Aerial view of Lock and Dam No. 8 on the Mississippi River at Genoa, Wisconsin

Around Genoa, season by season

Pool 9 of the Mississippi, inside the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Spring

Mar – May

Walleye below the dam, and one of our two busiest seasons.

Walleye & sauger
High water
Books early

Sauger and walleye hold below the dam early, then bass as the water warms. The bluffs green up from the bottom. This is one of the two seasons that fills first, so ask early if you want particular dates.

Summer

Jun – Aug

Long days, warm water, and easier to book than you would expect.

Panfish & bass
Long days
Easier to book

Panfish and bass, pontoons and tubing, and daylight on the deck until around nine. Busy on the water, but easier to get a room in than spring or fall.

Fall

Sep – Nov

The bluffs turn colour, the flyway fills with birds, and rooms go early.

Migration
Colour on the bluffs
Books early

The Mississippi flyway is one of the main migration corridors in North America, and it runs directly past Genoa. Cooler fishing and the Great River Road through the colour — and, with spring, the hardest season to get a room in.

Winter

Dec – Feb

Eagles below the dam, ice on the backwaters, and the quietest months of the year.

Ice fishing
Eagles
Easiest to book

The backwater lakes freeze and the panfish season opens up, while eagles work the open water below the dam. Highway 35 runs along the foot of the bluffs the whole way down.

The quiet months

People drive down in January for the eagles

The water below the dam stays open when the rest of the river freezes, so the eagles work it all winter and you can watch them from the bank. Highway 35 runs along the foot of the bluffs the whole way down.

The rate is the same in January as it is in July, and midweek in the cold months is when both rooms are usually free.

What's around

All of it within a few minutes of the door. Distances are on the map links rather than written here, so they can't go out of date.

Genoa Harbor boat launch: Across the street. Public launch onto pool 9.
Genoa National Fish HatcheryFree: In the village. Tanks you can walk between, and indoors when the weather turns.
Lock and Dam No. 8Free: At Genoa. Fish and eagles gather in the open water below it, and you can watch the barges lock through.
Clements Fishing Barge: Moored out on the river. Walk on and fish the main channel without a boat.
Upper Mississippi River refugeFree: Genoa sits inside it — 240,000 acres of river, backwater and bluff.
The Great River RoadFree: Highway 35 runs past the door, along the foot of the bluffs in both directions.

The rate is the same in every season

Midweek in summer and winter is when the rooms are easiest to get.

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