Amia calva
White crappie
Pomoxis annularis
Golden shiner
Notemigonus crysoleucas