Fishing an Old Logging Stream

[silver creek]

Wisconsin was once forested by gigantic white pine forests which were logged off and shipped to east and south to build the ships, buildings, and homes in Chicago and Milwaukee.

The size of these virgin white pines forests rivaled the red woods of northern California

Wausau was one of the major lumber mill communities, and the remnants of the square stone filled cribs that were used to manage the flow of logs down thar Wisconsin can still be seen today where I live. Here is a log jam behind some cribs on the Wisconsin River which reveals the amount of lumber that was moved down the Wisconsin. It was estimated that this jam contained 150,000,000 feet of logs piled as high as 20 feet above the water line in places.

One of my favorite places to fish is a tributary of the Wisconisin River. It still reveals it’s logging history with sunken logs and logs that have been stranded on the banks. It also contains native brook trout which come readily to the dry fly.


Weathered 100+ year old white pine log with my rod for scale

Sunken Logs - the tannin stained waters reveal the origin of this stream as being from one of the bogs in northern Wisconsin.

Log Jam Pool

A few Brookies

 

[sweetandsalt]

Our species is so destructive of nature but still, this little native jewels survive.

 

[k_e_v]

I am a little confused as to the purpose of the stone cribs. In the picture are the cribs doing what they were intended to do?

 

[moucheur2003]

When I was in college I took a course about conservation law, and I wrote a term paper paper about the right of public access to waterways for recreational use. The general principle is that if a river is "navigable" is it considered a public highway in most states, but there is a lot of variation in the specific application of the principle to specific circumstances. In many instances the capacity to float logs is sufficient to establish navigability, but in some states only historic commercial uses are recognized, not more recent recreational uses. Anyway, I found an old case from the log-driving days in Maine, where two competing lumber barons had built sawmills and dams on the same river. One time, when the guy who owned the downstream mill drove his logs, they jammed at the upstream guy's dam, so the downstream guy sent his crews out under cover of darkness with barrels of dynamite and blew up his rival's dam. He then sued his rival for the cost of the dynamite, on the grounds that he had been illegally obstructing a public highway -- and won!

 

[smoke33]

Silver, thanks for sharing those pics, my great grandfather was one of the loggers you speak of and I know the area well. I love history and could look at photos like the ones you posted all day! Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rip Tide]

I am a little confused as to the purpose of the stone cribs. In the picture are the cribs doing what they were intended to do?

Androscoggin River, north of Berlin NH

 

[moucheur2003]

I am a little confused as to the purpose of the stone cribs. In the picture are the cribs doing what they were intended to do?

They were used to manipulate currents and steer the logs as they floated down the river. For example, a big harvest of logs could be held in a slow section and moved down to the sawmill in volumes the mill could handle. I'm guessing that's what the photo shows. They also could channel moving logs away from impediments in the river and into the main current so they didn't hang up.

 

[silver creek]

I am a little confused as to the purpose of the stone cribs. In the picture are the cribs doing what they were intended to do?

As I understand how the cribs worked, the location of the cribs was in the river at the saw mill. In fact, the location of old saw mills that are long gone can be identified by the remnants of the cribs. When the hydroelectric dam that forms Lake Wausau on Wisconsin river is lowered to inspect or fix the dam, the cribs at several locations can still be seen.

A log driver floated the logs down the river to the river cribs. I assume there were loggers at the cribs who used chained logs across the river from crib to crib to stop the floating logs so they cold be removed from the river at the saw mill.

The link below describes the process although it does not mention the river cribs or how the logs were delivered to the saw mills.

Wisconsin forests build country as lumber floats down rivers | Regional news | wiscnews.com

The fourth paragraph in the history of Wausau below states that Wausau had 14 saw mills: "Wausau is forty miles north of Stevens Point, Shawano is sixty miles east of Wausau; Merrill twenty miles north; Neillsville, sixty miles west. It has fourteen saw-mills, eight within the city proper and the other six near."

1881 History of Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis.

 

[shaunsquid]

This is too cool. Thanks for the history lesson. I won't lie, the nature lover in me is a little heartbroken seeing all those downed trees. But I get it. Beautiful fish too.

 

[moucheur2003]

The general principle is that if a river is "navigable" is it considered a public highway in most states, but there is a lot of variation in the specific application of the principle to specific circumstances. In many instances the capacity to float logs is sufficient to establish navigability, but in some states only historic commercial uses are recognized, not more recent recreational uses.

