Fishing the Milwaukee River System

09/01/2024

During a spring survey this year on the Yellow River, fisheries crews sampled a 50-year-old lake sturgeon that was originally tagged in 1980. While we don’t know how often this particular lake sturgeon has been reeled in, many lake sturgeon populations have tags like the one shown here.

Reporting catches of tagged fish helps give us insight into these local populations, including the movement patterns of these fish. So, the next time you reel in a lake sturgeon or any fish with a tag, let your local fisheries biologist know where the fish was caught (county, waterbody and location), the date of the catch, tag number, color and material composition of the tag (i.e., metal or plastic) and the overall fish length.

Most lake sturgeon are tagged near the dorsal fin, and tags are often difficult to see because they are covered in algae. Anglers are asked not to remove the tag, and they may need to scrape away algae on the tag to determine the tag number.

This year’s hook and line sturgeon season will be open from Sept. 7 until the end of September. All anglers looking to harvest a lake sturgeon must have their general 2024 fishing license and a valid hook and line lake sturgeon tag. Good luck to all hook and line sturgeon anglers!

And if you want to brush up on the hook and line sturgeon season, head to our website: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/sturgeon/SturgeonInlandFishery

04/17/2024

05/19/2022

Be sure to join The Fishing Milwaukee Group

01/08/2022

An American White Pelican is in need of fish after suffering a broken wing and becoming stranded in Wisconsin.

01/08/2022

We're a week away from Free Fishing Weekend! Will you get out and give it a try?

Free Fishing Wekeend is here Jan. 15-16. Share the fun and excitement of winter fishing – no fishing license or trout and salmon stamps are required.

Anglers can fish state waters where there is an open season. All other fishing regulations apply, such as limits on the number and size of fish you can keep and any seasons when you must release certain fish species.

As a reminder, anglers cannot fish spring trout ponds during the Winter Free Fishing Weekend. Please review the trout regulations and 2021-2022 Hook and Line regulations for more information.

Give it a try on your local waterbody or check out one of the clinics being offered by our partners. Learn more at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/anglereducation/freeFishingWeekend

12/30/2021

Did you know Wisconsin is the birthplace of the snowmobile? Carl Eliason built his snow toboggan in 1924 in his hometown of Sayner.

Today, snowmobiling remains a favorite Badger State pastime with more than 240,000 snowmobiles registered in Wisconsin in 2021, more than any other state. We also have nearly 25,000 miles of trails crisscrossing the state!

For more about Wisconsin’s legendary history of the snowmobile, check out the winter issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine: https://issuu.com/wisconsinnaturalresources/docs/wnr_winter_2021_final/s/14241070

11/26/2021

The entire time eating turkey with the family I kept thinking man what a beautiful day to be out fishing for another brown trout.....

11/12/2021

Berkeley pogy shad swimbait fall fishing is rough. Was happy to catch a bass in these conditions. Got bit off by a decent size northern on my bluegill color Zman chatterbait.

11/04/2021

“Man that’s like one of them there fine art photos. I tell you what…I’d hang that picture in the living room if I didn’t think it’d p**s off Janice!”

10/27/2021

I'm dead. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