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Brook trout in Wisconsin
Salvelinus fontinalis — native to Wisconsin, holding water between 53 and 61°F. Wisconsin publishes no per-species records, so the 20 waters below are this site's selection from the state's own classified trout water.
Wisconsin's brook trout are native and they sit at the two ends of a state that does not have a middle: karst spring creeks in the driftless south, tannic sand and gravel under the northern forest. Both run cold for the same six to eleven inch fish, holding 53 to 61°F water and finished above 68.
What Wisconsin does not publish is which segment holds which species. WDNR classifies its trout water I, II and III by how much of it reproduces without help, and that is the whole of the column — so the twenty waters listed on this page are classified water in the drainage size a brook trout occupies, not a record that one has been caught there. It is where to start looking and it is not more than that. The bag and the season come by category rather than by species, so there is no brook trout limit to quote.
- 53–61°FWater, preferred
- 6–11"Typical length
- NativeIn Wisconsin
- 20Waters listed here
What it is
Salmonidae — char, genus Salvelinus · Salvelinus fontinalis
- Dark olive-green back carrying pale, worm-like vermiculations — the marbled pattern no other trout in these states has, and the single field mark that settles it.
- Flanks scattered with red spots ringed in blue.
- Lower fins edged in white with a black line behind it.
- Tail square, or very nearly — the name squaretail is the old one and it is a description.
Typical length in Wisconsin is 6 to 11 inches. That is a curated range for water of this kind, not an average of any survey: MDNR's abundance file counts fish per acre and per mile and records no lengths at all, and no other state on this site publishes lengths either.
Native or stocked
Native, and the driftless spring creeks and the northern forest headwaters hold it in different country: karst springs in the south, tannic sand and gravel in the north.
Where to find it in Wisconsin
Wisconsin does not publish which species each segment holds. WDNR classifies trout water I, II and III by how much of it reproduces naturally, and by nothing else. So this is not a list of waters this fish has been recorded from, and it is not presented as one: it is the state's own classified water, filtered to the drainage size this species occupies and ranked with the wildest class first. Treat it as where to start looking.
| Water | Watershed | Classified miles | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Creek | Flambeau and Jump | 14.4 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| McCloud Creek | Lake Dubay and Big Eau Pleine | 13.7 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Spikehorn Creek | Menominee River | 12.8 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Otter Creek | Kickapoo River (Driftless) | 12.6 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Alder Creek | Upper Chippewa River | 12.2 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Hay Creek | Eau Claire River | 11.9 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Silver Creek | Red Cedar River | 11.4 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Cook Creek | Kickapoo River (Driftless) | 11.3 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Johnson Creek | Menominee River | 10.7 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Muskrat Creek | Upper Wisconsin River | 10.7 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Tamarack Creek | Upper Wisconsin River | 10.4 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Maple Creek | Upper Chippewa River | 10.2 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Spring Creek | Wolf River | 10.0 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Murphy Creek | Peshtigo River | 9.9 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Lilypad Creek | Menominee River | 9.6 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Bolen Creek | Red Cedar River | 9.5 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Caves Creek | Upper Fox and Wolf headwaters | 9.4 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Carpenter Creek | Flambeau and Jump | 9.3 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| McDonald Creek | Peshtigo River | 9.3 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
| Swan Creek | Upper Chippewa River | 9.3 | Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking |
Wisconsin's classified trout water, whole
The inventory the list above was drawn from, by the state's own class.
| Class | Named waters | Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Class I — self-sustaining, no stocking | 844 | 6542 |
| Class II — some natural reproduction, stocked to maintain | 647 | 4540 |
| Class III — no natural reproduction, stocking carries it | 126 | 658 |
Where that is on the map
Every subwatershed this site covers in Wisconsin as a faint dot, and the ones holding the waters listed above lit. A coverage map with this species on it — the map on the front of the site is the map.
When to fish for it
Brook trout hold 53–61°F water and are under real stress above 68°F. On this map's own colours that band is cold, cold-transitional water, which is what the river pages and the live map are painting when they run green and blue. The season follows the temperature rather than the calendar: the water is in the band early and late in the day through the summer, and all day either side of it.
Spawning: October and November, on gravel in groundwater-fed shallows, often at the mouths of seeps rather than in the main current.
