Shawano Lake is a lake situated in Shawano County in northeastern

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 ...

. Shawano Lake is a hard water drainage lake with multiple inlets and one major outlet, the Wolf River. A dam on the Wolf River located in the City of Shawano raises the water levels of Shawano Lake. Shawano Lake is approximately , with an average depth of approximately and a maximum depth of approximately . The shoreline length is estimated at . The Towns of Wescott, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and the Village of

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada *Cecil, Alberta, ...

border Shawano Lake.

Activities

Shawano Lake is a popular lake for recreational fishing, boating, swimming, water skiing, bird watching, hunting, and other outdoor activities. It is currently a

eutrophic lake The Trophic State Index (TSI) is a classification system designed to rate water bodies based on the amount of biological productivity they sustain. Although the term "trophic index" is commonly applied to lakes, any surface water body may be ind ...

with elevated levels of algae blooms, nutrients, and nuisance aquatic plants. Aquatic plant management is a major management objective for the lake. Shawano Lake is one of the most heavily fished lakes in the area. It contains many species of fish, including walleye, largemouth bass and panfish in the early season. Ice fisherman concentrate on northern pike and panfish. Fishing tournaments are common on the lake. Two

ice racing Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ...

tracks are used on the lake in the winter.

Development

Shawano Lake is heavily developed, with dense residential housing surrounding most of the shoreline. It lies within the Shawano Lake Sanitary District, so all dwellings have sanitary sewers and public water supply. There are many resorts and cabin rentals on the lake.

Fishing and Wildlife

Shawano Lake is managed as a warm water fishery. The primary game fish species are

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The predominant panfish are

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 ...

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

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 ...

and

pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

.Shawano Lake Watershed (WR15)
/ref> Good natural reproduction supports the fishery. Over the last ten years a musky population has been established and is maintained by annual stocking. A walleye spawning reef was developed on Shawano Lake in the mid-1980s. Annual fall electrofishing surveys are conducted on the lake to monitor the reproductive success of walleye and largemouth bass, with periodic spring fyke netting surveys conducted to monitor the overall fishery. Shawano Lake is important as a resting stop for migrating waterfowl. Numerous species of wildlife inhabit the undeveloped shoreland areas. Standing dead and dying trees (snags) on the uplands provide habitat for various species of birds and insects, including

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

s, and songbirds. Several species of mammals and birds use cavities in trees for dens. Salamanders, small mammals, and invertebrates use downed and rotting logs for protection, feeding and breeding sites. Downed trees in or at the water's edge (woody cover) are especially valuable for resting and feeding areas. Aquatic and wetland vegetation at or near the water's edge provides critical habitat for small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fish at all life stages.

Lake Access

Shawano Lake has about 24 access points, which are a combination of public and private landings and town owned fire lanes. A county park is located on Shawano Lake, with a swimming beach and boat launch. A second park is located within the Village of Cecil, which is used as an access point for one of the ice racing tracks.

Shawano Municipal Airport Shawano Municipal Airport is a city and county-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) northeast of the central business district of Shawano, a city in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. It is included in th ...

is also located on Shawano Lake and uses part of the lake for a runway. It is frequently used for pontoon plane take-offs and landings during the summer months.

Media

File:WIS117NorthTerminusWIS22.jpg, Ice-covered Shawano Lake in winter File:IceRacingShawanoLake1.jpg,

Ice racing Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ...

File:ShawanoLakeShantiesJan2010.jpg, Ice shanties

References

{{authority control Lakes of Wisconsin Bodies of water of Shawano County, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Shawano County, Wisconsin Articles containing video clips