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Current West Central Wisconsin-Baldwin-La Crosse-Crawford County-Eau Claire-Wisconsin Rapids Fishing Reports- Click Here

Fishing Reports - Baldwin-La Crosse-Crawford County-Eau Claire-Wisconsin Rapids
West Central Wisconsin Fishing Reports - Click Here to sponsor this report.
WI DNR
August 29, 2008

Baldwin
River levels are at low summer flows with the recent dry conditions, but fishing on the St Croix and Miss Rivers has been fair. Crappies have been biting in the Hudson to Bayport area on the St Croix and Walleye and sauger are hitting fairly well on trolled crank baits or crawlers on the St Croix and Lake Pepin. Walleye and bass are still hitting on Cedar Lake on the weed edges and off cribs. Early Canada goose hunters will do best to look for harvested wheat fields or sweet corn, early scouting and obtaining permission is a must for success. Trout streams are running cool and clear, but mornings and evenings have been good on the Rush, Trimbelle and Kinnickinnic Rivers. Floating the Lower Chippewa River through Dunn and Pepin County will produce many bass and a few walleye with bug free conditions right now.

St. Croix County
Willow River State Park - The campground is full for the Labor Day weekend. Weeknight camping availability remains good. Electric sites will remain in high demand on weekends until the toilet buildings are closed for winter the week of Sept. 29. Lately, it’s been news when rain falls. The area received 2 inches of rain Wednesday night. The Willow River Race branch was running a little high but still clear on Thursday morning. Generally, there is a short window of 8-12 hours before discoloration begins, and that could be the case for the weekend. The relatively short growing season and dry weather have some of the green ash trees by the office showing a little color. In some past dry years, green leaves came down. The sumac shrubs are showing some red this week.

La Crosse
Flocks of white pelicans have started arriving around La Crosse, although the bulk of the migration is about a month away. A few hundred spent the summer along the Mississippi River again this year, as well.

La Crosse River State Trail - The trail is open and in good condition. Stiff goldenrod and rough blazing star are blooming in the prairie this week. A bull snake was seen on the trail near Rockland. Snakes are very beneficial. Please use care to avoid any snakes seen along the trail.

Vernon County - Large flocks of bluebirds and blackbirds are gathering. Bluebird concentrations tend to number about 10 to 20 birds, but blackbird flocks reach several hundred to more than one thousand birds. Roosting flocks of blackbirds can cause local nuisance problems with their droppings and odors. Fortunately these types of problems are temporary, as most blackbirds migrate south for the winter.

Wildcat Mountain State Park - Horse trails are in good condition. Hiking trails also are in good condition. The Ice Cave picnic area has reopened. And the Hemlock hiking trail has also reopened. The Hemlock trail still has some rough areas but it can be hiked. Canoeing has been good on the Kickapoo River with rentals and shuttles available nearby in the Village of Ontario. For weekend camping reservations are recommended. Sunday nights thru Thursday there are many open sites available.

Crawford County - Moderate temperatures and dry conditions was the story this week. River conditions are at normal levels for this time of year. The Mississippi River has been holding just under 7.0 feet for most of the week. The forecast for the Mississippi River is to stay steady below the 7.0 foot mark. The Wisconsin River is in good shape as water clarity is good and many sand bars are high and dry. The Kickapoo River has settled into normal summer time flow and is clearing up too. All the trout streams are in good condition. All of the boat landings in the Crawford County area are open and usable. A word of caution regarding some landings. With the low water be careful backing in large boats because some ramps have developed drop offs at the end of the landing pad. Boaters on the Mississippi River are urged to use caution now that the river is below 7.0 feet. Wing and closing dams can be dangerously close to outboard motor lower units. If you are unsure of where you are traveling stay in the navigation lane or slow down and utilize a depth finder. Besides wing dams, sunken trees and snags are starting to “rear their heads”. Fishing action was very good again this week. Most species of fish are biting pretty good. Bluegills, sheepshead and bass are the most often caught species. Walleye and catfish action has been good on some days and spotty on others. Anglers are finding good bluegill action above wing dams and along shorelines in deeper water on the Mississippi River. Some anglers are drifting or dead lining in 4 to 10 feet of water. Most anglers are using a chunk of nightcrawler fished off the bottom. Many bluegill anglers report the size of the fish caught are average. Those big “gill” have been hard to find for most anglers. There has been some crappie action in the area. Try small minnows fished under bobbers in downed trees. Whitebass and perch action was spotty. Whitebass have been seen feeding on the top of wing dams, along rocky shorelines, below the lock and dams and at the mouth of the Wisconsin River. The best tip for a successful fishing outing is to move frequently until you locate active fish. Fishing at Cold Spring continues to be slow, both inside and outside the railroad tracks. Most anglers are launching at Cold Spring but heading out to the Mississippi River. Once outside Cold Spring anglers are traveling around to find fish. Bluegill action was spotty. A few crappie are being taken at Cold Spring using minnows. The boat landing at Cold Spring is in good shape but the water is low. The Ambro Slough complex was pretty good for the most part. Bluegills were active all over, but the size structure of the fish have been on the small side. Anglers fishing Big Lake, Fish Lake, the Upper and Lower Doubles, Big and Little Missouri, Fennimore Cut, and Spring Lake have found fish there at times. Again, the best fishing tip is to keep moving around until you find decent size and active fish. There has been some decent bluegill action reported in downed trees and deeper sloughs. Spotty crappie action has been reported. Horseshoe (McGregor or Sturgeon) Lake remained slow this week. Fishing for sauger and walleye this week slowed down for most anglers. Try trolling crank baits in deeper water sloughs. Black Slough, Roseau Slough, and Big Lake have produced some fish. Another tactic is drifting with leeches or nightcrawlers. Once a walleye or sauger is caught target that area. The S curve by Harpers Ferry was pretty good this week. Anglers have been drifting off the wing dam near Harpers Ferry Slough and on the Wisconsin side. Nightcrawlers have been the most successful bait. Action on wing dams throughout the Mississippi River have been spotty. Trolling crank baits or dead lining with leeches and nightcrawlers have been the best tactics. Northern pike action slowed a little this week too. Look for northerns in areas were cooler water might be entering the river or in slow moving deeper sloughs. Casting crank baits, spoons, or spinner baits have worked pretty good also. Try these baits in the timber and weeds. Some decent fish have been caught trolling on Big Lake, the bottom end of the Ambro Slough, and the Lower Bottoms outside Prairie du Chien and up by the Lynxville dam. Bass (both large and smallmouth) fishing remained good this week. Anglers are finding active bass in shallow backwater areas, on wing dams, in the weeds and in the timber. Most bass anglers will have success with varying colors of plastics, spinner baits, and crank baits. Trout fishing is good for those who can tolerate the dense vegetation and bugs. Both live and artificial bait have produced quality fish. Mosquitoes, deer and horse flies are out. The gnat problems from past weeks has really subsided. Mosquitoes have been bad in the river bottoms and some upland areas. In the river bottoms mosquitoes can be a nuisance all day and night long. Stinging nettle and poison ivy is still out and awaits outdoor users so be careful and dress accordingly. Parsnip is really dying back. Many of the early summer grasses are starting to seed out and die back. There appears to be a decent acorn crop this year. Other nut trees like walnut and hickory are producing fair crops this year.

