Freestone · Mixed · Wisconsin

Milwaukee River

Milwaukee River terrain map
Marginal · Brown Trout
Hexagenia Dun · 4-8
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.13 mLast reading 58 min ago
  • Water temp19.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
HD
Hexagenia Dun4-8
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.13 m
Last reading 58 min ago
Water temp19.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather18°C
WindS 6 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
19.4°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 19.4°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Quill GordonHatch
2
2
Blue QuillHatch
2
3
2
HendricksonHatch
2
2
Eastern March BrownHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Wisconsin licence with Great Lakes trout/salmon stamp where required; verify WIDNR tributary access and reach rules before launch.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here at 19.4°C. Nothing cooler within range.
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
  • Fish consumption: Impaired
  • Recreation: Impaired
What this classification means

Fish consumption: Consumption advisory (Metals Other Than Mercury) — fish for sport, not the table.

Recreation: Bacteria/pathogen advisory — mind wading cuts and immersion.

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Milwaukee River' (WI10008752), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Nutrients, Metals Other Than Mercury, Pathogens, Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · WI10008752

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 31 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature33 × 28%9.2
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 62
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts