Fishing vacation (Madison, Portage, Shawano: rentals, motel, home)

[hckplyers]

We want to take a fishing vacation, haven't fished in years so might need a guide to teach us all over again. Have our own boat. Live in the Madison area. We are willing to go just about anywhere in the state. We have camped all over, sold camper and bought a boat.
So where would anyone suggest we go for this. This is our annual vacation and are willing to do it right. Resort is fine, guide fees fine, buy all the equipment we need fine, don't need to have our hands held.
If we can squeeze in some golf that would be great as well.
Really appreciate help on this as there are just too many ads to pick from.
Thanks forward.

[JoshB]

try lake-link dot com, they have many guides and a wealth of information. I personally would try fishing Green Lake. There is a wealth of Muskies and Lawsonia Golf course is right down highway 23. Considering the fact that your coming from Madison you can take 39 about 1/2 north of Portage and then get off at the 23 Oxford exit. Then travel 1/2 hour and your there. Maybe about 1.5 hours of driving.

Green Lake makes for a great fishing experience. There is plemty of places to stay and dine.

[dreamhunter65]

Alot depends on fishing wanting to do. Bass Walleye Northern? more details please.

[BadgerNut]

Eagle River/St. Germain/Star Lake has VERY good musky and walleye, but that's quite a trip. I have to say though that it is absolutely beautiful up there. Another great lake, especially for largemouth bass and panfish is Shawano Lake. They also have some honkin' musky in that lake as well. There are golf courses around those areas also, pretty nice one's in my opinion.

[Drover]

I'm also on board with the Eagle River area. The Chain of Lakes up in Oneida and Vilas counties has what seems like a million miles of shoreline, and if one lake gets too busy or crowded, you can just power up and scoot to a different lake. And as BadgerNut notes, there are some public golf courses up there too, including a very nice one in Eagle River.

[hckplyers]

We really appreciate all the imput. We've been on line at several.
Question, there may be 8 in our party. Anyone have a place in mind that is clean but homey, might be reasonable as the others in our group are young couples without a lot of cash but can pay their bills. Yes it is our kids, bless them. They want to go along. I'm sure many on here have gone a time or two and there must be a favorite. Thanks.

[Drover]

There is a small but nice, and VERY reasonably priced motel in downtown Three Lakes called Oneida Village Inn. A room with a double bed is only $50 a night. It's a great alternative as Three Lakes often gets overlooked because it's not as well-known as the overtly tourist-y towns in the area like Eagle River and Minocqua, so it's a lot quieter. There's a pretty decent supper club on the motel grounds too.

You might also consider looking into renting a cabin; rentals go for about $1200-$2000 per week depending on size and location.

[gallon]

Seconds on the Three Lakes idea. You can get a lakes map there, put in at Big Lake, and cruise down through some 28 different lakes, ending in Eagle River.

The Three Lakes area as vacation and fishing destination goes way back to the logging era. Chicagoans used to ride up on the Chicago and Northwestern RR and put up at local resorts and inns. They could rent canoes, rowboats, or just take excursions on the steam packets. The wife of one of the logging barons pressed him to preserve some of the gigantic old white pines along some of the lake shores in that area. The Three Lakes historical society could give you the story on that.

There is a winery in Three Lakes which makes a pretty decent cranberry wine, for the price.

Just north of Three Lakes is the Thunder Lake State Wildlife area, if you really want to get out there with the creatures.

Three Lakes home page
www.threelakes.com/index.htm (http://www.threelakes.com/index.htm - broken link)

[hckplyers]

Well just an update, we are going to Big Arborvite lake at Woodruff. Rented a cabin.. Going to make plans with a fishing guide and reservations for tee times. Thanks for all the imput.

[Drover]

Sweet. It's almost impossible not to have a great time up that way, provided the weather cooperates.