2009 w sconsindnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/documents/outreach/2009fishingreport.pdf · 09/03/2009 ·...

PUB-FH-506-2009Fishing Report2009 W SCONSIN

Great fishing!¡Buena pesca!Zoo Nuv Ntses Heej!Bilingual services now available

FORMORE

INFORMATION

Find links to fishing licenses,season dates, regulations,where to fish and more atfishingwisconsin.org

If you have more fishing questions,call our toll-free 1-888-WDNRINFo(1-888-936-7463) or visitdnr.wi.gov/contact/ for live chat

Fishing Highlights by Month........2

Urban Fishing...............................3

Catch These Fish..........................5

Fisheries Projects....................6-7

Seasons.......................................6

Fishing Forecasts..................8-15

year-long fun at a low cost. A general resi-dent fishing license only costs $20, whichtranslates to about half a penny a day! Andproceeds from licenses go directly back intoprotecting Wisconsin’s fisheries. If you don’thave fishing tackle, DNR has equipment forloan at many DNR offices and state parksfor your angling pleasure.So give yourself that license to relax.

Fishing can make you forget about yourday-to-day stress and worries. That’s a big

Wisconsin has faced hard economictimes in the past, and when that’shappened, people have turned to

fishing to forget their worries and relax fora few hours. Did you know that during thelast three recessions, sales of fishing licensesincreased? Once again we find ourselves indifficult economic times, but once again,fishing is still that great escape.Fishing is a family activity and with chil-

dren under 16 able to fish free, it provides

part of fishing — it’s the cheapest form oftherapy you can get.Wisconsin also has thousands of fishable

lakes and streams, two Great Lakes, and along stretch of the Mississippi River, whichmeans that good fishing is always lessthan 30 minutes from wherever you live inthis state — so you don’t have to spend a loton gas. Anglers catch 88 million fish andeat 33 million of them a year! That’s a lot ofgood fish dinners and there are plenty moreout there to go around this year.Fishing isn’t only good for the soul and

stomach, it’s also big business. Fishing inWisconsin generates $2.75 billion in eco-nomic activity and provides more than30,000 jobs!In this economy, we all need to escape,

relax and recharge our batteries, and fishingis a great way to do that. Better yet, takesomeone along who didn’t fish last year. It’sa great way to spend time with family andfriends, and a terrific way to catch somenew memories, too.

– Dennis Schenborn, fisheries section chief,Madison

Give yourself alicense to relax!

Contents

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Dear Wisconsin Angler,

JANUARY

Anglers canenjoy a fant

astic browntrout fishery

in the openwaters of L

ake Michigan’s tributari

es

and harbors. When the

weather gets cold,

concentrations of warm

water, either in the rive

r

mouth or one of several

warm water discharges,

attract baitfish such as

gizzard shad and round

gobies — and the hungry browns

that feed on

them all winter long. Unlike s

teelhead that prefer

to run upstream, brown

s tend to stay in the riv

er

mouth, theharbor, or n

ear shore areas with

warmer water.

FEBRUARY

February brings North A

merica’s largest winter

spear fishery, with an a

verage annual harvest o

f

1,400 lakesturgeon fro

m the Lake Winnebago

system and an annual econom

ic impact ofmore

than $3 million to the r

egion. Thesturgeon

population,estimated

at 12,000 adult female

s

and 25,000adult males

, is the world’s largest a

nd

reflects DNR’s success

ful century-old sturgeo

n

management program

and citizens’ commitme

nt

to sustaining this prehi

storic species.

MARCH

The inland game fish se

ason closesthe first

Sunday of the month, w

ith anglersoften taking

advantage of the last fe

w days. In northern

Wisconsin,ice fishing f

or panfish continues,

with bluegill and crapp

ie activity often picking

up. Ice is often gone or

in poor condition in oth

er

areas of thestate.

As Lake Michigan tribut

aries open up, fishing

for steelhead and brow

n trout picks up. The

early catch-and-release

trout seasonopens the

first Saturday in March

and anglerscan enjoy

great weather and actio

n this timeof year.

Walleye andsauger catc

hes often pick up in

those riversystems op

en year-round for game

fish. Find which rivers o

pen early online at:

dnr.wi.gov/fish/yearnd.h

tm.

APRIL

The end ofthe ice seas

on in northern Wisconsi

n

is very near. The major

ity of fishingaction is

usually on river system

s, especiallyGreat Lakes

tributaries where steelhe

ad runs arenear peak,

and on those rivers tha

t remain open for walle

ye

fishing. Rains often trigg

er fresh runs of steel-

head on Lake Michigan

tributaries in April.

Walleye angling is often

excellent onvarious

rivers with open season

s, includingthe

Menominee, Mississipp

i, Fox, Wolf,Rock, and

Crawfish rivers, and po

rtions of theWisconsin

River. Lakesturgeon ar

e expectedto begin the

ir

spawning run on the Wo

lf River andother large

rivers in thestate by mid

- to late April. Some

spectacularviewing of t

hese fish can be done

this time ofyear.

A Year of Fabulous FishingMAY

The regularinland seas

on for gamefish opens

statewide the first Satur

day in May.Walleye

fishing across the state

is usually good as

walleye begin to feed h

eavily afterspawning.

The start ofthe regular

trout fishingseason is a

great time to get out on

your favorite stream or

explore newones. Most

of the stocked trout

lakes and spring ponds

should provide some

excellent fishing for ope

ning weekend anglers.

Crappie, bluegill and pe

rch becomemore

active in shallow, warm

bays of lakes. Northern

pike are more active aft

er their spring spawnin

g.

Bass fishingin the north

ern zone iscatch-and-

release through June 1

9. The northern musky

zone does not open unt

il May 23. White bass

runs on several rivers p

rovide great fishing

opportunityearly in the

season andcan happen

any time from late April to

early June,depending

on water conditions.

JUNE

Bass and panfish oppor

tunities areplentiful

across the state, as the

y move intoshallow

water to build nests an

d spawn. Large and

smallmouthbass are us

ually well into their

spawning period in nor

thern Wisconsin. Northe

rn

pike actionpicks up wi

th the warming water

temperatures. The harve

st season for bass in

the northernzone opens

June 20.

JULY

Bass and panfish oppor

tunities areplentiful in

lakes across the state.

This is alsoa good time

for smallmouth bass fis

hing in streams and

rivers, trolling in the Gre

at Lakes fortrout and

salmon, andperch fishin

g on GreenBay and the

WinnebagoSystem. Wa

lleye fishingtends to

slow down in thewarmer mo

nths of Julyand

August after higher cat

ch rates inMay and Ju

ne.

Walleye catch rates pic

k up againin Septemb

er

and October.

AUGUST

Fishing canbe very goo

d for bass and panfish

in August. Bass fishing

is often best at early

morning and evening. T

his is usually a slow time

for walleye.Chinook sal

mon and brown and

rainbow trout are available to pi

er fishers along

Lake Michigan cities. M

usky fishingis popular in

northern lakes. Lake Wi

nnebago may be the b

est

bet for walleye fishing

in August. Lake Michiga

n

fisheries fortrout and sa

lmon have been tremen

-

dous in Julyand August

for the lastcouple year

s.

SEPTEMBER

Septemberbrings the h

ook-and-line season

for lake sturgeon. All a

nglers whoplan to

harvest a sturgeon mus

t buy a harvest tag

before theyfish. Lake s

turgeon arefound

in the Wisconsin River,

Lake Superior,

MississippiRiver and L

ake Michigan

drainages. September is

also when walleye

fishing picks up. Bass f

ishing is still good

before slowing down w

ith the cooling of lakes

and streams. Inland tro

ut fishing season ends

September30, so mak

e a last visit or two to

your favorite streams.

OCTOBER

October brings cooler w

eather but great

opportunities for walley

e and musky fishing

across the state. Septe

mber to October is

often whenwalleye put

on much oftheir

growth for the current y

ear. Fall movements

of walleye up rivers can

provide good fishing

opportunities.

NOVEMBER

Musky fishing is often

challengingbut

rewarding in Novembe

r, whether on inland

lakes or theFox River. R

ecent yearshave

seen very large musky

caught at the tail end

of the musky fishing se

ason, whichcloses the

last day of November.

DECEMBER

Ice fishing starts to pick

up in mid-December

in northernWisconsin.

Early ice can bring

good fishingfor walleye

and panfish, but

anglers need to be very

careful about ice

conditions.

For currentfishing

regulationsvisit

dnr.wi.gov/fish/

regulations/

Along with fishing guide Jim Sigsworth (not shown) andtwo youth from the Amery area, DNR Secretary MattFrank prepared for last year’s chilly morning fishingopener on Lake Wapogasset in Polk County.

Welcome to the 2009 fishing season! In these pages you’ll find information on fisheries,equipment, techniques and what’s biting when.As we look forward to another great season, I would like to tell you about important work

being done to protect fishing in our great state. Under Governor Jim Doyle’s leadership, withgrassroots support across Wisconsin, we accomplished a great deal in 2008.The Natural Resources Board passed a strong rule to cut mercury emissions by 90 percent that

should some day reduce mercury levels in fish.We’ve stepped up the fight against aquatic invasive species, tripling funding to prevent their

spread. Anglers can help by draining live wells and inspecting boats and trailers before movingfrom one waterway to another.We worked with other Great Lakes states, Canada and Congress to pass the Great Lakes

Compact. This historic commitment to sustainably manage the world’s greatest freshwaterresource laid the groundwork to protect these international treasures.Wisconsin also renewed the Stewardship Fund, which preserves land for outdoor recreation for

all our citizens. Stewardship has protected thousands of miles of lake, river and stream shoreline,improving fish habitat and public access.Our world-class fishing opportunities make Wisconsin waters a special place, and one of the

greatest gifts we can give our children is to connect them to the great outdoors. Take a childfishing — it’s a gift that will last a lifetime.On behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, thank you for the opportunity

to serve you. Good fishing in 2009!

Matt Frank, SecretaryWisconsin Department of Natural Resources

JIM

BISH

OP

TERR

YMAR

GENA

U

TARA

FEBO

CK

2009 Wisconsin Fishing Report 3

NEAL

ROSE

NBUR

G

Regulationbook

Hooks

Non-leadsinkers

Pliers orhemostat

Fillet knife(if you planon eatingany fish)

Fishinglicense

Camera

Clipperor smallscissors(to cut line)

Bobbers

Stringer/fish basket

Tapemeasure

Smallflashlight

Get the lead out!Lead fishing tackle kills aquatic wildlifedependent on Wisconsin’s waters.You can prevent lead poisoning in

wildlife:• Replace lead jigs and sinkers with thosemade of tin, bismuth, steel, tungsten orceramic.

• Spread the word – tell others about thehazards of lead to wildlife and people.

• Ask your favorite bait/tackle shop tocarry non-lead products.

• Dispose of old lead sinkers and jigsproperly at your local hazardous wastecollection site.

• Outfit your children’s tackle boxes withnon-lead tackle.

For more information,dnr.wi.gov/fish/pages/gettheleadout.html

Surveys show that people are not passingon fishing skills from one generation to thenext as they once did and that there aremany activities competing for parents’ andchildren’s time.

That’s why the Department of NaturalResources is promoting its Urban FishingProgram. The goal is to encourage morepeople, especially youngsters, to participatein the sport.

To meet its goals, the DNR has desig-nated certain ponds as urban waters tomake fishing opportunities more readilyavailable. These ponds have special regula-tions and are stocked seasonally with troutor panfish. The special regulations and anabundance of fish build confidence for anovice angler. There are 60 of these pondsthroughout the state; most located in moredensely populated southeastern Wisconsin.

In addition, the DNR wants people toknow that while catch-and-release is acommon practice, there is nothing wrongwith keeping a few fish for the frying pan.Fresh caught trout or panfish provide adelicious and nutritious meal, which addsto the fishing experience.

Luring new anglers to the sport alsotakes teamwork. The DNR works withlocal fishing clubs to organize fishingclinics on many urban ponds and thetireless efforts of these groups makethese clinics successful. Club membervolunteers teach kids the basics of fishing:casting, knot tying, fish identification,habitat protection, safety and ethics. Theclinics are free and fishing equipment isprovided. Pre-registration is not necessary.

And don’t let a lack of equipment keepyou from taking a kid fishing. The DNRhas fishing equipment to loan through itsTackle Loaner Program. The program hasmore than 50 sites throughout the state

and equipment is available on a first-come,first-served basis. The most popular timesfor borrowing the equipment are springand early summer. Equipment is availablefor free but we ask that it be returned cleanand in good working order for the nextgroup.

Fishing doesn’t have to be complicatedor costly. To make sure kids have a positiveexperience while fishing; keep it simple. Abasic rod and reel and a can of worms areall you need. While avid anglers may spendbig money for the latest in fishing technology,that investment is not necessary to enjoy aday on the water. Remember that if theweather is bad, simply wait for a nicer day.You don’t want kids to associate fishing

Get HookedEasy Access to Fishing Fun!

Urban fishing watersSOUTHEAST REGIONKENOSHA COUNTY: Anderson Park,Bong Children’s Pond, Poerio ParkMILWAUKEE COUNTY: Brown DeerPark, Dineen Park, Estabrook Park,Franklin High School, Greenfield Park,Holler Park, Humboldt Park, JacksonPark, Juneau Park, Kosciuszko Park,McCarty Park, McGovern Park, MillerPark, Mitchell Park, Oak CreekParkway, Saveland Park, Shoetz Park,Scout Lake, Sheridan Park,Washington Park, Wilson ParkOZAUKEE COUNTY: Harrington BeachQuarry, Mequon Rotary Park East andWest, Pucketts Pond, Schowalter Park,Willow Brooke ParkRACINE COUNTY: Gorney Park,Johnson Park, Lockwood Park,Pritchard Park, Quarry Lake, ReservoirParkSHEBOYGAN COUNTY: SheboyganQuarry, Memorial Park, River ParkLagoonWALWORTH COUNTY: Ceylon Lagoon,Congdon Park, Millpond Park PondWASHINGTON COUNTY: Boot Lake,Hartford Millpond, Homestead HollowPark, Kewaskum Millpond, SandyKnoll Park, Wells LakeWAUKESHA COUNTY: Calhoun Park,Heyer Park North and South, LepperDam Millpond, Lions Park-Overland,Menomonee Park, Minooka Park,Muskego Park, Nixon Park, RegalPark, and Woodfield North and South

NORTHERN REGIONLANGLADE COUNTY: Remington LakeLINCOLN COUNTY: Mirror Lake

NORTHEAST REGIONBROWN COUNTY: Manger Lagoon

with being cold and wet! Also, make sureyou bring snacks, bug repellant, sunscreen,water and a cooler full of ice (if you planon keeping any fish). And don’t forget tobring a camera to capture that smiling childholding up a prize catch.

There’s a reason, after all, that mostfamily photo albums contain pictures ofsomebody holding up a fish.

– Matt Coffaro, fisheries biologist,Milwaukee

For more information on the UrbanFishing Program, contact Matt Coffaro(414) 263-8614 or [email protected],or Travis Motl (414) 333-1183, ore-mail [email protected].

A young angler participates in the Spring Fishing Clinic at Scout Lake, one of thedesignated urban waters in Milwaukee County.

TRAV

ISMOT

L

Borrow a rod, keep the memories!Check out the DNR Tackle Loaner ProgramVisit the DNR website for more information: dnr.wi.gov/fish/kidsparents/loanercontacts.htmlOr contact Matt Coffaro at (414)263-8614, [email protected], or Travis Motl at (414) 333-1183,[email protected]

Using DNR loaner rods and tackle, kidsfrom Milwaukee enjoy great fishing andgreat catching.

Basic tackle box

Visit takemefishing.orgfor more information onfishing tackle.


Most of Wisconsin’s nearly 800 muskywaters support healthy, naturally reproduc-ing native musky populations. But in somewaters, musky need help producing thenext generation. To ensure adequate quarryfor Wisconsin musky anglers, the DNR fishpropagation system is using the latest ingenetic analysis to produce and stockmusky.Propagation and stocking have been

popular and visible tools to help establishand maintain quality musky fisheries. Tofurther improve this important part of themusky management program, the DNRis applying principles of conservationgenetics. That means making sure that wemaintain the native populations of muskyunique to Wisconsin, and avoid potentialproblems associated with genetic variationloss. Lower survival, growth and reproduc-tion rates are among the potential problemsthat can occur in artificial propagationprograms.Native musky populations have adapted

to local conditions and are the best fit forthose waters. Identifying current distribu-tion of genetic markers known as DNAmicrosatellites helps determine boundariesfor groups of lakes that have fish of similarorigin, and that should be kept separatefrom other groups. This is an issuewhere self-sustaining native populationsare stocked in the same basin.To do this, DNA markers are obtained

from fin tissue samples, which are takenfrom musky netted during spring surveysand then released back to the lake. Most ofthe sampling is focused on lakes within theupper Chippewa and Wisconsin Riverbasins, which contain most of Wisconsin’snative musky populations.Once genetic distribution is identified,

Anglers Tom Cichosz ofMadison and John Cichosz ofMenomonee Falls proved thata little brotherly competitionpays off. Both establishedfirst-time records for twosmall, little known specieswhile fishing the MilwaukeeRiver, Milwaukee County, onJune 29, 2008. Tom claimedhis record when he reeled in a1.4-ounce, 6.25-inch-long horny-head chub.John, not to be outdone by

his brother, staked his claimto fame when he caught a 1.9-ounce, 6.37-inch-long com-mon shiner.

