Chippewa River

About Chippewa River

The Chippewa runs 113 miles through six counties — Rusk, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Buffalo and Pepin — on its way to the Mississippi. The survey puts 8,975 acres of surface and 397 miles of bank on it, which makes it the second largest river system in the state after the Wisconsin.

Eighteen public landings are on record, from Lake Holcombe and Thornapple in the north down through Eau Claire and Durand to Nelson near the mouth. Several are simply named Chippewa River Access, which is the kind of thing that happens when a river crosses this many townships.

All four of the state's warmwater management programmes apply here. Walleye are classified as natural reproduction only, which is worth noting — the state is not stocking that population. Musky are natural reproduction plus stocking, lake sturgeon are naturally reproducing, and smallmouth habitat spans nursery water through non-wadable coarse substrate.

The lower river below Eau Claire is a different water from the flowages above it, and the last stretch into Lake Pepin is different again. Check current DNR regulations for the reach being fished.

Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 2050000.

How the state manages it

• musky · Natural reproduction plus stocking (Cat. 2)
• smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Cool Water; Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
• sturgeon · Naturally Reproducing - ANSRI
• 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.