Namekagon River

That federal ownership is visible in the access. Of the twelve public landings on record, ten belong to the National Park Service and most are gravel or unimproved — Cable Wayside, Hwy M, Larsen Bridge, Squaw Bend. Two exceptions are worth knowing: the County K access near Trego is the one marked accessible, and Trego Township Park is the only concrete plank ramp on the river. This is not a river that rewards a big boat.

The state's classifications change as the river does. Twenty-three miles carry a Class II trout designation and an Outstanding Resource Water listing. Below that the river is managed for smallmouth across five different habitat classes, for musky with natural reproduction plus stocking, for walleye, and for lake sturgeon that reproduce on their own. Local accounts describe the same shift on the water: brown and brook trout above Hayward, smallmouth taking over below it, with walleye and pike thickening the further down it goes.

Seasons and size limits vary by reach on a river classified this many different ways. Check the current Wisconsin DNR regulations for the stretch being fished.

Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data, and from Fishing – Namekagon River, Namekagon River Fishery Area — Wisconsin DNR, Namekagon River — Wisconsin Trail Guide. State water ID WBIC 2689500.

How the state manages it

• musky · Natural reproduction plus stocking (Cat. 2)
• smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Cool Water; Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
• sturgeon · Naturally Reproducing - ANSRI
• trout · CLASS II
• 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.