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Wilke Lake News
Manitowoc County Seeks Public Input
Manitowoc County Soil & Water Conservation Department Seeks Public Input for Land & Water Resource Management Plan
PLEASE TAKE THIS BRIEF, 4-MINUTE SURVEY BY SEPT 13, 2024https://app.opinionx.co/58d11a7e-4eab-405a-9e02-d1d6841d2161
Click on the maps to enlarge. Bathymetric Map Courtesy of and Copyright Sportsman’s Connection, based on Wisconsin DNR data. Watershed map courtesy of Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department. New! Zoom in even closer with this new interactive watershed mapping tool.
MCLA Lake Director: Fred Ruszkiewicz
Wilke Lake Sanitary District recently had Stantec Consulting Services Inc. complete a Comprehensive Lake Management Plan. The plan is available below. Any questions may be directed to Scott Umland via manitowoccountylakesassoc@gmail.com.
Wilke_Lake_Management_Plan.pdf
Town of Schleswig Sanitary District No. 2 – Wilke Lake Web Page
Directions: County Highway JJ, Town of Schleswig. Take Highway 151 West from Manitowoc to CTH A, South on CTH A approximately 4.5 miles to Ucker Point Creek Road. Travel west on Ucker Point Creek Road 2 miles to Wilke Lake Road. Travel North to the Boat Landing.
About Wilke Lake
Lake Health
- 2023 Condition: Good/Mesotrophic read more
Recreation
- Features: The public access has parking space for 6-10 car/trailer units and a turn-around area. There is a picnic area with grills, a boat ramp, port-a-pier, lighting, and a toilet building. No potable water.
- Boat Ramp: Paved ramp, 7% slope, 3 ft launch depth, boarding dock.
- Launch Fee: The daily fee is $5 and the seasonal fee is $20.
- ADA Accessibility Features: No. Not ADA accessible. Ramp exceeds allowable slope.
- Restrictions: Motor boats are allowed. Operating restrictions on motorboats and water skiing are posted. Ordinance regulating littering, motorboat prohibition, noise levels, rafts, piers, ski jumps, slow-no-wake areas, slow-no-wake hours, swimming regulations, water skiing restrictions. Town of Schleswig Ordinances | Wisconsin boating handbook
- Manitowoc County Map and Photos: https://manitowoccountywi.gov/departments/parks/lake-access/wilke-lake/
Statistics
- Surface Area: 93 acres
- Depth: Max 21′, Mean 9′
- Bottom: 0% sand, 60% gravel, 0% rock, 40% muck
- Shorelength: 1.7 mi
- Lake Type: Deep seepage (no inlet or outlet), stratified. What does this mean?
- Lat/Long: 43° 57′ 59.45″ N / 87° 57′ 43.85″ W
Neither MCLA, the State of Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources, nor any of its employees shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein, and they assume no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information.
Aquatic Invasive Species Threats
- Verified: Curly-Leaf Pondweed (1993), Eurasian Water-Milfoil (1993).
Fishing
- Fish present: Abundant bluegill. Largemouth bass, northern pike, perch and stocked walleye present.
Regulations
Attention Anglers…new regulations in place:
- Open All Year
- Panfish (no change): Daily bag limit 25. No min length.
- Catfish (no change): Daily bag limit 10. No min length.
- New: Open 1st Saturday in May 2024 through 1st Sunday in March 2025:
- Largemouth/smallmouth bass: 1 bass may be kept; it must be at least 18”.
- Northern Pike: 2 northern pike of any length may be kept, but pike between 25-35” may not be kept.
- Walleye: 3 walleye may be kept, but they must be at least 18”.
- Motor Trolling is allowed with up to 3 hooks, baits, or lures, per angler.
- View Wilke Lake fishing regulations on DNR website and familiarize yourself with Wisconsin fishing: WDNR Hook & Line Guide
- Consumption Advisory: General Manitowoc County/Mercury. Click here.
Stocking and DNR Surveys
- Wilke Lake 2018 Comprehensive Fish Survey [PDF]
- Wilke Lake Fish Survey (2010) [PDF]
- Wilke Lake Comprehensive Lake Survey 1999 [PDF]
| Frequency of Fish Captured (2018): Number of fish caught for the following length categories (inches): |
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| species | 0-4″ | 4-6″ | 6-8″ | 8-10″ | 10-12″ | 12-16″ | 16-18″ | 18-24″ | Ave. length | Total | |
| Black Crappie | 1 | 10 | 2 | 9.1” | 13 | ||||||
| Bluegill | 133 | 88 | 79 | 1 | 4.5” | 301 | |||||
| Largemouth Bass | 1 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 11.8” | 41 | |||
| Northern Pike | 2 | 2 | 14 | 19.1” | 18 | ||||||
| Pumpkinseed | 8 | 14 | 31 | 10 | 6.2” | 63 | |||||
| Hybrid Sunfish | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6.1” | 10 | |||||
| Yellow Perch | 15 | 60 | 4.3” | 75 | |||||||
| Yellow Bullhead | 2 | 8 | 5 | 11.3” | 15 | ||||||
Survey Date: 05-18-2010/Gear: Electrofishing
| DNR Fish Stocking Data | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Species | Strain | Age Class | Number Stocked | Average Length (inches) |
| 2019 | WALLEYE | ROCK-FOX | SMALL FINGERLING | 6,006 | 1.80 |
| 2018 | WALLEYE | UNSPEC | LARGE FINGERLING | 851 | 7 |
| 2017 | WALLEYE | MISSISSIPPI HEADWATERS | SMALL FINGERLING | 3,239 | 1.7 |
| 2016* | WALLEYE | UNSPEC | LARGE FINGERLING | 397 | 7 |
| 2015 | CRAPPIE | UNSPEC | LARGE FINGERLING | 497 | 6 |
| 2015 | WALLEYE | LAKE MICHIGAN | SMALL FINGERLING | 3,752 | 1.7 |
|
*Stocked with permit by Wilke Lake Association |
|||||
Condition: GOOD (2023) Source
New! Explore lake data with the DNR’s WEx Water Explorer Tool
(takes a minute to load)
- 2023 Trophic State Index (TSI): 49/Mesotrophic. Based on Chlorophyll.
What does this mean?
This TSI usually suggests decreased clarity, fewer algal species, oxygen-depleted bottom waters during the summer, plant overgrowth evident, warm-water fisheries (pike, perch, bass, etc.) only. - 2023 Secchi Disk: Average summer reading 7.0 ft. Summer water was reported as BROWN with minor aesthetic problems.
- 5-Year Average Chemistry:
Summer Chlorophyll 6.5 µg/l.
Summer Total Phosphorus 17.7 µg/l.
TSI: 49 Based on Chlorophyll readings.
- Late summer trophic status compared to other deep seepage lakes.
Averages (red) from the last 10 years compared to other lakes (gray).
Click on the maps to enlarge. Bathymetric Map Courtesy of and Copyright Sportsman’s Connection, based on Wisconsin DNR data. Watershed map courtesy of Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department. New! Zoom in even closer with this new interactive watershed mapping tool.
Is there still muskie in this lake? I see some sites for this lake says it does. Thanks!
Hi Chris,
While there may be a few muskies in the various Manitowoc County Lakes, they are few and far between. The 2018 survey of Wilke, specifically, found none and suggested that the last stocked population was harvested as soon as they were legal. We saw this question recently posted on the Manty Fishing facebook group as well and there were some better answers there than we can give. You could contact someone at Manitowoc County Fish and Game who might have heard differently. Good luck!
MCLA