The LCO Fishery

LCO is a rare Two-Story Fishery

What makes Lac Courte Oreilles so special and a world-class fishing lake? It is a two-story, cold-water fishery – one of only five stratified two-story fishery lakes in Wisconsin to support both cisco and lake whitefish. It's fragile, and it's threatened by excess phosphorus and oxygen depletion.

Deterioration of LCO’s Cold-Water Habitat

LCO’s cold-water fishery is in decline. Warming temperatures and decreasing oxygen concentrations have eliminated suitable habitat for cisco and lake whitefish throughout the season. This has been the situation since 2013, perhaps earlier. More information is available here.

COLA's Fish Management Plan

The WDNR with COLA's help prepared a long-term Fish Management Plan for LCO in 2006. This plan guides fishery management efforts on big and little LCO, and the Billy Boy Flowage. The fishery management plan was based upon a shared vision that was developed by combining information from statewide angler surveys, onsite creel surveys, and interactive input from local stakeholders and tribes.

Esox Recovery Plan

The Esox Recovery Plan on Lac Courte Oreilles was introduced by the WDNR and is the joint effort of Muskies Inc., Walleyes Forever, the LCO Tribe, COLA, and the WDNR.