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Fishing the Milwaukee River

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Below Grafton

A half mile below Grafton the Milwaukee River braids into several channels for about a half mile. This offers nearly 2 miles of separate channels to fish. This short section may offer the best fishing anywhere in the entire river. Access to this area is from Limekiln Park, a small public park on the west shoreline. Immediately downstream from Limekiln Park is a private community park. Once you get past the parks the islands and shoreline are all wooded. At Limekiln Park there is a short rapid section over a smooth stone bottom followed by a deep pool where the river makes a 90 degree turn against a 15' high rock cliff. If you are wading this area you will need chest waders and felt soles to get thru here. The channel then starts dividing itself. While wading is the best way to fish the channels I did take a canoe once and that is the best way to fish the deep pool. After spending the day catching bass in and below the channels I anchored in the deep pool and fished worms, quickly catching 9 catfish, half of which were 2 to 4 pounds. This happened during a sunny August afternoon which is not traditionally the best time for catfishing.

I know of a person who grew up nearby this section. During his summer vacations from high school he would regularly wet wade this area. After some time he learned every little spot the big bass liked and would regularly return with a stringer full of 3 pound smallmouth. He claims this section is not nearly as good as it used to be (gee, I wonder if taking all of those big bass had anything to do with it?). The largest bass he claims to have caught from here is 5 pounds. My biggest was 16 inches, but he fished it much more than I. He also claims to have caught pike up to 10 pounds and walleye up to 8 pounds from here. I have never caught a walleye from the Milwaukee River but there supposedly are a few. I doubt there are any walleye above Grafton.

After the channels unit to form one main stem the stream runs shallow and wide with a gravel bottom. The fishing here is mediocre. There are a few small spots scattered throughout here that will hold bass, pike, rock bass and catfish but in lower numbers. The next spot of interest is just below County Road C. After passing thru more shallow riffles there is a long deep pool that can be a dynamite catfish spot. I fished here all night one June and caught 15 channel cats. Most of these were over 2 pounds, up to 5. The total weight caught was 35 pounds. I was using chicken liver and there was a light rain. Back then I didn't realize these fish were PCB contaminated and took some home to eat. The two 5 pounders broke off the cheap aluminum stringer and got away, but as you can see from the picture the remaining ones were still impressive.

The next two miles are shallow and offer mediocre fishing. Just above Highland Road there is an island and the river begins to deepen, offering improved fishing opportunities. There is a backwater slough below the island which has produced small catfish and pike for me in the past. The next half mile offers decent fishing for catfish, pike and an occasional bass. Carp are also present, as they are throughout much of the river. Below Highland Road the river begins to be impacted by the dam at Thiensville. Motor boats and water skiers are present. People even waterski when it is cold by wearing a wetsuit. I used to launch my canoe at the Thiensville Park and paddle 5 miles upstream where I would have half a mile of river to myself without any motor boats bothering me. It was sometimes difficult canoeing back to the landing at the end of the day because the waterskiers would zip past me and make for dangerous conditions.

Two miles above the dam on the east side is a large shallow weedy bay. This is one of the few places where you can catch largemouth bass with some consistency, although they are neither large nor plentiful. Find the creek inlets way in the back and where they create deeper holes you will find the best fishing. A weedless plastic worm works well here, especially in the spring when the fish are spawning. Some northern pike are also present.

Just below the bay is an island and a channel coming in from the west side. This is the only area where I have been able to catch crappies. If you canoe into the channel you will find yourself in a golf course. About a mile above the dam is another park on the west side offering access and boat launching. This is a popular area to fish at night for catfish.

Thiensville

In the town of Thiensville is a dam about 10 feet high. On the west (actually north) side of the river at the site of the dam is a county park offering about a quarter mile of public shoreline to fish the impoundment and a short distance below the dam. With the exception of the bay about a mile upstream the dam does not expand the width of the river, just the depth. The shoreline is well maintained offering a convenient place to setup a lawn chair and cast out a worm. It is a good place for channel catfish. The largest catfish I caught from this river came from here, a 7 pounder caught at 8am on June 2 while the river was up to its banks from recent rains. During October I think some of the catfish migrate down to this reservoir. I heard of two people fishing worms just above the dam who caught 28 catfish, mostly small, on a warm October day. That wouldn't happen during the spring or summer. Besides catfish there are also bullheads, redhorse, some carp and an occasional smallmouth bass or northern pike that can be caught here. On the side of the river opposite the park I once caught a 4 pound pike on a small spinner bait, fishing from my canoe. I have also caught pike fishing from shore in the park using minnows.