Daniel Haley of Two Rivershooked a 5.3-ounce, 8.5-inch-long round goby on May 11,2008, from Lake Michigan,Manitowoc County, beatingthe previous record by 2.3 ounces.

Donald Peyer of Whitewater reeled in a6-pound, 4.8-ounce sauger measuring 23.75inches from the Mississippi River in PierceCounty on March 30, 2008, battering theexisting record by almost a half a pound.To see details on other state record fish,

go to fishingwisconsin.org, and look under“Wisconsin fish.” If you think you or some-one else has caught a fish that may be a staterecord, here’s what you need to do:

• Don’t clean or freeze the fish.

• Keep the fish cool, preferably on ice.

Brad Bohen (background) and Derek Kuehl (foreground) display their“musky double.”

Avid fly fisherman and fishing guide, Brad Bohen of Hayward, had truly arecord year in 2008. While fishing the Chippewa River on Oct. 16, heclaimed a world fly record for a released fish on a 36-pound tippet, when helanded a 51.25-inch musky. The excitement of the day didn’t end there asjust moments later, his good fishing buddy Derek Kuehl hooked a mammothmusky of his own, measuring 45 inches, and they executed an almostunheard of “musky double on the fly.” To read more about Brad’s story,visit dnr.wi.gov/fish/record/.

TOM

CICH

OSZ

TOM

CICH

OSZ

GRET

CHEN

HANS

EN

CONT

RIBU

TEDPH

OTO

Genetic conservation helps to ensure mighty muskies for anglers who target them.

Fishing bythe numbers1.4 million licensed anglers

21 million annual fishing days

#2 ranked fishing destination

88.2 million fish caught

33 million fish harvested

7 million fingerlings andyearlings stocked per year

$2.75 billion economic activity

30,164 jobs

165 fish species

15,081 lakes

42,000 miles of year-roundstreams

10,266 miles of trout stream

“Big”is all in the eye of the beholder

for these state record fish

• Get the fish weighed as soon as possibleon a certified scale (usually found ingrocery, hardware stores, etc.) andwitnessed by an observer.

• Contact the nearest DNR office to getthe fish species positively identified andto find out whether the fish is a staterecord. If possible, take a photo of youholding your catch and send the photo tothe DNR Bureau of Fisheries Management,Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, in careof Karl Scheidegger, or e-mail [email protected].

You don’t need a 60-incher to hold a state record asJohn Cichosz proves with his 6.37-inch common shiner.

stocking may occur within the native rangeof musky without introducing fish that mightchange or replace the native populations ifstocked fish reproduce or move to connect-ed waters.Another important application of con-

servation genetic principles is to use a suffi-cient number of brood fish, adult fishnetted from wild populations for egg pro-duction, so the next generation contains arepresentative sample of all the geneticdiversity in a lake.

Since 2006, for example, the two DNRhatcheries that produce musky havesought to use 70 to 100 brood fish eachyear. Over a seven-year period roughlycorresponding to a musky generation,these targets provide a 95 percent chanceof sampling all the genes in a population.These applications of genetic principles

allow us to make fishing better, while pro-tecting our natural heritage.

– Martin Jennings, research scientist,Spooner

Keeping the fightin the state fish

ScienceIN THE SPOTLIGHT

JOHN

NARD

I


*There are 144 waters where exceptions to this advice apply. More stringent consumption advice applies where fishhave higher concentrations of mercury, PCBs or other chemicals. See our website for further information:dnr.wi.gov/fish/consumption/

Catch on to your favorite species with these tipsThere’s always good fishing in Wisconsin – you just need to know what’s biting when and adjust your sights, techniques and bait.

Enjoy fish low in mercury like these fineblack crappie!

CRAPPIECrappie fishing is popular in spring when aggressive males strike at almost anything that comes near their nests. Summer and fall are more difficult, as crappie seekout deep holes or deep submerged brush for shelter. Ice fishing for crappie is also popular on some lakes, as crappie remain active all winter. Anglers are almostcertain to have their best success near submerged structures. During spring spawning, fish near vegetation close to shore. In summer, try deep holes or riverchannels, especially ones with sunken logs or brush piles. Light tackle is preferred for fishing crappie. The more sensitive the rod, the easier it is to detect a crappie'slight bite. Small fathead minnows, sometimes called "crappie minnows," are the most popular crappie bait and are often used with a light jig. Crappie also hit onworms, insect larvae and artificial lures such as spinners and spoons. Wet and dry flies are popular when crappies are on their spawning beds. Small teardrop-shapedhooks make good winter bait used alone or in combination with grubs.

BLUEGILLDuring summer, anglers have the best luck fishing bluegill from a boat in water six to 15 feet deep. Although worms are the most common bait, bluegill are not fussyand will bite at small bait like insects, insect larvae or other invertebrates. Because of their small mouths, anglers should use small hooks. Bluegill suck in prey ratherthan striking at it, so a bobber helps signal a bite. Fly casters can have fun with poppers, especially in spring and early summer, when nests are concentrated in shal-low water. Wintertime jigging in weed beds with grubs or mousies also produces excellent results. Ice anglers find the best fishing among weeds in deeper water, butgills can also be found in shallow waters, sometimes as shallow as two feet, usually near sand/weed borders. Ice anglers use short, light jig poles, lightweight line andsmall tear-shaped jigs. Small hooks usually are baited with grubs.

LARGEMOUTH BASSLargemouth bass fishing is best early May to late June, and early September to mid-October, when the water temperature ranges from 55 to 75 degrees.Largemouth bass call “structure” home: in-flowing or out-flowing streams, points, reefs, submerged trees, docks, rafts, tree stumps, vegetation beds, sunkenislands, rock and riprap, and drop-offs. When fishing shallow, visible structure, look for spots slightly different from the rest of the cover. In cattails along shore,for example, cast near pockets or points of cattails, or by patches of other vegetation within the cattails. Live bait, surface plugs, underwater plugs, poppers on afly rod, streamers and almost any other type of bait will attract hungry largemouth bass.

SMALLMOUTH BASSPound for pound, smallmouth bass are the scrappiest Wisconsin fish. Smallmouth are common in medium to large rocky streams and in large clear water lakes wherecrayfish are abundant. The best lake fishing is found in June just after the spawning season, and in early fall. Baits like hellgrammites (dragonfly larvae), and crayfishimitations are effective in early morning and late evening. Light tackle is ideal. Fish quietly, casting toward rocks or logs, keeping the rod tip up and the line tight.

WALLEYEThousands of walleye are caught during their annual spring spawning runs where the season allows. Walleye primarily feed on minnows, but leeches, smallbullheads, night crawlers and small plugs also are favorite baits. In clear waters, walleye stay in deeper areas during the day and move into the shallows atnight. In more turbid waters, walleye can be caught throughout the day. Try fly casting with streamer flies or poppers on quiet, calm nights near the edgesof rocky bars or weed beds. Ice fish with tip-ups, jigs and medium-sized minnows.

YELLOW PERCHYellow perch are primarily found near the bottom. They eat almost anything, but prefer minnows, insect larvae, plankton and worms. Tackle may be as simple as a canepole or as complex as a graphite rod with an ultralight, open-faced spinning reel — as long as it is sensitive. Use a small, fine wire hook with live bait and a smallbobber with just enough buoyancy to break water. It will signal even the lightest bites. Because perch prefer cooler water, the best fishing is usually in deep water.Perch move about in schools, often numbering in the hundreds. If one spot is unproductive after a few tries, it is best to move to other spots until a school is located.

BROOK AND BROWN TROUTFishing guides say 80 percent of trout are found in 20 percent of the water. Because trout instinctively seek cover from predators, knowing where to look for fishcover can increase angling success. Deep water on the outside of stream bends, pools, undercut banks, areas with surface turbulence, and structure like largerocks and logs are preferred trout habitat. Another way to increase success is to imitate a blue heron, which carefully moves to avoid spooking fish.Brook trout are found in the coldest and cleanest streams and spring ponds. These fish feed most actively when water temperature ranges from 57 to 60

degrees Fahrenheit. Brook trout are voracious predators of aquatic and terrestrial insects and worms, and freshwater shrimp. Brook trout actively feed duringlow-light conditions of early morning and dusk when aquatic insects emerge. Brook trout tend to be less wary than brown trout, and worms, small spinners andvarious fly patterns are effective lures.Brown trout are longer-lived, grow larger and often inhabit waters too warm or enriched for brook trout, actively feeding in water temperatures that range

from about 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Small brown trout have diets similar to brook trout’s, but as they grow, the brown trout’s diet increasingly is madeup of minnows and crayfish. Anglers interested in catching trophy brown trout should try using minnow and crayfish imitations.Anglers fishing Wisconsin’s early artificials-only catch-and-release season should try a different tactic. With colder water temperatures, trout congregate

in deep slow moving water typically found in pools. Concentrate on fishing baits slow and deep.

NORTHERN PIKEDuring open water season, northern pike anglers should come equipped with a sturdy rod; medium-weight line with a wire leader (to avoid cutting a line onthe northern pike’s sharp teeth); a full complement of spoon-type lures, streamer flies, and other bait impostors such as large crankbaits. If live bait ispreferred, small suckers and chubs up to eight inches long suspended under a sturdy bobber or pulled slowly behind a spinner work well. Duringice fishing season, tip-ups rigged so the fish can run with the live bait work well under the ice. Marshy areas and weed beds hold pike whenthe water is cool — late spring and early summer, late summer and early fall, and in winter soon after the ice forms. If you’re hopingto hook a northern when the water is warm, fish the cool depths. As ambush predators, northern pike feed by sight and bite best during daylight hours;keep the bait moving and you’re sure to get a strike.

MUSKYPatience is the most important item in a musky angler’s tackle box. Other elements of traditional musky gear include a heavy bait-casting rod; substantiallevel-wind reel; 20- to 35-pound test line; and a variety of large artificial lures such as plugs, bucktail spinners and spoons. Some anglers prefer tocast or drift with live bait — usually a sucker 10 to 14 inches long on a quick set rig. The musky’s natural home is in northern lakes and rivers. It is asolitary fish and often lurks in weed beds or other protective cover. Anglers usually have the best luck fishing during the daytime, although muskyare often active after dark and action can be heart stopping. For calm nights, large surface baits are often best while large plugs, spoons, andbucktails are the best artificial baits for daylight hours along with a live sucker 10 to 12 inches long. Musky generally strike bait that has considerable“action,” so keep the bait moving. When a musky hits, set the hook immediately and firmly in its hard, bony jaws, keep a tight line and hold on for the ride of your life.

– Compiled by DNR fisheries staff

SAFE EATING GUIDELINES FOR MOST OF WISCONSIN’S INLAND WATERS*

Women of childbearing years, nursing mothersand all children under 15 may eat:

One meal per week – Bluegill, crappie, yellowperch, sunfish, bullhead and inland trout;

and

One meal per month – Walleye, pike, bass, catfishand all other species.

Do not eat – Musky

Women beyond their childbearing yearsand men may eat:

Unrestricted – Bluegill, crappie, yellow perch,sunfish, bullhead and inland trout;

One meal per week – Walleye, pike, bass, catfishand all other species;

and

One meal per month – Musky

Reviving a stream,awakening a fisheryBELOIT – A single, newly emerged brooktrout fingerling found in 2006 in RaccoonCreek, otherwise known as Paddock Creek,was a sign of life and hope in this RockCounty stream.While once home to brook trout, early

agricultural use and a lack of soil conserva-tion brought an end to the native fishery inthe late 1800s.Throughout the past 30 years, though,

land use around Raccoon Creek haschanged for the better. Herds of cattle nolonger roam in the creek and croplandshave been enrolled in the ConservationReserve Program (CRP), which helpsreduce soil erosion and improves waterquality. Parcels were bought by the Green-Rock Audubon Society, a group of prairieenthusiasts and Beloit College. The “NoTrespass” signs came down and the DNRconsidered stocking.DNR worked with the local landowners,

townships, Audubon and ConservationCongress to devise a plan to restore theprairie vegetation and historic native fishcommunity. In January 2001, “no kill” reg-ulations went into effect and the first “wildstrain” brook trout were stocked by latesummer. They survived well and the firstsign of natural reproduction — a singlefingerling — was found in 2006. More nat-ural reproduction followed in 2007.DNR continues to monitor the popula-

tion and stock wild trout each year tosupplement the emerging fishery. Odds ofcatching a large trout at this time are slim.But with protection and habitat improve-ment, this stream has a future.

– Don Bush, fisheries supervisor, Janesville

Eagle Lakesoon to soarRACINE – Once plagued by too manysmall panfish, poor water quality and inva-sive Eurasian watermilfoil, Eagle Lake inRacine County now has a bright future,thanks to a rehabilitation project designedto improve water quality and fish habitat.In fall 2008, DNR fisheries staff took the

first step in transforming Eagle Lake byeradicating the poor-quality fish communi-ty. This was accomplished by applying liq-uid and powdered rotenone to 14 ponds,Eagle Creek, the lake and adjoining wet-lands.Beginning in 2009, the lake will be


The “dead sea”comes aliveNEW RICHMOND — A cooperative lakehabitat improvement project is turning alake once known as the “dead sea” into alocal hotspot. The DNR, Star Prairie Fishand Game, Cedar Lake Management andRehabilitation District and the Willow RiverRod and Gun Club started the project inwinter 2004.The overall plan is to install 500 fish cribs

into Cedar Lake to improve habitat. Theproject will take about 10 years to completewith an estimated 50 fish habitat structuresinstalled per year. To date, 178 cribs havebeen installed.Structural cover, an important component

of fish habitat, has been extremely scarce inCedar Lake. Cribs provide adult fish withcover, nursery areas, safety from predators,and help increase the food — such asmacroinvertebrates — available to fish.With numerous fish cribs placed in

colonies throughout the lake, new habitat isevolving and thriving, evident by hundredsof anglers out fishing for crappie, bluegilland walleye.Cedar Lake is once again a popular pan-

fish and walleye destination during openwater and ice fishing seasons. The localcommunity has already labeled the coopera-tive project a great success. For more infor-mation check out the Star Prairie Fish andGame website, click on activities and maps at:www.fishandgame.starprairie.org/maps.htm

– Marty Engel, fisheries biologist, Baldwin

New shorefishing accesson anglers’ radarWEST SALEM – Habitat improvements in2008 on the lower La Crosse River provideanglers with new and easy access for shorefishing in Veteran’s Memorial Park.This stretch of river was once essentially

devoid of usable fish cover, and its nearlyvertical banks made it almost impossible tofish from shore. The DNR and La Crosse

2009 FishingSeasons

EARLY INLAND TROUTMarch 7 (5 a.m.) to April 26

GENERAL INLAND TROUTMay 2 (5 a.m.) to Sept. 30

LARGE AND SMALLMOUTHBASS NORTHERN ZONECATCH-AND-RELEASEMay 2 to June 19

LARGE AND SMALLMOUTHBASS NORTHERN ZONE –HARVESTJune 20 to March 7, 2010

LARGE AND SMALLMOUTHBASS SOUTHERN ZONEMay 2 to March 7, 2010

MUSKY – NORTHERN ZONEMay 23 to Nov. 30

MUSKY – SOUTHERN ZONEMay 2 to Dec. 31

NORTHERN PIKEMay 2 to March 7, 2010

WALLEYEMay 2 to March 7, 2010

LAKE STURGEONSept. 5 to Sept. 30(hook-and-line)

County sloped the banks, installed cover forfish, improved a small boat and canoe land-ing and created spots for anglers to fish.The benefits are already noticeable in the

numbers of anglers catching fish. Even dur-ing construction, anglers caught fish in andaround the new habitat. The new boat land-ing allowed kayak groups to easily accessthe river for day trips and the banks are pro-tected from erosion during high water.– Jordan Weeks, senior inland fisheries biologist,La Crosse

Lakeshore habitatrevived a centurylaterBARNES – A habitat improvement projecton the 191-acre Bony Lake in BayfieldCounty is restoring lakeshore habitat tobenefit fish and other aquatic life and isspurring similar work on nearby lakes.Logging activities between the 1890s and

mid-1920s and northern lakes developmentbeginning in the early 1940s removed manyof the downed trees and other lakeshorehabitat that fish rely on. Developed portionsof 16 northern Wisconsin lakes averaged 57logs per kilometer of shoreline, compared to379 along undeveloped portions of the samelakes.In fall 2008 with funding from a DNR

Lake Protection Grant, the leadership oflakeshore property owners, and the assistanceof Bayfield Land and Water Conservation,Eau Claire Conservation Club and the DNRadded wood to the shorelines of Bony Lake,which at that time had only 80 pieces ofwood. By the time spring arrived, that num-ber increased by 400 percent.Wood in shallow waters has many bene-

fits for lake ecosystems. For fish, it providesspawning and juvenile fish habitat, protec-tion from predators, an ambush spot for pre-dation and macroinvertebrate production.Perhaps the most important part of the

project is that the trees used come fromupland woods as part of good forestry man-agement practices.Three additional lakeshore properties

installed wood in winter 2009. In addition, theproject’s popularity has spread to nearbyWillipyro,Middle and Upper Eau Claire lakes.