400 State Trail - The trail is open between Elroy and Wonewoc (about 8 miles) and from County Highway V south of La Valle to Reedsburg (about 5 miles). The rest of the trail, including the horse trail segment, remains closed due to bridge damage from the June 2008 Baraboo River flood. Over one mile of washed out trail surface has been replaced. Replacement of the bridge near County Highway V is scheduled to take place this fall. Funding for the remainder of the bridges is being addressed and debris removal from several bridges along the trail is in the works. Flowers blooming along the trail include iron weed, joe-pye weed and green headed cone flower.

Merrick State Park - Fishing has been slow this past week. Take to the trails to see the colorful wildflowers. The trail through the north campground is especially colorful right now. The bright red cardinal flowers are blooming in the south campground and along the south trail. Other flowers blooming around the park include bees balm, vervain, evening primrose, blazing star, horsemint and goldenrod. From Sept. 2 through Oct. 15, the shower building will only be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Black River Falls
Black River State Forest - All ATV trails on the state forest were groomed between last week and this week and are in great condition. Trails will likely be groomed once more this year before the Oct. 15 closing. The forest has not received much rain lately so trails will be dusty -- use of a dust mask is highly recommended. With the dusty conditions we also encourage the use of headlights at all times. At a minimum headlights must be on along all road routes by state law. The trails will likely be especially busy this weekend so please use extra caution. The forest has a brochure with some basic safety information for all ATV operators (pdf) [http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/forestry/StateForests/SF-BlackRiver/pdf/BlackRiverATVRideSafe.pdf] . Please help protect the sport of ATVing by riding responsibly and demanding the same of others at all times. ATV rules and regulations are also available on the DNR Web site [http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/es/enforcement/DOCS/ATVRegs.pdf].

Eau Claire
Brunet Island State Park - Park trails are generally dry and in very good condition. Smallmouth bass have been hitting green Rapalas lately. Largemouth bass, musky, and northern pike action has been good in the flowage. Catfish are being taken from the upper reaches of the flowage near the Holcombe dam. Species of birds seen or heard include: turkey vultures, belted kingfishers, ruby throated hummingbirds, a variety of wrens, red polls, bluebirds, lake gulls, golden finches, mallard ducks, common loons, great blue herons, red winged blackbirds, phoebes, Canada geese, sandhill cranes, robins, mourning doves, nuthatches, ravens, black capped chickadees, piliated woodpeckers, great horned owls, barred owls, and bald eagles. Plants blooming in the park include white snakeroot, harebell, common milkweed, water smartweed, rabbits foot clover, marsh hedge nettle, wild bergamot, brown eyed susans, lesser daisy fleabane, the water lilies, some of the aster varieties, orange hawkweed, wild columbine, ox eye daisy, wooly yarrow are flowering. A note to fall campers. The paved roads in the South (electric) campground are scheduled to be ground and surfaced during the week after Labor Day this year. Please be aware that this is very noisy work involving large road equipment.

Wisconsin Rapids
Buckhorn State Park - White bass and crappie fishing seems to have been good over the last week with pike, largemouth bass, some walleye and some muskies being caught. Visitors have been enjoying the picnic areas and beaches and renting canoes/kayaks. There is starting to be some green algae in the water that moves around each day. Remember, park stickers are required for Launch C and D and there are no additional launch fees. Mosquitoes do not want to go away so remember to bring bug spray. Lake breezes kept them away at times at campsites. Biting flies have starting being a nuisance at the park, mainly biting ankles. Remember to secure your food at campsites from all animals. The deadline for the youth deer hunt has been extended - contact the park office for more information. Categories are people using the park, open, plants, animals, and one for photographers under 18 yrs old. We have three non-reservable campsites.

Roche-A-Cri State Park - Trails are in great condition for hiking. There are many quiet campsites available during the week and on the weekend. There are a few mosquitoes so remember your bug spray. If the office is closed, please self-register in the parking lot. There are three non-reservable campsites. Friendship Lake is about 1 mile south of the park and has a nice beach and swimming area. There is still time to get photos for the annual photo contest. Categories are people using the park, open, plants, animals, and one for photographers under 18 yrs old.

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