Big Eau Pleine River
A river in Wisconsin
About Big Eau Pleine River
The Big Eau Pleine rises in southern Taylor County and runs into Marathon County past Stratford, feeding the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir before joining the Wisconsin River at Lake DuBay. The survey covers 17 miles of it, with 405 acres of surface and 57 miles of bank — the river proper, not the reservoir it fills.
The state manages musky here as natural reproduction plus stocking, and walleye as natural reproduction only, meaning that population sustains itself. Smallmouth habitat is classified as nursery and wadable warm water.
There is no public boat landing catalogued on the river itself. The developed access in this system is on the reservoir downstream, where Big Eau Pleine Park runs out along a wooded peninsula into the water. On the river above it, access means bridges and small craft.
Check the current Wisconsin DNR regulations before keeping fish.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data, and from Big Eau Pleine River — Wikipedia, Big Eau Pleine Park — Marathon County. State water ID WBIC 1427200.
How the state manages it
- musky · Natural reproduction plus stocking (Cat. 2)
- smallmouth · Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
- walleye · Natural Reproduction Only
Wisconsin DNR fisheries designations. These describe how the water is managed, not what is in it on any given day.
Fishing license
Wisconsin sells them online. Buy one from the state. We don’t know whether you need one — that depends on your age, where you live, the water, and what your guide’s own license covers.