Milwaukee, WI

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

Ambush predators of warm, weedy water. Bass reward anglers who fish cover precisely and slow down when the sun is high.

Smallmouth Bass

Micropterus dolomieu

Pound for pound the hardest-fighting freshwater fish in the Northwest. Smallmouth live on rock and eat crawfish imitations year-round.

Walleye

Sander vitreus

Light-shy predators that feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Walleye are a jig fisherman's game: bottom contact is everything.

Brown Trout

Salmo trutta

A wary, largely nocturnal trout introduced from Europe, now established in Great Lakes tributaries and scattered western waters. Browns eat streamers, spinners and dry flies, with the biggest fish feeding after dark.

Northern Pike

Esox lucius

A toothy ambush predator of northern weed beds, famous for explosive strikes and slime. Pike sit motionless in cover and lunge at spoons, spinnerbaits and large flies passing within range.

Muskellunge

Esox masquinongy

The muskie, the fish of ten thousand casts: the largest pike-family predator in the Great Lakes, rare, solitary and demanding of heavy tackle and patience. Most anglers practise catch and release.

Yellow Perch

Perca flavescens

A schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and one of the best-eating freshwater fish anywhere. Perch roam in schools — catch one and there are usually dozens more in the same spot.

Black Crappie

Pomoxis nigromaculatus

A speckled, paper-mouthed panfish that suspends over brush and timber in clear lakes and sloughs. Crappie bite small jigs and minnows delicately — the strike is often just a slight heaviness.

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus

The classic beginner's panfish: abundant, willing and surprisingly strong on light tackle. Bluegill nest in colonies on shallow flats in spring and guard the beds aggressively.

Channel Catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

The most widespread catfish in North America, at home in rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Channel cats find bait by scent and taste, bite readily after dark, and are the backbone of pay-lake and river catfishing.

Common Carp

Cyprinus carpio

Widespread, wary and powerful, carp cruise shallow flats rooting up the bottom and are a growing target for sight fishing and European-style bait tactics. A hooked carp makes long, stubborn runs.

White Bass

Morone chrysops

The 'sand bass' of spring river runs — a silvery, schooling striped cousin that boils under the gulls in summer and fills stringers from Texas to the Great Lakes.

Freshwater Drum

Aplodinotus grunniens

North America's croaker gone inland — the freshwater drum 'sheepshead' drums over spring shoals, crushes zebra mussels by the thousand, and fights far above its reputation from Erie to Winnipeg.

Tip-Up Town USA

Last two weekends of January

Masters Walleye Circuit (MWC)

March to October, every year

National Walleye Tour

April to August, every year