– Scott Toshner, fisheries biologist, Brule

Tomorrow River,today’s troutWAUSAU – An exciting project to enhancetrout habitat and improve anglers’ accesswas completed in summer 2008 on theRichard J. Hemp Fishery Area on theTomorrow River in Portage County.A new parking area was developed jointly

with DNR fisheries and operations crews toenhance access to the state-owned property.DNR habitat crews added 38 LUNKERstructures to the 700-foot stream reach for atotal of 304 feet of new overhead cover.Additionally, on one cold snowy morn-

ing, volunteers from the local Bill CookChapter of the Izaak Walton League bun-dled 750 Christmas trees and placed themon the side of the stream channel. Thesebundles are often more effective than brushbundles at trapping and holding sedimentand keeping water clean.We believe this work will make an

already productive trout stream even better.

– Thomas Meronek, fisheries biologist, Wausau

Dam removal putsdown a welcomemat for fishMILWAUKEE – For anglers, the partner-ship to remove Seminary Dam from thePigeon River and restore habitat meansmore great places to fish for trout andsalmon.In 2008, the Department of Natural

Resources, working with the dam owner,Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, removed thedeteriorating Seminary Dam to restore theformer one acre impoundment to its naturallandscape. The project is expected toimprove water quality and enhance spawn-ing and developmental habitat for fish liv-ing in Pigeon Creek, the Milwaukee Riverand Lake Michigan.The ecological and public benefits will

extend beyond Pigeon Creek, which hasgood environmental quality, and supports 20native fish species, including the state threat-ened greater redhorse. Dam removal givesfish access to hundreds of acres of wetlandsgenerally lacking from other MilwaukeeRiver tributaries in this reach.Anglers were quick to discover Pigeon

Creek as a destination for Lake Michigansalmon and trout moving into the Milwau-kee River. If trout reproduction continues,Seminary Dam removal will result in thefurthest southern point of natural troutreproduction in the Lake Michigan Basin.Biologists are hopeful that northern pikeand walleye also will use the new habitat.

– Will Wawrzyn, fisheries biologist, Milwaukee

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Bundles of Christmas trees (left) were placed on the side of the Tomorrow River to aid intrapping and holding the sediment and keeping the water clean.

Fabulous fisheries projects

Crews construct the 2,000-pound fish cribs at the boat landing on Cedar Lake and towthem out onto the lake using an ice sled and ATV.

Naturally reproduced brook trout finger-lings found in surveys are the first steps tosuccess in Raccoon Creek.


Fabulous fisheries projects Continued from page 6

restocked with northern pike, largemouthbass, and forage minnows and in 2010,bluegill and yellow perch. Special fishingregulations designed to protect future fishcommunities in Eagle Lake are in effect.Soon, anglers, boaters, and swimmers will

benefit from a lake that has bragging sizefish, clear water and lush stands of nativeaquatic plants.

- Doug Welch, fisheries biologist, Sturtevant

Lake Wingra getsa carp clean upMADISON – Lake Wingra is the lesserknown “fifth” lake in the Madison chain.At 345 acres, it is easily overlooked, as itsits nestled deep within the University ofWisconsin-Madison Arboretum.Wingra, however, is no stranger to musky

anglers. It is recognized as one of Wisconsin’spremier action lakes with a robust muskypopulation. Yet it is also a challenged lake.An urban landscape, shallow depths and richsediments can make Wingra a green soupbowl of algae in mid-summer — a waterquality condition exacerbated by carp.Efforts in late winter 2007-08 removed

6,308 carp weighing more than 48,000pounds. That translates to 51 percent of thelake’s carp mass. The removal was conduct-ed by commercial fishermen using 3,000-foot-long seines (large fishing nets) and allgame fish were returned to the lake.By suppressing carp, Wingra’s water clar-

ity improved significantly in summer 2008.A positive response in growth of nativeaquatic vegetation — the “weeds” anglerstarget for musky — was also noted.

– Kurt Welke, fisheries biologist, Fitchburg

Habitatimprovementfor troutWAUKESHA – Trout habitat improvementprojects on Paradise and Scuppernongsprings that began in the 1980s and continuetoday will benefit native brook trout andanglers for future generations.The Class 1 trout streams have excellent

water sources and have documented naturalbrook trout reproduction but still sufferfrom negative human impacts includinginvasive aquatic plants, ditching, damming,development and even mining.In 2008, DNR fish crews designed and

installed a variety of habitat improvementtechniques, including installing LUNKERstructures, using bio-logs to stabilize banks,and removing buckthorn from the streamside.Crews also removed invasive aquatic plantsand isolated a connected warmwater fisheryto avoid raising water temperatures on thetrout waters.The project areas will provide better

angler access, increase brook trout naturalreproduction and enhance the water’s car-rying capacity.

- Benjamin Heussner, fisheries biologist, Waukesha

Construction continues at Wild RoseWith the first $15.9 million phase of Wild Rose Hatchery completed and coldwater fishproduction well underway, work is in full swing on the second phase that includes theconstruction of new coolwater incubation and rearing facilities for raising pike, sturgeon,walleye and musky. Phase II is expected to be completed by the end of 2009, allowingthe new hatchery to start raising coolwater fish for stocking in 2010. A third phase willrestore the wetland, springs and stream disturbed when the hatchery was originally builtin the early 1900s and altered through the 1960s.

Potential future fish biologistsFisheries biologist Al Niebur was joined by these two boys and their father (not shown)while doing hoop net surveys on the Wolf River. “One of the boys is totally fascinated withcatfish,” says Niebur.“I never saw a kid just dive in and grab a fish like he did. He wascoated with catfish slime from head to toe, and his mom said he smelled like fish for days!”

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Spawning brooktrout a sign ofsuccess on thistrout streamPESHTIGO – Habitat improvements on theLittle South Branch Pike River are breathingfresh air into this brook trout stream recent-ly degraded by beaver activity.Stream banks had sloughed in the stream

corridor, sending large amounts of sand andsilt into the pools and covering valuablewoody debris and gravel substrate. Beaverdams impounded water, causing the water’stemperature to rise.Using trout stamp dollars, the DNR began

this project in 2003 and by 2008, fisheriesstaff had removed 415 yards of beaver damson the river and restored the adjacentuplands near the stream. Additionally, theDNR restored about 70 yards of streamchannel by placing it back into its originalchannel and installing 16 crossover logs toprovide shaded rest areas for trout.During fall 2008, brook trout were

spawning in this reach of stream wherepreviously, six inches of sand and siltprevented such activity. Increased numbersof naturally producing trout will lead tomore fish for Wisconsin anglers fishing thePike River watershed.

– Mike Donofrio, fisheries supervisor, Peshtigo

Winnebagowalleye thrivethroughout thesystemOSHKOSH – Walleye fishing on theWinnebago System is as good as it has everbeen — these are the “good ol’ days” forwalleye. Our proactive walleye managementprogram initiated in 1990 is paying big div-idends in a robust, stable walleye popula-tion and in thousands of anglers catchingtheir limits every year. Walleye are the main-stay of our recreational fishery on the Win-nebago Pool lakes, and the Wolf and UpperFox rivers. That fishery has an estimatedannual value to the local economy of $300million annually.

The program’s success has been builtupon sound assessments, habitat manage-ment and development, and proactive publicinvolvement. We annually assess: the statusof the spawning stock (we captured andtagged nearly 14,000 walleye in spring2008); adult densities and exploitationthrough tournament tag returns; and yearclass strength through standardized falltrawling and shoreline shocking surveys.Our habitat management and developmentprogram is implemented in conjunctionwith local clubs and hundreds of volunteers.Together we have restored thousands ofacres of walleye spawning habitat on theWolf and Upper Fox rivers.

The Winnebago System is a regional des-tination for excellent walleye fishing. Giventhe stability and robustness of the walleye

a walleye hot spot for years to come.

– Ron Bruch, fisheries supervisor, Oshkosh

Crews build LUNKER structures as part of trout habitat improvement projects onParadise and Scuppernong springs.

Senior fisheries biologist Kendall Kamke holds the 100,000th walleye tagged on theWinnebago System since tagging began in 1989.

population we’ve been able to build duringthe past 20 years, the system should remain

2009 Regional ForecastsNorthern Wisconsin


In reel terms

Year class – Fish hatched in a particu-lar year.

Young-of-the-year (YOY) – Generally,fish that hatch in the spring andsummer and survive through fall, whenDNR typically does “young-of-the-year”surveys to assess their survival.

Recruitment – Fish surviving to reachcatchable age and enter the adultpopulation.

Size structure – Generally, the propor-tion of fish occurring at different sizes.When biologists say they are taking amanagement action to try to improvesize structure, they’re often talkingabout trying to increase the number ofbigger fish.

Find fish and habitat survey reports formany lakes and rivers featured in thisforecast at dnr.wi.gov/fish/reports.

ASHLAND COUNTYDay Lake Flowage – Surveys show thatthis is the “go-to” lake for anglers who wantto catch a musky. Recently, the adult muskypopulation was estimated at 1.6 fish per sur-face acre or 1,020 fish in this 625-acre lake.More normal, healthy musky densities are0.4 to 0.6 adults per acre. Although muskyare numerous, the average size is small forthe species with most fish less than 30 inches.There is a minimum size limit of 28 inchesso anglers should have lots of action withgood opportunity to take a fish home.Other fishable species in Day Lake

include largemouth bass — 41 percent aregreater than 12 inches — but are found inmoderate abundance. The lake has a varietyof panfish species but few at harvestablesize. A national forest campground and boatlaunch facilities are available on Day Lakeproviding good shoreline fishing opportuni-ties for anglers of all ages.– Jeff Roth, fisheries biologist, Mercer

BARRON COUNTYBass Lake-Chetek – Walleye, large-mouth bass and northern pike are present.Bluegill are abundant and below averagein size with none larger than seven inchescollected. Largemouth bass also are com-mon, but with only a few larger than 16inches.Bear Lake – Largemouth bass are fat and

in great condition, with 18-inch and largerbass present. Northern pike are commonwith many mid-20-inch fish present. Theadult walleye population is estimated atonly 0.5 fish per acre, or 661 walleye.Bluegill run above average with many fish inthe 7.5- to 8.5-inch range.

Big Moon Lake – The adult walleye pop-ulation is estimated at 0.6 fish per acre, or107 fish. About a dozen musky have beencollected, with the largest fish 45 inches andjust shy of 30 pounds. Largemouth bass areabundant. Bluegill are the most abundantpanfish with most fish maxing out between6.5 and 7.5 inches.

Rice Lake – The largest musky measuredin a two-year musky survey was collectedin 2008. The fish was just shy of 49 inchesand weighed 44 pounds. Preliminary resultsindicate a high-quality musky fishery withlower numbers of fish. Northern pike, large-mouth and smallmouth bass and walleyewere captured. The bass fishery is of quality-size with numerous fish 18 inches and larg-er present. Bluegill were the most commonpanfish collected but generally ran small, inthe 6.3- to 7.3-inch range.

Staples Lake – The adult walleye popula-tion is estimated at 0.6 fish per acre or 172fish. Largemouth bass are abundant withmany fish larger than 18 inches and in excel-lent condition. Northern pike have been cap-tured, but were lower in overall abundance.Bluegill are the most common panfish col-lected, with most fish 7.5 to 8.5 inches.– Heath Benike, senior fisheriesbiologist, Barron

BAYFIELD COUNTY

Siskiwit Lake – A comprehen-sive fishery survey began inspring of 2008 and showed thatthe walleye population has aver-age size quality but lower abun-dance. Adult walleye abundancewas just below average at 2.6walleye per acre. Length of wall-eye was average for this laketype at 14.8 inches, with a max-imum of 18.7 inches.

Middle Eau Claire Lake – Amusky population survey inspring 2008 showed that thislake has lower numbers ofmusky but good size structure.The average size of musky sur-veyed was 36.4 inches with amaximum of 51 inches. Twenty-six percent of musky surveyed were greaterthan 40 inches in length. Middle Eau ClaireLake doesn’t have the action potential ofother musky lakes in northern Wisconsin,but it does afford an angler a chance to catcha trophy.– Scott Toshner, fisheries biologist, Brule

BURNETT COUNTYYellow Lake – This lake consistently pro-duces quality game fish. The 2008 adultwalleye population estimate was 4.6 per acrecompared to 5.1 per acre in 1992 and 4.7per acre in 1986. Those are pretty decentnumbers, but it’s the size of the walleye thatmakes Yellow Lake special. Male walleyeaverage 17 inches and 47 percent of thefemale walleye are greater than 20 inches.Creel surveys showMay and October are thebest months to try for walleye but July is thetop month for musky action.

– Larry Damman, fisheries biologist, Spooner

DOUGLAS COUNTYBond Lake – A spring 2008 survey showedthat the walleye population has low abun-dance but good size structure. Of the 152walleye surveyed, the average length was19.8 inches and the size ranged from 17 to26 inches, indicating quality size structure.Largemouth bass were the second mostabundant game fish captured with an aver-age length of 14.6 inches and a maximum

length of 19 inches. Although pike are lowin numbers, the size structure is good forthis area. The longest northern pike caughtin the survey was 39 inches.– Scott Toshner, fisheries biologist, Brule

FLORENCE COUNTYEdith Lake – Public access was acquiredon this 44-acre lake, which will be managedfor trout fishing opportunities in the futurethrough stocking. There is currently a prim-itive, carry-in access and the goal is to keepit that way but improve an area to accom-modate better parking.– Mike Vogelsang, fisheries supervisor, Woodruff

FOREST COUNTYStevens Lake - Stevens Lake is moreknown for its bass and northern pike fishing,but walleye appear to be doing very well forthis shallow lake. Spring surveys show thatthe number of adult walleye in the lake wasestimated at 3.7 per acre, with 98 percent ofthose fish captured larger than 15 inches.The largest walleye caught was 26.7 inches.Forty-four northern pike were captured withan average size of 26 inches; the largest was37.7 inches. Largemouth bass numbers werelow, reflecting the difficulty of capturingthese fish with the cold water temperaturesduring this time of year, but all of the six fishcaptured were larger than 14 inches.Surveys show that the walleye spring hatch

on Butternut, Franklin, Lucerne and Lily lakeswas very good and above the average indexlevel for naturally reproducing lakes.– Mike Vogelsang, fisheries supervisor, Woodruff

IRON COUNTYPine Lake – Located in east central IronCounty, this 312-acre lake is considered a“walleye factory” that produces more wall-eye than a healthy, balanced lake is capableof supporting. Spring surveys in 2008 esti-mated the adult walleye population at 8.8fish per acre. This is an extremely abundantpopulation comprised of mostly slow-grow-ing male fish. By comparison, this year’saverage adult walleye density in northernWisconsin is 3.9 fish per acre. Fall 2008surveys showed that another banner yearclass was produced this year, which will fur-ther increase abundance down the road.Because of the overabundance of walleye,

forage fish densities are very low and themajority of walleye are less than 14 inches,so anglers should have fast action with lotsof hungry fish at legal size available.Historically, fishing pressure is extremely lighteven though there is a newly renovated pub-lic boat landing available. Anglers areencouraged to harvest walleye.

Plunkett Lake – Plunkett (Sugar) Lake isa small, two-story (cold and warmwaterfish) lake located in the Northern HighlandsState Forest just off of Highway 51. Anglerswill find success fishing for a variety ofspecies in a very picturesque environment.A carry-in boat access and a few shorelinefishing opportunities are available. Annualplants of catchable-size rainbow and brown

trout are made each spring before openingday. Last year, adult lake trout up to 30inches were stocked to add to the fishingexcitement and as a management strategy toutilize the abundance of forage fish in thelake. Along with an occasional eight- to 10-pound walleye and a variety of panfish, thisis an outstanding fishery that anglers of allages will enjoy.– Jeff Roth, fisheries biologist, Mercer

LANGLADE COUNTYMcGee Lake – The McGee Lake brooktrout restoration project is on schedule. Afall 2008 survey showed a healthy andgrowing brook trout population. Some up to18.5 inches were actively spawning duringthe surveys. Successful reproduction andsurvival will quickly build this fishery fromthe 11 per acre we found in 2008 to one thatapproaches 50 per acre, which can sustainharvest. The lake will reopen to fishing, likelyin 2010, once it has a harvestable surplus offish and it is safe to do so without harmingthe repopulation process.

Spring Brook – This Class 1 brook troutstream is well on its way to recovery after asignificant fish kill in summer 2005.Surviving trout are spawning and surveys in2008 revealed the best catch rates since beforethe fish kill. The population estimate fornumber of trout per mile is still only about 10percent of their pre-kill levels, but the num-ber of four-inch and larger brook trout is 460per mile. If you add in trout less than fourinches, the number rises to 1,260 per mile. Aslong as these fish continue to survive andspawn, the stream should be back to pre-killfish populations in another two years.– Dave Seibel, fisheries biologist, Antigo

LINCOLN COUNTYPrairie River – There is a very good troutpopulation in the Prairie River. In 2008,trout numbers in a long-term survey station,which includes a portion of the streamwhere the regulations changed, increased by19 percent from 2007. The 19 percent risein trout numbers represents an estimatedincrease of 760, four-inch and larger, troutper mile of stream. The four-inch and largerbrook and brown trout populations are esti-mated to be 4,800 per mile. While troutnumbers increased, the proportion of biggertrout declined. Compared to 2007, the num-ber of brook trout six inches and largerincreased, and those eight inches and largerstayed the same.

