Karen Lutto, President of Hunter Outdoor Communications, shows off a springtime black crappie from Chippewa Flowage waters. It hit an Al’s Goldfish Lil’ 49er cast to shallow water. (Photo: Tim Huffman)
Destination Chippewa Flowage, Wisconsin
by Tim Huffman
Wisconsin is known for dairy, cheese and the Green Bay Packers. However, anglers know it as the land of northern pike, musky, walleye and smallmouth.
Crappie are not heavily pursued, making it all that much better for fishermen who do chase them. You’ll not find crappie in every lake, but with more 10,000 lakes (like Minnesota), there are waters where crappie are plentiful. One of those is the Chippewa Flowage in the northwest part of the Badger State, not far from Hayward, WI. The area is primarily backwoods with small towns scattered far apart. A cabin in the middle of the woods, overlooking a beautiful lake, is an awesome and mind-clearing experience.
About the Lake
Chippewa Flowage is home of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame world record muskellunge at over 69 pounds, caught in 1949 (the IGFA doesn’t recognize this musky as the World Record because the musky was shot twice in the head, a once-common practice, by his fishing partner. That was a violation of the IGFA’s rules for landing big fish to be considered for records).
Large fish get attention, but crappie offer a lot of fun, too, and are good eating.
“Crappie fishing can be good on the lake,” says fishing guide Dean Elmer. “The lake here is good from sunrise to sunset. It’s a big lake, so there are plenty of places to look for them.”
The lake has a clear to root beer color. Vegetation grows out to about 10 feet of water. The crappie have no length limit with a creel limit of ten. The average size of crappie is 9 to 10 inches.
Catching Fish
“A great place to get information is a bait shop,” says Elmer. “Anyone new here can get good information about where to start fishing. Check fishing reports on Facebook. Newcomers should consider hiring a guide to learn the lake and the techniques to catch fish. You’ll have a fun day of fishing, then you can go out on your own and catch fish.”
Elmer says the spring fishing is good. It starts at ice-out, often in the middle of April. He says in May, the crappie fire up. They are often in shallow bays doing their spring spawn where they go into relatively shallow depths to make nests and lay eggs. He says crappie aren’t everywhere, so the areas that are active means you’ll have company with other fishermen. It can get a little crowded, but it doesn’t last long because fishermen will be going after other species, too.
“I keep it simple and go with a small jig under a slip bobber. Some fishermen prefer to throw a larger 1/8-ounce grub jig, usually without a bobber, but it can be fished either way and be successful. I use a 6- or 6.5-foot rod.”
Elmer says as the water warms the fish will move into summer patterns out to the brush piles in 12 to 16 feet depths. Humps are a good place to start a search. He doesn’t drift or troll here, preferring to target specific cover.
In the Weeds
Terry Herder, another guide on the Chippewa Flowage, says, “Like most other lakes, spring and fall are the peak crappie seasons. In the spring I’m targeting the submerged weeds. It’s their holding area as they go in and out to spawn. Holding in the weeds makes it easy for them to make their move into the shallower water to spawn. The weeds are good because it holds them a long period from before spawn until after spawn.
“Tactics in the weeds can include using small plastics, crappie grubs or really small minnows. Minnows must be alive and active. They need to be kept above the weeds or you’ll be tearing them off all the time. For plastics, fishermen can use a slow and steady retrieve. Try to tick the jig off the tops of the weeds.
“You can catch fish with or without LiveScope here. Personally, I spend too much time watching the screen instead of fishing, so I usually don’t use it and have no problem catching fish,” says Herder.
“Our crappie are black with a gold tint. Ten inches is common. The crappie have very thick backs so there is plenty of meat on them. Our water is tea colored, so yellow, chartreuse and pink are good colors.”
Other Things to Do
The Chippewa Flowage Lodge Association includes lodging right on the water for you and your boat. On my trip, I stayed at Deerfoot Lodge, a place with rooms and cabins on the water. It has a bar and grill with great food and weekly music. The place has docks for launching boats along with basic fishing necessities. It’s an all-in-one lodge with friendly people. I highly recommend it.
Local foods are available with cheese curds, beef jerky, bratwurst and pickled fish being things to try. These are made in the area and are popular with the locals.
The town of Hayward offers a unique visit for outdoor enthusiast. High on the list is the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame Museum where you’ll see plaques and photos of hall of fame members, rooms of old motors, lures, rod and reels, along with a gift shop to get a great shirt or coat. Outside, you’ll find the largest musky replica in the world with the opportunity to climb three stories inside the fish to get your picture taken in its mouth.
Other Hayward things of interest include Scheer’s Lumberjack Show along with ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games and the Lumberjack World Championships, the Annual Musky Festival, and American Birkebeiner Cross Country Ski. Outdoorsmen have plenty to do.
In nearby Park Falls you’ll find the St. Croix Rod Factory Store. You’ll not only look at factory direct rods, but also get a tour to watch rods being made and learn rod-making history.
Final Thoughts
I rank the crappie fishing average, other species good, and the overall Chippewa Flowage experience outstanding. Our trips included crappie, walleye and yellow perch with fun trips each time out. Along with being a multi-species lake, it’s beautiful with a real wilderness feel. You’ll enjoy a trip there.
CrappieNow senior writer Tim Huffman, has a new crappie fishing book for 2024, Papermouth, Modern Crappie Techniques, available as an ebook or paperback version at Amazon.
