Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 7.20.12
Heavy rains raised water levels on some smaller streams and rivers in the drought stricken areas, but larger rivers remain very low, making navigation more difficult and increasing the number of fish kills. The lower Wisconsin, Black, Rock and Crawfish rivers all continue to run low. Recent rain in the north, have kept the Chippewa and Flambeau rivers higher. The hot temperatures and low water levels on southern lakes continue to increase the risk of blue-green algae outbreaks and there have now also been reports of swimmer?s itch on some state waters.
Fishing pressure has been moderate. In the north, with the warm air and water temperatures, many musky anglers have taken a break from fishing as they don?t want to add any undue stress to the trophy fish. Largemouth bass have started to provide the most consistent fishing action, while the smallmouths continue to be a bit more difficult to find and catch. Walleye action has been fair to good. In the south, some panfish and walleyes were being caught on the Madison chain of lakes.
Water levels on the Mississippi River have been steadily dropping but are about a foot above normal for this time of year on pools 8 and 9. Anglers have had good success fishing for panfish and walleyes and were also catching some catfish fishing wing dams or deeper holes.
On Green Bay, walleye anglers were again reporting limits of nice fish in the 17-21 inch range out of Oconto. Fishing on Lake Michigan continues to be very good with salmon and trout being caught. Anglers out of out of Manitowoc and Kewaunee were having excellent success with rainbow trout.
Polk County Fishing success has been limited, but anglers have caught some fish using leeches and bobbers along deep weed lines.
Park Falls Water levels remain good on Area Rivers and lakes thanks to recent rains. The heat wave has cooled and anglers and canoeists are enjoying great conditions. Musky anglers are having steady action on Butternut Lake with fish being caught off the weed edges in 8-12 feet of water. Good success can be had below the lower Park Falls dam, Pixley dam, Crowley dam and other stretches near the road near the Price/Sawyer County Line.If night time cat fish hunting is your thing, the same locations are also hot for good eating size cat fish. Some fish can be caught during daylight hours but the evening bite is typically much more productive with a gob of night crawlers or live suckers.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) Fishing pressure has been moderate. With the warm air and water temperatures, many musky anglers have taken a break from fishing as they don?t want to add any undue stress to the trophy fish. A few musky anglers are still trying their luck on the Flambeau and Chippewa Rivers and they?ve been having some success with large buck tails and top water baits. Largemouth bass have started to provide the most consistent fishing action, while the smallmouths continue to be a bit more difficult to find and catch. For the largemouth, most of the fish have taken up shop near firm overhead cover such as logs, stumps, bog edges and lily pad beds, and fewer fish have been found cruising the submerged weed beds. Top water lures have still been getting some pretty good action, but the most successful baits have been the soft plastics and jig/craw combinations. In the flowages, the smallies have been found along the deep weed edges and close to mid-depth woody structure. Walleye action has been fair to good with some decent catches of 14-18 inch fish have been caught on the mid-depth rock bars and along the weed edges. Both trolling and still fishing with leeches have been producing some good success. Panfish action has been somewhat erratic ? a few anglers have been able to find some crappie suspended near mid-depth cover and larger bluegills have been starting to relate to the deep weed lines. With the relatively low amount of rain across northwest Wisconsin in the last few weeks, stream and river levels have fallen to their summer lows and many canoeists are starting to have a tough time navigating the shallower rapids on the bigger rivers. Water levels on the natural lakes are also at their summer lows and most flowages are maintaining 'normal' water levels.
Flambeau River State Forest Almost 2 inches of rain this week has the North Fork of the Flambeau River flowing and will likely rise a bit in the near future. The South Fork of the Flambeau is still low.
Woodruff Anglers are reporting good success for walleyes along with bass on area lakes. The panfish bite does appear a little slow.
Marinette County Very hot weather this past week saw an influx of pleasure boaters and rafters as well as anglers. Water temperatures on the Bay are in the high 70s to low 80s. Boaters on the lower Peshtigo River have been catching a mixed bag of bass, pike, drum and rock bass, drifting the river with jigs tipped with crawlers. Menominee Shore anglers are catching drum, bass, and a few walleye in and around the Hattie Street Dam down to Stephenson Island. Jigs and leaches drifted in the current seams have worked well. Trolling the river during periods of low light is producing some bigger walleye below the Turn Basin. The trout and salmon bite remains strong with anglers reporting fish in 100 feet of water 80 feet down. The Trout Bar and Green Island have been hot this past week with dark colors (black, purple, and green) working best.
