Lake Poygan, located in the U.S. state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

near the village of Winneconne, is an expansive widening of the Wolf River totaling over 14,000 acres (57 km²). Lake Poygan is part of the

Winnebago Pool The Winnebago Pool is a collective name for a group of interconnected lakes in eastern Wisconsin. The terminal point of this watershed is Lake Winnebago itself, which has a surface elevation of 746 feet. Besides Lake Winnebago, the Winnebago Po ...

or Wolf Chain, a series of interconnected lakes fed by both the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and Wolf rivers. The eastern third of the lake is often referred to as Lake Winneconne. In the

Menominee language Menominee , also spelled Menomini (In Menominee Language: omǣqnomenēweqnæsewen) is an endangered Algonquian language spoken by the historic Menominee people of what is now northern Wisconsin in the United States. The federally recognized trib ...

it is called ''Pawāhekaneh'', "Wild Rice Threshing Lake", referring to the traditional importance of

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

cultivation to the local economy. Like the other lakes of the Winnebago Pool, the lake is quite shallow, with an average depth of and a maximum depth of approximately . Via the Wolf River, boaters can find navigable passage to

Lake Butte des Morts Big Lake Butte des Morts () is a shallow freshwater lake located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, in Winnebago County. It is part of the Winnebago Pool (also known as the ''Winnebago System'') of lakes in east central Wisconsin, along with Lake W ...

and

Lake Winnebago Lake Winnebago ( mez, Wenepekōw Nepēhsæh, oj, Wiinibiigoo-zaaga'igan, one, kanyataláheleˀ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres it is the largest lake entir ...

downstream (near Oshkosh), and upstream to Partridge Lake and Partridge Crop Lake (near Fremont and

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa * New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town * ...

Recreation

A variety of fish species can be found in the lake, including

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

, smallmouth bass,

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

flathead catfish The flathead catfish (''Pylodictis olivaris''), also called by several common names including mudcat or shovelhead cat, is a large species of North American freshwater catfish in the family Ictaluridae. It is the only species of the genus ''P ...

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

and

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

.name=travelwisconsin> Many anglers consider Lake Poygan to be one of the most productive fisheries on the entire Winnebago Pool.

References

External links

Fishing maps and data
from Lake-Link.com Lakes of Waushara County, Wisconsin Lakes of Winnebago County, Wisconsin {{WinnebagoCountyWI-geo-stub