Chippewa River, Chippewa Falls

[UncleDave]

Anyone ever fish this river in the area?  I lived there in the late 80s and man was it fun to go down to the river and hammer all kind of species.  Walleye, pike, smallies, muskie, etc.  I even accidentally caught a trout one day on a Rapala.  You never knew what you were going to pull in.  We always fished from shore right below the dam in town.  Too much fun!  Also, you would see HUGE sturgeon rolling out in the heavy current from time to time.  We went one time to a quiet area near the dam where the turbines were turned off in the spring.  There were monster pike and muskies by the dozen slowly swimming around.  They wouldn't bite on ANYTHING.  Even a plain hook and minnow with no sinker.  Pre or post spawn I assume.  Anyway, I'm rambling.

[Lee Borgersen]

Chippewa Flowage Report from dnr
Then-Current Conditions - 34F / 1C | Clear - 12:53 PM CDT Mar. 27

Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - With the long and snowy winter continuing, ice conditions remain pretty good on most lakes across the Northwoods. Ice thickness remains in the 26 to 30-inch range on the lakes, with 3 to 6 inches of thick, heavy snow on top of that. Vehicles have still been accessing most lakes but travel has been hampered by thick snow and slush in quite a few shoreline areas. Access sites are getting rutted up from salt off of vehicles, but most are still usable with a 4WD that has good clearance. However, anglers should be cautioned that conditions can change quickly at this time of year. Ice can deteriorate is a very short period with warm sunny conditions or a heavy warm rain. Success for panfish has dropped off in the last few weeks as the thick ice and heavy snow seems to have put the fish in a very lethargic mode. Crappie have been the main target and very few success stories have been reported. Some fair catches of perch have been made and a few nicer bluegill have also been caught. Small minnows and waxworms have been the favored baits. Look for the panfish bite to improve as warm temperatures arrive -- which will get water flowing down the holes and spur on the early spring bite.