By Phil James
I have been fishing the Wisconsin River below the dam at Nekoosa, and while I have been in a boat, there is extensive shore fishing available. Nekoosa is a little under a 2 hour drive and is the first dam upstream of Lake Petenwell. As such it has walleye and white bass runs in the spring, but the river holds fish year round. There is bait available at the BP station in Nekoosa. From town drive down the west side of the river on Point Basse Ave./Hwy AA. There is easy shore access all the way along this road for about 1 1/2 miles from town to the Jim Freeman boat launch.
This section is a mix of sand, mud, and rock with lots of wood in the water, so it can be snaggy, but lots of fish are caught here. The road bends away from the river at the boat launch, but returns to the river after about a mile. There are some docks along this stretch so I am not sure if this is public access or private, but there is another boat launch along here for small boats, so you could certainly shore fish there. A little beyond the boat launch a small stream crosses the road and heads for the river, and must get panfish spawning early in the year. You can walk along this stream to get to the river as well. About 1/4 mile past the stream there is a dirt parking lot on the river side. From here it is a short walk to the river, where you will be on a rip-rapped outside bend with deep water that extends about 500 feet each way, from the small stream to almost the entrance of Lynn Creek downstream.
You can walk and fish this whole area. Just as you reach Lynn Creek the riprap ends and you will be on a low gravel shoreline. In front of you and upstream of the mouth of Lynn Creek a broad gravel bar extends out into the river, and I have seen shore fisherman catch multiple species here. Lynn Creek is also accessible from the road, and again must host panfish in the spring. After Lynn Creek the road bends sharply to the right. Continuing straight puts you on Grunewald Lane, which dead-ends near the river. Here you will be on top of a steep sand bank that would be tough to fish, but a short distance downstream another rip-rapped bank begins and extends for about 1/2 mile of easy walking. Beyond here there might be some road access along the sloughs, but it looks to be increasingly private land.