What is hatching in Wisconsin, month by month, from the same seed the app's hatch panel reasons from. These are the state's recorded hatches, not this species' — trout eat what is in the water.
| Month | Peaking |
|---|---|
| January | Aquatic Worm, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Fish Eggs, Hellgrammite, Leech and 6 more |
| February | Aquatic Worm, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Hellgrammite, Leech, Little Black Stonefly and 6 more |
| March | Aquatic Worm, Blue-Winged Olive, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Hellgrammite, Leech and 7 more |
| April | Aquatic Worm, Blackfly, Blue Quill, Blue-Winged Olive, Cranefly, Damselfly and 15 more |
| May | Alderfly, Aquatic Worm, Blackfly, Blue Quill, Blue-Winged Olive, Caterpillar and 23 more |
| June | Alderfly, Aquatic Worm, Black Ant, Blackfly, Brown Drake, Caterpillar and 31 more |
| July | Annual Cicada, Aquatic Worm, Black Ant, Caterpillar, Crayfish, Cream Cahill and 30 more |
| August | Annual Cicada, Aquatic Worm, Black Ant, Caterpillar, Cinnamon Flying Ant, Crayfish and 25 more |
| September | Aquatic Worm, Black Ant, Blue-Winged Olive, Caterpillar, Cinnamon Flying Ant, Cranefly and 22 more |
| October | Aquatic Worm, Blue-Winged Olive, Cranefly, Crayfish, Cricket, Damselfly and 13 more |
| November | Aquatic Worm, Blue-Winged Olive, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Fish Eggs, Hellgrammite and 7 more |
| December | Aquatic Worm, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Fish Eggs, Hellgrammite, Leech and 5 more |
How to catch it
The coldest and smallest water available: spring-fed headwaters, groundwater seeps, beaver flowages and the shaded upper reaches above where brown trout take over.
Patterns from this site's book, chosen by the insects recorded from Wisconsin's own regions and filtered to the kinds worth putting in front of this fish. Each one has its tying recipe.
- Hare's Ear Nymph nymph · #10–18 — Alderfly, Black Ant, Cream Cahill
- Pheasant Tail Nymph nymph · #12–22 — Blue Quill, Blue-Winged Olive, Damselfly
- Parachute Adams dry fly · #12–20 — Blue Quill, Brown Drake, Blue-Winged Olive
- Elk Hair Caddis dry fly · #12–20 — Grannom, Green Sedge, Little Black Caddis
- Foam Beetle terrestrial · #12–18 — Black Ant, Cricket, Grasshopper
- Prince Nymph nymph · #10–18 — Green Sedge, Isonychia / Slate Drake, Little Black Stonefly
- Rusty Spinner dry fly · #14–20 — Cream Cahill, Isonychia / Slate Drake, Light Cahill
- Chubby Chernobyl dry fly · #8–14 — Annual Cicada, Giant Black Stonefly (Salmonfly), Golden Stonefly
- RS2 emerger · #16–24 — Blue Quill, Blue-Winged Olive, Midge
- Griffith's Gnat dry fly · #18–24 — Blackfly, Midge, Cinnamon Flying Ant
- LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa emerger · #12–18 — Grannom, Green Sedge, Little Sister Caddis
- Partridge & Orange Soft Hackle wet fly · #12–18 — Alderfly, Little Black Caddis, Little Sister Caddis
Rules for brook trout in Wisconsin
Wisconsin does not publish its limits split by species: the bag and the season apply to trout as a group, by the class or category the water carries. So what follows is that, and not a brook trout rule dressed up as one. Snapshot taken 2026-08-16.
| Category | Bag | Season | Waters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Trout in Total of Any Length | 5 trout in total of any length. | First Saturday in April at 5:00 a.m. to Oct. 15. | 1614 |
| 5 Trout in Total of Any Length | 5 trout in total of any length. | First Saturday in April at 5:00 a.m. to Oct. 15. | 1126 |
| 3 Trout in Total Over 8 inches | 3 trout in total over 8". | First Saturday in April at 5:00 a.m. to Oct. 15. | 69 |
| Length, Bag and Possession Limits Vary by Water | 5 trout in total; only one may be greater than 12" | First Saturday in April at 5:00 a.m. to Oct. 15. | 64 |
| Length, Bag and Possession Limits Vary by Water | 3 in total: brown and rainbow trout over 12", brook trout over 8". | First Saturday in April at 5:00 a.m. to Oct. 15. | 13 |
| Length, Bag and Possession Limits Vary by Water | All trout caught shall be immediately released. | First Saturday in April at 5:00 a.m. to Oct. 15. | 9 |
The full Wisconsin regulation page →
Habitat notes
The coldest and smallest water available: spring-fed headwaters, groundwater seeps, beaver flowages and the shaded upper reaches above where brown trout take over.
- 53–61°F preferred
- 68°F upper limit
- cold, cold-transitional on this map's colours
The four thermal classes named there are the ones every river on this site is painted with, at breaks of 58, 64 and 70°F. A river page showing cold water is showing water inside this fish's band; that is the whole point of the colour.
The other trout in Wisconsin
- Brown trout in Wisconsin Salmo trutta
- Rainbow trout in Wisconsin Oncorhynchus mykiss
- Lake trout in Wisconsin Salvelinus namaycush
Brook trout in the other states
The same fish, on different water and under different rules. Michigan's sand-bottomed rivers, Wisconsin's driftless springs, Minnesota's North Shore, Virginia's mountain brook water and North Carolina's tailwaters and freestone gradient are five fisheries, and the limits differ with them.
Open the trout map →Every trout stream near you, coloured by today's water temperature.