Lac Vieux Desert fishing: Muskellunge, Walleye, Northern Pike

Target species: Muskellunge, Walleye, Northern Pike
Boat: 3 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Lac Vieux Desert, 2 lanes.

The lake

Lac Vieux Desert covers 4,404 acres in Wisconsin, across Vilas County. It is a lake: 92.7% of it is 18 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 38 feet (11.6 m). Our records hold 3 species for this water. 35% of the water lies in Michigan.

Lac Vieux Desert - Source of the Wisconsin River.jpg
Markheffron2 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Stocking: 174,106,872 fish, 1991–2025

Wisconsin DNR records list 174,106,872 fish released into this water from 1991 to 2025.

  • Walleye: 173,985,521 in 1998–2025
  • Muskellunge: 121,351 in 1988–2025

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 38 ft (11.6 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 92.7% of the water is 18 feet or shallower. We hold 74 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–2 ft: 0.9% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 4.2% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 8% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 11.6% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 12.8% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 13.5% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 15.3% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 18.7% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 7.7% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 4% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 22–24 ft: 0.2% of the water
  • 24–26 ft: 0.2% of the water
  • 26–28 ft: 0.2% of the water
  • 28–30 ft: 0.2% of the water
  • 30–32 ft: 0.1% of the water
  • 32–34 ft: 0.1% of the water

3 target fish, led by Muskellunge

  • Muskellunge — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 61°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 6.6. These readings span 2017–2025.

3 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp, 2 boat ramps and 1 shore access point.

  • Lac Vieux Desert Access — Town Of Phelps, US Forest Service. phone 715-479-2827
  • Lac Vieux Desert Lake Public Access — Town Of Phelps, Program Supervisor. phone (715) 358-9221
  • Lac Vieux Desert — 2 lanes, restrooms. Lake Gogebic State Park. phone 906-842-3341 · website mcgi.state.mi.us/mrbis/BASDetail.aspx?sid=A-27-005

Shore access for bank fishing

  • Lac Vieux Desert Carry-In — Town Of Phelps, Wisconsin Valley Improvement. phone 715-848-2976

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 4 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

What is hard here

Only 3 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • Michigan EGLE — Michigan EGLE: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.