Red Cedar River
A river in Wisconsin
About Red Cedar River
The Red Cedar runs 63 miles down through Barron and Dunn counties, from the Rice Lake chain past Colfax and Downsville to Menomonie and on into the Chippewa. The survey puts 1,968 acres of surface and 225 miles of bank on it.
Twenty public landings serve it, a generous number for a river this size — A & I Bridge, Dobbs Landing, Downsville, Dunnville Bottoms, Felland Park, Big Cedar. The lower river below Menomonie through the Dunnville bottoms is a different water from the flowages upstream.
The state classifies walleye here as natural reproduction only, meaning the population sustains itself without stocking. Musky are managed the other way — reproduction unknown, stocking occurs. Lake sturgeon are classified as naturally reproducing, and smallmouth habitat spans nursery water through non-wadable coarse substrate.
Check the current DNR regulations for the reach being fished.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 2063500.
How the state manages it
- musky · Reproduction UNK, stocking occurs (Cat. 0)
- smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
- sturgeon · Naturally Reproducing - ANSRI
- walleye · Natural Reproduction Only
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 Red Cedar River, you’ll know better than we do.
690th Avenue Boat Launch
listed as "Red Cedar River" · 670 m away