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Home › Waters › Wisconsin › Chippewa River
Tailwater · West-central Wisconsin, the reach below Dells Dam through Eau Claire and downstream toward the Mississippi confluence at Durand · Wisconsin

Chippewa River Fishing Guides

A big warmwater tailwater through Eau Claire, strong on walleye, smallmouth and a recovering sturgeon run.

Mist over a green river between wooded banks
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Chippewa River

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About the Chippewa River

The Chippewa is one of Wisconsin’s largest rivers, and the gauge below Dells Dam at Eau Claire sits on a genuine tailwater reach. It is worth stating plainly what kind of tailwater this is: Dells Dam is a run-of-river hydroelectric structure with a shallow impoundment behind it, not a deep coldwater reservoir. There is no cold bottom release and there are no trout. This is a warmwater tailwater, and the fishery below the dam is built on the species that thrive in a big, productive midwestern river.

Walleye and sauger concentrate below the dam, particularly in spring when fish stage in the turbulent water at the base of the structure, and this is one of the better-known walleye spots in the region. Smallmouth bass are abundant through the rocky runs downstream and grow to good size. Muskellunge and northern pike patrol the slower margins, and flathead and channel catfish occupy the deeper holes.

Lake sturgeon are the river’s most interesting story. The Chippewa supports a population that moves up from the Mississippi, and Wisconsin manages them carefully under a restricted season. Anglers hooking one should be prepared to handle it properly and release it under the current rules.

Eau Claire has developed its riverfront extensively, so bank access through the city is unusually good, with parks, trails and formal fishing platforms along both sides. Boat ramps serve the reaches above and below town.

Flow below the dam responds to generation, and the river can rise noticeably with little warning. Wading anywhere near the dam demands real caution.

The city has grown into its river over the past two decades, and Eau Claire is now a genuinely pleasant base for a fishing trip, with lodging, food and tackle within walking distance of productive water. That is an unusual combination on a river of this size.

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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.

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Posting to Chippewa 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

Dells Dam - the top of the tailwater and the main walleye concentration point.
Eau Claire riverfront parks - developed bank access and trails through the city.
Phoenix Park - a downtown access at the Eau Claire River confluence.
Hobbs Boat Landing - a developed ramp serving the city reach.
Caryville landing - downstream boat access toward Durand.
Durand - the lower river near the Mississippi confluence.
Lake Wissota outlet - the impoundment reach upstream of the dam.

Seasons

Spring: the peak season, with walleye and sauger stacked below the dam as water warms.
Summer: excellent smallmouth fishing through the rocky reaches and catfish in the deep holes.
Fall: walleye return to the dam area and musky fishing improves as the water cools.
Winter: ice forms on the slower reaches while open water persists near the dam.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Chippewa River?

As of Sep 17, 4:00 am, the USGS gauge CHIPPEWA RIVER BELOW DELLS DAM AT EAU CLAIRE, WI reads 1,910 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Chippewa River?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Lake Sturgeon, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Sauger, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass on the Chippewa River in Wisconsin.

Where can you access the Chippewa River?

Dells Dam - the top of the tailwater and the main walleye concentration point. Eau Claire riverfront parks - developed bank access and trails through the city. Phoenix Park - a downtown access at the Eau Claire River confluence. Hobbs Boat Landing - a developed ramp serving the city reach. Caryville landing - downstream boat access toward Durand. Durand - the lower river near the Mississippi confluence. Lake Wissota outlet - the impoundment reach upstream of the dam.

When is the best time to fish the Chippewa River?

Spring: the peak season, with walleye and sauger stacked below the dam as water warms. Summer: excellent smallmouth fishing through the rocky reaches and catfish in the deep holes. Fall: walleye return to the dam area and musky fishing improves as the water cools. Winter: ice forms on the slower reaches while open water persists near the dam.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Chippewa River?

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