Can anyone tell me the average depth of kawishiwi river from EP 30 down to little gabbro? Is the water shallow in enough spots to bring waders for some fly fishing? My wife and I are going in on the 25th and don't want to A. fly fish out of the canoe and B. don't want to bring the waders if there isn't enough shallow water to wade. We both fly fish and would like to have the liberty of taking some action pics while each of us are out doing our thing. If you have any tips for fly fishing this river, we would gladly listen. We are targeting any species including Pike, smallies, walleye and any panfish too. Thanks

I don’t know the average depth, but the river is more like a series of long pools, with no perceivable current, connected by areas of rapids. It’s not like an ordinary river, and the water is dark with tannins. I never tested its depth with a paddle though.

I don't know what the average depth would be but there is plenty of fishable water.

One thing I have learned in my old age - it gets shallower up by shore :)

quote inspector13: "
I don’t know the average depth, but the river is more like a series of long pools, with no perceivable current, connected by areas of rapids. It’s not like an ordinary river, and the water is dark with tannins. I never tested its depth with a paddle though.


"

Would the areas near the rapids be shallow enough to wade? Will the late spring mean the water is going to be too swift and not worth lugging two sets of waders? I am starting to think bringing a few bait casters and spin gear might be more secure as far as successful fishing.
Thanks for your help.

Check out the Voyageur maps, it has contours from 10 to 40 feet in the river.

Voyageur map 7

I don’t know if it would be worth it with all the melt water. But then again I’m not sure how high or fast the water is flowing at this time. I’m just assuming it will still be pretty high by May 25th.

Lab-
It's really not that kind of river. When you see it, you'll see what I mean. It's mostly a long series of lakes, although there some neckdown areas that have current and even rapids. There are plenty of spots to fish from shoreline rocks that access fishy water. I think that'd be your best bet.

quote lundojam: "Lab-
It's really not that kind of river. When you see it, you'll see what I mean. It's mostly a long series of lakes, although there some neckdown areas that have current and even rapids. There are plenty of spots to fish from shoreline rocks that access fishy water. I think that'd be your best bet."

The main point for my question was to decide if we take waders or not. Based on everyones comments and looking at the maps, I am going to leave the waders at home and scale down the number of fly rods, making room for a few trolling setups.
Thank you all for your insight. I am sure it will be a great time.

The area below the "dam" between Gabbro and South Kawish might be possible to wade. I ran a canoe down it a few years ago after a double dog dare and found some pretty awesome fishing holes. Here is a photo of what you can expect from that small stretch, otherwise most of the Kawishiwi River is not wade-able.

Leave the waders at home. But the south arm of the Kawishiwi is a GREAT place to fish. Caught a 29" 9 lb walleye there 2 years ago along with a 26" fish. A friend in another canoe caught a 26.5" fish at the same time. All three were caught on a jig and rainbow chub.

Tend to agree, leave the waders at home. The only place I know of that you would get any use out of them is only about a 10 minute paddle from the EP 30 parking lot.

JD