Dead Horse Slough in Ashland County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Dead Horse Slough falls in Ashland County, part of Wisconsin. It sits in lake country bush. With some 75 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 2.3 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Park Falls sits 25 miles from the bank. Saint Paul sits 137 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Dead Horse Slough

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Reported across Ashland County: rainbow smelt, yellow perch, white sucker and johnny darter. The county list is broader than any single water. Fish Dead Horse Slough to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 66°F and January near 9°F. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near late November in autumn. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Anyone fishing Dead Horse Slough regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Cranberry Lake sits 1.1 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the current arrangement for Dead Horse Slough.