East Branch Pecatonica River
A river in Wisconsin
About East Branch Pecatonica River
The East Branch of the Pecatonica runs 25 miles through Iowa and Lafayette counties in the Driftless southwest, straight through Blanchardville, Argyle and Woodford. The survey gives it 383 acres of surface and 105 miles of bank — a great deal of bend for the distance covered.
Three public landings are on record. Eleven miles are classified as Class II trout water, and the river is on the state's impaired waters list. Smallmouth habitat is classified across four types, from wadable cool water through non-wadable coarse and fine substrate.
Running through the middle of three villages makes this an easier river to reach than most Driftless water, where access is usually the harder half of the problem.
Trout and warmwater rules both apply on different reaches. Check the current DNR regulations for the stretch in question.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 897800.
How the state manages it
- smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Cool Water; Wadable Warm Water
- trout · CLASS II
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.
Do you know this water?
The state lists these ramps nearby but doesn’t say which water they belong to. If you fish East Branch Pecatonica River, you’ll know better than we do.
Robert E. Wenger Memorial Boat Landing
listed as "Pecatonica River" · 5 m away