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Warm Water Streams of Wisconsin

Fishing the Rock River System of Southeast Wisconsin

Part II

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ROCK RIVER SYSTEM

Part II

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Rock River System Part I

CRAWFISH RIVER

This is the largest tributary of the Rock River and offers the best fishing. The most upstream I have fished here is on Lazy Lake. This impoundment weeds up heavily in the summer but has an early fishing season and is known to produce largemouth bass up to 4 pounds in the spring. I fished here once and observed a lot of large carp in the upper part of the reservoir where it begins to transition into a shallow yet wide stream. The water is relatively clear here, unlike the downstream portion which soon becomes murky.


Lower Crawfish River	Lower Crawfish River	Crawfish River near Aztalan State Park	Crawfish River near Aztalan State Park

There is a small dam near the towns of Danville and Astico near Hwy 16. A canoe access exists just below the dam on county road T. From below here you can float a canoe all the way to the Rock River, a distance of nearly 40 miles. The stream alternates between wide, marshy stretches, shallow rocky runs and slow deep holes. Channel catfish are popular along the way with fish up to 4 pounds common. I am most familiar with the river around Hwy 19, also known as County Rd. G, near the town of Hubbleton which is about midway between Danville and the Rock River at the town of Jefferson. There are two access points close by here. The first is an unimproved access from the east portion of the Cty Rd G bridge. I have seen some people fishing from this shoreline in search of large catfish. When I talked with them they spoke of having caught channel cats in the teens and flathead and blue catfish over 20 pounds. I personally have only caught the channel variety from the crawfish and my largest was 5 pounds. As the rock river system eventually feeds into the Mississippi I would not be surprised to know the other species are present. The other access point, also on the east side of the river, is just downstream via roads QQ and Garden. Here there is a large parking area and launching for small trailered boats.


Stringer of fish from Crawfish River	Cooler of fish from Crawfish River	Cute Crawfish Carp	Garden Road Landing on Crawfish River

The fishing in this area is very seasonal and influenced by migrations from Lake Koshkonong. In the spring water flows may be at over 1,000cfs and offer plenty of depth to run a motor boat but do use a prop protector and navigate at reasonable speed as there are some stray rocks that can protrude high enough to be a navigational risk. By summer the flows have usually dropped to less than 200cfs and some sections you may have to get out and pull your boat over. Paddling upstream is easy as the current then will be slow. The bottom here is mostly gravel. In May and early June good runs of white bass are found here as well as carp, catfish, and sheepshead (which is an excellent tasting fish) and a few walleye. One day in late July I fished this area by myself and caught a dozen dogfish, mostly in the 3 to 4 pound range. I fished here once in early September under warm, dry conditions. During the morning I could see hundreds of carp swimming downstream and they showed little interest in feeding. They were apparently migrating back to Lake Koshkonong.


Stringer of fish from Crawfish River		Catch of dog fish from Crawfish River	Green dog fish from Crawfish River

There are two small lakes connected to the Crawfish in this area. The first is Mud Lake on the west side. You can easily paddle your way thru a small, shallow channel to reach this lake. I fished it once during the summer and found the lake to be shallow with a muck bottom and full of stunted carp. It did not seem good to fish. The other is Chub Lake on the east side. This is really part of the Beaver Dam River. During the spring the lake will be high and offer good fishing for just about all rough fish with some very good white bass fishing. Flooded marshy areas can be entered with a shallow boat and you will find schools of huge carp feeding in the vegetation. Go to whatever area where the fish are making the most noise and be sure to use some heavy line. My friend and I tried fishing here once. We hooked into a lot of hefty fish but our line was not strong enough and they all broke off. The white bass, sheepshead, catfish and occasional walleye will be in the portions of lake/marsh where a current is noticeable. By summer the lake becomes shallow and most of the fish will have left for deeper holes in either the Crawfish downstream or the Beaver Dam River upstream.

The last direct access on the Crawfish is via Aztalan State Park. Here you can carry a small boat perhaps 50 yards down to the river and launch from the shoreline. Some people fish from the shore here. I fished this section one late August night from my canoe and did well on channel catfish up to 18. but the water was muddy and the stream just did not appeal to me like the upper portion did.


Lowell Dam on Beaver Dam River		Beaver Dam launch at Lowell	Carp from Beaver Dam River

BEAVER DAM RIVER


The biggest is 11 pounds.	Boat load of fish from Beaver Dam River		We Love the Beaver Dam River!

