Lake Michigan fisheries team report 5.5.10
Sheboygan County -
Fishing in Sheboygan was slow over the weekend, with little or no angler pressure, high winds and unstable weather may have been the cause for the little activity. Water in and around the harbor\marina area was dirty and clarity was poor. The only action reported was from the Sheboygan River near the Kohler dam, the water there was 58-60 degrees and anglers were catching a few smallmouth bass and suckers on flies fished in the current breaks. The Pigeon River and Weedens Creek were flowing high and muddy.
Ozaukee County -
Port Washington anglers were met with high winds, rain, and dirty water keeping most trollers off of the lake. Water in the harbor was muddy and fishing was slow over all. The power-plant discharge area was still muddy and un-fishable; the power-plant is currently not pumping any water. Aside from a few undersized browns being caught the only action reported was from the lake side of the pier where a few whitefish were caught on small jigs and spoons fished near the bottom early or late in the day. Sauk creek was high and muddy.
Milwaukee County -
In Milwaukee trollers found a few brown and lake trout off of the filtration plant before the high winds and storms moved in. Trollers working 40-70 feet of water had decent action on spoons and crank baits fished off of either down-riggers or planer boards. Stable weather will be needed to calm the lake down and improve fishing. The Milwaukee River remains high and still a bit cloudy. Anglers found a few smallmouth bass and suckers using flies around current areas. Overall, shore fishing remains slow. Smelt anglers have been taken a few smelt from the Jones Island area when weather has been good.
Racine County -
Trollers in Racine had little to no action to report. Rough conditions and bad weather made the lake un-fishable. Better stable weather should improve fishing out of Racine this week. The Root River is still rather low and clarity is poor. A few steelhead do remain in the river and anglers using flies have been having luck early in the morning fishing gravel, and current break sections of the river. Aside from a few suckers and small brown trout fishing has been slow. Look for coho to show up soon off of Racine as fish have been taken in good numbers in Kenosha this week.
Kenosha County -
Coho have arrived and trollers fishing out of Kenosha have had great success fishing anywhere from 20-60 feet of water just south of the harbor. Orange dodgers and small flies, crank-baits, and spoons, fished high in the water column were all taking fish. A few kings have also been mixed in. Coho are good size this year and are ranging from 1-6 lbs. Fishing should improve as more and more fish move up the lake. Early mornings have been best as the bite usually shuts down an hour or two after sunrise. The Pike river was flowing high and fast. Shore fishing in Kenosha remained slow.
