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Home › Waters › Wisconsin › Peshtigo River
River · Northeastern Wisconsin, the upper river in Forest and Marinette counties above the whitewater reaches, running to Green Bay · Wisconsin

Peshtigo River Fishing Guides

A northwoods river best known for whitewater, with trout in the headwaters and strong smallmouth below.

A dark forest stream running fast over stone
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Peshtigo River

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About the Peshtigo River

The Peshtigo rises in Forest County and runs southeast through Marinette County to Green Bay, and it is best known to the general public as one of the premier whitewater rivers in the Midwest. The section known as Roaring Rapids draws paddlers from across the country in spring. What gets less attention is that the river above and below the whitewater holds a genuinely good and varied fishery.

The gauge sits near Wabeno on the upper river, where the water is cold, tannin-stained and small enough to wade. Brook trout are native to this water and the feeder streams, brown trout are well established, and rainbows are stocked in some reaches. It is intimate fishing among cedar and alder, and it rewards anglers willing to push through brush to reach water that has not been walked recently.

Downstream, once the river gathers volume and warms, smallmouth bass become the main quarry and they are abundant. Walleye and northern pike share that water, and muskellunge are present in the slower reaches and impoundments. The lower river below the dams offers good bank and boat fishing.

A series of hydroelectric dams sit on the middle and lower river, and releases from them affect flow and fishing conditions downstream. Anglers planning a trip on those reaches should be aware that levels can change during the day.

Much of the upper drainage lies within the Nicolet National Forest, so public access is good and camping is readily available. Wisconsin trout regulations vary by reach on this river and should be checked in advance.

For visiting anglers the practical division is simple. Fish the water above Wabeno for trout in the cool months and early mornings, and concentrate on the reaches below the impoundments for smallmouth once summer settles in. Local outfitters in Crivitz and Athelstane run both float and wade trips.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

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2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

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We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Peshtigo River.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Wabeno - the gauge vicinity and upper river access.
Nicolet National Forest roads - public access to the headwater reaches.
Goodman Park - a developed park on the upper river.
Roaring Rapids - the whitewater reach with paddler access points.
Caldron Falls area - impoundment and river access.
Crivitz - the lower river town with services and boat access.
Peshtigo - the lower river and the approach to Green Bay.

Seasons

Spring: high snowmelt drives the whitewater season; trout fishing opens as flows drop.
Summer: the best smallmouth fishing of the year, with trout holding in the cool upper river.
Fall: strong smallmouth and walleye fishing and brown trout on the move.
Winter: cold and snowbound, with limited access to most of the river.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Peshtigo River?

As of Sep 17, 6:00 am, the USGS gauge PESHTIGO RIVER NEAR WABENO, WI reads 192 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Peshtigo River?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye on the Peshtigo River in Wisconsin.

Where can you access the Peshtigo River?

Wabeno - the gauge vicinity and upper river access. Nicolet National Forest roads - public access to the headwater reaches. Goodman Park - a developed park on the upper river. Roaring Rapids - the whitewater reach with paddler access points. Caldron Falls area - impoundment and river access. Crivitz - the lower river town with services and boat access. Peshtigo - the lower river and the approach to Green Bay.

When is the best time to fish the Peshtigo River?

Spring: high snowmelt drives the whitewater season; trout fishing opens as flows drop. Summer: the best smallmouth fishing of the year, with trout holding in the cool upper river. Fall: strong smallmouth and walleye fishing and brown trout on the move. Winter: cold and snowbound, with limited access to most of the river.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Peshtigo River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Wisconsin agency site: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/fishing/regulations