This tributary of the Crawfish has been a consistent producer of big catches for me. The Beaver Dam River originates from Beaver Dam Lake, flows for about a dozen miles before being impounded by a 12. dam at the town of Lowell, then flows perhaps a dozen miles further thru marshland before emptying into Chub Lake and the Crawfish River. The dam at Lowell does not widen the river much but does make it deep enough to run a small motor boat. There is a parking and launching area there. I used to motor 6 miles up this stream until I got a half mile past the Sock Rd bridge. Be careful of rocks near this bridge. Here the reservoir transitions back into a stream, and as it common in such situations the carp tend to accumulate in this area. Catches of 65 pounds of carp was the norm and I have the pictures to prove it. I would always stop fishing at that point because that is all that would fit in my cooler. Most of the fish were 4 to 7 pounds with the biggest being 11 pounds. At times it would also produce large numbers of bullheads (50 a day if you have enough worms). I have caught northern pike up to 3 pounds, largemouth bass up to 14. and a 15 pound snapping turtle gets netted at least half the time. I have never caught a catfish, dog fish or walleye in this area. Most impressively, I have never seen anyone else fishing this area.


Stringer from Beaver Dam River above Lowell	Close up of stringer	Stringer from Beaver Dam River below Lowell	Beaver Dam River below Lowell

The popular area for fishing the Beaver Dam is just below the dam at Lowell where the white bass, walleye and who knows what else might migrate up from Lake Koshkonong 15 miles downstream. There are several road crossings from which to access the river between the dam and the Crawfish River. You can run a small motor boat during typical springtime flows and do just as good as from directly below the dam. About 5 miles before entering the Crawfish, the Beaver Dam River splits into two channels as it flows thru a large stretch of treeless marsh land. There is parking and a launch site on the eastern channel.


Beaver Dam River where it flows thru marshland	A successful day on the Beaver Dam		Beaver Dam bullheads

BARK RIVER

Last but not least we have the Bark River. Like the Oconomowoc it also starts off by traversing thru a number of well known, heavily fished lakes. Nagawicka, Upper and Lower Nashota, Upper and Lower Nemabin (which just might be the most over fished lakes in the state), Crooked Lake, then eventually flowing thru Rome Mill Pond (a small impoundment) before emptying into the Rock River just upstream of Lake Koshkonong.


Lower Bark River	13 pound carp from Bark River	Bark River	Catch of the day

One of the last lakes the Bark River travels thru is Crooked Lake. Some motor boats would travel several miles downstream from lower Nemabin, portage or line down the small spillway dam at the bridge crossing, and then go a mile further to reach this lake. It is a scenic lake with little pressure, only a few houses and a sizable island in the center. The fishing for largemouth bass can be very good although they are usually under 4 pounds. Northern pike, crappie and gar are also present as are small bluegill. I used to launch my canoe at a bridge crossing on the Bark River downstream of the lake and then paddle a mile or two upstream to reach it. The reeds grow thick just before the lake and a wider john boat would probably not be able to pass.

The water in the Bark is generally clear and it traverses over a mostly gravel and sand bottom. There are some people who wade fish the lower Bark River (anywhere below Crooked Lake) and do well on largemouth bass, northern pike and an occasional smallmouth bass. Some holes do well on channel catfish particularly in the lower section. As you get closer to the Rock River it becomes deeper and more difficult to wade.


White bass and sheepshead from Bark River	Lower Bark River	Bark River	Bark River

There is a free public boat landing with parking at Hwy N, not far from its entry to the Rock River. 7 miles upstream of this point is the Prince Point Landing access which is heavily wooded. On year on May 24 I launched my little motor boat at Hwy N and motored 7 miles upstream to the Prince Point landing. The water flow was 132cfs at the town of Rome and I had no problem in the river that averaged 4.-6. deep but as I approached the Prince Point landing logs became an increasing concern. I ended up catching over 20 white bass that day, many in the 12.-13. range, as well as a few sheepshead between 2-3 pounds (perfect eating size). The hot lure was a 2. orange floating Rapala. These fish were probably migrating from Lake Koshkonong. I came back in mid-October and caught a variety of fish on worms including walleye, smallmouth bass, rock bass, channel catfish, perch, bullhead and red horse, plus a 13 pound carp. The water was 52 degrees, just warm enough to give the fish an appetite. I don.t advise fishing the Bark during this time as duck hunters are active then.

Part I Rock River System

Created by: Dan Coppersmith 2023| www.CoppersmithStudios.com

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Coppersmith Studios Presents

Warm Water Streams of Wisconsin

Fishing the Rock River System of Southeast Wisconsin

Part II