Places to fish in Wisconsin
Fishing Wisconsin
Looking for a place to wet a line? You’ve come to the right place. Whether it’s a lake, stream, river, or pond, Wisconsin offers a variety of fishing opportunities for experts and novices 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
Fishing Wisconsin - Close to Home
Recent studies have shown that more than half of the anglers do not travel more than 30 minutes from their home. Here's a list of waters developed by DNR fisheries biologists to allow people to get outside, find a fishing spot and stay close to home. These waters are focused more on shore fishing opportunities.
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
Wisconsin lakes
Trout fishing
T.R.O.U.T
The Trout Regulations & Opportunities User Tool (TROUT) was designed to help trout anglers find places to fish. The TROUT application includes trout fishing regulations, classified trout waters, public land and DNR fishing easements.
Trout fishing resources
- 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]
- Black Earth Creek, Upper [PDF]
- Black Earth Creek, Lower [PDF]
- Deer Creek, Fryes Feeder [PDF]
- Dunlap Creek [PDF 216KB]
- Elvers, Ryan Creeks [PDF]
- East Branch Blue Mounds [PDF]
- Flynn Creek [PDF]
- Gordan, German Valley Creeks [PDF]
- Garfoot Creek [PDF]
- Kittleson Valley Creek [PDF]
- Mount Vernon Creek [PDF]
- Moen, Bohn Creeks [PDF]
- Primrose Branch [PDF]
- Spring Creek [PDF]
- Story Creek [PDF]
- Token Creek [PDF]
- Vermont Creek [PDF]
- West Branch Sugar River, Upper [PDF]
- West Branch Sugar River, Lower [PDF]
Boat access and shore fishing opportunities
- Find boat access or shore fishing opportunities 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.