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Lake Superior Basin fly fishing trip
2 waters in the Lake Superior Basin, Wisconsin, have a page here, the largest of them The Special Regulations Stretch and The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water. June, July and August carry the most recorded hatches, 23 insects in June, 21 insects in July and 15 insects in August. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 5 state-forest campgrounds and 4 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The Bois Brule and the south-shore tributaries — steelhead and coaster water.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| The Special Regulations Stretch — named stretch | — | — |
| The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water — named stretch | — | — |
Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.
A 2-day plan
The Special Regulations Stretch
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Assembled, not written: the days are the largest waters in range, longest first, and each one carries the nearest site in Wisconsin's own access file — measured from the middle of the water, so it is a place to start looking rather than a landing on that river. Fish them in whatever order the weather gives you.
Hatches to hit
The months with the most recorded hatches in northern Wisconsin: June (23), July (21), August (15).
| Insect | Months | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eggs | October–January and April | #10–16 |
| Little Brown Stonefly | February–April | #12–16 |
| Blue-Winged Olive | March–May and September–November | #16–22 |
| Blackfly | April–June | #18–22 |
| Cranefly | April–June and September–October | #6–10 |
| Grannom | April–May | #14–16 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie | April–June and September–October | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
| Giant Black Stonefly (Salmonfly) | May–June | #4–6 |
| Green Sedge | May–August | #12–16 |
| Light Cahill | May–July | #12–16 |
Recorded from northern Wisconsin, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- Town Of Morse State Habitat Area — 3.2 mi
- Copper Falls State Park — 4.3 mi
- Town Of Saxon State Habitat Area — 10.0 mi
- White River Wildlife Area-Ashland — 10.1 mi
- Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge — 18.5 mi
- Iron County Forest — 19.7 mi
- Ashland County Forest — 20.0 mi
- South Shore of Lake Superior Fish and Wildlife Area - Fish Creek Unit — 20.5 mi
Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as Wisconsin publishes it.
Camping and lodging
| Campground | Distance | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Black River Harbor Recreation Area (fee) | 32.0 mi | USFS |
| Porcupine Mountains Presque Isle-Rustic (fee) | 36.5 mi | MDNR |
| Henry Lake Campground (fee) | 41.3 mi | USFS |
| Porcupine Mountains Rustic Cabins (fee) | 42.4 mi | MDNR |
| Porcupine Mountains Backcountry Camping (fee) | 44.9 mi | MDNR |
State-forest and state-park campgrounds from Wisconsin's own file. This site holds no hotel or motel data and does not pretend to: what it can tell you is where the public ground is.
Fly shops
- Anglers All — 15.1 mi, Ashland
- River Rock Bait Shop — 15.7 mi
- The Bait Shack — 23.7 mi
- Big Sno Outfitters — 28.5 mi
From OpenStreetMap and a curated list, across all five states on this site. Call before you drive — a shop in a file is not a shop that is open.
Before you go
- Wisconsin regulations
- Wisconsin fishing report
- Lake Superior Basin fishing report
- The Special Regulations Stretch
- The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water