Florence County is home to some very good smallmouth bass fishing. With the Menominee River and the flowages in the county, you have enough smallmouth bass water to keep you busy all summer. If you learn these waters, you should be able to catch good numbers of smallmouth bass with some big fish mixed in too. It is common to hear of reports of smallmouth bass in the 18″ to 20″ range from late spring through fall every year here. To learn more about the better smallmouth bass waters in this area, take a look below.
Menominee River
The Menominee River flows into Green Bay and forms the boundary between northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. For this page, we will be focusing on the part of the river that flows through Florence County, Wisconsin. In this area, you don’t have nearly as many flowages as you will find down south as the river runs through Marinette County, Wisconsin. You do have a lot of remote water up here with some areas that are more popular among anglers.
The Menominee River is loaded with smallmouth bass. Put some time in to learn this river up here and you will experience some excellent smallmouth bass fishing. For many anglers, they come here to fish for smallmouth bass and they will spend their entire fishing trip on the Menominee River. It’s definitely worth a trip if you like to fish for smallmouth bass.
We have more information on the Menominee River and its flowages on our Menominee River – Florence County, WI Fishing page.
Brule River
The Brule River is a 52.3-mile long river with most of the river serving as the border between Wisconsin and Michigan. It has been a solid trout fishery for years as anglers target brook trout and brown trout from the many access points along the river. As you get closer to the Brule River Flowage, anglers do also report good fishing for smallmouth bass as well. In smaller numbers, anglers can also target a variety of other fish such as muskie, largemouth bass, walleye and a variety of panfish.
Brule River Flowage
Brule River Flowage is a 297 acre lake located in Florence County. It has a maximum depth of 64 feet. Fish include smallmouth bass, walleye, muskie, northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye and smallmouth bass are considered common in the lake while muskie, largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish are listed as present.
Ellwood Lake
Ellwood Lake is a 130 acre lake located in Florence County. It has a maximum depth of 25 feet. Fish include northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, smallmouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake while largemouth bass and northern pike are listed as present.
Keyes Lake
Keyes Lake is a 195 acre lake located in Florence County. It has a maximum depth of 74 feet. Fish include northern pike, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and panfish. According to the DNR, walleye, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and panfish are considered common in the lake while northern pike are listed as present.
Pine – Popple Rivers
The 89-mile Pine River and its major tributary, the 62-mile Popple River, offer visitors a wild experience. This river system is one of Wisconsin’s more remote river systems. If you visit this river system, plan on seeing a good mixture of quiet waters that change to swift, rocky riffles, low rapids and even waterfalls. The northern sections of this river system are known for their trout fishing. The cool waters are home to brook trout and brown trout. The southern section of this system is warmer than up north, so you will see other species of fish such as northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass and panfish.
Twin Falls Flowage
Twin Falls Flowage is a 570 acre lake located in Florence County. It has a maximum depth of 50 feet. Fish include muskie, walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and panfish. According to the DNR, all the species listed are common in the lake except for muskie, which are listed as present.