Totagatic River

About Totagatic River

The Totagatic runs 34 miles through Washburn County in the northwest, past Frog Creek, on its way to the St. Croix system. The survey puts 473 acres of surface and 108 miles of bank on it.

It is a federally designated Wild and Scenic river and carries an Outstanding Resource Water listing, the state's highest. A mile of it is classified as Class III trout water. More to the point for most anglers, walleye are classified as natural reproduction only and lake sturgeon as naturally reproducing — both self-sustaining. Smallmouth habitat is classified across all five of the state's types, from nursery water through non-wadable coarse substrate.

One public access is on record for the whole river. A protected river with a single catalogued landing is a river that stays quiet by construction.

Check the current DNR regulations for the reach being fished.

Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 2689800.

How the state manages it

• smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Non-Wadable Fine Substrate; Wadable Cool Water; Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
• sturgeon · Naturally Reproducing - ANSRI
• trout · CLASS III
• 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.