THE FLAMBEAU.
The Flambeau River and Flowage provide a wide variety of watersports. If you put in your canoe at the dam that forms the flowage you can paddle to the nearest island and find a delightful campground. If you want to camp along the river, there are several campsites not too far downriver from the dam.
The first time I paddled this river, we started on the Manitowish River and paddled down to the flowage. The first night we camped on the Manitowish, the mosquitoes were worse than any I have ever experienced, before or after. I'm probably still randomly itching occasionally from their onslaught. The next day we got to the flowage and had to paddle directly into a vicious headwind in order to get to our planned campground on the island by the dam.
By taking shelter in the lee of the many islands in the flowage to rest, and by sheer fortitude, we managed to make our planned destination, but we were totally exhausted by the time we set up camp for the night.
The next day's paddle down the river was a welcome relief. Just below the dam there is a fish spawning refuge where fishing is not allowed. We saw plenty of fish splashing around in this area, and also spotted numerous eagles waiting for a quick meal.
After the fish refuge there are some medium rapids that are fun at medium flows but could have some big waves at high water levels. Also, fishing is pointless because they are all upstream partying (in other words, I got skunked on this stretch).
The Flambeau has many miles of scenic shores and challenging rapids. The fishing can be quite good once you get downstream far enough. Just watch out for for sudden rainstorms that appear out of nowhere. The weather near Lake Superior can be capricious.
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