Elbow Lake

Polk County, Wisconsin · WBIC 2463100

This lake has fishing rules that differ from the standard ones for its area. Check the official rules before you fish. Official regulations

Size

233 acres

Max depth

8 ft

DNR lake type

Simple, Warm, dark water color

A warm-water lake type: the DNR groups it with lakes that warm up through summer. This describes the lake type in general, not this lake in particular.

Outline

Numbered dots are boat landings; tap one for directions. The list below has the same numbers. Drawn from the DNR's 24K hydrography (surveyed 1983), so the shape is approximate and a landing can sit a little off the shore. Open the DNR lake map.

Water clarity (satellite estimate)

  • Summer 201611.7 ft (437 satellite pixels)

No one has measured this lake's clarity in the monitoring data. This is an estimate from satellite images of one summer only, so it may not match the lake today.

Secchi depth is how far down a white disk stays visible. A bigger number means clearer water. The estimate tops out at 16 feet.

Landsat satellite estimates published by the Wisconsin DNR (summers 2016 and 2017), averaged over the lake's outline. Informational use only.

Water temperature

A typical year Modeled estimate

  • Ice goes outabout Apr 17 (Apr 9 to Apr 25)
  • Surface reaches 48°Fabout Apr 19 (Apr 17 to Apr 29)
  • Surface reaches 64°Fabout May 11 (May 5 to May 21)
  • June surface73°F, usually 72 to 74°F
  • July surface80°F, usually 78 to 82°F
  • August surface74°F, usually 73 to 78°F

Mixes regularly through the summer instead of forming a warm top layer.

A computer model of this lake's typical weather and water, built from 15 years, 2005 to 2019. Ranges show the middle half of years. The model was not calibrated against measured temperatures for this lake. It is an estimate, not a measurement.

Modeled: U.S. Geological Survey lake temperature data release (doi:10.5066/P9CA6XP8).

Today at the lake

Loading today's forecast…

Forecast: National Weather Service (no endorsement implied). Sunrise, sunset and moon phase are calculated. The moon phase can be a day off.

Stocking history

  • Walleyelast stocked 2011 (small fingerling); stocked in 1 year since 2010

Stocking shows what was added to the lake, not what is in it now.

Wisconsin DNR annual fish stocking summary. Checked Oct 23, 2026.

Fish recorded near this lake

Recorded in open fish survey and museum records (GBIF). A record shows a fish was found near this lake in that year, not that it is there now, and says nothing about how many. Most coordinates are rounded to about 1 km, so a record is attached only when one lake is the clear match.

Open fish survey and museum records from GBIF; datasets are listed on the sources page. Checked Oct 23, 2026.

Boat landings

Wisconsin DNR public boat access sites. Checked Oct 23, 2026.

More lakes in Polk County

All Polk County lakes

Where this comes from

  • Size, depth and lake typeWisconsin DNR lake classifications, checked Oct 23, 2026
  • OutlineWisconsin DNR 24K hydrography, checked Oct 23, 2026
  • Stocking historyWisconsin DNR annual fish stocking summary, checked Oct 23, 2026
  • Regulations linkWisconsin DNR fishing regulations (linked, not restated), checked Oct 23, 2026
  • Boat landingsWisconsin DNR public boat access sites, checked Oct 23, 2026
  • Typical-year temperatureU.S. Geological Survey lake temperature model (modeled estimate), checked Oct 23, 2026
  • Fish recordedOpen fish survey and museum records, via GBIF, checked Oct 23, 2026
  • VHS statusWisconsin DNR VHS status by watershed, checked Oct 24, 2026
  • Depth map linkWisconsin DNR lake maps list, checked Oct 24, 2026
  • Satellite clarity estimateLandsat summer clarity estimates published by the Wisconsin DNR (2016, 2017), checked Oct 24, 2026

See data sources for what each source covers, and about for how the numbers are matched to lakes.

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