Eagle River
A river in Wisconsin
About Eagle River
The Eagle River is short — 17 miles end to end, 222 acres of surface, 23 miles of bank — and it matters far out of proportion to that, because it connects the lakes of the Eagle River chain in Vilas and Oneida counties.
There are two public accesses on record: the Eagle River boat ramp in the city and the Yellow Birch Lake access in the town of Three Lakes. Most people reach this water from the lakes it joins rather than from the river itself.
The state manages musky here across two categories on different reaches, natural reproduction plus stocking in one and stocking-dependent in another. Walleye likewise are classified both as natural reproduction only and as stocking-supplemented. Smallmouth habitat is classified as nursery and wadable warm water. For a river this small to carry three management programmes says something about the company it keeps.
Chain lakes and connecting rivers can fall under different rules. Check the current DNR regulations for the water being fished.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 1599500.
How the state manages it
- musky · Natural reproduction plus stocking (Cat. 2); Reproduction UNK, stocking occurs (Cat. 0)
- smallmouth · Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
- walleye · Natural Reproduction Only; Stocking plus Natural Reproduction
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.