In 1673, French explorer Jacques Marquette, made a passage through the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway from Green Bay to the Mississippi River.

In 1897, a lock and dam was built on the Fox River by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, eight miles downstream from the lake near Princeton.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources lists six different species of fish in the lake: Musky, Panfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye and Catfish.

In 1952, the state record 38 lb (17 kg) northern pike was caught on Puckaway Lake.

To stop the spread of invasive species in the Fox River Waterway, multiple locks have been permanently closed.