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Posts: 151
Location: IL | Going to put in some time on the river this year, really have no idea where to start. But I really want to fish it. Its about a 4 hour trip for me from IL. Planing on useing my 15' tuffy, w 30 hp Evenrude. Boat can pretty much sit in 8" of water no probem. If anyone has any general info they could share, mainly just looking for launch location s safer/deeper stretch s of the river to fish exc.. any info would be very much appreciated! |
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Posts: 243
Location: South Central Wisconsin | The wisconsin river runs a long ways! Where are you thinking you want to fish it? |
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Posts: 151
Location: IL | Maybe around the dells or stevens point area. I'm relly not too sure haha just know I need to fish it!! |
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Posts: 243
Location: South Central Wisconsin | The Nekoosa area, the stretch from the dam, down to Petenwell can be productive. Petenwell has some nice fish in it. Fish the river mouths like 10 mile. There are couple places you need to be careful of. I think a hot spots map will show them.
Edited by Randy 3/11/2014 8:49 PM
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Location: Northern Illinois | Where exactly is the mouth of the 10 mile?? I fished petenwell and nekoosa for years now and have done alright. nothing to brag about. but I always hear about this 10 mile? just dont know where it is. |
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | the ten is right by nek. auto salvage. 2 min ride s. from the free landing in nek. |
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Posts: 1660
Location: central Wisconsin | muskyhunter07 - 3/11/2014 8:34 PM
Where exactly is the mouth of the 10 mile?? I fished petenwell and nekoosa for years now and have done alright. nothing to brag about. but I always hear about this 10 mile? just dont know where it is.
Wait until the weather gets way hot and sticky. Head downriver from Nekoosa, when you see a dozen boats casting musky baits in a three acre area you will have found the Ten Mile. |
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | keep in mind when its hot and sticky, water temps run regularly up past 80.... most of july/aug temps run 80+ and ive seen 93.... so keep the fishery in mind and practice safe c+r- now that todd forciers tournament is no longer, local clubs and limited support from the state sustain the fishery. very litte of the river has natural reproduction so with safe fish handling, hopefully the future of the local flowages dont suffer. my .02
Edited by eric001 3/17/2014 11:05 PM
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| the whole river is good its 430 miles long. the dells area is good as well as stevens point...I fished it quite it a bit last fall, but further north.. |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | In the Stevens Point/Biron area water clarity is nil. Seriously, lucky to have 18" visibility in midsummer (not as bad early in the year, maybe 3'). And Eric is correct, temps can shoot upwards of 85 degrees if it's hot and dry in July/August. Also, the Biron Flowage has rusty crayfish, Eurasian milfoil and curlyleaf pondweed, I believe Stevens Point Flowage does too, I don't know about the other flowages so check and be careful. StPt receives stocking through local clubs but it's pretty minimal. I think Biron is not stocked. There's significant pressure in this stretch nowadays too. Frankly, I hate the river in central WI (for muskies, it's great for smallmouth and walleyes). I'm only going to fish it this year because I moved back there so it's close for before/after work. Never fished Petenwell, probably will start since it's close enough and has more fish. I only fished Lake Wausau once, should spend some more time there as well. I love the river further north, usually my first choice in Oneida County. |
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Posts: 968
Location: N.FIB | is petenwell getting stocked since todds not having the tourney anymore |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | CASTING55 - 3/17/2014 11:41 AM
is petenwell getting stocked since todds not having the tourney anymore
hey man, yes Pete is getting stocked. The club(Consolidated Musky Club Inc.) started the rehab project in 1981, and will continue to stock every other year on Petenwell(every other year, focusing on other stretches including Biron Flowage). We've been stocking Petenwell flowage with Mississippi strain(Leech Lake) fish since 2005 on an every other year basis, roughly 300-400 fish per stocking. We plan to put them in again this year, if our funding goes as planned.
The DNR also stocks the flowage to a varying degree, some years more than others. They put a lot of few fish in there in 2012, on a couple occasions. The DNR is also heavily involved in our plantings, fin clipping, and implanting PIT tags or dye, to better quantify the movements through the systems moving forward.
One thing to note is that since the tournament hasn't been held, Todd took a board member position of the club, so his fundraising skills are still being felt. He can sure get the crowd involved on raffle night! His efforts and ideas are greatly appreciated.
Edited by Reef Hawg 3/17/2014 10:52 PM
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Posts: 109
Location: Wisconsin River | Great fishing, The flowages can be harder to pick apart. I like the river sections where current breaks are obvious. These places can be harder to navigate but are worth the effort. Less pressured! Your Tuffy will work fine, go slow and fish hard. When one of those fish sneak up on you in the brown water, its a great thrill.
