Land Acquisition: In 1955, 291 acres of property was purchased from 12 local land owners by the Forestry Fish and Game Commission at a total price of $20,406.79 for the purpose of constructing a state fishing lake.

Area Description: Primary usage of the area is for a state fishing lake. There are 119 surface acres of water, the remaining 172 acres of land is managed as a small wildlife area. The lake is situated on Woodruff creek a small tributary of the Neosho River. The land surrounding the lake is rolling prairie upland with limestone outcrops and very thin, fragile soils. Vegetation is mostly native grasses and various species of native trees and shrubs.

Facilities that are provided for public use include one boat ramp, two vault toilets, two fishing docks (the one adjacent to the boat ramp is handicap accessible), eight earthen fishing piers, four miles of gravel roads, and 20 picnic/camping sites around the lake.

The management of Wilson State Fishing Lake has always focused on providing the public with a quality fishing experience. This will continue to be the primary objective of management, since over 90% of the users are anglers. There are 4 solar powered fish feeders at various locations on the lake. This supplemental feeding increases the average size of channel cat and bluegill in the lake. Fish populations managed for at Wilson State Lake are Black Bass, Crappie, Channel Cat, Walleye and Panfish ( bluegill, redear sunfish).