why not the Red Cedar? both can be bug infested so be prepared, Red Cedar is small & fast moving, Chip is slow and wide.

Don't forget the Mississippi if fishing is your goal, you'll catch lots of fish and lots of variety

Wisconsin River

don't know how far away you are willing to go, but Cannon, Zumbro & Root are alternatives in MN

we did a weekend of canoeing up there last summer for my bachelor party. was kind of a rainy/sunny weird weather weekend but there were boats everywhere. was pretty crowded for my taste. didnt have the best luck fishing either but ive heard its pretty good

The Namekagon is a long way from Black River. It is great canoeing but the local outfitters send lots of groups down the river. If you want to drive that far consider the Upper St Croix. But even that will be an overnighter.
Jon

Thanks xcskibum. poking around for (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) now as well

I would check out the namekagen river, not sure about campsites but beautiful paddling and fishing I hear is quite good as well.

the Chippewa Flowage is top notch fishing, Musky walley and bass. Which means it is heavily populated with boats all through the spring to the fall.. My uncle lives up there and we have spent alot of time fishing it. Never paddled it but from what I have seen Its a busy body of water especially on weekends. But the fishing is good!

Jon, I poked around and looked up some about the Red Cedar bike trail. Some beautiful pictures. As far as the flowage, somehow without first hand knowledge it's not all that easy to know what it's really like. Wonder exactly how congested (or not) the campsites and lake really are.  If we end up there i'll post here in 'other places'.

I have not paddled the Chippewa but am also interested in doing it. At least once a year I ride the Red Cedar bike trail from Menomonie to the confluence of the Red Cedar and Chippewa rivers. This is a spectacular spot with an enormous trestle spanning the junction of the two rivers and huge sand beaches in all directions. It is a great place to have a picnic after a ride. It is a fun place to swim and cool off. It would be a good place to camp but it might be really buggy around sundown as I assume most river campsites are. I just bought an old town pack canoe last week for just this sort of tripping.
Jon

We'll be visiting friends up in Black River Falls WI this summer for a couple days. That will leave 4 extra days for paddling/camping in the "general area".  Backpacker mag had a one page blurb about a (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links). Apparently there are about 18 campsites on some of the islands there.
Has anyone here done this? Is that flowage any good to fish these days? Is there anywhere similar or better to paddle/camp/fish within 100 mi of Black River Falls? (watersmeet mi (sylvania) is a bit far). thanks.