Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 4.8.12Warm weather and recent winds cleared the Lake Superior ice early and in time for the April 1 smelt fishing opener. Anglers have been capitalizing on early warm weather and ice out to bring in some good catches of trout and salmon from along the south shore.
Cooler air temperatures and winds slowed fishing in some Wisconsin waters, but anglers on Lake Michigan in the Kenosha area report a strong brown trout bite. Anglers have been fishing close to shore in 20 -30 feet of water using spoons. Anglers on the Pike River report the steelhead trout run is largely over, but are still catching a few fish using orange and white flies. In Port Washington boaters have been catching brown, rainbow and lake trout using spoons and stickbaits in 15 to 35 feet of water. Blue, green, black and orange colors have been productive
Marinette County Boaters at the Peshtigo Harbor are reporting a few walleye along with some big pike being caught trolling in the bay adjacent to the river mouth with stick baits and spoons. Browns are also being caught by the Peshtigo Lighthouse trolling the break with cleos, of which blue and silver seem to be the colors to use. At the Peshtigo Dam, suckers are once again the dominant species. A few walleye are being caught jigging in the Turn Basin on the Menominee River. Fishing has slowed considerably except for suckers, which are fairly numerous. Temperatures have dropped with the rain and cooler weather back into the low to mid-40s on area creeks and rivers. This is about a 10 degree drop from highs about two weeks ago. The best times to fish seem to be later in the day, once the water temperatures increase.
Manitowoc County Anglers have been having success on the Manitowoc River, Manitowoc Harbor, West Twin River, as well as in Two Rivers using cut-bait. Pier action has been unpredictable in Two Rivers and Manitowoc for brown trout. Good catches have come by using fresh spawn with some fish also caught on spoons. The best catches have been when the water around the piers has decent clarity.
Similar to the pier fishing, trolling for browns has also been spotty. Lake temperatures are around 40 degrees in the Manitowoc area. When the wind is blowing, water clarity has been low, so bright colors in spoons and stickbaits have produced the most. There have been reports of decent catches from south of Manitowoc in 10-20 feet of water
Oconto County The walleye bite at Stiles Dam has slowed considerably from earlier this week and suckers are now the dominant fish. Boaters from Pensaukee Landing to Oconto Park II are reporting good catches of walleye, northern, and browns, fishing in 7 to 9 feet of water. Stick and rattle baits have been working the best with clown and perch colors producing well.
Lake Michigan fisheries team reportSheboygan County Trollers near shore have been catching brown trout, along with a few rainbows and Chinook. Green and violet spoons and crankbaits have been productive in 19-24 feet of water. Fishing off the piers in Sheboygan has been slow, but a few larger brown trout have been caught on spoons from the shoreline near the Edgewater Power Plant. The Sheboygan River is high and muddy after more than an inch of rain in the Sheboygan area on Friday. Some anglers reported successful catches of a few northern pike and rainbow trout late in the week. On the Pigeon River, northern pike have been taken on spoons.
Ozaukee County In Port Washington boaters have been catching brown, rainbow and lake trout using spoons and stickbaits in 15 to 35 feet of water. Blue, green, black and orange colors have been productive. A few chinook salmon have also been caught in 20 to 30 feet of water. A few browns have been caught off the pier on shiners and silver spoons. Browns have also been taken near the power plant on shiners and spawn sacs, but under-sized recently stocked brown trout have also been in the area.
Milwaukee County High winds out of the east have kept nearly every boat off of the lake due to high wave action. When the weather has been cooperative, browns were being caught in the harbor and between the gaps with crank baits and on various colors of spoons, preferably blues and greens.
A few coho and lake trout were also being picked up with similar presentations. The shoreline along the Summerfest grounds has been slower in producing browns with the recent weather. The most successful anglers have multiple rods with one having a minnow or a spawn sac either on the bottom or suspended, and the other rod casting a spoon. Perch fishing near Summerfest has very limited as well. At Jones Island anglers have reported some browns and a few rainbows caught under the Hoan Bridge on minnows and spawn sacs. On Oak Creek, fishing has slowed recently but rainbows were still being caught on flies. On the Milwaukee River the river is still high with low water clarity. Rainbows have been caught at Kletzsch Park on flies and spawn sacs, but not as many as have been caught in the past few weeks. In the past week water temperature readings dropped almost 10 degrees to the middle 40s. On the Menomonee River, fewer anglers have been at Miller Park with little action in recent days. Even the number of visible fish seen from shore has dropped considerably. The few fish that were feeding seemed to bite best on smaller flies.
Racine County East winds have blown in dirty water limiting nearshore clarity, which has decreased the number of browns and coho being caught on the east side of the harbor. The best presentations to use are still blue spoons or a minnow rigged up on a slip bobber. On the Root River, upstream of the weir, anglers have had less success than they were having in the past days and weeks. However, fish were still being caught on smaller flies and floating spawn sacs.
Kenosha County Harbor launching piers have been installed, giving boaters an excellent chance to access Lake Michigan. Anglers on Lake Michigan report a strong brown trout bite. Anglers have been fishing close to shore in 20 -30 feet of water using spoons. Anglers on the Pike River report the steelhead trout run is largely over, but are still catching a few fish using orange and white flies. Inland waters such as Lake Andrea have seen excellent pan fishing and anglers using wax worms on the north east shore have had the best luck.
Richland County Trout anglers are taking advantage of the weather and lack of spring flooding to fish for trout during the early catch and release season.
Eau Claire Anglers have been catching large perch at the Chippewa River Natural Area at the end of Silvermine Drive on the west side of Eau Claire. The Eau Claire River is providing some great spring season sucker and redhorse action in the vicinity of Big Falls County Park.
Fall Creek Spring fish run activity is way ahead of schedule but with the cooler weather last week it seemed to slow down a little bit. There have been some nice catches of perch and a lot of people are out sucker fishing
Willow River State Park The water level on the Willow River is running at normal flow and clarity. Panfish anglers have not had any luck from shore or from boats. The lake water is still cold.
Minocqua area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htm
Lake Michigan Fishing Report and tipshttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htm
Wausau Area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htm
Chippewa Flowage fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
