Saint Croix River

About Saint Croix River

The St. Croix runs a hundred miles down through Douglas, Burnett, Polk and St. Croix counties, forming the Minnesota border for most of that distance. The survey puts 7,508 acres of surface and 417 miles of bank on it. Like the Namekagon, which joins it above Grantsburg, it is part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.

Sixteen public landings are on record on the Wisconsin side, from Gordon Dam Park in the north down through Fox Landing, Nelson Landing and the Highway 70 launch to Interstate State Park at St. Croix Falls.

The state manages musky here as natural reproduction plus stocking, walleye as both natural reproduction only and stocking-supplemented depending on the reach, and lake sturgeon as naturally reproducing. Smallmouth habitat spans nursery water through non-wadable coarse substrate — this is well known as a smallmouth river.

A border river carries its own rules, and a National Scenic Riverway carries more. Check the current Wisconsin DNR regulations and the boundary-water provisions before fishing it.

Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 2601400.

How the state manages it

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