La Crosse River
A river in Wisconsin
About La Crosse River
The La Crosse River runs 35 miles down through the coulee country of La Crosse County, past Hamilton, to the Mississippi at the city of La Crosse. The survey gives it 388 acres of surface and 86 miles of bank.
Twenty miles are classified as Class I and Class II trout water. Class I is the state's designation for a trout population that sustains itself entirely without stocking, and finding it this close to a city of this size is worth noting. Below the trout water, smallmouth habitat is classified across four types including nursery water.
One public access is on record, the canoe launch at Veterans Memorial Park. The La Crosse River State Trail runs along much of the valley, which makes bank access on the upper river easier than the landing count suggests.
Trout regulations in the Driftless vary by stream and season. Check the current DNR rules for the reach being fished.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 1650200.
How the state manages it
- smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Cool Water; Wadable Warm Water
- trout · CLASS I; 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.