Spirit River Flowage and Rice Reser-voir (Lake Nokomis) – These reservoirsand the stream segments below them arevery good fisheries for walleye, musky,northern pike, bass and panfish. Year-in andyear-out, these are some of the best fisheriesin the county.– Dave Seibel, fisheries biologist, Antigo

ONEIDA COUNTYWillow and Rainbow flowages –Concentrated fish from low water levels pro-duce good angler catches in late summer andthrough the ice, but the fish will be morescattered once the basins refill. A spring sur-vey on the Willow Flowage found quality-size walleye centered on 16 inches, but fewfish larger than 20 inches. Most northernpike were 13 to 25 inches, but a few largerfish were found including a 39.7-inchfemale. Smallmouth bass showed peaks inabundance at 13 and 17 inches. Nine muskel-lunge were captured with the largest fish52.8 inches. Musky numbers should increase

• Pickerel and Crane lakes (connected)Forest/Langlade counties

• Pine Lake, Forest County• Carol and Madeline lakes (connected),Oneida County

• Chetek Chain of Lakes, Barron County• Balsam Lake, Polk County• Clam Lake, Burnett County• St. Croix Flowage, Douglas County• Solberg Lake, Price County• Nelson Lake, Sawyer County• Miller Dam Flowage, Taylor County

Top 10 Family WatersNorthern Wisconsin

CHRISZU

NKER

*Special notice to anglers traveling to theChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest –Motorized access has changed. Maps canbe found at www.fs.fed.us/r9/cnnf/MVUM/index.html or visit a U.S. Forest Serviceoffice in Park Falls, Eagle River, Glidden,Lakewood, Medford or Washburn.

Bayfield fish biologist Mike Seider holds a beauty of alake trout caught during surveys on Lake Superior.Most years, the best catch rates for lake trout areduring June-July when the trout have moved into thedeeper water areas of the lake.


with a low level of stocking started in 2004.Yellow perch, yellow bullhead and whitesuckers are large and abundant, whilebluegill and black crappie are relatively lowin numbers but show trophy-size potential.Fall surveys found lots of forage and excel-lent numbers of young-of-year walleye andnorthern pike on both flowages. All speciesof fish are in excellent condition because ofthe abundant food resources.

Pickerel Lake – A comprehensive surveyof this 736-acre lake found abundant north-ern pike. Most were 15 to 19 inches, but afew larger fish up to 38.5 inches also werefound. Largemouth bass 12 to 14 inches inlength were fairly abundant, with a few fishexceeding 19 inches. The walleye popula-tion was very low, at only 0.4 per acre. Oneadult walleye per acre is about the minimumto provide a “fishable” population. Twenty-seven muskellunge were handled during thesurvey, with sizes from 31 to 50.5 inches.There were abundant small panfish, butanglers willing to sort will find reasonable

numbers of seven-plus inch bluegill andpumpkinseed, nine- to 10-inch crappie and10- to 12-inch yellow bullhead.

Sevenmile Lake – A spring survey onSevenmile Lake found a low-density walleyepopulation of 1.3 adult fish per acre. Walleyesize was excellent, with peak abundance at 17and 24 inches in length. The musky popula-tion was of average density, with about one30-plus inch fish every 3.3 acres and thelargest fish captured was 46.1 inches.

Other lakes – A musky population esti-mate found moderate numbers on the MoenChain (one 30-plus inch fish every 3.8acres). Spring bass surveys found abundantlargemouth bass on Little Bearskin, Bur-rows and Maple lakes. Bluegill size waspoor on all three lakes.

Trout streams – Trout populations innorthern Wisconsin are still suffering fromdrought. Better trout numbers are found instreams with good base flow and deep-water refuges. Look for stocked browntrout in Dorothy Lake; rainbows areplanned for stocking in Perch, Hawk andLittle Bass lakes. Brook trout will go intoMercer Springs and Brown, Gudegast,Scott, Starks and Thunder creeks.– John Kubisiak, senior fisheries biologist,Rhinelander

PRICE COUNTYPhillips Lake Chain – In October 2007 a

first attempt was launched to characterizethe crappie population of the Phillips Chainby fall fyke netting. Capture rates of five-inch and larger fish averaged only four pernet-night in the chain, suggesting crappieabundance is well below the desired range of10 to 20 crappies per net-night. Size struc-ture of the population also fell short of thetarget. Of all black crappie five inches andlonger captured by fyke netting in late springor mid fall, 30 to 40 percent should be 10inches or longer, but only 15 percent were atleast 10 inches long. In spring 2008 the elec-trofishing capture rate of 115 bluegill (three-plus inches) per hour slightly exceeded therange (50 to 100 per hour) tentatively set asthe target level of abundance.Walleye in the Phillips Chain currently

meet the objective for population size struc-ture: 20 to 40 percent of walleye 10 inchesand longer captured by netting in earlyspring were at least 15 inches long.Smallmouth bass abundance in Elk and

Long lakes was within or slightly below thedesired level, but smallmouth bass in the

entire chain fell short of objectives for pop-ulation size structure.Musky populations in the chain did pos-

sess the desired size structure. Of all muskel-lunge 20-plus inches captured by fyke net-ting in early spring, 15 to 30 percent shouldbe 42 inches or longer.– Jeff Scheirer, fisheries biologist, Park Falls

POLK COUNTYBalsam Lake – In 2008, the walleye popu-lation was estimated at one adult fish per acre,or 1,956 fish, slightly up from the 0.8 found in2005. Largemouth bass are abundant.Everyone who fishes Balsam Lake is encour-aged to keep one small bass less than 14 inchesto reduce the number of small bass andimprove bass growth. Bluegill size was aboveaverage with most fish 7.5 to 8.5 inches.

Long Trade Lake – Largemouth bass werecommon in 2007, some are larger than 18inches. Good-sized bluegill were found withmany fish 7.5 to 8.5 inches.

Black Brook Flowage – Muskellunge arepresent in low numbers. The largest fish in2007 was 47.3 inches and weighed morethan 34 pounds. Largemouth and small-mouth bass are present, with fish up to17 inches. Northern pike are also present inlow numbers. Bluegill size averages 6.5 to7.5 inches.

McKenzie Creek – Habitat improve-ments should improve angler access and

trout habitat from Highway W down-stream to Little McKenzie Creek.– Heath Benike, senior fisheries biologist, Barron

RUSK COUNTYDeertail Creek – Deertail Creek supportsa warmwater fish community that offersopportunities for anglers who like easywading. Electrofishing at four sites in 2008yielded 170 northern pike ranging up to 25inches long and 125 smallmouth bass up tonearly 17 inches long. Juvenile and adultsmallmouth bass were plump and oftenshaped like footballs.

Perch Lake – Anglers looking for a secludedfishing experience with ample opportunityto catch medium-size bluegill and large-mouth bass should consider a trip to the23-acre Perch Lake in the Blue Hills regionof northwest Rusk County. Survey resultsfrom 2008 reveal that 44 percent of allbluegills three inches and longer were six toeight inches long, and half of the 42 large-mouth bass were between eight and 20inches long. Our electrofishing capturerates suggest a moderate to high density oflargemouth bass (99 per mile) and bluegill(203 per mile). The fishery in Perch Lakealso includes medium-size black crappie(seven to nine inches) and yellow perch (sixto 7.5 inches) in low to moderate abun-dance. Public camping facilities are avail-able nearby.– Jeff Scheirer, fisheries biologist, Park Falls

SAWYER COUNTYHere are some kid-friendly waters that areeasily accessible:

Lake Hayward – This lake offers goodpanfishing with shorefishing access at thepublic beach park behind the FreshwaterFishing Hall of Fame. Look here on theSaturday of Free Fishing Weekend for a fam-ily fishing event. Try fishing off the snowmo-bile track on the south side of the StateHighway 27 Bridge (drop-down fishing —no casting necessary). A display pond at theFishing Hall of Fame is also open to kidsfishing, with bluegill from Lake Hayward.

Shues Pond – Try the community fishingpond in downtown Hayward that the statestocks with panfish. During Musky Fest,watch for family fishing education eventswhere you’ll find lure making, casting andfishing games.

Managed trout lakes – Easy shore fish-ing is available at Camp Smith Lake, offTelemark Road and Pig Pond, and offLarsen Road in Seeley. Mostly rainbowtrout are found here, but brook and brownsare also available.

Dam tailwater areas – Below HaywardDam on Namekagon you’ll find suckers,redhorse, walleye, trout and smallmouthbass. Below Nelson Dam on the TotogaticFlowage, you’ll likely catch bluegill, perchand northerns. Access is a bit more rigor-ous, so watch your footing.

Namekagon River – For veteran troutanglers on the Namekagon, the 2009 fore-cast is a mixed bag. Summer 2008 surveysshow the numbers of mid-sized fish aredown considerably, but there has neverbeen a better population of brown troutlarger than 15 inches. The best news is astrong 2008 year class, the first in three tofour years. If these fish survive (likely),expect really good fishing in 2011-12.– Frank Pratt, fisheries biologist, Hayward

TAYLOR COUNTYRib Lake – Usually trade-offs are necessarybetween fish size and numbers, but surveyresults in 2008 revealed that walleye anglersin Rib Lake can have their cake and eat it

too. Walleye met or exceeded the bench-marks set for size and density. Among thewalleye 10 inches and longer now in RibLake, 66 percent were at least 15 inches longand 9.3 percent were at least 20 inches long.A catch rate of 90 adults per net-night sug-gests that walleye abundance is at or abovethe desired moderate density of five to 10adults per acre.Panfish, especially bluegill, also are

important in this fishery. But recent sam-ples suggest that bluegill, black crappie,and yellow perch populations offer thedesired size structure but not the desirednumbers. Bluegill were scarce in all sam-ples, and pumpkinseed outnumbered blue-gill 15 to one. The proportion of blackcrappie and yellow perch 10 inches andlonger (13 percent and 19 percent respec-tively) was sufficient to meet anglers’expectations, but netting and electrofish-ing capture rates in summer 2006 andspring 2008 were lower than the ratesselected to represent the moderate densi-ties that anglers would like in Rib Lake.Walleye are effectively controlling thereproductive survival and growth of pan-fish in Rib Lake in a predator-prey bal-ance that favors larger panfish size overhigher panfish numbers. While it may bedifficult to reach targets for panfish sizeand numbers when walleye are plentiful,anglers seem content.– Jeff Scheirer, fisheries biologist, Park Falls

WASHBURN COUNTYLong Lake – After years of poor recruit-ment, walleye are coming back strong. The2005 year class is the largest since 1992 andthese fish will range from 15 to 18 inchesfor the opener. Electrofishing survey catchrates for bass have declined 58 percent butthese fish still provide plenty of angleraction. A large year class of black crappiewas evident in the 2007 survey; fish sizesshould run about 10 inches this year.

Minong Flowage – At seven adults peracre in the 2005 estimate, this is one of thebest walleye waters in the northwest. Sixty-eight percent (4.8 per acre) are greater thanthe 15-inch size limit. Natural walleyereproduction is no problem here. Anglersoften get concerned about catching toomany sub-legal, juvenile fish. If you startcatching little ones, try a different spot.– Larry Damman, fisheries biologist, Spooner

VILAS COUNTYTrout lakes of the Northern High-land State Forest – Vilas County maynot have many miles of trout streams butit has a group of lakes in the NorthernHighland State Forest that provides uniquefishing opportunities for trout anglers.The department is stocking nine smalllakes in the state forest with brown and/orbrook trout on an annual basis. Theselakes range in size from 10 to 55 acres andall but one is completely surrounded bypublic land. Most of these lakes do nothave developed landings and access is bywalk-in only. Fishing pressure duringmost of the year is very low and this is anopportunity to get off the beaten path inthe Northwoods.

Low water and boat landings – Theresult of below normal precipitation forseveral years is that water levels on manyspring-fed lakes are at historical lows.Boaters should check with local resorts, baitshops, marinas, and the DNR to see if theymay encounter problems launching theirboats this summer. Once on the lake theyshould also be aware that the rock bars orreefs out in the lake they motored over inthe high water years may now be waitingjust under the surface for their propeller.– Mike Vogelsang, fisheries supervisor, Woodruff

These two young boys were fully expecting it to be the “big one” with net in hands whilefishing Perch Lake in Sawyer County.

LEAH

KEND

ZIOR

SKI

Northeastern Wisconsin


NORTHERN GREEN BAYOutlying waters of Green Bay – In GreenBay, annual fishery surveys suggest a moder-ate year class of yellow perch in 2008.Preliminary results from the summer creelsurvey demonstrated that more than half ofperch harvested by anglers were from the2005 year class. Most of these fish wereseven to eight inches with occasional olderand larger fish also kept. Anglers reportedcatching numerous small perch five to sixinches. The 2007 open water sport harvestof yellow perch was down 30 percent fromthe previous year, but still ranked as the sec-ond highest in the last 12 years.Brown trout shocking surveys and

Seeforellen strain brown trout brood stockcollections in the Menominee River resultedin fewer but larger browns. Brown trout aver-aged 27 inches with the largest 36 inches. Largenumbers of whitefish were also observed dur-ing the late fall sampling. Spring walleye fish-ing in the Menominee, Oconto and Peshtigorivers is very good with most fish 20 to 28inches. Surrounding areas of Green Bay havebeen exceptional for the past few years withthe 2003 year class of walleye dominatingcatches.The DNR continues annual stocking of

brown and rainbow trout, and Chinook andcoho salmon in Upper Green Bay. Thesefish will provide future opportunities forstream angling and trolling.

– Tammie Paoli, fisheries biologist, Peshtigo

GREEN LAKE COUNTYLake Puckaway – This slightly impounded,wide portion of the Fox River should con-tinue to provide excellent northern pikeaction. The 32-inch minimum length limitwith a bag limit of one has produced a highdensity pike population. Lower shad num-bers combined with lower fishing pressurecould lead to good action for pike and wall-eye over the coming year. Walleye popula-tions continue to be stable and should pro-vide good action on the lake and river.Largemouth bass and panfish populations,although present in lower densities, doexhibit good growth rates and size structure.

Big Green Lake – Lake trout should continueto provide action as the lake’s most importantcoldwater species. This stocked fishery contin-ues to be comprised of fish mainly in the 20-inch range, although trophy fish larger than30 inches are present. Seeforellen brown troutare still present in low numbers and do havethe potential to grow to trophy size. Domes-tic brown trout have been stocked in theirplace and add another component to thiscoldwater fishery. The inland cisco popula-tion also appears to be stable and continues to

be a popular addition.Smallmouth bass thrive in this lake filled

with rocky shoreline habitat. Northernpike, largemouth bass and walleye seem tobe responding well to habitat improve-ments. A small number of musky are stockedannually and these fish have begun showingup in surveys and in anglers’ catches. Pan-fish, particularly bluegill, have also re-sponded well to habitat improvements andhave provided outstanding action the lastfew years.

Little Green Lake – This extremely pro-ductive body of water has always beennoted for its healthy panfish populations ofbluegill, black crappie and perch. Large-mouth bass populations are also doing welland these fish exhibit excellent growth ratesdue to the huge forage base. Walleye andmusky populations should continue to pro-vide excellent action.

Fox River – This large productive riversystem contains walleye, small and large-mouth bass, northern pike and panfish.Channel catfish populations are high andremain one of the most sought-after specieson the river.– David Bartz, fisheries biologist, Montello

DOOR, MANITOWOC, ANDKEWAUNEE COUNTIES

Lake Michigan and Green Bay –Chinook (king) salmon continue to be a topdraw for Lake Michigan anglers in north-east Wisconsin. Although the Chinook catchappears to be down from the 2007 recordharvest, the 2008 harvest ranks in the top10 years for Chinook harvest in Wisconsinwaters of Lake Michigan. Meanwhile,Chinook size appears to be on the reboundas the average size at age of fish returning tothe Strawberry Creek Weir, the egg collec-tion facility where salmon return in springand fall in Sturgeon Bay, was up in 2008from near historic lows in 2007.Steelhead continue to be an exciting Lake

Michigan fishery component. It’s been onthe upswing the past two summers, perhapsindicating an improvement in steelheadfishing for the next several years.There has long been a viable commercial

fishery for lake whitefish in Wisconsinwaters of Lake Michigan and the bay ofGreen Bay. However, the last two ice fishingseasons have witnessed a developing sportfishery for lake whitefish in Green Bay.A healthy smallmouth bass population

with excellent sizes has long providedangler opportunities along Door County’sshoreline and 2009 should be no exception.Incidental catches of smallmouth bass infyke net surveys targeting musky in theSturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon Bay areassuggest smallmouth bass populationsremain in good condition with 33 percentof fish from the nets measuring between 18and 21 inches. Walleye fishing has benefit-ted from the outstanding walleye reproduc-tion levels in southern and western portionsof Green Bay. In particular, the strong 2003year class was well represented in 2008 bya large proportion of fish in the lower 20-inch range. Northern pike fishing in andaround Little Sturgeon and Sturgeon bayscontinues to be dependable and optimalspring 2008 spawning conditions shouldresult in excellent future northern pike fish-ing opportunities in this area.– Scott Hansen, fisheries biologist, Sturgeon Bay andSteve Hogler, fisheries biologist, Mishicot

MARINETTE COUNTYMenominee River – Surveys in 2008documented abundant smallmouth bassfisheries, with fish larger than 14 inchescommon. Evening surveys performed atKingsford Flowage show that the flowagecontains a good fishery with abundantnorthern pike, walleye, bass and bluegill.One mile sections of the Menominee Rivernear Sturgeon Falls, Miscauno Island,Grand Rapids and Lower Scott Dam werealso sampled and revealed abundant juve-nile and adult smallmouth bass. Othergame fish found during the river surveysincluded northern pike, musky, walleye andchannel catfish. All of the flowages andriver reaches have public landings andshoreline fishing opportunities.

