Present. Stocked. Low density, high quality.

Muskellunge

Esox masquinongy

The DNR netted 46 muskies in the whole system in 2023, and the longest went 49.8 inches. Every one of them counts.

What the DNR measured

Fish measured, 2023: 46 across the whole system
Length range: 19.3 – 49.8 inches
Average length: 38.2 inches
Netting catch rate: 0.2 per net night, 32nd percentile statewide
Size structure (PSD): 51, which is the 17th percentile statewide
Stocking: About 3,000 large fingerling spotted musky in 2019 and again in 2021. 1,250 of the 2021 fish carry PIT tags.

What that means on the water

The DNR calls this a low-quantity, high-quality fishery. No stocking happened between 2013 and 2017, and that hole is still visible in the adult population. The fish stocked since 2018 are not adults yet. The recommendation on the books is 2,500 musky every other year.

Where to find it

Work the weedlines and the transitions where cabbage gives way to sand.
The channel to Loon Lake, on a wind-blown day.
Fish the shallow bays in spring at 50 to 60 degrees, when musky spawn.
Cover the outlet during the spring run out of the lake.

How to catch it

Big bucktails over and along the weed edge.
Topwater at first and last light in summer.
Jerkbaits and gliders in September and October, when the biggest fish feed hardest.
Figure-eight every cast. This lake is stained and fish follow late.

Spots on this lake for muskellunge

3 of the 10 named areas hold muskellunge. Tap a marker for the reason.

Spot	Why it holds them
The channel to Loon Lake	A quarter mile of moving water joins the north shore of Shawano Lake to the south tip of Loon Lake. Current concentrates bait, fish move through it in both directions, and the DNR PIT tag arrays went in exactly here in 2024 to measure that movement. Anglers call this stretch the Narrows.
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.

All 10 spots and the season-by-season pattern

Records and rules

Season on Shawano Lake: May 2 to December 31, open water only. September and October are the trophy months.
Limit: 40-inch minimum, 1 per day.
Wisconsin state record: 69 lbs 11 oz, 63.5 in
Where the record came from: Chippewa Flowage, Sawyer County, 1949-10-20
Registers as a trophy at: 45 inches, DNR live-release standard