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Northwoods fly fishing trip
2 waters in the Northwoods, Wisconsin, have a page here, the largest of them The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water and The Special Regulations Stretch. 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 and 5 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The Wolf, the Popple, the Pine and the freestone rivers of the north.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water — named stretch | — | — |
| The Special Regulations Stretch — 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 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.
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.
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
- Kimberly Clark Wildlife Area — 9.1 mi
- Flambeau River State Forest — 11.4 mi
- Chequamegon National Forest — 11.6 mi
- Silvernail Wildlife Area — 13.3 mi
- State Natural Area - Nw — 16.0 mi
- Sawyer County Forest — 18.3 mi
- Chippewa Flowage — 20.5 mi
- Spring Creek Wildlife Area — 21.2 mi
Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as Wisconsin publishes it.
Camping and lodging
We have campground records for Michigan and for no other state, so there is nothing to list here rather than a list somebody guessed. The public land above is where the dispersed camping is, where the state allows it.
Fly shops
- Elk River Custom Rods — 19.8 mi
- Ross's Sport Shop — 20.9 mi
- Lures of the North — 36.0 mi, Hayward
- Hayward Fly Fishing Company — 36.1 mi, Hayward
- Rocque Ridge Guides & Outfitters LLC — 41.0 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
- Northwoods fishing report
- The Namekagon Artificial-Only Water
- The Special Regulations Stretch