Along the park side of the dam is a fish passageway. The park boundary extends about 120 feet below the dam offering an opportunity to fish this area. I often saw people fishing below the dam but I myself never liked it. The water seems a bit too shallow and fast. At the point where it begins to regain its depth the public land runs out and you can walk no further. I once spoke with an old retired angler who said in the previous year he caught 92 northerns from below the dam, mostly on spinners. He said they get up to 9 pounds.

From below the dam down a few miles to Brown Deer Road the river has a moderate current and is deep enough to easily canoe with just 1 or 2 riffles that might get too shallow during low water. Last I looked there was public parking and access for a canoe in the SE portion of the Brown Deer bridge. I have caught some catfish up to 3 pounds here and some little smallmouth bass but overall did not find the action very good. An angler would probably have better success targeting pike in this area.

A quarter mile below the dam is Pigeon Creek on the West side which will contain steelhead and salmon from Lake Michigan when they are running. A quarter mile further downstream is an unnamed creek which has been channelized. I caught some largemouth bass here (10"-12") fishing from a canoe. The channel winds its way NW and makes its way to what I call Kasch Pond. When I was in high school I used to ride my bicycle 6 miles one way to fish here. The pond was perhaps 2 acres and resided on the Kasch company's front lawn just off Donges Bay Road. The company apparently tolerated people fishing here because I wasn't the only one doing it. Despite its small size it has been one of the most productive spots I've fished for largemouth bass up to 3.5 pounds. Catching a couple 2 pounders in a few hours was the norm. I also caught a few sunfish, bullhead, an occasional carp, turtles and once even a bullfrog on a plastic worm. I fished it perhaps a dozen times over a 2 year period, releasing everything I caught. Supposedly before then the channel to the Milwaukee River allowed passage of large northern pike which migrated to the pond to spawn but since then it had been sealed off.

On the opposite side of where this channel enters the Milwaukee River is Lac du Cours pond. N. River Road runs between the River and the pond. I would guess the pond is about 10 acres in size and it is the center piece of an affluent community neighborhood. Only residents are allowed to fish it. I know of someone who secretly snuck into the neighborhood at night and fished it with nightcrawlers. He spoke of catching a dozen largemouth bass in the 3 to 4 pound range.

From Brown Deer Road to Range Line Road a mile below the river is the same. It is probably good for northerns, some rough fish and an occasional smallmouth bass and catfish and is fine for canoeing. Once you get to Range Line Road the river becomes rocky and too shallow for canoeing during normal summer flows. From here down to Good Hope Road is some truly fast action for smallmouth bass. There is no parking on Range Line Road so you should park on either Milwaukee River Parkway SW of the Good Hope bridge or even at the W. Green Tree Road bridge a half mile further downstream which has similar water. This stretch is very easy to wade featuring a gravel, sand and cobble bottom typically 6"-24" deep. I have fished this area a number of times and a 50 bass day is not unusual. Most of the fish are 8"-12" but I have caught them up to 16" Typically about 2% of the bass I get are over 12" and maybe 5% are rock bass. I have not caught any pike from this area. For the larger bass you will want to fish on days when the temperature is in their preferred range or slightly cooler, not too hot, and focus on the deeper holes especially near the golf course.

On the West side of the river below Good Hope Road is Kletzsch Park. This offers about 1.5 miles of public shoreline. Some of this is wooded with a walking trail and some is open lawn alongside the river. During the summer bait fishers are commonly seen here. There is a waterfall about 2 feet high in this area. Salmon and Steelhead can certainly surmount this obstacle but it probably slows them down for a while, making this a popular spot for fly fishers targeting these species during the spring and fall migrations.

Below Kletzsch Park the Milwaukee River flows thru the heart of the Milwaukee Metropolitan area. As my fishing tastes lean towards the remote and uninhabited wilderness areas I have stayed away from this area and have no further information to pass along.

Click here for the Upper Milwaukee River

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

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Fishing the Milwaukee River