Lake Michigan
The only Great Lake entirely inside the United States, and the engine of the salmon fishery. Dune coast on the east, big-city harbors on the west, and a summer king salmon program that draws boats from every state on the chain.
Shoreline
Wisconsin
Door County on one side, the Apostle Islands on the other. Wisconsin owns two of the most distinctive shorelines on the chain and a salmon program that rivals Michigan’s.
Shoreline
820 mi
Lakes
2
Gamefish
11
Places covered
3
Water it touches
Lake Superior
The largest freshwater lake on earth by surface area, and cold enough year-round that it behaves less like a lake than an inland ocean. Deep-water lake trout, big water, short seasons, and weather that turns without asking.
Who makes the rules
Wisconsin DNR
Licences, seasons, size and bag limits, launch permits, and shoreline access in Wisconsin are all set here. Rules change annually — read the current version before you fish or launch.
Open Wisconsin DNRFish in Wisconsin waters
Where to go
Wisconsin shoreline
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Twenty-one islands and 12 miles of Lake Superior mainland shore off Bayfield, Wisconsin, with sea caves, six historic lights and cold, clear water.
Cave Point County Park
A dolomite headland on the Lake Michigan side of Door County, Wisconsin, where waves have undercut the limestone cliff into caves and arches.
Kohler-Andrae State Park
Two miles of Lake Michigan dune and beach south of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, with a cordwalk through one of the state's last intact dune systems.