Welcome to Our Sawyer County, WI Fishing Home Page

Sawyer County is home to some excellent fishing opportunities. Hayward is a very popular fishing town and is home to the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, where world record catches are registered.  There is more to this county than just Hayward though with some excellent lakes spread out throughout the entire county. There are some rivers and streams to fish here as well. This county has good fishing for muskie, northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and a variety of panfish.



Primary Species of Fish


Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye & Muskie

Many anglers prefer to target walleye and muskie here, however, the smallmouth bass and northern pike fishing is very good as well.  Muskie and walleye get the most attention in this area from most anglers.  Some very big muskie are caught here every year and there are enough walleye here that if you target them, you should be able to have a consistent fish fry.


Secondary Species of Fish


Largemouth Bass, Perch, Crappie & Bluegill

Largemouth bass are definitely secondary in this area, however, there are a lot of lakes that provide some good fishing for largemouths.  Crappie, bluegill and perch are available on many of the area lakes.  There are so many lakes to fish, but the larger lakes will usually give you a better chance to find some of those quality-sized crappie, perch and bluegill. Don’t rule out the many smaller lakes though.


Sawyer County, WI Fishing Tips


We have plenty of fishing tips in the following sections:

Area Waters

The Fish

Fishing Calendar

Towns of Sawyer County


Sawyer County, WI Fishing Regulations


Our area waters page will give you links to the specific lakes in the area so you can view their DNR pages directly.