Milwaukee River
A river in Wisconsin
About Milwaukee River
The Milwaukee River runs 45 miles through Washington and Ozaukee counties before it reaches the city that shares its name, past Kewaskum, Fredonia, Grafton, Thiensville and Mequon. The survey gives it 1,497 acres of surface and 181 miles of bank.
Six public landings are on record, and half of them are canoe launches — Waubedonia Park, Riverview Park, the Milwaukee River canoe launch. The ramps at Grafton, Thiensville and Village Grove Park are the ones that take a trailer.
Smallmouth bass is the only state fisheries designation on this stretch, classified across four habitat types including nursery water. That covers a river with impoundments behind old mill dams and free-flowing runs between them.
Check the current Wisconsin DNR regulations before keeping fish.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 15000.
How the state manages it
- smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
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.