Lake Butte des Morts (Winnebago County)
Waterbody ID (WBIC): 139900 — permanent page /lakes/139900/.
Lake Butte des Morts is in Winnebago County; records show 8,581 acres and 3 DNR access-site records.
- Size
- 8,581 acres
- Lake type
- DRAINAGE
- Max depth
- 9 ft
- 3 documented public access site records (DNR access inventory)
- 8 fish species/groups with abundance categories (DNR lake page)
- Fish stocking documented through 2024 (DNR stocking records)
- Summer Secchi clarity median 2 ft (field measurements)
- Official DNR depth map available (PDF)
Back to results Show on map Choose access / Directions Depth map (PDF) Check current DNR regulations
Plan your visit
- Lake directory: public landing — Yes
- Lake directory: public beach — No
- Lake directory: public park — No
- DNR public-access inventory: 3 documented access site records
- DNR public-access inventory: documented developed boat ramp
- 3 sites qualify for per-site Directions through the reviewed lake association (load the site details below)
Each statement is bounded to its named source; absence of a record is never evidence of no access. The DNR access database may lag reality; posted signs at the landing are authoritative.
Verify at the DNR public boat access program page.
Documented public access sites — load details
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Fishing
The DNR lake page publishes 8 fish species/groups with abundance categories — categories are source labels, never a population count.
DNR fish labels: Catfish—Abundant; Northern Pike—Abundant; Panfish—Abundant; not population counts.
Stocking records: 39 documented events through 2024, 3,859,266 fish total. Species: Muskellunge And Hybrids (Frequent), Lake Sturgeon (Rare), Northern Pike (Historic), Walleye (Historic). Events in 2015 or later count as recent.
No fisheries survey population estimate is published for this lake in the covered report families.
- Musky reproductive status (DNR mapped): Self-sustaining via natural reproduction (Cat. 1)
Fishing limits — 2026-2027 season: 20 normalized rows across 20 species entries. Normalized from the DNR ruleset retrieved 2026-08-04. Source text remains authoritative.
Fish species and abundance detail — load details
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Detailed stocking history — load details
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2026-2027 retained fishing rules: 20 published rows for 20 species; effective through 2027-03-07. Check current DNR rules.
Normalized fishing-regulation rows — load details
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Water and setting
- Field-measured summer Secchi clarity: median 2 ft from 28 samples, latest sample 2025-08-13
- Satellite clarity estimate: 3.35 ft (2017) — a remote-sensing estimate, kept separate from field measurements
- Lake directory clarity class: Low
Official DNR depth map (PDF) — Historical lake map; not for navigation. Link checked 2026-07-16.
Not published in the lake directory: official mean depth.
- AIS record: Brittle waternymph — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 2022-08-10
- AIS record: Curly-leaf pondweed — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 2006-07-13
- AIS record: Eurasian watermilfoil — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 1969-01-01
- AIS record: Faucet snail — Verified, latest documented 2011-08-18
- AIS record: Flowering rush — Verified, latest documented 2016-09-10
- AIS record: Phragmites (non-native ecotype) — Verified, latest documented 2014-04-29
- AIS record: Purple loosestrife — Verified, latest documented 2003-07-19
- AIS record: Rusty crayfish — Verified
- AIS record: Zebra mussel — Verified, latest documented 1999-01-01
Occurrence records come from a non-exhaustive DNR inventory; a record documents presence at observation time and a missing record is never evidence of absence.
- Public-land proximity (GIS proxy, not access evidence): mapped public land within 1,000 ft; nearest: Gift Lands (Wisconsin DNR); ≈3.7% of shoreline buffer
- Shoreline development (landcover proxy, 2025 source): ≈41.7% developed land within 300 m, ≈12.7% impervious
- Road proximity (TIGER proxy, 2025 source): nearest primary road (limited-access highway) ≈0 m; ≈4.7 km of road per km² within 1 km
- Priority Navigable Waterway — basis: musky area
Designations are legally defined DNR records shown as their sources state them; no composite rating is implied.
Measured and satellite clarity records — load details
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Aquatic invasive species records — load details
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Data & sources
Published data families
- Fish species and abundance (DNR lake pages)
- Fish stocking history
- Fishing regulations (normalized snapshot)
- Directory access facts (landing, beach, park)
- Public access site inventory
- Satellite water clarity estimate
- Field-measured Secchi clarity
- Aquatic invasive species occurrences
Original records: Wisconsin DNR lake page.
Missing values are unpublished, never zero; each fact above is bounded to its named source and date. Full sourcing detail: Data & methods.