Size
365ac
Boat Launch
Carry-in Launch
Toilet
No
Boat Dock
Species in Birch Lake
Walleye
Largemouth bass
Perch
Crappie
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Bluegill
Pumpkinseed
Rock bass
Overview
Perch fishing is good all year. Decent populations of walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, crappie and bluegill.
Birch Lake Map
Fishing Regulations
Special Fishing Regulations: This lake has special fishing regulations that differ from statewide or border water regulations for those species identified below and take precedence. Regulations listed below are currently in place. Visit the fishing regulations page for links to upcoming regulations for specific lakes.
Special Waterbody Regulations
- This lake may be in more than 1 county. Follow the trolling regulations for the county in which you are fishing. A list of counties and waters that allow motor trolling with 3 hooks, baits, or lures per angler can be found at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/questions/troll.html. All other waters allow motor trolling with 1 hook, bait or lure per angler, and no more than 2 hooks, baits, or lures per boat.
Special Species Regulations
- Bluegill: Open all year: The daily bag limit is 10
- Bowfin: See Rough Fish
- Bullheads: Open all year: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is unlimited
- Catfish: Open all year: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is 10
- Channel catfish: See Catfish
- Cisco and whitefish: Open all year: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is 10
- Crappies: See Panfish
- Flathead catfish: See Catfish
- Hybrid, Striped, Yellow, and White Bass: See Rock, Yellow and White Bass
- Lake sturgeon: Closed. No fishing allowed.
- Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass: May 2, 2026 to March 7, 2027: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is 5
- Largemouth bass: See Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass
- Longnose gar: See Rough Fish
- Muskellunge and hybrids: May 2, 2026 to December 31, 2026 on open water: The minimum length limit is 40” and the daily bag limit is 1
- Northern pike: May 2, 2026 to March 7, 2027: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is 5
- Paddlefish: Closed. No fishing allowed.
- Panfish: Open all year: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is 25
- Rock, Yellow, and White Bass: Open all year: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is unlimited
- Rough fish: Open all year: No minimum length limit and the daily bag limit is unlimited
- Round goby: Open all year: The daily bag limit is 0, one may be killed and possessed for transport to a WDNR Office
- Ruffe: Open all year: The daily bag limit is 0, one may be killed and possessed for transport to a WDNR Office
- Sauger and hybrids: See Walleye, Sauger, and Hybrids
- Shortnose gar: See Rough Fish
- Shovelnose sturgeon: Closed. No fishing allowed.
- Smallmouth bass: See Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass
- Trout and salmon: See Trout regulations layer
- Urban waters gamefish: This waterbody is not considered an urban water, Urban Waters Gamefish regulations do not apply
- Walleye: See Walleye, Sauger, and Hybrids
- Walleye, Saugers, and Hybrids: May 2, 2026 to March 7, 2027: The minimum length limit is 18” and the daily bag limit is 3
- White perch: Open all year: The daily bag limit is 0, one may be killed and possessed for transport to a WDNR Office
Features
Sawyer County’s Chetac and Birch Lakes offer anglers a wide variety of fishing opportunities. With numerous lodges along the shoreline of Chetac, this lake is a great destination for people seeking a fishing retreat. Anglers looking for a nice, quiet lake to fish should be aware of the heavy fishing pressure that this lake receives. Motor trolling on Chetac Lake is both legal and popular for walleye and northern pike. A number of bass tournaments are held on the lake during summer. Fishing pressure aside, anglers looking for a trophy sized northern or stringer of large bluegill should give this lake a try.
Forage
In Chetac Lake there is a huge juvenile yellow perch population that provides a large forage base for a wide variety of fish. Golden Shiners, White Sucker and Brook Silversides (a rarity in Wisconsin waters) make up much of the forage base. Crayfish, mayflies and midges also provide supplemental forage.
Seasonal Movements
Walleye will make spawning runs into the spring tributary creeks each year. During the middle of summer northern pike will move around the lake to find colder water.
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Top Fish Species
Walleye
11-25 in
Length Range
17 in
Length Range
2018
Surveyed
Abundance (CPUE)
Understanding Abundance
Abundance ratings are based on Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) measurements conducted by the MN DNR, and represent a snapshot of a species population at a given point in time
Source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Survey cadence may vary by state and water body.Species Lengths
2018
May