Think about hiring a guide to get you started, really cuts the learning curve.
Edited by Big Rock 3/18/2014 7:02 AM
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Posts: 151
Location: IL | Thanks for all the info guys. And for the point, I'm really not.interested in fishing the flowages, just the river. And I'm curious, is it legal to camp on banks or islands? Once again, thanks for all the input! |
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Posts: 668
Location: Wisconsin | scot - 3/18/2014 8:15 AM
And I'm curious, is it legal to camp on banks or islands? Once again, thanks for all the input!
We used to camp on the islands as we travelled down the river, but that was a few years ago. I believe you still can as they are state owned. Shoreline would be private property in most if not all areas.
If there is a lot of rain, or North of you, the river level can change so watch where you set your tent! We learned that the hard way!!  |
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Posts: 151
Location: IL | Awesome thanks a lot Clammer. |
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Posts: 109
Location: Wisconsin River | Plenty of campgrounds along the river to stay at. Live next to one.
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Posts: 216
| I just watched an episode of "we love it outdoors" and they were fishing the wisconsin river with guide Kurt Schultz. The guide seemed knowledgeable,they caught a couple, one decent one around 40".i like seeing small river musky shows.Pursuit channel on direct Tv
Edited by Brozz88 3/18/2014 12:46 PM
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | scot - 3/18/2014 8:15 AM
Thanks for all the info guys. And for the point, I'm really not.interested in fishing the flowages, just the river. And I'm curious, is it legal to camp on banks or islands? Once again, thanks for all the input!
On the largest flowages most of the islands and shoreline that isn't private, is owned by Wisconsin River Power company, and a link is provided here to the recreation rules which encompass its' use. From the headwaters to the confluence of the Mississippi, however, ownership and operations support changes, often between dams. The state, as mentioned, also owns some lands along the river in some locations. WRVIC(Wisconsin River Valley Improvement Company) maintains the flows and levels across the board, to ensure adequate flow for industry and recreation, along the WI River.
As Mark mentioned, there are a number of campgrounds along the river, and also a few designated camping spots in some of the undeveloped portions of the river. Checking with the hydro operations headquartered at the lower end of each reservoir, will tell you what the recreational rules are for the particular body of water that lies above.
http://www.wisconsinriverpower.com/recreation.aspx
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Posts: 87
Location: Wisconsin | Bronz88, I have fished with a kurt a few times on that stretch as well as on my own. Great stretch of water with lots of fish and some big ones. It is very shallow and sees a lot of local pressure. If your goal is to learn more about the river I would consider giving Kurt a call and take a trip with him, really helped shorten my learning curve. |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | I thought the Tanner Wildes dvd called River Muskies was really good, he fished with Todd Forcier (caught a 49") in Nekoosa and Petenwell, and with Justin Gaiche further north (don't know what stretch). |
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Posts: 9
| I have also done a trip with Kurt down that stretch of river. He is a great guy to fish with and knows his stuff, would definetly fish with him again. |
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Posts: 422
| Here is another question and you can PM me if that is what you're more comfortable with. How far south have any of you caught a musky on the river? I know people fish them quite regularly below the Sauk dam, which is the last dam on the river, so how far down below there do you think they have ventured? |
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Posts: 410
Location: one foot over the line | 4reukmuskies - 3/21/2014 6:43 PM
Here is another question and you can PM me if that is what you're more comfortable with. How far south have any of you caught a musky on the river? I know people fish them quite regularly below the Sauk dam, which is the last dam on the river, so how far down below there do you think they have ventured?
The short quick answer which will not help you at all is: They have gone into the Miss. However, I doubt that there is much of a fishable population down by the confluence.
Edited by beerforthemuskygods 3/22/2014 4:09 AM
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | ive personaly caught them just s. of lvd(headwaters) s. to bridgeport where it flows into the mississippi, fishing is good all over. you just got to put in your time. the central wisconsin area is top shelf for numbers and some good ones swimming around. your hard pressed to hit 50- but theres some 4' ers swimming around. right now the fishery is strong and putting fish in the boat is just a matter of time. |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | How deep is the river up by the head waters? Is it wadeable? |
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Posts: 300
Location: Minocqua, WI | From LVD thru Conover & Eagle River area the river is quite shallow. Tried navigating with big boat upstream of Watersmeet on the ERC to see how far I could go but that entire stretch downstream from LVD is best suited for either wading or very small craft (kayak, jon, etc)
I second the Kurt Schultz comments. They put in over 200 fish on trips in 2013. Low density from LVD through Rhinelander, then beginning around Tomahawk it's more numbers and far greater fish populations. |
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Wisconsin River