Incidentally, in states that recognize it, the right of anglers to walk along the shore of private property (or wade if the streambed is considered privately owned) derives from the need for lumberjacks to be able to get out of their boats to clear logjams. The principle is that if use of the shoreline or streambed is reasonably necessary to use of the public highway, it is permitted. But is recreational fishing the proper use of a highway? Is wading or walking along the shore necessary? Is it a public highway year-round even if the water isn't high enough to remain navigable at certain times of year? Those issues are currently the subject of hotly contested litigation involving the Provo and Weber Rivers in Utah.

 

[jalberts1]

In Michigan you can get out of the water and walk on private property to avoid an obstruction or hazardous water, once you have cleared the obstruction you must return to the water

 

[sparsegraystubble]

Or states such as Wyoming that apparently never bought into the public ownership theory even though rivers were used to move logs for railroad ties.

I believe the weird Wyoming laws are due to the dominance of agriculture (ranching) interests in the State Legislature. Here the land owner owns the river bed out to the halfway mark. The water is public so you can float through but if you get out of the boat to fish or even if you anchor touching the bottom of privately owned riverbed you can be prosecuted for trespassing.

The whole process seems bizarre when you are used to open access as long as you are within the high water mark. And I doubt that our legislature will ever change that law to conform to the states around us.

Don

 

[moucheur2003]

The same principle still applies, because Wyoming does recognize the public right of navigation on the river's surface. I imagine the difference between Michigan and Wyoming (and other states that allow public access within the river channel all the way to the high water mark) probably stems from court cases that have decided differently the degree to which use of the public highway for angling necessarily requires the same broad access to the shore and streambed that log driving does.

 

[k_e_v]

Moucheur2003:
They were used to manipulate currents and steer the logs as they floated down the river. For example, a big harvest of logs could be held in a slow section and moved down to the sawmill in volumes the mill could handle. I'm guessing that's what the photo shows. They also could channel moving logs away from impediments in the river and into the main current so they didn't hang up.

Silver:
As I understand how the cribs worked, the location of the cribs was in the river at the saw mill. In fact, the location of old saw mills that are long gone can be identified by the remnants of the cribs. When the hydroelectric dam that forms Lake Wausau on Wisconsin river is lowered to inspect or fix the dam, the cribs at several locations can still be seen.

A log driver floated the logs down the river to the river cribs. I assume there were loggers at the cribs who used chained logs across the river from crib to crib to stop the floating logs so they cold be removed from the river at the saw mill.

The link below describes the process although it does not mention the river cribs or how the logs were delivered to the saw mills.

Wisconsin forests build country as lumber floats down rivers | Regional news | wiscnews.com

The fourth paragraph in the history of Wausau below states that Wausau had 14 saw mills: "Wausau is forty miles north of Stevens Point, Shawano is sixty miles east of Wausau; Merrill twenty miles north; Neillsville, sixty miles west. It has fourteen saw-mills, eight within the city proper and the other six near."

1881 History of Wausau, Marathon Co., Wis.


Thank You, makes sense

kev

 

[Ard]

What an outstanding post!

You'll forgive me I hope but I was expecting a link to a video or something but this was a pleasant surprise Henry just a great post. I came from one of Americas one time logging kingdoms myself, Williamsport Pennsylvania. Back there we had so many of those ancient trees sunk onto the bottom of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River that a small business developed around them. They used a small barge with winches to raise the giants and then milled & dried them. The wood from these logs was said in some cases to be upward of 400 years old and sold at very high prices. The town is said to have been home to the largest number of millionaires in the world per capita back during the boom period and the old money is still present there today. The sports teams are called The Williamsport Millionaires because of the history. Every little creek I fished all over North Central PA. bore the scars of the lumber era but were into recovery by the 1970's.

Knowing your local history is a wonderful thing, great post!

 

[silver creek]

What an outstanding post!

You'll forgive me I hope but I was expecting a link to a video or something but this was a pleasant surprise Henry just a great post. I came from one of Americas one time logging kingdoms myself, Williamsport Pennsylvania. Back there we had so many of those ancient trees sunk onto the bottom of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River that a small business developed around them. They used a small barge with winches to raise the giants and then milled & dried them. The wood from these logs was said in some cases to be upward of 400 years old and sold at very high prices. The town is said to have been home to the largest number of millionaires in the world per capita back during the boom period and the old money is still present there today. The sports teams are called The Williamsport Millionaires because of the history. Every little creek I fished all over North Central PA. bore the scars of the lumber era but were into recovery by the 1970's.