Peshtigo River – The Peshtigo River andits flowages also provide similar smallmouthbass fisheries for anglers. The musky popu-lations in Caldron and High Falls flowageshave responded favorably to years of stock-ing and legal-size musky are available.

Other rivers – In 2008, stream surveyswere carried out on the North BranchPemebonwon, Little Peshtigo River, NorthBranch Pike River, KC Creek, Middle Inlet,Eagle Creek and Upper Middle Inlet.Quality fishing opportunities are availableon these streams with legal-size brook andbrown trout. The overall health of thestreams surveyed was good, with naturalreproduction of brook trout detected introut waters and smallmouth bass inwarmwater systems.– Mike Donofrio, fisheries supervisor, Peshtigo

MARQUETTE ANDWAUSHARA COUNTIES

Numerous small pothole lakes along withsmall impoundments and portions of theFox River create a diverse fishery in thesecounties. The majority of these lakes arehighly developed but do provide goodaccess. Most of these small lakes containlargemouth bass and panfish species, withsome having low-density northern pike pop-ulations. Some may contain small popula-tions of walleye due to stocking efforts.This part of the state also provides some

of the best trout fishing anywhere thanks tohealthy populations of native brown, brookand rainbow trout combined with specificregulations for streams. The Mecan, Pine,White and Willow are very popular streamsduring the “hex” hatch. Most have goodaccess, but always ask permission to walkthrough private land.– David Bartz, fisheries biologist, Montello

LAKE MICHIGANTRIBUTARY STREAMS(DOOR, KEWAUNEE,CALUMET ANDMANITOWOC COUNTIES)

Throughout 2009, anglers should enjoy awide variety of fishing opportunities inlocal streams. Anglers looking for ice fish-ing opportunities for steelhead and browntrout should try fishing the lower reachesof the larger rivers such as the Manitowoc,Kewaunee and West Twin rivers.Following the spring melt, anglers can

catch steelhead, brown trout or northernpike in many tributaries. While manyanglers focus on fishing the large streams,anglers should not overlook the opportuni-ties small streams such as Silver and Fischercreeks in Manitowoc County, Stony Creekin Door and Kewaunee counties, and Hibbardsand Whitefish Bay creeks in Door County,can provide for those anglers seeking soli-tude and scenic beauty. Anglers looking fora different fishing experience may want totry dip netting suckers or smelt as the fishmigrate upstream in Lake Michigan orGreen Bay tributary streams.Anglers fishing the tributary streams dur-

ing summer can expect to catch a variety ofwarmwater fish. Smallmouth bass fishingshould be very good in lower sections of theManitowoc, Branch and Kewaunee rivers.Northern pike anglers should try fishing thelower Manitowoc, West Twin and Ahnapeerivers. Those seeking catfish, bullhead, pan-fish or a few yellow perch should try fishingcity harbors in Manitowoc, Two Rivers,Kewaunee and Algoma. Anglers looking tocatch Skamania steelhead should be ready tofish the Manitowoc, East and West Twin,Kewaunee and Ahnapee rivers following acool, late summer rainfall. These upstreammovements happen quickly and end just asquickly, so be ready.As summer ends and fall begins, fishing

off piers should be very good with mixedcatches of Chinook salmon, domestic rain-bow and brown trout. With the onset of fall,salmon spawning migrations begin and ifstream flows are good, fishing should beexcellent in most tributary streams. Onceagain, anglers should not overlook thesmaller streams.

– Steve Hogler, fisheries biologist, Mishicot

INLAND WATERS (DOOR,KEWAUNEE, CALUMETAND MANITOWOCCOUNTIES)

Calumet County – The eastern half ofCalumet County has several lakes andstreams that are popular with anglers. Bass,northern pike and rock bass fishing can bevery good during summer on the ChiltonMillpond, the South Branch of the Mani-towoc River and on the Killsnake River.Round Lake has abundant panfish and isstocked annually with rainbow trout.

Door County – Surveys conducted the pastseveral years indicate that several DoorCounty lakes have good walleye, small-mouth bass and yellow perch populations.Anglers are very successful in catching north-ern pike and panfish through the ice or justafter ice-out on these lakes. Walleye anglersexperience good fishing in spring and fall.Bass fishing is good throughout summer.

Kewaunee County – Lakes in KewauneeCounty are small and dominated by bassand panfish communities. At times, ice fish-ing anglers can be very effective in catchingpanfish. Krohns Lake, located southwest ofAlgoma, is annually stocked with rainbowtrout and is an excellent place to take a kidfishing. Several streams, including Scarboroand Little Scarboro creeks and the upperEast Twin River, have either stocked browntrout or native brook trout providing anglerswith inland trout fishing opportunities.

Manitowoc County – Recent surveyshave shown most lakes in the county arelargemouth bass and panfish lakes, althoughseveral have good populations of northernpike, as well. Walleye also are stocked inseveral lakes to add another fishing oppor-tunity. Lakes in southwest ManitowocCounty are popular ice fishing spots, withmost anglers targeting panfish and northernpike. Horseshoe Lake is stocked with troutannually and is very popular with anglersduring the winter. Open-water months findanglers targeting bluegill and largemouthbass on all county lakes.– Steve Hogler, fisheries biologist, Mishicot

LOWER FOX RIVER,BROWN COUNTY ANDSOUTHERN GREEN BAY,OCONTO AND BROWNCOUNTIES

Large walleye in Green Bay and the FoxRiver continue to wow anglers. Fall surveyson the Lower Fox documented a strong2008 year class of walleye with a catch rateof 26 YOY per hour and an adult catch rateof 63 per hour. Adult walleye averaged 18.7inches. As a result of a very strong 2003year class, 24 percent of the adult fish meas-ured in surveys were greater than 20 inches.The lower Oconto River and lower PeshtigoRiver provide a lot of opportunities forshore fishing during the walleye spawningrun in April and May.Musky numbers in fall surveys in the

Lower Fox River increased from a catch rateof 3.5 per hour in 2007 to 6.6 per hour in2008. The average adult musky captured inthe fall survey was larger than 40 inches, andthere were many reports of anglers catchingfish topping 50 inches in October andNovember 2008. These fish are growing fastand are in excellent condition, thanks to alarge forage base of gizzard shad, emeraldshiners, white sucker and redhorse. Anglerspursuing musky on Green Bay need to be pre-pared with an adequate-sized landing net, agood pair of pliers and side cutters for remov-ing hooks. Make sure to have a cameraready!While walleye and musky are the biggest

draws to the Lower Fox River, there also isgood smallmouth bass action in the springand fall and a chance at some big channeland flathead catfish.Bass anglers should have good opportuni-

ties on Machickanee Flowage, Chute Pond,Townsend Flowage and Oconto Falls Pond.Largemouth bass size structure on ChutePond has improved since the statewide min-imum size was implemented from an aver-age of 8.7 inches to 14.3 inches. Machicka-nee Flowage largemouth averaged 16.3

• Fox River at Fremont, Waupaca County• Fox River at Voyageur Park, Depere,Brown County

• Lake Winnebago, Winnebago, Calumet andFond du Lac Counties

• Shawano Lake, Shawano County• Waupaca Chain of Lakes, Waupaca County• Silver Lake, Wautoma, Waushara County• Machickanee Flowage, Oconto County• Lake Noquebay, Marinette County• High Falls Flowage, Marinette County• Green Bay at Stone Quarry, Sturgeon Bay

Top 10 Family WatersNortheastern Wisconsin

Continued �

Southeastern Wisconsin


inches with good numbers of fish as well ashealthy populations of bluegill, pumpkin-seed and black crappie. In general, flowagesoffer a better chance at quality bluegill andsunfish fishing than do the smaller lakes, butthese fish can be less abundant and harder tofind in flowages. Christie Lake, which hasbeen prone to winterkill, has a good popula-tion of yellow perch with a very strong yearclass from 2005, which should now be avail-able to anglers as long as lake oxygen levelsdon’t become depleted in winter 2009.White Potato, Anderson and Archibald offergood opportunities for walleye. The OcontoRiver has excellent quality and quantity ofsmallmouth bass for anglers who preferstream fishing.– Dave Rowe, fisheries biologist, Green Bay

SHAWANO COUNTYShawano Lake – Shawano Lake will con-tinue to provide excellent largemouth bassand panfish angling opportunities. Annualsurveys indicate largemouth bass and

bluegill numbers are above average and sizewas average. In addition, the musky fisheryhas continued to expand with good numbersof large musky reported by local anglers.Northern pike abundance has declined but sizeappears to have increased over past surveys.

Cloverleaf Chain – Spring 2007 surveysindicated a healthy population of game fishand panfish. The Cloverleaf Chain has beenstocked with musky on a biennial basis formany years and provides a high quality fish-ery. Seventy-eight musky were captured dur-ing spring surveys with sizes ranging from 18to 47 inches (average 37.8 inches). Large-mouth bass numbers were average with sizeranges of 5.9 to 20.8 inches (average 11.9inches and 24 percent larger than 14 inches).Surveys showed bluegill and black crappieabundant but size was slightly low.– Al Niebur, fisheries biologist, Shawano

WAUPACA COUNTYWhite Lake – Surveys conducted in 2008

showed abundant northern pike, exceedingsix pike per acre. Largemouth bass popula-tions appeared to be above average withsome bass up to 20 inches. Walleye were lessabundant and have not changed appreciablyfrom past surveys. Panfish surveys indicat-ed a healthy bluegill and pumpkinseed pop-ulation with more than 30 percent exceed-ing seven inches. In addition, yellow perchand crappie were sampled with more than81 percent of the crappie topping eight inch-es. White Lake is a very shallow water bodyand anglers should concentrate their effortsin spring before aquatic plants become toodense or during winter for good ice fishingaction.– Al Niebur, fisheries biologist, Shawano

WOLF RIVER (WAUPACA,SHAWANO ANDOUTAGAMIE COUNTIES)

Catfishing was very good in the Wolf Riverduring the past year and may continue into2009. Routine surveys conducted in 2008indicated an above average run of largerchannel and flathead catfish than have beenseen in previous years. While conducting ahoop net survey, DNR crews captured andtagged more than 500 flathead catfish rang-ing in size from 2.3 to 46 pounds (average18.7 pounds). In addition, channel catfishnet catch and size was above average withsome catfish as large as 18 pounds. Setlineand bankpole angling reports supportedDNR surveys with average angler catch andharvest above average.– Al Niebur, fisheries biologist, Shawano

WINNEBAGO SYSTEM(WOLF AND UPPER FOXRIVERS, LAKESWINNEBAGO, BUTTE DESMORTS, WINNECONNEAND POYGAN)

The Winnebago system will not disappoint.Clearer water longer into the summer inrecent years has resulted in more rooted veg-etation along shorelines and shallow bays.For anglers, this means better fishing, espe-cially for northern pike, bass and panfish.Starting with the system’s flagship species,

the walleye population continues to rankamong the best in the Midwest. During theApril 2008 spawning runs, state fisheriescrews and volunteers captured and tagged13,869 walleye.

Males ranged from 11.5 to 23.9 inches.Half were 16 inches or larger, with one in 10being 18.5 inches or larger. This is downfrom 2007 when about 20 percent werelarger than 18 inches. However, this is mostlya “numbers” game as the drop in the per-centage was due mainly to a large number ofthree-year-old males from the 2005 yearclass up the river spawning for the first time.In a few years, these same fish will matureinto the “medium” size range. For now theymake for some fast action and great eating!Females, or “spawners” ranged from 15

to 28.4 inches. Of the more than 1,900 cap-tured, 55 percent were 21 inches or larger —up about an inch over the previous year.The robust population of walleye in the sys-tem, both in size and numbers, should beenough to please any walleye angler.Bass populations continue to maintain a

healthy “status quo” of small and medium-sized fish throughout the system. Anglerstargeting them continue to see good num-bers of fish, especially smallmouth on LakeWinnebago. The clearer water and abun-dant vegetation have helped to provideincreased habitat for bucketmouths.Based on the bass data collected from tour-

naments, smaller fish (14 to 16 inches) makeup the majority of anglers’ catch. Large-mouth (14 to 16 inches) comprise two-thirdsof the fish brought to the scales. The averagelength of largemouth at a popular tourna-ment in 2008 averaged 15.4 inches and 2.08pounds. Smallmouth averaged 16 inches and2.2 pounds.Panfish have been providing some un-

commonly good fishing for the last coupleof years thanks to the significant increase invegetation. At first, these fish were smalland considered a nuisance, but now they arelarger and a tasty target for anglers of allages. Reports of nine- to 11-inch perch andeight-plus inch bluegill are not uncommon.This past fall while doing some shoreline

electrofishing for walleye on Lake Winne-bago, 106 bluegill were captured up to 8.4inches. More than half of the gills were 6.5inches or longer, and that was on a sectionof shoreline with mediocre habitat. Otheranglers reported catching 10-plus inch gillsand 12-plus inch perch in deeper water offthe west shore of Lake Winnebago last year.Anywhere you can get them, panfish are finetable fare. When they’re sized like these,they provide some great action as well, espe-cially on light tackle.– Kendall Kamke, senior fisheries biologist, Oshkosh

KENOSHA COUNTYRock Lake – This 52-acre, 33-foot deeplake has excellent water quality. The mostcommon game fish collected during a spring2008 fish survey was largemouth bass, with32 percent larger than 14 inches long andsome 18- to 19-inch fish. Bluegill were themost common panfish surveyed. DNR stocksthis lake with legal-size brown trout in thespring. There is a carry-in access site at thelake’s south end.

Hooker Lake – This 87-acre lake is anotherlargemouth bass and bluegill water whereDNR also stocks northern pike. A boatramp is located on the lake’s north side.Most bass come in under 14 inches but sur-veys have collected bass up to 19 inches.Northern pike are on the small side withmost fish between 20 and 23 inches. DNRplans to stock walleye next year.

Silver Lake – Fish surveys confirm healthylargemouth bass population in this 464-acrelake. Average length is 13 inches, with some18 inchers in the lake. Samples also haveyielded 48-inch musky, 22-inch walleye and38-inch northern pike. Bluegill are the mostabundant panfish and 12-inch crappie havebeen reported. DNR stocks the lake withmusky, walleye and northern pike. Publicboating access is available at a DNR boatlaunch on the lake’s west side.

– Doug Welch, senior fisheries biologist, Sturtevant

RACINE COUNTYWaubeesee Lake – Waubeesee Lake is129 acres and 75-feet deep. A DNR boatlaunch is located on the channel northwestof the lake. This is a largemouth bass andbluegill lake, and DNR stocks brown trout,northern pike and walleye. A fall 2007 fishsurvey showed that most bass in the lake arebetween eight and 13 inches long, althougha few bass between 15 and 19 inches alsowere sampled. Northern pike are presentand the fish survey collected fish up to 28inches.

Browns Lake – This 396-acre lake is theplace to go for largemouth bass and north-ern pike. Most bass are 14 inches long andin good condition. The minimum size limitfor bass is 16 inches and there are somebass that size and larger. Northern pike areabundant and most are between 18 and 21inches long, with some sampled up to 32inches long. DNR stocks the lake withwalleyes. A county-owned boat launchramp is located on the lake’s south side.


SOUTHERN LAKEMICHIGAN, INCLUDINGSHEBOYGAN, OZAUKEE,MILWAUKEE, RACINEAND KENOSHACOUNTIES

Open lake fishing – Chinook salmonfishing on Lake Michigan in recent years hasbeen phenomenal. However, in 2008 har-vest rates dropped below expectations. Coldwater temperatures in conjunction withrecord flooding may have impacted typicalsummer fishing patterns. A slight reductionin Chinook stocking implemented lakewidein 2006 should improve their growth andsurvival in upcoming years.In spring 2008, coho harvest was poor

compared to recent years likely due to areduction in coho stocking by MichiganDNR in spring 2007. Through an unprece-dented angler driven fundraising effort,Wisconsin and Illinois anglers provided over$47,000 to Michigan DNR to raise 400,000additional yearling coho that were stocked in2008. These fish will mature and contributeto the fishery in 2009.

Nearshore fishing – Shore anglers shouldenjoy good fishing in July and August work-ing harbors and river mouths for Skamaniasteelhead. The Chambers Creek and Gan-araska strains should also provide action foranglers in late winter and early spring.In recent years, two additional rainbow

trout strains have been stocked and havequickly been reaching catchable size.Brown trout fishing was good in spring

and fall 2008. Browns provide a consistentnearshore fishery during the cold months,

Continued �

Casey O’Keefe, Fox Valley Technical College student volunteer, holds a large walleyecaptured during a DNR fyke net survey on the Cloverleaf Chain of Lakes, ShawanoCounty.

Rachel Piacenza hooked these Chinookwhile fishing Wisconsin’s “big pond”near Milwaukee.

