Great Lakes steelhead

Winter Steelhead in Wisconsin

Q: Which Wisconsin rivers have winter steelhead?

The rivers Wisconsin DNR names with steelhead in the river between December and April include the Root River, Kewaunee River, Milwaukee River, Kinnickinnic River, Sheboygan River, Manitowoc River, Branch River, East and West Twin Rivers and 2 more. Each one is listed below with its agency timing and the source sentence.

Q: When is the peak of the steelhead run in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin DNR gives these peaks: fall run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska): mid Nov to Dec; spring run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska): late Mar to Apr; Skamania summer run: Jan to Feb (spawning); Root River: Mar to Apr; Kewaunee River: Apr. Rain and water temperature move the week from one year to the next, which is why the live gauge readings sit beside the table.

Q: Where is the Wisconsin steelhead fishing report?

Wisconsin DNR publishes the Root River and Root River Steelhead Facility Report (weekly), the Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility Report (weekly), the Lake Michigan Outdoor Report (weekly) and the Root River Steelhead Facility Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 report (annual). All are linked below.

Q: Which Wisconsin steelhead rivers get hatchery fish?

Wisconsin DNR records hatchery releases or returns on the Root River, Kewaunee River, Milwaukee River, Kinnickinnic River, Sheboygan River, Manitowoc River and 3 more.

Q: How high is the Root River running today?

The rivers table reads the latest discharge and water temperature straight from USGS for 7 Wisconsin steelhead rivers with a USGS discharge gauge, the Root River among them, and sets each flow beside the gauge's median for today's date from its full record.

Q: Is the steelhead run the same as the fishing season in Wisconsin?

No. A run window is when the fish move, and it is biology. Seasons, licences and river closures are set by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and change inside a year; its current regulations are linked beside the rivers table.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources names 10 steelhead rivers, from the Root River to the Pike River (Kenosha/Racine), and describes fall run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska) Nov 1 to Dec 31, spring run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska) Mar 1 to May 10, Skamania summer run Jul 1 to Mar 15. 7 of them carry a live USGS gauge, shown against the median for today's date.

Agency named rivers

Live USGS gauges

Fish in the rivers

Sep to May

Rivers and flows

Wisconsin steelhead rivers, run timing and flow today

Each river below is one Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources names for steelhead, with the timing it gives and the sentence it came from. Beside it, the latest discharge from the river’s USGS gauge and the median discharge for today’s date across that gauge’s years of record, so a reading of 150% means the river is carrying half again its usual flow for the day. 2 of the gauges also report water temperature.

Wisconsin steelhead rivers named by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, with the latest USGS discharge and water temperature and the median discharge for today’s date over each gauge’s record.
River	Run timing	Hatchery	Flow now	Median for today	Water temp
Root RiverLake Michigan A broodstock river with the DNR's steelhead egg collection facility in Racine; the spring 2025 count of 4,539 was the most since the facility opened in 1994. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04087240	Sep to Dec and Mar to MayPeak: Mar to Apr	Hatchery fish	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Kewaunee RiverLake Michigan The other broodstock river; the Besadny facility processes steelhead on the Kewaunee from late March through April. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04085200	Mar to Apr (weir processing)Peak: Apr	Hatchery fish	Loading	Loading	Loading
Milwaukee RiverLake Michigan A large southern shoreline river stocked with steelhead, including the 2022 Skamania release. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04087000	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Loading	Loading	Loading
Kinnickinnic RiverLake Michigan Grouped with the Milwaukee by the DNR as one of the southern large river stocking sites. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04087159	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Sheboygan RiverLake Michigan A southern large river stocking site that also received the 2022 Skamania. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04086000	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Manitowoc RiverLake Michigan The northernmost of the southern large river stocking sites. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04085427	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Branch RiverLake Michigan A northern large river stocking site that joins the Manitowoc near the lake. Wisconsin DNR source	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Run timing from Wisconsin DNR, with the note and source beside it.
East and West Twin RiversLake Michigan Northern large river stocking sites at Two Rivers. Wisconsin DNR source	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Run timing from Wisconsin DNR, with the note and source beside it.
Ahnapee RiverLake Michigan The northernmost large river stocking site the DNR lists, at Algoma. Wisconsin DNR source	Oct to May	Hatchery fish	Run timing from Wisconsin DNR, with the note and source beside it.
Pike River (Kenosha/Racine)Lake Michigan One of the Lake Michigan tributaries the DNR maps for anglers; the DNR steelhead documents read here do not describe its stocking. Wisconsin DNR source USGS gauge 04087257	Oct to May	See the note	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge

Run calendar

When steelhead are in Wisconsin rivers

The months Wisconsin DNR gives for each river, laid on a July to June year so a winter run reads as one bar. Rain and water temperature move the weeks inside those months from one year to the next.

