Freestone · Mixed · Wisconsin

Sheboygan River

Sheboygan River venue image

The Sheboygan is a proper salmon-and-steelhead tributary between Milwaukee and the northeast rivers, with city access, fall salmon, cold-season steelhead and lake-run brown potential.

Good · Brown Trout
Hexagenia Dun · 4-8
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
River steady at a fishable height. A proper day for it. Work the seams with an upstream nymph, switch to the dry when they show.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.57 mLast reading 18h ago
  • Water temp17.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
HD
Hexagenia Dun4-8
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.57 m
Last reading 18h ago
Water temp17.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather17°C
WindNW 12 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
18°C est.ideal 1016°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
Good — water clarity is right today, though time of day could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 5pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 10 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds 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 rules and access before launch.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 2
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Sheboygan is a proper salmon-and-steelhead tributary between Milwaukee and the northeast rivers, with city access, fall salmon, cold-season steelhead and lake-run brown potential.

  • Mixed
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic lifeImpaired
  • Fish consumptionImpaired
What this classification means

Fish consumption: Consumption advisory (Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs) — fish for sport, not the table.

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Sheboygan River' (WI10008190), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Nutrients, 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) · WI10008190

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 71 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature60 × 28%16.8
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity56 × 12%6.7
Conditions total= 71
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
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
Booking & contacts