ALNIEB

UR

TOM

CICH

OSZ

• Lake Michigan• Pewaukee Lake, Waukesha County• Geneva Lake, Walworth County• Delavan Lake,Walworth County• Big Muskego Lake, Waukesha County• Big Cedar Lake, Washington County• Paradise Springs, Waukesha County• Long Lake, Fond du Lac County• Milwaukee River, Washington and Milwaukeecounties

• Okauchee Lake, Waukesha County

Top 10 Family WatersSoutheastern Wisconsin

ADAMS COUNTYPetenwell and Castle Rock flowages– Part of the Wisconsin River, these lakes arethe biggest draw to anglers in Adams andJuneau counties. The most commonlysought species is walleye, and both lakeshave healthy, strong populations. Muskyanglers also have reported an increasedcatch and larger fish. These numbers shouldbe as good or better in 2009. Bluegill andcrappie are currently the predominant pan-fish species in both waters with good num-bers and fish size. Yellow perch numbers aredown, but there is a large population of

Southeastern Wisconsin Continued

West Central Wisconsin


especially at warmwater discharges and nearriver mouths. Diet studies in the MilwaukeeHarbor show that brown trout are feedingon round gobies and the browns stay in theharbor for an extended time. This area con-tinues to draw good numbers of both shoreand boat anglers who target brown trout inthe harbor throughout the year.Yellow perch numbers in Lake Michigan

are slowly showing signs of improvement,but overall the population is still low.Perch are now averaging eight to nine inchesand the 2009 perch sport fishery is expect-ed to be similar to or better than past years.Many southeast Wisconsin harbors haveseen habitat improvements over the lastdecade. This has translated into increasingnaturally reproducing populations of small-mouth bass and northern pike, two speciesnative to Lake Michigan.Walleye stocking in the Milwaukee River

was discontinued in 2008 due to VHS con-cerns. However, previously stocked walleyehave shown good survival and high growthrates.Walleye anglers can be found throughoutthe lower Milwaukee River, the MenomoneeRiver and canals, as well as in the harbor.

Tributary fishing – In 2008, dry condi-tions throughout the fall led to low flows inarea tributaries and a mediocre salmon run.Good returns of Chinook and coho in fall2009 are anticipated, provided river levelsremain conducive for upstream fish migra-tion.Spring and fall steelhead runs have not

been strong in recent years. Anglers cangenerally look for Skamania in theSheboygan, Milwaukee and Root rivers aswater temperatures start to cool in mid-September. Chambers Creek usually followin late fall and can be found through Marchand early April. Ganaraska enter thestreams as early as late November andDecember and again from late Marchthrough April.For information about fishing LakeMichi-

gan visit dnr.wi.gov/fish/lakemich/.– Pradeep Hirethota and Cheryl Peterson, SouthernLake Michigan fisheries, Milwaukee

For up-to-date fishing infor-mation, call the SouthernLake Michigan FishingHotline at 414-382-7920.

SHEBOYGAN COUNTYGreat news for trout fans! A new stream hasbeen added to the classified trout waters inSheboygan County, and three formerly clas-sified trout streams have been upgradedfrom Class 2 to Class 1 trout waters. Class1 trout waters are the highest quality troutstreams in Wisconsin. Willow Creek is atributary to the Sheboygan River and, ulti-mately, Lake Michigan. Recent fish surveysrevealed that Willow Creek supports YOYrainbow trout, coho salmon and Chinooksalmon. All had distinct marks, which sug-gest that these species naturally reproduce inthe creek. If so, Willow Creek may be onlythe second place in Wisconsin with repro-ducing Chinook salmon, the only Wisconsintributary to Lake Michigan with reproduc-

vey revealed excellent numbers of large-mouth bass with an average size of morethan 14 inches. Many largemouth bass nearthe 20-inch mark were caught, making BigMuskego Lake a destination for anglerslooking for a trophy-sized bass. There’s alsoan abundant northern pike population thataverages 24 inches with a few fish reachingthe 40-inch mark.

Pewaukee and Okauchee lakes –Musky enthusiasts continue to successfullyhunt Pewaukee and Okauchee lakes for theelusive giant. When comparing size andnumbers, Pewaukee has more action whileOkauchee has bigger fish. On Pewaukee in2007, Muskies Inc. members caught 170muskies with an average size of 35 inches.The same report on Okauchee registeredonly 10 muskies with an average size of 40inches. These two premier musky destina-tions annually provide anglers with achance at a fish of a lifetime.

Pine Lake – Pine Lake continues to pro-duce many walleye with lengths in the high20-inch range as reported by local anglersduring the 2008 season. Biennial stocking ofJune fingerlings by the DNR ensures newfish recruitment.

Trout lakes – Trout anglers can find manyopportunities on area trout lakes where theDNR annually stocks 25,000 brook, brownand rainbow trout. Before opening day,Fowler, Lower Genesee, Lower Nashotah andOttawa lakes are stocked with legal-sizedtrout. Historical creel surveys have revealedthat experienced and novice anglers of all agesare very successful catching these trout.– Benjamin Heussner, fisheries biologist, Waukesha

Top 10 Family WatersWest Central Wisconsin

• Pettibone Lagoon in La Crosse,La Crosse County

• Half Moon Lake in Carson Park,Eau Claire County

• Black River below Black River Falls Dam,Jackson County

• La Crosse River below Lake Neshonoc(Hwy 108 Bridge), La Crosse County

• Coon Creek System, Vernon County• Mississippi River, Stoddard Bay,La Crosse County

• Mississippi River, tailwaters of Lock and Dam 8,Vernon County

• Mississippi River, Trempealeau Lakes, nearTrempealeau, Trempealeau County

• East Channel of Mississippi River off St. FerioleIsland in Prairie du Chien, Crawford County

• West Fork Kickapoo River near Avalanche,Vernon County

white bass. In fall 2008, sturgeon weresurveyed in Petenwell Lake. A total of 52sturgeon were captured and ranged from 33to 42.5 inches. In 2009, anglers should con-tinue to see good numbers of walleye as wellas increased numbers of muskellunge.

Neenah Creek – The 2008 survey in NeenahCreek captured 128 brown trout rangingfrom four to 16.9 inches with an averagelength of 8.3 inches. This creek has a healthynaturally reproducing population. Goodtrout fishing should be expected in thisstream during 2009.

Big Roche-a-Cri Creek – A 2008 surveycaptured 345 brook trout and 12 brown trout.The healthy brook trout population rangedfrom four to 14.4 inches with an averagelength of 7.8 inches, and good natural repro-duction. The brown trout ranged from sevento 15.9 inches. Good trout fishing should beexpected in this stream during 2009.– Justine Hasz, senior fisheries biologist, WisconsinRapids

BUFFALO, CLARK,JACKSON, ANDTREMPEALEAU COUNTIES

Rivers and streams – Monitoring sur-veys for the Black River continued in 2008.Catch rates for walleye increased in theUpper and Lower Black rivers. Upper Blackcatch rates went from 10.9 per mile in 2007to 27.4 per mile in 2008 and lower Blackfrom 13 per mile in 2007 to 31.5 per mile in2008. Smallmouth bass catch rates increasedin the upper Black from 51 per mile in 2007to 102 per mile in 2008, but decreased in thelower river from 22.8 per mile in 2007 to 14per mile in 2008. Musky catch ratesincreased in the upper river from 2.2 permile in 2007 to 7.4 per mile in 2008 andremained stable in the lower river at 2.5 permile in 2007 and 1.8 per mile in 2008.Ongoing surveys of area trout streams

found better reproduction of brook andbrown trout and more 10- to 12-inch brooktrout in area streams in 2008 than in previ-ous years. Overall adult trout densities werestable. Higher catch rates of young trout lastyear will provide more adult fish for anglersin 2009 and hopefully more legal and largertrout in years to come.Also waiting for anglers in spring are

improved fishing conditions as a result ofhabitat restoration projects on Pine Creek,

rebound. Walleye continue to enter anglers’creel year after year with many mid-20-inchfish caught. Good bluegill fishing can befound at the very north end of the lake earlyin the season.

Long Lake – This 423-acre gem has greatdiversity and health. The abundant basspopulation helps control bluegill numbers,resulting in excellent bluegill growth withmany above nine inches. Long Lake also hasfishable populations of northern pike, yel-low perch and bullheads. This exciting fish-ery attracts the angler who likes surprises.

Gilbert Lake – Last surveyed in 2005, GilbertLake has a largemouth bass populationworth going after. Largemouth up to 21inches long were netted, with the averagelength just larger than 14 inches.

Friess Lake – Get out your heavier gear ifyou’re going to Friess Lake. A 2007 fisheriessurvey revealed walleye up to 29 inches,northern pike as large as 35 inches andlargemouth bass up to 21 inches.

Pike Lake – An abundant, naturally repro-ducing walleye population provides actionand good-sized fish making Pike Lakeattractive to walleye anglers.

Milwaukee River – Smallmouth fishinghas been excellent in West Bend and down-stream. Casting crayfish imitation baitsduring summer months can produce thishard-fighting fish in awesome numbers.– Susan Beyler, fisheries supervisor, Waukesha

WAUKESHA COUNTYBig Muskego Lake – A spring 2008 sur-

ing coho, and only the second Wisconsintributary to Lake Michigan with reproduc-ing steelhead (rainbow) trout. Willow Creekalso supports brook and brown trout.Along with this “new” trout stream, three

Sheboygan County trout streams, all withinthe Onion River system, were upgradedfrom Class 2 to Class 1. The newly reclassi-fied streams include 2.2 miles of Mill Creek,5.2 miles of the Onion River and six miles ofthe headwaters of the Onion River known asBen Nutt Creek. Recent Onion River andBen Nutt Creek surveys yielded brown troutfrom two to 18 inches. Catch rates up to1,041 trout per mile were recorded in partsof the Onion River, representing an increaseof over 1,300 percent since 1997. Mill Creekhas similar numbers of brown trout, alongwith a substantial brook trout population.– Susan Beyler, fisheries supervisor, Waukesha

WALWORTH COUNTYPell Lake – Anglers looking for big basswill enjoy fishing this 86-acre lake. Fishsurveys in 2008 showed that 65 percent ofthe bass sampled were 14 inches or larger. Atownship-owned asphalt boat ramp is locatedon the lake’s northeast side.

Pleasant Lake – This 155-acre lake hasplenty of undeveloped shoreline and excellentwater quality. A 2008 spring survey showedthat largemouth bass are plentiful, with fishup to 19 inches. The fish survey also sampledplenty of six- to seven-inch bluegill. Pumpkin-seed up to eight inches and black crappie upto nine inches also swim here. DNR startedstocking walleye in 2006 and fish surveyshave sampled fish up to 16.5 inches. PleasantLake is a no-wake lake, which makes for anaesthetically pleasing angling experience. Atown-owned boat ramp is located on thelake’s west side.

Lauderdale Lakes – Fish surveys in 2008sampled largemouth bass, smallmouth bass,northern pike, walleye, bluegill, pumpkin-seed, black crappie and yellow perch. Anglerslooking for a lot of bass action will enjoythis lake. Most bass are less than 14 inchesbut some top 18 inches. Bluegill are nice-sized and fish surveys have sampled gillslarger than eight inches. Black crappie 10inches long and northern pike up to 34 inchesalso swim these waters. Smallmouth bass andwalleye are also stocked into this lake. There arethree town-owned boat ramps on the chain.

Delavan Lake – Recent fish surveys showthat this 2,072-acre lake continues to sup-port excellent populations of largemouthbass, walleye, northern pike, bluegill andblack crappie. Most bass are between 12and 18 inches and nine percent of the basssampled were 18-plus inches. Many walleyeare longer than the 18-inch minimum sizelimit. Northern pike up to 39 inches arepresent, and anglers commonly catch 32-inch and larger northerns. There are plentyof bluegill and they average six inches withan occasional eight- to nine-inch fish. Blackcrappie are common and average eight inches.Smallmouth bass are less common but aver-age 16 inches and some 19-inch fish havebeen sampled. This lake is stocked withwalleye and musky. There is a town-ownedboat launch on the lake’s north side.

Geneva Lake – This is the largest lake in thesoutheast region at 5,262 acres and it offers avariety of game-fishing opportunities, espe-cially for larger fish. Anglers have a goodchance of catching a big largemouth or small-mouth bass here. Recent surveys showed that85 percent of the largemouth bass collectedwere 14 inches or larger and 10 percent were18 inches or larger. Fish surveys also have col-lected black crappie up to 16 inches, yellowperch and rock bass up to 10 inches, and wall-eye up to 30 inches. Walleye and lake troutare stocked here with most lake trout between24 and 28 inches with some 30-plus inchersreported. Municipally-owned boat launchesare located in Lake Geneva, Fontana andLinn townships.


WASHINGTON COUNTYBig Cedar Lake – The 40-inch northernpike length limit is helping the population

Joe Paoli (right) used a white dodger andblue fly to reel in his first Chinook salmonweighing 16 pounds while fishing withfriend Mike Kamin (left).

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Rush Creek – Located in the northwestpart of the county, Rush Creek providesanglers long stretches of stream in publicownership and that backcountry feel someanglers enjoy. You might even hook into a20-plus inch brown trout.– Jordan Weeks, senior inland fisheries biologist,La Crosse

EAU CLAIRE COUNTYAltoona Lake – This lake is well-knownfor its year-round perch and crappie fishing.A survey found only seven percent of theyellow perch catch was greater than 10inches. However, 70 percent of the catchwas six to 10 inches long, so anglers canexpect the number of large fish to improvein 2009 and beyond. Crappie are second inabundance to perch. Both white and blackcrappie are present in the lake. The surveyfound that 86 percent of crappie were largerthan nine inches. Walleye are the most abun-dant game fish species in the lake and fishlarger than 15 inches made up nine percentof the survey catch. Very few walleye largerthan 20 inches were found. Largemouthbass, smallmouth bass, northern pike andmuskellunge are considerably less abundantthan walleye. Largemouth bass up to 20.4inches were captured and 31 percent of thenorthern pike catch was greater than 30inches.

Lake Eau Claire – Panfish populationshere are receiving more attention in recentyears by anglers. Only one percent of theperch catch has been greater than 10 inches,but 67 percent are six to 10 inches. Forcrappie, 59 percent of the catch is greaterthan nine inches. Lake Eau Claire has amore abundant bluegill population thanAltoona Lake, with 40 percent of the catchlarger than seven inches. Walleye are themost abundant game fish and fish biggerthan 15 inches comprised 38 percent of thesurvey catch. Ten percent of the catch waslarger than 20 inches with the largest wall-eye 29.4 inches. As in Altoona Lake, theabundance of largemouth bass, smallmouthbass, northern pike and muskellunge num-bers are considerably lower than walleye.However, with the exception of smallmouthbass, the Lake Eau Claire catch was higherthan the catch in Altoona Lake. Bass in the19-inch range and northern pike larger than30 inches are present.– Joe Kurz, fisheries biologist, Chippewa Falls

DUNN COUNTYDunn County is home to brook trout, withmore than 93 individual brook troutstreams scattered throughout the county.With the tremendous hatch during spring2008, adult brook trout should reach a highpoint during 2009 compared to the last fiveyears. Some of the best trout streams inDunn County include the South Fork of theHay River, Wilson Creek, Gilbert Creek,Knights Creek, Elk Creek and Sand Creek.Headwater areas will provide the best fishingopportunities and many of these streams willproduce quality brown trout as a bonus.Projects completed several years ago on

the headwaters of Gilbert Creek are nowproviding up to 6,000 trout per mile, ofwhich 700 per mile exceed the legal lengthlimit of eight inches.Walleye anglers looking for a float trip

are reminded to fish the upper 50 miles ofRed Cedar River north of Tainter Lake dur-ing May and early June to avoid weedy con-ditions found during the summer. In 2009,anglers will find lakes Menomin and Tainterprovide good fishing. Lake Menomin con-tains good populations of walleye, pike,bass and panfish, especially large bluegill.Tainter Lake is best for walleye, smallmouthbass and panfish — mostly perch and crap-pie. Thanks to a cooperative project amongthe West Wisconsin Land Trust, DunnCounty Fish and Game and the Departmentof Natural Resources, a new walk-in accesshas been purchased and developed on theCut-Off Slough, which is part of LakeMenomin.– Marty Engel, senior fisheries biologist, Baldwin

LA CROSSE COUNTYLa Crosse River (upstream of LakeNeshonoc) – Fishery surveys in 2006,2007 and 2008 indicated that the upper LaCrosse River has one of the state’s moreunique fisheries. This fishery boasts both

Traverse Valley Creek, Borst Valley Creekand Bruce Valley Creek. Each project areahas a public fishing easement, granted by thelandowners, which allows anglers to accessthe stream by land as well as water.

Lakes – Surveys were conducted for threelakes in 2008. Trow Lake, Jackson County,contained strong size classes of 7.5- to 8.5-inch black crappie, some walleye stocked bythe local Lions Club, and northern pike upto 39 inches. Marinuka Lake, TrempealeauCounty, contained strong size classes ofseven- to eight-inch black crappie, eight- tonine-inch white crappie, and better catchrates, as compared to past surveys of seven-to eight-inch bluegill. Mead Lake, ClarkCounty, showed an increase in fish size forboth black crappie and bluegill as comparedto survey results from 2004. The majorityof black crappie captured shifted from six toseven inches in 2004 to eight to nine inchesin 2008. Similarly, bluegill shifted from sixto seven inches in 2004 to seven to eightinches in 2008. Walleye catch rates weresimilar between the two years at approxi-mately one adult walleye per acre, and totalcatch rates for musky increased from 31 fishin 2004 to 58 fish in 2008. Notable was theincrease in musky 40-plus inches from zeroin 2004 to 10 in 2008.Handicapped accessible fishing facilities

are available at some area lakes: LakeWazee, Black River Flowage, and TealFlowage in Jackson County; Mead Lake inClark County; and Second Lake and ArcticSprings Pond in Trempealeau County.– Daniel Hatleli, fisheries biologist, Black River Falls

CHIPPEWA COUNTYLake Hallie – A permanent aeration sys-tem was installed in 2008 and will be oper-ated as needed to protect largemouth bass,northern pike and panfish from winterkilland to improve angling during winter.

