Boot Lake (Oconto County)
Waterbody ID (WBIC): 418700 — permanent page /lakes/418700/.
Boot Lake is in Oconto County; records show 230 acres and 1 DNR access-site record.
- Size
- 230 acres
- Lake type
- SEEPAGE
- Max depth
- 38 ft
- Mean depth
- 19 ft
- 1 documented public access site record (DNR access inventory)
- 5 fish species/groups with abundance categories (DNR lake page)
- Fish stocking documented through 2024 (DNR stocking records)
- Summer Secchi clarity median 20 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 — Yes
- DNR public-access inventory: 1 documented access site record
- DNR public-access inventory: documented developed boat ramp
- 1 site 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.
Nearby facilities
- BOOT LAKE — Campground; ≈0.1 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈0.3 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged. Official USFS page
- BASS LAKE SWIM SITE — Swimming site; ≈1 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈2.5 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged.
- FANNY LAKE TRAILHEAD — Trailhead; ≈1 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈1.1 km from the associated access point (straight line); fee charged.
- CATHEDRAL PINES TRAILHEAD — Trailhead; ≈5 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈6.6 km from the associated access point (straight line).
- ROSE LAKE BL — Boating site; ≈6.9 km from the lake shoreline (straight line); ≈6.9 km from the associated access point (straight line).
- 11 more inventoried sites within 15 km.
USFS Chequamegon-Nicolet constructed recreation sites only; straight-line distance is geographic context, not a travel route.
Documented public access sites — load details
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Fishing
The DNR lake page publishes 5 fish species/groups with abundance categories — categories are source labels, never a population count.
DNR fish labels: Panfish—Abundant; Northern Pike—Common; Walleye—Common; not population counts.
Stocking records: 35 documented events through 2024, 113,362 fish total. Species: Muskellunge And Hybrids (Frequent), Walleye (Frequent), Smallmouth Bass (Occasional). Events in 2015 or later count as recent.
Fisheries survey population estimates are published for this lake; survey estimates are historical point-in-time studies and are never compared or ranked here.
- Musky reproductive status (DNR mapped): Self-sustaining via natural reproduction (Cat. 1)
Fishing limits — 2026-2027 season: 19 normalized rows across 19 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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Fisheries survey estimates — load details
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2026-2027 retained fishing rules: 19 published rows for 19 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 20 ft from 25 samples, latest sample 2025-07-25
Official DNR depth map (PDF) — Historical lake map; not for navigation. Link checked 2026-07-16.
- AIS record: Banded mystery snail — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 2008-08-21
- AIS record: Rusty crayfish — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 2008-08-21
- AIS record: Zebra mussel — Verified, latest documented 2019-07-13
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: Nicolet National Forest (USDA FOREST SERVICE); ≈38.7% of shoreline buffer
- Shoreline development (landcover proxy, 2025 source): ≈17.7% developed land within 300 m, ≈2.7% impervious
- Road proximity (TIGER proxy, 2025 source): nearest local road or city street ≈0 m; ≈4.4 km of road per km² within 1 km
- Resource water (NR 102): Outstanding Resource Water (ORW) — NR 102.10(1m)10
- Priority Navigable Waterway — basis: musky area, walleye area, outstanding/exceptional resource water
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
- Field-measured Secchi clarity
- Fisheries survey population estimates
- 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.