Oconto County Panfish and bass topped the list again this week at the Stiles Dam and the upper reaches of the Oconto River. Slip bobbers and dead drifting live bait is producing some nice catches of fish. Walleye anglers on the Bay from Pensaukee Landing to Oconto Park II are again reporting limits of nice fish in the 17-21 inch range. The perch bite on the Bay remains slow with fish being caught in 8-15 feet of water. Geano Beach has been doing well for walleye this week, most anglers have been reporting using crawler harnesses (gold and chartreuse in color) in about 15 to 20 feet of water while trawling. Some are getting their limits and even some anglers that are going out of Suamico have gone up by Geano Beach for walleye. Some perch showed up as well, but the numbers are still very low. Suamico, anglers were catching walleye, but it was on the slow side. They were using mainly crawler harnesses (chartreuse and gold in color) for bait while trawling.
Brown County In the River, boat anglers were reporting carp, sheepshead, catfish, and drum with some occasional smallmouth bass up by the dam casting crank baits. Shore anglers are also catching rough fish by the drainage pipe using the same baits with some live bait (night crawlers). The warm weather this week has increased water temperatures at Bayshore Park to about 80 degrees. At Bayshore Park, anglers were looking for perch and walleye. Perch numbers were low this week, anglers were using night crawlers in about 23 feet of water. For walleye, numbers were steady this week and anglers were using crank baits, night crawlers, and crawler harnesses (chartreuse and gold in color) for bait in about 20 feet of water. Walleye ranged in sizes from 15-26 inches with most anglers reporting catching them by Vincent Point.
Manitowoc County Significant storms added much needed rainfall to the area this week. Colonies of tent caterpillars are starting to cover some trees. Even with the low rainfall wild carrots are ripening. Fishing on Lake Michigan out of Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties continues to be very good. Good numbers of salmon and trout are being caught. Anglers are having excellent success with catching rainbows. Warming water trends recently have the fish scattered and boats are catching fish in water ranging from 75 to 200 feet deep. Fishing from the piers in Manitowoc, Two Rivers, and Kewaunee has slowed down. With the warm temperatures, beach goers have been enjoying the water at the beaches in Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
Door County The water temperature in Sawyer Harbor and Little Sturgeon Bay is in the high 70s. Fishing pressure varied throughout the week. Perch fishing had its up and downs the week, but walleye seems to be holding steady from last week. In Sawyer Harbor, anglers were targeting mostly smallmouth bass and perch with a few anglers looking for walleye. Perch numbers were low, with anglers using night crawlers for bait. Boat anglers caught rock bass while targeting smallmouth bass. Bass numbers were okay for the week, anglers were using leeches and spinners (green) for bait and caught them in about 12-18 feet of water. Anglers are still catching good numbers of Sheepshead and Gobies. On Little Sturgeon Bay, anglers were targeting smallmouth bass and perch. There were a few anglers looking for walleye, musky and pike, but none were caught. A few perch were caught using night crawlers and minnows for bait in about 20 feet of water. Leeches were used for smallmouth bass with the average size being about 19 inches. At Chaudoir's Dock, anglers were targeting perch and walleye. Perch numbers were high at the beginning of the week with some anglers getting their limits. They were using night crawlers and minnows for bait and they were caught in about 23 feet of water. A few walleye came in using crank baits and they were caught in about 20-30 feet of water. Walleye ranged from 19-26 inches. Sheepshead, catfish, and gobies are still around with sheepshead and in very high in numbers.
Kewaunee County Warm weather has kept the swimming areas packed in the northern county lakes and fishing has been slow in all county waters. Anglers still are able to pick up a few nice panfish in the early morning hours. Fishing pressure remains quite high on the southern Bay of Green Bay. The walleye bite has slowed down considerably but some nice fish are still being caught. Sheepshead are being caught hand over fist while trolling crawler harnesses. The perch have been very spotty but are starting to bite.
Wautoma Streams levels are critically low. Lake fishing and Wolf River fishing reported as slow. Surface temps on local lakes is 80-plus degrees. As a result, fish are very deep and tough to fish for.
