Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 20, 2010
Kenosha Co.
Shore anglers in Kenosha continue to catch occasional chinooks and browns in the harbor near the Best Western, and fresh skein and white tube jigs have been producing. There have been a few chinooks taken on spoons near the mouth of the Pike River as well, but there has been minimal chinook movement upstream.
Racine Co.
Racine trollers have had some success working the area in front of the harbor. Mature chinooks have been hitting white J-plugs, but fish have been spooky. Racine shore fishing has picked up, with some chinooks, coho, and rainbows taken in Reefpoint Marina and in the small boat basin near the boat launch. Spawn fished near the bottom has been productive, as have small blue & silver or orange spoons. This weekend on the Root River, despite relatively low water, trout and salmon anglers produced some fair catches. Although fishing was a little slow at times, there were some nice chinook salmon landed as well as a couple brown trout and one recorded coho salmon. Angler pressure was most concentrated around Lincoln Park with a few anglers scattered downstream around Island Park and near N. Memorial bridge. Most harvested chinooks weighed between 9-15 pounds, brown trout averaged 6-7 pounds, and the coho weighed in at 3.75 pounds. Many successful anglers were either fly fishing with red or orange flies or casting small bucktail spinners.
Milwaukee Co.
In Milwaukee fishing has been relatively slow for boaters, with a few browns taken in and around the harbor. Shore fishing in Milwaukee has also been slow, although effort has been relatively low. Fishing on the Milwaukee and Menomonee Rivers remains slow, but anglers fishing Oak Creek have taken several chinooks below the dam and a few near the mouth in Grant Park.
Ozaukee Co.
There was strong fishing effort from utility, moderate fishing effort from the harbor/shore, little fishing effort from the ramp and pier, and no effort from Sauk creek. There was action to report from the pier, harbor/shore and utility. The temperature was in the mid to high 50?s, skies were cloudy and there was a light wind to the south. Port Washington Ramp: The water at the ramp was 54-56? F, blue green with moderate clarity. No boats were interviewed. Port Washington Utility: The water in the area was 52? F, blue green with moderate to good clarity. Chinook salmon, coho salmon, rainbow trout and brown trout were caught on spawn sacks and skein throughout the day on both days. Port Washington Pier: The water outside the pier was 52-54? F, blue green with moderate clarity and the wave action was moderate. A Chinook salmon was caught in the marina on a spoon. Port Washington Harbor/Shore: The water in the marina was blue green with moderate clarity. Chinook salmon were caught on skein in the north boat slip. Sauk Creek: The water at the mouth was light brown with good clarity, the water level was low and the current was slow. The water upstream was 58? F and had good clarity; the water level was low and the current was moderate.
Sheboygan Co.
Watch out for the orange flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets set in Lake Michigan. Steer clear and give these markers a wide berth to avoid getting tangled and capsizing. Learn where the nets are set on our Trap Net page.
There was moderate fishing effort from the piers, light fishing effort from the ramps, shore and Sheboygan River and no effort from Edgewater power plant, Weedens Creek or Pigeon River. There was some action to report from the ramps, piers, shore and Sheboygan River. The temperature was in the mid to high 50?s, skies were cloudy and there was a light wind to the south and southwest. Sheboygan Ramps: The water at the ramp was 56? F, brown with moderate clarity. Seven of the 10 boats interviewed caught at least one fish, with an average of 3.0 fish. Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, coho salmon and lake trout were caught. There was not much pattern in where fish were caught; some fish were caught by boats trolling in the harbor, some were caught between 65 and 90 feet of water and some fish were caught between 200 and 300 feet of water. Sheboygan Piers: The water off the lakeside of the north pier was blue green with low to moderate clarity and choppy. The water off the lakeside of the south pier was calm, 52-54? F and blue green with low to moderate clarity. The water in the harbor was 58? F and brown with moderate clarity. Chinook salmon and a brown trout were caught off the harbor side of the both piers with spoons and crankbaits. Sheboygan Shore: The water in the marina was brown with moderate clarity. Chinook salmon were caught in the marina by anglers casting. Pigeon River: The water in the river was 58-60? F, light brown with good clarity, the water level was low and the current was slow. Sheboygan River: The water at the mouth of the river was 60-62? F, light brown with moderate clarity. The water upstream was 60-62? F, light brown with low to moderate clarity; the water level was moderate and the current was slow to moderate. Chinook salmon were caught on spinners and jerk baits behind Nemschoff and at Kohler dam. Smallmouth bass were also caught behind Nemschoff on a cleo.
