Photo By Scott Sturkol | Watershed management biologists and specialists with Colorado State University conduct...... read more read more
Subscribe
The 2025 Fort McCoy fishing season opens May 3, concurrent with the Wisconsin general inland fishing season opener.
Fishing on installation lakes and flowages is allowed May 3 through March 1, 2026, said Fisheries Biologist Steven Rood with the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch. The general inland trout season on post and in Wisconsin is from May 3 to Oct. 15.
Fort McCoy has 10 installation lakes and impoundments and approximately 71.2 miles of Coldwater streams and tributaries, Rood said. Most of the streams are class I trout waters maintaining naturally reproducing brook and brown trout. The impoundments on Fort McCoy cold-water streams provide a variety of uses for recreation, military training, and habitat for fish and wildlife.
“The general inland waters fishing seasons opens on Saturday, May 3, at 5 a.m.,” said Rood. “Opening weekend is one of the busiest two days for angling on Fort McCoy as anglers pursue rainbow trout in some of the lakes. This year should not be any different, as Fort McCoy will again be stocking six lakes with rainbow trout. This is a tradition that began in 1963 and has been carried on a for more than 60 years and totaling over 1.2 million rainbow trout stocked over that period.
“Creel survey results show that over 60 percent of Fort McCoy anglers will pursue rainbow trout at some point throughout the season,” Rood said.
Like previous years, over 15,000 rainbow trout will be stocked into six waterways at Fort McCoy, including Sparta Pond, Swamp Pond, Stillwell Lake, Big Sandy Lake, Sandy Lake, and Suukjak Sep Lake at Pine View Campground.
Rood said the fishing outlook looks good as well for installation anglers.
“In 2024, stream surveys again showed brook and brown trout abundance to be near all-time highs for the fourth year in a row,” Rood said. “This will provide stream anglers with a great opportunity to catch some really nice fish.”
Anglers must have the appropriate Wisconsin licenses to fish on post, as well. This includes a general Wisconsin fishing license, a trout stamp if fishing for trout, and the Fort McCoy fishing permit.
The cost of a Fort McCoy annual fishing permit is $13 for people aged 16 and older. Permits for youth under 16, seniors, and disabled anglers and four-day fishing permits are $8. All are available for purchase through the iSportsman website, https://ftmccoy.isportsman.net.
“All Fort McCoy permits, including the iSportsman Annual Access Pass expire on March 31 each year,” Rood said. “This means anyone interested in participating in recreational activities on Fort McCoy will need to log into their iSportsman account and acquire new permits for the activity they wish to participate in. For all hunting, fishing, and trapping permits, a state of Wisconsin license is required in addition to a Fort McCoy permit.
“Also, as a reminder, a free annual access pass is required for everyone participating in recreational activities including non-hunting/non-fishing activities such as hiking, dog walking, or berry picking,” Rood said.
All anglers are also reminded to check the iSportsman system each day for lake and training area closures to ensure the water they intend to fish is open for that day, Rood said.
All permits for hunting, fishing, and firewood cutting at Fort McCoy must be purchased through iSportsman and an iSportsman account is required to purchase any of these permits.
“Anglers are also asked to please remember to display a card or sheet of paper with your iSportsman account number on the dashboard of your vehicle,” Rood said.
Anglers have plenty of options for fishing too. North Flowage and Lost Lake on Fort McCoy’s North Post are open year-round for panfish, such as bluegill, and are available for the Wisconsin bass catch-and-release season all throughout the year at times outside the regular fishing season.
For trout fishing, with the exception of Silver Creek, there is a bag limit of five trout with no size restrictions. There is a special regulation for trout caught at Silver Creek from the western installation boundary to the bridge at the West Silver wetland (bag limit is three trout, no minimum length, artificial lures only). The Fort McCoy fishing map, also available on the Fort McCoy iSportsman website, is highlighted in orange along Silver Creek to distinguish the special regulation area.
There also will be a Free Fishing Weekend on June 7-8 in Wisconsin and at Fort McCoy. No licenses or permits are needed, but all bag limits and other rules apply. Fort McCoy rules and regulations can be found online using the Fort McCoy iSportsman web site, https://ftmccoy.isportsman.net, and selecting the “Regulations” tab from the menu. Rules and regulations and maps are also available at the Hunter Information Point (HIP) located along State Highway 21 at the intersection of South J Street and State Highway 21 and will be open year-round.
“The Free Fishing Weekend is an excellent time for people to come out and see all the fantastic fishing areas we have here,” Rood said.
Anglers are required to call the iSportsman Game Line at 866-277-1597 or visit the iSportsman website for updated fishing area closures before going out.
People interested in renting fishing equipment at Fort McCoy can do so through Recreational Equipment Checkout with the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation at Pine View Campground. Available equipment includes fishing poles, kayaks, canoes, and boats. Varying rates apply. To find out more, visit https://mccoy.armymwr.com/programs/recreational-equipment-checkout-outdoor-recreation or call the Pine View Campground office at 502-898-3517/2619.
To see the latest Wisconsin fishing information, go to https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/seasons.
And for more about Fort McCoy fishing rules, review the fishing regulation at https://ftmccoy.isportsman.net. All fishing, hunting and related Fort McCoy regulations were updated as of September 2024.
(The Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch contributed to this article.)
| Date Taken: | 04.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2025 15:10 |
| Story ID: | 494613 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 2025 Fort McCoy fishing season begins May 3, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
