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Stiles Dam, Wisconsin
Stiles Dam is the top of the Oconto River run — 4 anadromous species stack below it out of Lake Michigan.
Open in BirdTrout44.8579, -88.0536 · Oconto County · NID WI00762. Tap the map to open this water in the live app.
What the runs do here
Stiles Dam is the anadromous ceiling for the Oconto River — the top of the run out of Lake Michigan. Fish moving up from the lake stop here, which is 14.0 miles of river below this structure.
| Species | In the river | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Chinook salmon | Aug–Oct | Stage off the harbour through August and run as the river cools; peak early to mid September, ahead of the Michigan shore. |
| Coho salmon | Sept–Oct | Behind the chinook and overlapping them; peak mid to late September. |
| Steelhead | Oct–May | Two runs on one calendar — a fall push from October that winters in the river, and the spring run peaking late March into April. |
| Lake-run brown trout | Oct–Nov | A moderate run with and behind the salmon; peak October. |
Curated calendar guidance from state run-timing prose, not regulation and not an observation of this river on any day. WDNR Great Lakes tributary run-timing guidance and stocking record, curated.
Ceiling cited as: USACE NID WI00762 'Stiles', River or Stream Name 'Oconto River', Source Agency Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The structure
- Owner
- Oconto Electric Cooperative Public Utility
- Purpose
- Hydroelectric, Recreation
- Completed
- 1949
- Type
- Earth
- Height
- 29 ft
- Length
- 2600 ft
- Spillway
- Controlled, 60 ft wide
- Storage
- 2,400 acre-ft · 463 acre pool
- Drainage
- 796 sq mi
- Condition
- Satisfactory · High hazard potential
- Status
- Normal Operations
From the National Inventory of Dams (USACE). Hazard potential is a downstream-consequence classification, not a statement about the structure's condition.
The water above and below
- Splinter Creek 0.24 mi from the dam · Class I · wild (WDNR) · typed Cold
Coldwater designation is the state's own classification. A dam sits on one river and this list is every designated reach within a mile and a half of it, so a tributary mouth shows up here too.
Water right now
| Gauge | Distance | Temp | Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oconto River near Oconto | 3.4 mi | 59.4 °F | 263 cfs |
| Peshtigo River at Peshtigo | 20.0 mi | 61.9 °F | 365 cfs |
Live from USGS. A gauge miles away is a gauge miles away — the distance column is there so you can discount it. A hydro dam's releases move the flow below it on a schedule the gauge sees and this page does not.
Getting to it
- Machickanee Boat Landing 0.1 mi · boat launch · Machickanee Flowage
- Iron Bridge Public Boat Access 0.2 mi · boat launch · Oconto River
- North River Road Public Boat Access 4.4 mi · boat launch · Oconto River
- East Side Beach Boat Ramp 4.9 mi · boat launch · Oconto Falls Pond
- West Side Beach Boat Ramp 5.4 mi · boat launch · Oconto Falls Pond
- Pensaukee River Access 7.3 mi · boat launch · Pensaukee River
Public access sites near the dam, straight-line distance. A dam itself is private property unless its owner says otherwise; these are the places the state lists as open.
Fly shops nearby
- The Sports Shop 6.6 mi
- Bob White Trout & Bait 11.4 mi · Coleman · +1-920-897-3812
- Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company 28.2 mi · De Pere
- Popp's Resort 31.6 mi · Crivitz · +1-715-757-3511