Middle River
A river in Wisconsin
About Middle River
The Middle River is a short, narrow water in Douglas County, in the town of Lakeside near the Lake Superior shore. The survey puts 130 acres of surface on it and 34 miles of bank, which is the shape of a river rather than a lake — a long thin thing that covers nine miles end to end.
There is one public access on record, at the mouth, and it is not a developed ramp. Getting on this river means small craft, waders, or walking in.
The only state designation on it is smallmouth bass nursery water — a management classification, meaning the DNR treats this stretch as a place young smallmouth come from rather than a place to expect grown ones stacked up. Beyond that the record is thin. Little has been written about the Middle River specifically, and rather than pad this out, it is fair to say that it is a quiet water most people drive past.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 2858800.
How the state manages it
- smallmouth · Wadable Nursery Waters
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.