Root RiverLake MichiganSep to Dec and Mar to May
Kewaunee RiverLake MichiganMar to Apr (weir processing)
Milwaukee RiverLake MichiganOct to May
Kinnickinnic RiverLake MichiganOct to May
Sheboygan RiverLake MichiganOct to May
Manitowoc RiverLake MichiganOct to May
Branch RiverLake MichiganOct to May
East and West Twin RiversLake MichiganOct to May
Ahnapee RiverLake MichiganOct to May
Pike River (Kenosha/Racine)Lake MichiganOct to May

Fall run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska)
Spring run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska)
Skamania summer run
Nov, the current month

Wisconsin steelhead months by river, from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Fish in the river across Sep to May.

The runs, in Wisconsin DNR’s words

Fall run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska), Nov 1 to Dec 31, peak mid Nov to Dec. Both winter-run strains Wisconsin stocks push into the tributaries in a first pulse from November through December. Strong pulses of these fish run up the rivers from November to December and again from late March through April. Source
Spring run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska), Mar 1 to May 10, peak late Mar to Apr. A second, larger pulse comes in March and April, with Ganaraska fish spawning last, from April into early May. Peak spawning time extends from April to early May. Source
Skamania summer run, Jul 1 to Mar 15, peak Jan to Feb (spawning). Skamania steelhead enter in early summer and hold in the rivers until they spawn in midwinter; Wisconsin last stocked them in 2022, so this run is intermittent. The spawning migration (known as “the run”) begins in late June and early July. The good stream fishing doesn’t begin until the water temperatures start to cool, usually in mid‐September. Spawning occurs from mid‐December through mid‐March with the peak occurring in January and February. Source

Water temperature and the run

By mid-October the run has intensified as the water temperatures of the streams drop to the optimum range of 45-58 degrees F for migration.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

A person in waders and a knit cap crouching in brown river water, holding a bright silver steelhead with a pink cheek low at the surface — A steelhead from a Lake Erie tributary in late November, kept low in the water. Steelhead are not native to the Great Lakes; New York has stocked them in Lake Erie since the late 1800s, and they run up tributaries from the lakes in fall, winter and spring. “Great Lakes Steelhead” by ColtonOrbaker, CC BY-SA 3.0

Reports

Wisconsin steelhead reports and counts

Where Wisconsin DNR publishes the current picture: fishing reports, weir and hatchery counts, and creel surveys, each with how often it is updated.

Root River and Root River Steelhead Facility ReportWisconsin DNR, weir count, weeklyUpdates are posted at 4 p.m. every Tuesday or Wednesday from September through December and March through May.
Besadny Anadromous Fisheries Facility ReportWisconsin DNR, weir count, weeklyWe will post new information to this site every Tuesday at 4 p.m. from March through April and October through early November.
Lake Michigan Outdoor ReportWisconsin DNR, fishing report, weeklyUnless otherwise indicated, this fishing report information comes from our creel survey clerks, who work in the lakeshore areas from March through October and in the tributary rivers seasonally in spring and fall.
Root River Steelhead Facility Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 reportWisconsin DNR, hatchery return, annualA total of 3,037 steelhead were spawned, and a total of 4,520,097 eggs were collected for our hatcheries.

Mist lifting off a wide river on a cold grey morning, bare and yellowing trees on both banks and a bridge faint in the distance — Mist on the Salmon River in New York on an October morning. The Lake Ontario tributaries take their first steelhead in fall, and fish keep entering through the winter into spring. “Can you tell how cold it must be on the salmon river - panoramio” by Ron Shawley, CC BY 3.0

Elsewhere

Steelhead run timing in other states

Questions about Wisconsin steelhead

When do steelhead run in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources describes fall run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska) from Nov 1 to Dec 31, heaviest mid Nov to Dec; spring run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska) from Mar 1 to May 10, heaviest late Mar to Apr; Skamania summer run from Jul 1 to Mar 15, heaviest Jan to Feb (spawning). Both winter-run strains Wisconsin stocks push into the tributaries in a first pulse from November through December.

Which Wisconsin rivers have winter steelhead?

When is the peak of the steelhead run in Wisconsin?

Where is the Wisconsin steelhead fishing report?

Which Wisconsin steelhead rivers get hatchery fish?

How high is the Root River running today?

Is the steelhead run the same as the fishing season in Wisconsin?

Are Wisconsin steelhead native?

Great Lakes steelhead are a stocked and naturalized fish. New York DEC writes that steelhead have been stocked in Lake Erie since the late 1800s and, though not native to the system, are now a naturalized part of its fish community. In Wisconsin, Wisconsin DNR describes fall run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska) Nov 1 to Dec 31, spring run (Chambers Creek and Ganaraska) Mar 1 to May 10 and Skamania summer run Jul 1 to Mar 15.

River timing from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources pages, each linked beside its river. Flow, water temperature and the daily median from the USGS Water Services. Compiled September 21, 2026.

Wisconsin salmon run timingThe chinook and coho runs on the same rivers, in the months before the steelhead.Wisconsin trout stockingThe same species as a freshwater fish, stocked on a schedule.Wisconsin river levelsEvery USGS gauge in the state against its own record for the date.