milwaukee river pike and smallmouth fishing

the mighty milwaukee river

It wasn’t that long ago I ventured out to learn the Milwaukee River for the first time. I’m on a quest for at least one decent smallmouth bass and I hope my time doesn’t run out. When the salmon come a knockin, I will be dropping everything. Sure, I could take the easy way out and drive to where Damien has already been catching some nice smallmouth bass but I think Ken G was serious about hunting us down one by one. Don’t worry Ken, your secret is safe with Damien. Plus, I know that the potential for big fish exists when we even bring the Milwaukee River up in conversation. It’s a daunting river to start fishing just based on the amount of watershed and the distance the river travels but I believe when you put the pieces of the puzzle together you just might strike smallmouth gold.

milwaukee river

Basically, I have just started with one access point and will add another access with every new trip I take. My goal by king season is to put together a personal map highlighting the best pools and stretches of water in the entire river. By next summer this should serve as a good cheat sheet to pool hop my way back home coming from the north.

miwaukee river smallmouth bass

A few observations from trip #1

• The deepest pools held the biggest fish while the water was low
• Pike were relating to wood adjacent to the deep water
• Smallmouth were on the rocks where they dropped into the deep pools
• Leaders are in order, pike have sharp teeth
• Don’t walk in the deep pools before fishing them
• 1/8th oz jigs with a grub will penetrated even the deepest pools quickly
• Don’t wade past your waist while wearing hip boots
• Don’t keep your keys, phone or wallet in your pocket when you wade past your hip boots
• Consider wet wading to stay cool

milwaukee river pike

Ok, so another mediocre trip when you look at some of my meager bass but I sure learned a heck of a lot. Throwing small spinners in the shallow runs produced almost a dozen tiny bass. I spooked some nice bass in the 3 pound class and had a huge fish give chase but ended stopping short. Don’t worry bass, I know where you sleep and will be back for more. When all else fails a good pike can save the day, this I know because I caught six from a downed tree on the inside of a big bend. The two biggest pike of the day were lost to the tree and the other to a bite off. I hope to be keeping cool in the Milwaukee this weekend chillin with a group of my buddies. I hope we all have a nice smallmouth on the end of our lines.

the pike save the day on the milwaukee