West Fork Chippewa River
A river in Wisconsin
About West Fork Chippewa River
The West Fork of the Chippewa runs 16 miles through Sawyer and Ashland counties, in forest country a few miles from Clam Lake, before joining the East Fork above the Chippewa Flowage. The survey gives it 493 acres of surface and 52 miles of bank.
The classifications here are the good ones. Musky are managed both as self-sustaining via natural reproduction and as natural reproduction plus stocking on different reaches, and walleye as natural reproduction only. Both mean the state considers those populations able to hold their own. Smallmouth habitat spans nursery and warm water through non-wadable coarse substrate.
No public boat landing is on record for the river itself. The nearest town of any size is ten miles off. Access here means a forest road, a bridge, and a boat light enough to carry.
Check the current Wisconsin DNR regulations for the reach being fished.
Written from Wisconsin DNR hydrography and fisheries data. State water ID WBIC 2414500.
How the state manages it
- musky · Natural reproduction plus stocking (Cat. 2); Self-sustaining via natural reproduction (Cat. 1)
- smallmouth · Non-Wadable Coarse Substrate; Wadable Nursery Waters; Wadable Warm Water
- 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.