Knowing your local history is a wonderful thing, great post!

You post reminded me that Wausau is said to have had more millionaires than the Chicago during the lumbering era. That seems a bit farfetched but much of the businesses that arose in the Wausau lead back to a few lumbering families. Wausau Insurance, Mosinee Paper mill, Wausau Paper Mill, Murray Machinery, Marathon Electric, etc.

The Yawkeys and Woodsons were two of the families. The Yawkey Historical Museum is the original home of the Yawkeys in Wausau and has a room entirely paneled in birds eye maple.

The Leigh Woodson Yawkey Art Museum was originally built as a wedding gift for Leigh Woodson Yawkey and after Leigh's death, she donated it and fudned it for perpetuity. It is a free museum that hosts art exhibits and recently hosted Geirach for a TU event: At the Convergence of art, science and literature

The other thing your post reminds me of is the old growth lumber that is being recovered from the depths of Lake Superior.

With Timber Scarce, Old Logs Deep in a Lake Become a Sunken Treasure - The New York Times

https://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/underwater-logging-zmaz98onzraw

"Lake Superior, the world's largest body of fresh water, proved to be the best possible resting place for the lost timber, some of which sank below its thick glassy surface before the United States of America existed. The low temperatures and oxygen content of the lake preserved the logs, some nearly 700 years old, embalming them like mummies from a lost civilization.

Because these mummified logs once grew under a canopy of conifers in low light and limited-nutrient conditions, they matured slower than the fast-growing varieties modem tree farms now use. The result is a superfine grain, with 25 to 70 growth rings an inch (the highest count yet is 77 rings an inch). This compares to an average of six to 15 growth rings an inch in today's harvested trees. "The growth rings are so tight, they're like pages in a book," says Mitchen."

 

[Ard]

That part about the recovery of the old timber is right on! The outfit that was 'mining' it from the Susquehanna was from Long Island NY I think I recall............ They were going great guns until a flash flood occurred in the late 90's and swept away their barge and more or less destroyed the docks and base of operations they had established.

The homes........... My little business morphed into historical restoration and I became a sort of general contractor because I had long standing relationships with many of the best carpenters and mill workers in our area, I had also lucked out by being trained in the old style of plastering, brown coat - gauging plaster and white coat topping. There were very few people who did plaster in the town so I had an in, couple that with the gift of gab and I did really well in the restoration thing. In the process I saw some of the most elaborate homes that had ever been constructed in our area inside and out. The extent of the wood works spoke volumes to the man hours needed to do some of the carvings and millings I restored. Most of this pre dated the Civil War and the oldest one I did was located in Muncy PA. and dated to 1792 if I recall correctly.

But then this is about fishing right? There was nowhere I ever went to work that was more than a mile from a good place to fish when I lived in that part of the country, I sorta miss that................. Yeah, I'm in Alaska but if you went and read my post to the 'Fly Fishing not for faint of heart' thread you would see that this is so much different than the laid back small stream and spring creek game I was accustomed to........

 

[Unknownflyman]

If you fish the St. Croix north of the twin cities you can find timber in the river with the numbered logging spikes in them yet.

I have seen where they are pulling those old logs out of Lake Superior on the north shore and making guitar bodies and other wood instruments out of the wood. Which is very interesting.

My wife’s family Anderson’s logged in northern Minnesota and had their own sawmill in Minneapolis floating the logs down the Mississippi River. I have an old saw from the old days from her dad. Cool stuff.

I think Minnesota claimed the most millionaires per capita at some point too which is amusing. Get rich in the northland! LOL

Cool report.

 

[fredaevans]

When I was in college I took a course about conservation law, and I wrote a term paper paper about the right of public access to waterways for recreational use. The general principle is that if a river is "navigable" is it considered a public highway in most states, but there is a lot of variation in the specific application of the principle to specific circumstances. In many instances the capacity to float logs is sufficient to establish navigability, but in some states only historic commercial uses are recognized, not more recent recreational uses. Anyway, I found an old case from the log-driving days in Maine, where two competing lumber barons had built sawmills and dams on the same river. One time, when the guy who owned the downstream mill drove his logs, they jammed at the upstream guy's dam, so the downstream guy sent his crews out under cover of darkness with barrels of dynamite and blew up his rival's dam. He then sued his rival for the cost of the dynamite, on the grounds that he had been illegally obstructing a public highway -- and won!

Had to chuckle when I read the above ..... Sounds like a replay of the Deschutes River in NE Oregon save for they were competing railways.