Long Lake – A 2008 survey of Long Lakeindicated a healthy and improving fisheryfor a variety of game fish and panfish. Thelake continues to support an above averagedensity of adult walleye. Walleye growthrates remain below the statewide average,but the protected slot-size of 14 to 18 inchesis producing greater numbers of large fish.The number of adult fish larger than 18inches improved to seven percent of the pop-ulation from three percent in 2000. LongLake is well known for its smallmouth bassangling. With an 18-inch minimum sizelimit, the percent of smallmouth bass largerthan 18 inches in our survey catch improvedto 22 percent compared to five percent in2000. Largemouth bass and bluegill popula-tions had declined due to an abundant rustycrayfish population destroying their habitat.With improvements in the aquatic plantpopulation, the 2008 survey indicated asteady comeback of largemouth popula-tions, bluegill as well as northern pike. Icefishing for large bluegill is becoming increas-ingly popular, especially around the numer-ous fish cribs in the lake. Long Lake doesnot receive a lot of fishing pressure formusky, but opportunities for large fish areavailable. The largest fish in the 2008 sur-vey was 46.3 inches, and 25 percent of thecatch was greater than 40 inches.– Joe Kurz, fisheries biologist, Chippewa Falls

CRAWFORD COUNTYSeveral large trout were caught in 2008including a 30-inch brown trout from theKickapoo River system. In addition, DNRsurvey crews reported several brown trouttopping 25 inches and brook trout nearly 17inches in area streams. DNR crews continueto improve access, stabilize streambanksand create trout habitat.

Tainter Creek – Surveys in 2008 showedhealthy populations of brown trout are avail-able for anglers. This stream has numerousfishing easements and habitat improvementsites, along with beautiful scenery and largetrout. Fish in the 12- to 18-inch range werecaptured by survey crews.

Plum Creek – This small stream is idealfor those looking to catch brook trout.While not exclusively brookie water, thesegorgeous trout dominate the fishery and canprovide some great angling action for fishup to 12 inches.


warmwater and coldwater species. It hasquality size and numbers of walleye up to 26inches and brown trout up to 22 inches.Recent habitat improvements below High-way 108 and in Veterans Memorial Park inWest Salem provide anglers with great shorefishing opportunities for catfish, walleye,black crappie, smallmouth bass, northernpike and muskellunge.

Lake Neshonoc – Anglers should expect tocatch good numbers of 10-inch crappie in2009. Surveys show crappie are the mostnumerous panfish in the lake and account formore than half the total fish caught in surveysduring 2007 and 2008. This year class shouldprovide anglers with excellent fishing oppor-tunities for the next couple years.

– Jordan Weeks, senior inland fisheries biologist,La Crosse

MARATHON ANDPORTAGE COUNTIES

Wisconsin River – A 10-foot drawdownon the Stevens Point Flowage Dam in 2008to make repairs was a great success and thefishery suffered few impacts. Surveys con-ducted after the drawdown provided gamefish catches similar to past years. Catch ratesof smallmouth bass were down a little, butlargemouth bass catches were nearly doublethe normal rate and walleye numbers werehigher as well. Nearly 70 percent of thesmallmouth bass and all of the largemouthbass were greater than 12 inches, and 37 per-cent of the walleye captured were 15 inchesor greater. The greater largemouth bass catchis probably because the fish moved from thebackwaters during the drawdown and hadnot yet returned to those areas before thesurvey. The fall survey typically focuses onmain channel habitat. Overall, for theWisconsin River from Wausau to StevensPoint, smallmouth bass comprised 56 per-cent of the total catch, then channel catfish(18 percent), followed by walleye (17 per-cent). About 65 percent of the smallmouthbass were greater than 12 inches, 40 percentof the walleye were 15 inches or greater, andchannel catfish all exceeded 16 inches.Walleye fingerling catches below the DubayDam dropped from 88 fish per hour to 19fish per hour, and below Rothschild from 20fish per hour to seven fish per hour. Thisindicates walleye recruitment was likelylower this year throughout central portionsof the Wisconsin River.

Tomorrow River – Last summer, trout

were surveyed extensively on the TomorrowRiver in central Wisconsin. From CountyHighway I downstream to Amherst, catchranged from 470 to 911 brown trout permile, and from 100 to 260 brook trout permile. Below Amherst, the Tomorrow Rivercontains mostly brown trout and holds70 to 150 brown trout per mile. TheTomorrow River has plenty of harvestablefish and many habitat improvements. Afew of these include a reach of the RichardHemp Fishery Area near County HighwayI above Clementson Road, the new area offof Rolling Hills Road, below the bridge inNelsonville, and at County Highway Tbelow Amherst. In general, anglers will findthe Tomorrow River easily accessible withoutstanding fishing.

Lake Dubay – Lake Dubay is a flowage ofthe Wisconsin River lying partially inMarathon and Portage counties. Theflowage was surveyed in 2008 and prelimi-nary results look promising for fish. Thegreatest catch was for black crappie (52 pernet-night), followed by walleye (11 per net-night), bluegill (7.3 per net-night), channelcatfish (4.2 per net-night) then northernpike (two per net-night). Nearly 30 per-cent of black crappie were eight inches orgreater, 96 percent of the bluegill were sixinches or greater, 80 percent of the north-ern pike were greater than 21 inches, and11 percent of the walleye were greater than15 inches. Smallmouth bass were capturedabout equally between nets and electrofish-ing and 40 percent were greater than 14inches.– Tom Meronek, fisheries biologist, Wausau

MONROE COUNTYLake Tomah – Due to a planned chemicaltreatment in October/November 2009 toeradicate carp, liberal fishing regulationshave been placed on this lake for the 2009angling season. All size and bag limits weresuspended to allow anglers the opportunityto catch these fish before the treatment.Largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie,northern pike and walleye can be caught.

Cranberry impoundments – Excellentfishing opportunities for panfish, large-mouth bass and northern pike can be hadin many of these lakes, but it takes a littleleg work. Not all have legal public access,and even fewer have marked access, but aplat book, polite phone call, or visit to thegrower can gain anglers access provided

Recent in-stream habitat improvement projects completed by DNR trout habitat crewson the South Fork of Kinnickinnic River near River Falls and Pine Creek near MaidenRock have resulted in more than 2.5 miles of new brook trout fishing opportunities.Field surveys conducted during summer of 2008 showed phenomenal size structure(500 to 1,000 per mile greater than eight inches) and overall densities approaching5,000.

Fisheries technician Matt Simonson displays a 27.4-inch walleye from Lake Eau Clairemeasured, then released, during spring netting surveys.

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COLUMBIA COUNTYLake Wisconsin/Wisconsin River –Recent surveys document the increasingsuccess of the 20- to 28-inch no-harvest sizelimit on walleye and sauger, which began in2002. Anglers continue to rave about largerwalleye and sauger catches, with reportsduring 2008 of walleye greater than 28inches becoming common. The fall 2008recruitment survey indicates an above aver-age walleye year class. The Lake Deltonfishery was flushed into the WisconsinRiver last June, causing anglers to commentabout increased catches of largemouth bassin the river. Delton had a very good walleyefishery as well, which was washed into theWisconsin River.Lake sturgeon work continues on Lake

Wisconsin and the river below the Prairie duSac Dam. About 1,450 lake sturgeon larg-er than 50 inches are in Lake Wisconsin.Below the Prairie du Sac Dam, estimatesshowed that the fishery had increased to200 50-plus inch sturgeon, up from 170two years ago. These results indicate thatthe increase to a 60-inch minimum size limitis helping to preserve the fishery.

Lake Columbia – The annual fall surveycontinues to confirm a major change in thisfishery, due to warm lake temperatures fora longer time period (April to November)because of increased power plant produc-tion. The once dominant largemouth bassfishery has declined to near zero. Nostocked hybrid stripers were sampled in the2008 fall survey, but several anglers reportedexcellent catches during 2008. Shad andsmall bluegill are abundant. The lake isopen year-round and allows for carry-inboats and outboard motors at the publicaccess on the lake’s south end. A fish refugeis present near the power plant on bothsides of the center dike.

Tarrant Lake – This 25-acre impound-ment within the Village of Cambria wasrefilled during spring 2007 after the damwashed out in 2004. Bass and bluegill arebeing restocked. The 2007 and 2008 fallsurveys showed that the fishery is on itsway back. This used to be a phenomenallittle fishery, used by local kids.

Silver Lake – The 70-acre lake in the Cityof Portage has always been plagued bystunted bluegill, but they provide good fish-ing action for kids. It has low densities oflargemouth bass and northern pike, limitedlarge walleye from volunteer stocking andon any given summer evening, there will bethree to four boats casting for musky.

Lake George – Largemouth bass, north-

ern pike (smaller sizes), bluegill, and crappiecomprise this 36-acre fishery, south ofPortage off Highway P. A boat ramp on thenorth side of the lake only provides accessduring high water. Access is located off theHighway G (right-of-way) on the south sideof the lake.– Tim Larson, fisheries biologist, Poynette

CRYSTAL LAKE(BORDERS DANE ANDCOLUMBIA COUNTIES)

Bluegill still receive heavy pressure and 100-plus car trailers can be seen parked along theroadside in the spring. However, carp arebecoming more noticeable and yellow bassare now showing up in angler catches.– Tim Larson, fisheries biologist, Poynette

DANE COUNTYSome of the best fishing in Wisconsin lieswithin 20 minutes of downtown Madison.Whether lake or stream, game fish or pan-fish, trophy or fish fry, Dane County blendsquality fish with abundant opportunity.

The Madison Chain – Mendota, Monona,Waubesa and Kegonsa lakes total almost19,000 acres connected by the Yahara River.Anglers have rocky shores, vegetated edges,protected bays, marshes, drop-offs and sig-nificant structures to choose from.Lake sampling in 2008 was directed at

Lake Kegonsa. Northerns came in at 2,677fish or .83 fish per acre. For comparison, a“good” Wisconsin northern pike would rateabout one-plus adult fish per acre.

Similarly, walleye nets set in the lakecaught 777 spawning fish and generated atotal population of about 8,080 adult fish.At 3,209 acres, this translates roughly to 2.5adult walleye per acre, or in the “good”range on a statewide basis.

Crews also conducted summer panfishsurveys on Lake Mendota. These surveysrevealed a quality bluegill resource easilyoverlooked by anglers due to Mendota’slarge size. The average bluegill measured 8.1inches with 60 percent of all fish measuringeight inches or larger. We saw 10 percent offish exceeding nine inches, with some fishnear 10 inches. These fish are typically scat-tered but may be found aggregating in warmshallows.Trout were surveyed on Elvers Creek,

West Branch Sugar River, Primrose Branch,Kittleson Valley, Black Earth Creek and Mt.Vernon Branch. Typical catches were fishlarger than nine inches at rates of 210 to 255fish per mile. That equates to a “keeper” fishevery 21 feet of stream!– Kurt Welke, fisheries biologist, Fitchburg

DODGE COUNTYBeaver Dam Lake – As in most years, theseverity of the winter of 2008/09 will deter-mine the fate of upcoming fishing on BeaverDam Lake. Fishing for channel catfish heatedup in 2008 on both Beaver Dam Lake andthe Beaver Dam River below the BeaverDam Lake dam.

Fox Lake – Walleye catch rates for 2008 fallelectrofishing were 57 per hour, compared to54 per hour in 2007. The number of YOYwalleye smaller than 10 inches was 7.2 perhour compared to 15 per hour in 2007.Largemouth bass and panfish catch rates weredown according to 2008 fall surveys, whichappear to be due to deteriorated water quali-ty in 2007 and 2008 spring floods.

Lake Emily – Northern pike abundance onthis small fertile lake increased four-foldbetween 1999 and 2006. The adult north-ern pike population size is high at an esti-mated 4.8 fish per acre with fish up to 32.4inches present. Small size and heavy aquat-ic vegetation make this lake challenging toanglers, but good growth rates and the pres-ence of multiple year classes should providefor abundant angling opportunities.– Laura Stremick-Thompson, fisheries biologist,Horicon

GRANT COUNTYBorah Creek, Little Grant River, GrantRiver – Located within 10 minutes drivingof Lancaster, all of these streams harbor

South Central Wisconsin

Top 10 Family WatersSouth Central Wisconsin

• Lake Koshkonong, Jefferson County• Rock River, Dodge, Rockand Jefferson counties

• Lake Mendota, Dane County• Lake Monona, Dane County• Lake Waubesa, Dane County• Wisconsin River, South Central Region• Yellowstone Lake, Lafayette County• Beaver Dam Lake, Dodge County• Devil’s Lake, Sauk County• Fox Lake, Dodge County

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they leave the location better than theyfound it.– Jordan Weeks, senior inland fisheries biologist, LaCrosse

PEPIN COUNTYThe mighty Chippewa River dominates fish-ing in Pepin County. Take the time to get toknow the main and backwater channels andlakes. Public boat access points can be foundabout every five-mile section. If you’re look-ing to get away from the crowds and enjoy awild scenic river, give it a try. It houses alarge variety of game fish, including walleye,sauger, smallmouth bass, channel and flat-head catfish. Since most of the river is sand,look for deep water or structure such as rockor wood for best results.Trout fishing opportunities in Pepin

County are mostly limited to a few smallstreams. However, Bear Creek is an excep-tion. A fall 2008 survey conducted by DNRcrews revealed some exceptional results forbrook and brown trout. While overall troutdensities are moderate to low (less than 500per mile), the stream boasts good numbersof fish larger than 10 inches and trophy-sized fish exceeding 14 inches. This is someof the best brook trout water for larger fishseen in west central Wisconsin. In addition,the number of quality (greater than 12 inch-es) brown trout also looks good.– Marty Engel, senior fisheries biologist, Baldwin

PIERCE COUNTYJust about every major stream in PierceCounty contains quality trout fishing andpublic accesses off roadways are abundant.Long-term monitoring surveys conducted

by DNR crews during summer 2008 on morethan 50 trout streams show natural repro-duction of brook and brown to be excel-lent, which means adult fish should be plen-tiful during the 2009 and 2010 fishing sea-sons. The Rush River, Kinnickinnic Riverand Cady Creek are famous trout streamsthroughout the Midwest. However, theTrimbelle River, Eau Galle River, PlumCreek, Lost Creek, Cave Creek, Big River,South Fork of the Kinnickinnic and PineCreek also are great choices. The Big Riverand South Fork are small and often brushystreams, but both will provide good springfishing opportunities before vegetation getsthick. If you’re looking for that rare 20-plus inch brown trout, give the Eau GalleRiver in the Spring Valley or Elmwoodareas a try.Recently, nine fishing easements were

purchased on the Rush River. Look for theDNR Streambank Fishing Easement orRush River Fishing Path Initiative signs foraccess to private lands open to public fish-ing. In addition, several other large parcelshave been purchased by West WisconsinLand Trust and the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, and the Koch Family Trust Landsdonated land to the Eau Galle/Rush River

Karen Rehurek (left) tag teamed with neighbor Jan Engel (right) to land a 20-inchlargemouth bass on a tip-up while fishing North Bass Lake, St. Croix County.

Rod and Gun Club. These are now open topublic fishing. Look for the appropriatesignage. For handicapped access check outthe new facility on the Rush River just southof El Paso.– Marty Engel, senior fisheries biologist, Baldwin

ST. CROIX COUNTYCedar Lake – The crappie and bluegill fish-ery has blossomed on Cedar Lake thanks torecent work to improve deep-water habitatand angling on this 1,107-acre lake.

St. Croix River – Anglers interested in fish-ing smallmouth bass should consider the St.Croix River near Somerset. Access is availableat the National Park Service boat landing onSt. Croix/Polk County Line road. A DNR sur-vey in 2008 revealed a tremendous populationof smallmouth bass with great size structure.In addition, high quality walleye, catfish andmusky fishing is available.

Kinnickinnic River – Trout fishing is alwayspopular on the famous Kinnickinnic Rivernear River Falls with more than 25 miles ofexcellent brown trout habitat. Anglers,however, may want to consider giving theupper Willow River near County HighwayT east of New Richmond a try. This area isknown for trophy 20-plus inch brown trout.DNR field surveys conducted from 2005 to2008 found consistent production of 16- to20-inch brown trout and an occasional fishlarger than 20 inches. The South Fork, atributary stream to the upper Willow River,is often overlooked but has a mixed brookand brown trout fishery of good quality andsize.– Marty Engel, senior fisheries biologist, Baldwin

VERNON COUNTYTrout anglers should see excellent fishing inthe coulee region in 2009. After anotherround of flooding in June 2008, streamsremain in good shape with abundant spawn-ing substrate exposed from high water.YOY trout hatched in 2008 are abundantand another banner year class is expected in2009, ensuring great fishing in the future.

