Fishing WisconsinPlaces to fish in Wisconsin

Looking for a place to wet a line? You’ve come to the right place. Whether it’s lake, stream, river, or pond, Wisconsin offers a variety of fishing opportunities for expert and novice alike.

Fishing the Great Lakes

• Lake Michigan tributaries with public access
• Fall shore fishing - Milwaukee
• Year-round shore fishing on Lake Michigan
• Fishing calendar for Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior
• Fishing the Brule River

Fishing with kids

• Places to fish with kids
• Fish supervisors’ family-friendly favorites
• Urban fishing

Accessible fishing

• Disabled-accessible and public shore fishing sites in certain parts of Wisconsin.
• Accessible shore fishing sites - regional maps [PDF]

Quality fishing opportunities

• Quality fishing opportunities for muskellunge, largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, and northern pike.

Musky fishing

• Musky lakes and rivers by county

Wisconsin lakes

• Find a lake

Trout fishing

• Wisconsin trout stream maps and classes
• Catchable-size stocked trout waters
• Washburn County trout fishing [exit DNR]
• Public fishing areas on Dane County trout streams:
• Anthony Branch [PDF 49KB]
• Black Earth Creek, Upper [PDF 151KB]
• Black Earth Creek, Lower [PDF 149KB]
• Deer Creek, Fryes Feeder [PDF 328KB]
• Dunlap Creek [PDF 216KB]
• Elvers, Ryan Creeks [PDF 165KB]
• East Branch Blue Mounds [PDF 66KB]
• Flynn Creek [PDF 88KB]
• Gordan, German Valley Creeks [PDF 120KB]
• Garfoot Creek [PDF 93KB]
• Kittleson Valley Creek [PDF 126KB]
• Mount Vernon Creek [PDF 95KB]
• Moen, Bohn Creeks [PDF 80KB]
• Primrose Branch [PDF 104KB]
• Spring Creek [PDF 64KB]
• Story Creek [PDF 81KB]
• Token Creek [PDF 55KB]
• Vermont Creek [PDF 129KB]
• West Branch Sugar River, Upper [PDF 181KB]
• West Branch Sugar River, Lower [PDF 131KB]

Boat access and shore fishing opportunities

• Find a boat access or shore fishing opportunity near you.

DNR fisheries areas

• Find a DNR fisheries area near you.

Fishing on private forest lands

• Fishing opportunities are available on private forest lands. Use the mapping tool to find areas you'd like to fish.

More fishing resources

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest [exit DNR] has more than 2,000 miles of stream with nearly 1,400 miles classified as trout waters, 607 lakes greater than ten acres in size and more than 400 spring ponds.