Milwaukee Milwaukee has been hot and dry. A few showers have fallen the past couple of days, but it has not helped the low water levels. Grasses and woods are still dry and still pose high risks and folks are reminded to take care when venturing out this weekend. Water temperatures have been high contributing to some fish mortality in the Milwaukee River. Aside from that boating has been very enjoyable on Lake Michigan as a way to beat the heat.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County Trollers have been catching a mixed bag, but overall numbers are low. Chinook and coho salmon have been found out to 200 feet of water, and rainbows, lake trout, and brown trout have been caught in shallower depths. Flies, spoons, and J-plugs have all taken fish. Fishing off the Sheboygan piers has been slow, but when water temperatures are cooler near shore, anglers had been catching some rainbows on alewives.
Ozaukee County In Port Washington trollers have been taking a combination of chinook, coho, lake trout, and rainbow trout, but the overall catch has been low. Fish have been scattered, and some trollers have been in as close as 30 to 45 feet of water while others have ventured out to 400 feet of water.
Milwaukee County Milwaukee trollers have had to search to find fish, but once they are found anglers have been catching chinook, along with a few rainbows and lake trout. Most trollers have been working 105 to 175 feet of water with baits about 60 to 100 feet deep. Fishing off McKinley pier has been slow, but a few browns have been taken on alewives. Anglers at Jones Island have reported a few browns taken on spoons and alewives fished on the bottom. Perch fishing has been slow for both boaters and from shore.
Racine County Trollers have been successful fishing 60 to 100 feet down in 105 to 175 feet of water. They have been catching mainly chinook, though occasional coho and rainbows have also been caught. Those fishing from shore in Racine have had very little success. Anglers have been catching a few browns from the pier and in the harbor. Perch fishing is slow both from shore and for boaters.
Kenosha County Lake Michigan fishing continues to be excellent this summer. King salmon and lake trout have been abundant in 60-120 ft. of water. Anglers report the early morning catch being the strongest with most catching bag limits by 9:15 a.m. Perch fishing in the Kenosha harbor has slowed since the opener, mostly due to the dredging operation that is ongoing. Perch that have been caught are in the 12-15 foot range.
Waukesha County Fishing remains slow on Pewaukee, Pine, North, Keesus, Moose, and Beaver Lakes. Water temperatures are between 80-85 degrees and anglers who are reporting successes are fishing early and late in the day as well as at night.
Grant County The Wisconsin River remains low. The smaller side channels are dry and it takes a bit of navigation to find and follow the main channel. A Natural Resources Foundation field trip last Friday was able to successfully float two of the large Voyager canoes from Boscobel to Millville. The water temps have been running up into the mid to upper 80s. Algae has reduced the water clarity and gar are surfacing for oxygen. Bluegills are easy to catch in 4-6 feet of water near structure.
Dane County Anglers are still catching some panfish throughout the county. A few bluegills are still being caught from shore in Monona Bay and along Monona Terrace early in the mornings. Boats on Lake Monona have still been consistently catching panfish as well. Lake Waubesa has slowed down, but a few nice catches of panfish have been coming. The panfish on Crystal Lake have been bighting inconsistently. Perch have also been starting to show up off of the weed lines. Game fish have been really spotty. Some really nice early morning and evening catches of walleyes have come in off Lake Mendota, but according to anglers they really had to work for them. Lake Mendota has also been producing some really nice catches of smallmouth bass on a little more consistent basis. Lake Monona has been relatively slow for walleyes, but has produced some nice catches of bass. Anglers report that northern pike and musky fishing has been about average and that a few are being caught. Lake Kegonsa anglers report that walleye fishing has been slow. Bass fishing on Crystal Lake and musky fishing on Lake Wingra have also been fairly successful
Jefferson County Reports of fish dying in area rivers and lakes has become more common. The high temperatures we have been experiencing has increase water temps as well. Lack of rain has created low water levels. These two factors have combined to create deadly conditions for fish in some areas. Water temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s have been common. If you see more than a few dead fish in one area please contact the DNR.
Vernon County Water levels on the Mississippi River have been steadily dropping and are about one foot above normal levels for this time of year. Even though surface water temperatures have been in the 80s, fishing activity has been good. Anglers have had good success fishing for panfish and walleyes. Bluegills and crappies are being caught on worms and minnows. Panfish have been located next to submerged trees or along weed edges closer to deeper water. Walleyes are being caught in 8-15 feet of water by trolling crank baits. Anglers are also catching some catfish utilizing night crawlers or stink bait and fishing wingdams or deeper holes.
Minocqua area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htmLake Michigan Fishing Report and tipshttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htm
Wausau Area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htm
Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