Timber Coulee Creek (Coon Creek)– A creel survey where anglers were askedquestions about their catch and fishingexperience was undertaken in 2008. Initialresults indicate that anglers fishing thestream mostly practiced catch-and-release,consider 20-plus inch brown trout a tro-phy, and prefer to fish with artificial lures.Anglers also indicated that Timber CouleeCreek is a good place to catch quality fish(12 to 18 inches) and provides opportuni-ty to harvest some fish under 12 inches.Final survey results will be available in fall2009.– Jordan Weeks, senior inland fisheries biologist,La Crosse

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good brown trout fisheries. Combined,there are seven miles of public bank fishingeasements available to anglers. Thesestreams harbor brown trout populationsnear 300 adult trout per acre, ranging in sizefrom seven to 21 inches. The mainstay ofthese fisheries is the stocking of small finger-ling, feral brown trout. These fish survivewell in these systems while naturally repro-ducing. Trophy fish in these systems willnow be in the 16- to 18-inch range. Thereare still a few fish greater than 20 inches,but anglers looking for these larger fish willhave to look farther downstream on theGrant River.

Rountree Branch – Flowing throughPlatteville, this stream harbors an urbanbrown trout population. Access is easy witha walking and biking trail running alongmuch of the stream. Trout are present fromSouthwest Road upstream to the headwa-ters. Brown trout up to 24 inches can befound. Anglers looking for an additionalspecies to catch will find smallmouth bass inthe slow, deep pools from above SouthwestRoad downstream to the Little Platte River.

Smallmouth bass streams – If you arelooking to fish smallmouth bass in smallstreams, then Grant County is the place foryou. Many small streams offer a rare oppor-tunity to catch trophy-sized smallmouthbass. While fish rarely approach 18 inches,most large adults will be 13 to 15 inches.The Little Platte River and Platte River sys-tems offer some of the better smallmouthbass fishing with scenic views. Lower por-tions of the Little Platte and Platte rivers canbe navigated with a canoe while the middleand upper reaches are more suited for bankfishing and wading. Blockhouse and Rattle-snake creeks are two additional streamsanglers may want to visit.– Bradd Sims, fisheries biologist, Dodgeville

GRANT AND IOWACOUNTIES

Heavy precipitation during the last two yearscombined with last winter’s snowfall amountshave eliminated the drought conditions thatexisted in southwesternWisconsin and streamshave responded with base flows far above nor-mal levels. In addition, the floods cleaned outand deepened the streams, removing stored siltfrom the pools and exposing or adding newgravel and rubble. This has had many benefitsfor our trout fisheries. Larger waters that his-torically were marginal have improved to verygood. Many of the smaller streams that hadsignificant size, habitat or temperature limita-tions have markedly improved. The trout pop-ulations have and will continue to signif-icantly improve under these new opti-mumwater conditions. Increased waterlevels and improved water quality andhabitat resulted in larger and heaviertrout than we’ve perhaps ever noted. Inaddition, brook trout reproduction anddistribution appear to be at all-time highsfor recent history. The entire coulee regionshould provide absolutely outstandingtrout fishing for the foreseeable future.While there are greatly improved

numbers of fish in the streams through-out the entire season, these wild popula-tions are more wary than their domesticbrethren and therefore require more skillto put them on the end of the line. In thesouthwest part of the state, adult wildbrown trout average 10 to 14 incheswith big trout measuring 14 to 18 inchesand trophies measuring 19 or 20 inches.

Lower Wisconsin River (LWR) – Theoverall fisheries are in very good shape.The walleye population has seen a signifi-cant increase in the number of 15- to 18-inch fish. A fair increase in the number of19-plus inch fish has also been noted in thesurveys. Channel catfish populations arecurrently in good shape and continue to bethe most important fishery on the lowerpart of the LWR. The smallmouth bass

population has a good number of fish with anumber of medium and larger fish thanks toalmost all bass anglers releasing the fish theycatch. There are also decent populations ofbluegill and crappie located in the stillwaterareas of the river. These are little utilized fish-eries and would provide good fishing foranglers wanting to specifically target thesefish. Northern pike throughout the LWR andmusky in the uppermost part of the river pro-vide pretty good action for anglers pursuingthese species.

Blackhawk Lake (Iowa County) – Theover-population of medium bass on Black-hawk Lake has been reduced and the currentpopulation still consists of good numbers oflarger fish that are heavier for their bodylength and there are more large fish. The crap-pie and bluegill populations remain in goodshape. Walleye stocking has led to a decentbonus walleye fishery. A recently developednorthern pike population with many largefish has provided a very heavily used ice fish-ery for the past couple of years, but the pop-ulation has been very heavily harvested andis not expected to continue to sustain itsrecent success in the coming years.

Cox Hollow Lake (Iowa County) – Thebluegill fishery remains dominated by amoderate number of medium and larger fishwith limited numbers of smaller fish. Plantsof large YOY have resulted in a developingwalleye population, which it was never ableto grow naturally when small walleye werebeing stocked. A few of these fish have madethe legal 18-inch size limit on this lake. Thelake also contains a good population ofsmall yellow perch. The lake currently hasthe largest population of big pumpkinseedsunfish ever seen here, both for numbers andsize. These fish battle hard, are very colorfuland bite readily.

Twin Valley Lake (Iowa County) – Amassive summer kill of crappie in 2008,reduced the crappie population to a fractionof what it had been. This will result in largerfish but significantly lowered catch rates.The bluegill numbers, while reduced, remainon the small to medium size and should bereadily caught. There is a fairly decent num-ber of yellow perch with some large enoughto keep. The number of largemouth bass isnot particularly high but there are manylarge fish. The lake has a limited, but fair,population of 12- to 15-inch walleye. Whilethese fish are growing well, they have notbeen in the lake long enough to reach thelegal 18-inch size limit. While not a trophymusky producer, the number of 36- to 40-inch fish is outstanding for a small lake.– Gene Van Dyck, fisheries biologist, Dodgeville

JEFFERSON COUNTYRock Lake - Fall surveys conducted in 2008produced largemouth bass up to 16.5 inchesand smallmouth bass up to 18 inches.Overall catch rates for walleye remain con-sistently low at 2.5 per hour, compared to3.7 per hour in 2007. Walleye ranged from13 to 24 inches and no YOY walleye weresampled. Bluegill up to nine inches and yel-low perch up to 8.6 inches also were sam-pled. Rock bass were the second most abun-dant panfish species, at 50 fish per hour andup to 10.8 inches in length.– Laura Stremick-Thompson, fisheries biologist,Horicon

LAFAYETTE COUNTYYellowstone Lake – Yellowstone Lake islooking good for walleye, bluegill, channelcatfish, smallmouth bass and largemouthbass. Only crappie are still recovering froman extensive kill in 2007 as a result of aColumnaris bacteria outbreak. Anglers canexpect smallmouth bass and walleye in thefall, walleye in the spring, and bluegill, chan-nel catfish, and largemouth bass in spring,summer and fall. Ice fishing will primarily bea bluegill bite with a few crappie showingup. Musky and northern pike populationsare considered low-density, high-quality fish-eries. Numbers of smaller musky are up, sofuture fishing seasons may bring a desirablemusky fishery. Musky up to 45 inches havebeen sampled.

Smallmouth bass streams – There aremany small streams offering a rare opportu-nity to catch trophy-sized smallmouth bassin the southern portions of LafayetteCounty. Some of the more productivestreams include the Galena River, Yellow-stone River and Shullsburg Branch.

Gordon Creek - With more than four milesof public fishing easement, Gordon Creeksupports one of the better brown trout fish-eries south of Route 18. With an estimated330 brown trout per acre and fish larger than20 inches, Gordon Creek offers anglers theopportunity to catch trophy-size browntrout. Fly and spin fishermen will find pas-tured vegetation to their liking in parts of thepublic fishing area. Gordon Creek is locatedon the eastern edge of Iowa County.

Steiner Branch – Flowing through publiclands just outside of Yellowstone Lake StatePark, this small stream supports the onlybrook trout population in Lafayette County.Once supporting no trout, this stream now

produces a qualitybrook trout popula-tion with fish 12inches sampled in2008. Fishing ismore appealingduring the earlycatch-and-releaseseason, as vegeta-tion becomes over-

grown in the summer. Habitat work hasbeen completed in the upper portions of thestream about three-quarters of a mile aboveCounty F. Anglers will have a hike of abouthalf-mile from the parking area to get to thehabitat work areas.– Bradd Sims, fisheries biologist, Dodgeville

SAUK COUNTYDevil’s Lake – The brown trout fisherycontinues to grow in popularity. Typically15 percent of the catch is comprised of two-year-old trout (14 to 17 inches) that havesurvived one summer. Stocked at nine inchesin April, they grew to 12 inches by fall.Anglers enjoy ice fishing for the trout usingfathead minnows. High water during sum-mer 2008 restricted boat access and likelytrout harvest. Chances of catching largersize, carryover trout should be good. Thelake touts a stable, trophy northern pikefishery with its 32-inch size limit. Large-mouth, smallmouth bass and jumbo bluegillare present.

Lake Redstone – According to surveys,smallmouth bass are thriving in equal num-bers to largemouths. The stocked walleyefishery continues to provide an average fish-ery. Panfish data (crappie, bluegill and perch)reports a stable fishery. Redstone is a crappiefactory, but heavily harvested at eight to nineinches.

White Mound Lake – Sampling in 2007found plenty of small gills, although anglerswere reporting larger bluegill and crappiecaught in deeper water. The bass numbers(larger than eight inches) are up 27 percentcompared to a 1999 survey.

Mirror Lake – The most recent survey in2006 reported that this 137-acre state parkimpoundment continues to support an excel-lent largemouth bass population. Nativenorthern pike and stocked walleye add to thisgood fishery. Bluegill, black crappie and yel-low perch provide plenty of action as well.There is a township boat landing on the lake’snorthwest side and access via the state park.

Dutch Hollow – This very deep, clearwater impoundment can make daylight fish-ing difficult. The lake is noted for largebluegill and crappie. A 2006 survey found agood number of 16- to 24-inch walleye andgood numbers of 10-plus inch bass.

Sauk and Columbia county troutstreams – About 80 percent of the streamsare stocked. The better streams in ColumbiaCounty are Rowan, Rocky Run, Jenningsand Lodi, while in Sauk County try Dell,Rowley and Manley for native brookies. Aproject on 800 feet of a feeder streamto Lodi Spring Creek in southwesternColumbia County was conducted duringApril 2007 and produced a ten-fold increasein the native population of brown troutYOY and yearlings, five times the number ofnine- to 11-inch fish and doubled the num-ber of 12-plus inch fish.

Kids fishing ponds – Plenke Pond inReedsburg continues to provide a fishingopportunity for kids and disabled anglers.The Pauquette Pond in Portage is home tothe Elks Club kids fishing day, usually thefirst Sunday in June.– Tim Larson, fisheries biologist, Poynette

Fish biologist Tom Cichoszproves that Lake Mendotain Dane County canproduce a quality catchof northern pike.

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Bob Wiedholz has been passing on hisangling passion to students atMadison’s Hamilton Middle School

for nearly 10 years as a Certified AnglerEducation Instructor and director of theschool’s fishing club.“With all the choices for the average

sixth-grader these days, such as computerand video games, it’s refreshing to see thatkids still choose to be outside andinvolved in activities like fishing,” saysWiedholz.He started offering the after school club

after talking with Theresa Stabo, whodirects the aquatic resources educationprogram for the DNR, and whose son wasin Wiedholz’s class at the time. Thedepartment offers angler education work-shops to help train adults and providethem with materials and access to loanerequipment to help them start their ownfishing club.The Hamilton Fishing Club is free and

open to all Hamilton Middle Schoolstudents. The club typically has about 12to 15 students participating each year,with some from families with a long fish-ing tradition but most who are discover-ing fishing for the first time.The club starts in January and meets

once a week after school for five months.The hope is not only to teach kids how tofish, but to teach them a variety of skillsby doing hands-on activities, Wiedholzsays.Club members take an ice fishing trip in

mid-February and learn to identify fish, as

June 6 and 7, 2009 -Free Fishing WeekendReel in a child or new angler and cast outto Wisconsin’s waters for Free FishingWeekend. All the waters of the state areopen, including state waters of the GreatLakes and rivers bordering Wisconsin.For more information visit dnr.wi.gov/fish/kidsparents/freefishingweekend.html.

Year-round - Visit ahatchery or egg-taking facilityKeep our state fish hatcheries in mindwhen planning your next day trip. Thesefacilities are open to visitors and provideunique opportunities to see lots of fish atall stages in their life cycles. Hours anddays of business vary seasonally andcertain times of the year will providemore fish action than others, so visitdnr.wi.gov/fish/hatchery/hatmap.htm tofind information on a facility near you.

Hatchery open housesand fishing clinicsThe Department of Natural Resourcesworks with local parks departments,fishing clubs and organizations to put onfishing clinics and other events. These areexcellent opportunities to introduce peopleboth young and old to fishing. You willneed a fishing license if you fish at these

2009 Wisconsin Fishing ReportWisconsin Departmentof Natural Resources

Box 7921Madison, WI 53707

Editors:Alisa Santiesteban, Lisa Gaumnitz,

WNR magazine staff

Graphic Design:Tom Senatori Designs

The Wisconsin Department of NaturalResources provides equal opportunity in its

employment, programs, services andfunctions under an Affirmative Action Plan.If you have any questions, please write toEqual Opportunity Office, Department of the

Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

This publication is available inalternate format (large print, Braille,

audio tape, etc.) upon request.Call 608-267-7498 for more information.

Teachershares hislove forfishing withstudents

Angler education workshops help others start fishing clubs

Middle school teacher Bob Wiedholz started an after school fishing club to share his passionfor fishing with students at Madison's Hamilton Middle School.

well as clean and cook them. They learnhow to tie knots, paint jigs and cast. Theyalso take a canoe trip which supports team-work. Some kids even express interest infuture fisheries careers. A field trip to tourthe Nevin State Fish Hatchery in Fitchburgand talk with a DNR fish biologist is alsoincluded in the schedule. The Yahara FishingClub assists with some of the outings, anda family fish fry brings the club to a closenear the end of the school year.Angler education workshops give you a

great opportunity to follow in BobWiedholz’sfootsteps and share your passion for fishingwith the next generation. Visit dnr.wi.gov/fish/kidsparents/anglereducation/instructor.htmlor contact Theresa Stabo (608) 266-2272or Rachel Piacenza (608) 261-6431 to findout about upcoming workshops.- Rachel Piacenza, aquatic resources educationassistant, Madison

Suckers (April-June)•Red River County Park north of Dykesville•C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility, Kewaunee•Peshtigo River at railroad bridge, PeshtigoChinook Salmon (late September-October)•Strawberry Creek Spawning Facility, Sturgeon Bay•C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility, Kewaunee•Root River Steelhead Facility, Racine•Keltzch and Estabrook parks on the Milwaukee River, Milwaukee•Menomonee River at Miller Park, Milwaukee•Sheboygan and Pigeon rivers, Sheboygan and Sauk creeks, Port Washington•Big Rock County Park, Sioux River near Washburn•Horlick Dam, Racine•Quarry Park, Racine•Pikes Creek Dam, Bayfield (park cars at Les Voigt Hatchery; follow trail)

Brown Trout (Late September-November)•C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility, Kewaunee•Big Rock County Park, Sioux River near Washburn

Coho Salmon (October-November)•C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility, Kewaunee•Root River Steelhead Facility, Racine

Muskellunge (April and early May)•Below the Okauchee Lake Dam, Oconomowoc•Below the Lake Wingra Dam, Madison

Walleye (late March-early April)• Eureka Fishway at the Eureka Dam on the Fox River(Winnebago Co.)

• Spoehr's Marsh, five miles north of Shiocton on HWY 187• Turtle-Flambeau Flowage, Lake of the Falls County Park onHWY FF, southwest of Mercer

Northern Pike (April-June)•During high water, flooded ditches which feed into Green Bay,Green Bay

Steelhead (migratory rainbow trout) (March-April)•Lake Michigan tributary streams: Root River, Racine•Keltzch and Estabrook parks on the Milwaukee River, Milwaukee•Menomonee River at Miller Park, Milwaukee•Kewaunee River, Kewaunee•Menominee River, Marinette dam•Peshtigo River, Peshtigo•C.D. Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility, Kewaunee

Lake Sturgeon (mid-April-early May)•Highway X crossing, Wolf River between New Londonand Northport

•Shawano Dam, Wolf River, Shawano•Shiocton along HWY 54 near “Bamboo Bend”•Sturgeon Trail, New London

Who has the larger smile? This budding young angler gets eye-to-eye with a rainbow trout.

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During much of the year, many fish are moving about in Wisconsin’s waters. They areexciting to watch as they dance, wiggle, and sail through the shallow waters of our riversand lakes to find their breeding grounds. Here are some hot spots for watching fish.

Fish watching is fun for the whole family!

events, other than those taking placeon Free Fishing Weekend.Additionally, Wisconsin has 17 state

fish hatcheries, egg collection facilitiesand rearing stations and many havescheduled special open house activities.For a complete list of events,visit

dnr.wi.gov/fish/kidsparents/learningopportunities.html.

If you are planning an event, theRecreational Boating and Fishing Foundation(RBFF) www.rbff.org/ will promote all

registered events through a national publicrelations campaign centered aroundNational Fishing and Boating Week,the first full week of June. So be

sure to register your event with them!

Family Outings

A website full offishy fun just

for kids!dnr.wi.gov/eek

Printed on Recycled Paper


Splake wasthe catch-of-the-day atthe Les VoigtHatcheryOpen Housein Bayfield.

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