Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: June 7, 2010
Manitowoc Co.
Light easterly winds combined with temperatures in the 60s all week allowed fishing to pick up out of both Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Scattered rain with strong ENE winds slowed fishing on Sunday. Water clarity remains good with water temperatures ranging from 55-58 degrees along the lakeshore and mid-60s in the harbors. Angler success has picked up during the past week, with boaters averaging 5-7 fish and some landing up to 13 fish. Some large chinook salmon have been reported from several boats anywhere from 18-21 pounds. Angling success has been concentrated in the 140-160 foot range between the areas straight out of Manitowoc all the way to the northern most trap nets north of Two Rivers. North of the trap nets, off the lighthouse, anglers had success throughout the week in 80-100 feet of water. A few boats reported catching some 8-10 pound chinook as shallow as 30 feet north of the trap nets. Coolers consisted mostly of Chinook salmon, with a few rainbow and lake trout. Blue dodger/aqua fly, white dodger/pearl fly combinations, and blue and silver spoons were successful on downriggers throughout the week. Orange, bloody nose, watermelon, and blue dolphin spoons had the most success on high lines, pump handles, and the dypsy. With your downrigger depths out deep, try setting them in the 80-110 foot range. If fishing less than 100 feet in total depth, set your riggers in the 40-60 foot range. The majority of salmon have been taken during the morning bite before 7:00 a.m., so start your trip as early as possible to get your big chinooks before fishing slows by mid-morning.
Kewaunee Co.
The week started off on the right foot with temperatures in the low to mid 70?s with sunny skies. The winds were also very calm at the beginning of the week and led to lots of fishing opportunities. Unfortunately as the week progressed, a cold front moved in and brought a few thunderstorms and high winds with temperatures in the low 60s. Algoma: The south pier continues to see increased action as more reports of steelhead are being caught and as more schools of bait fish begin to emerge along the pier. The Algoma ramp saw a decreased amount of fishing pressure this week due to no holiday and the rough weather in the last part of the week. Fishermen were highly successful at the beginning of the week with many boats harvesting 4-5 fish that were composed mostly of King salmon. The depths being fished varied from 130-260 feet with fish being caught throughout those depths but as the week progressed, the action slowed down and the fish moved shallower with the most successful depths being around 80 feet. Kewaunee: The Kewaunee ramp has been very successful again this week with a few boats coming in with 8-10 fish. The species have been mainly King Salmon and Lake Trout this week with an occasional rainbow trout being brought in as well. The action in the latter part of the week took place at about 90-120 feet of water with fish biting about 70-80 feet down. The more common lures being hit at were flies but there has not been a specific color as it seems most colors are getting hits. The Kewaunee pier continues to see increases in fishing pressure and there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of fish being caught. The more successful anglers have been catching the fish down near the end of the pier and have been using aqua colored spoons.
Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
Pleasant weather conditions were had for the beginning of the week, however rain, fog and wind showed up towards the weekend. Rain on Friday dampened some fishing activity, fog on Saturday morning made navigating difficult and strong winds from the northwest on Sunday made for tough fishing on the Green Bay side of the county. Despite a few poor days of weather, anglers continued to be successful. Salmon and trout fishing has remained productive for this early in the year. Fishing along the bank reef has been a popular destination, however fish are also being targeted in 150-200 feet of water in other spots in the Lake. Fishing out of Baileys Harbor for salmon has picked up with many reported limits being reached. Most anglers are working fly and flasher combinations on down riggers, and spoons on dipsy diver rigs. Steelhead have been active in the upper 60 feet of the water column, and an occasional lake trout has been seen down deeper too. Good smallmouth bass fishing has continued around the county. Fish have still been seen on beds along the shorelines of Sturgeon Bay and in the bays heading north along the west side of the county. Plastics and crank baits have been productive, usually fishing in 4-10 feet of water. Perch fishing has been hit or miss for most fishermen, but some fish are still being caught. Fishing near the bottom with slip bobber rigs with minnows is a safe bet to land some tasty fish. Working the weed edges and the edge of the shipping channel in Sturgeon Bay has been the choice for most fishermen. Walleye continue to be caught within the Bay and out towards Sherwood Point, crawler harnesses have been the main attraction. Northern pike fishing has been slow with few reports of catches, however a few musky have caught since the season opener.
