Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: August 9, 2010
Manitowoc 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 in "Watch Out for Trap Nets."
Water temperatures continue to fluctuate between 66 and 68 degrees resulting in very little angler success. Light westerly winds picked up by Sunday along with heavy rain and thunderstorms, leaving the lakeshore relatively quiet over the weekend. Temperatures remained around 80 degrees, reaching the upper 80s by the weekend. Boaters continue to average 2-4 fish per boat consisting mostly of chinook salmon. Fishing action continues to slowly move in due to the light westerly wind throughout the week. The few fish that have been caught appear to be in the 100-125 foot range and out as deep as 150 feet. Many fishermen report finding temperature breaks in all depths, so find those areas and work those breaks as much as you can. Work the areas straight out of Manitowoc and northward outside the nets all the way to the lighthouse north of Two Rivers in the 100-125 foot range. White flashers with blue/white flies and green and pearl J-Plugs have been taking some kings 60-80 feet down on the downriggers. Flasher/fly set-ups on the dipsy have also been taking a few fish when set down deeper in the water column. For the boats that run pump handles, set them 175-230 feet back on the line counters with an 8 or 10 ounce ball. The sizes of the chinook have varied from small jacks to three and four year olds getting up to 15 pounds. Fishing off the piers remained slow with the warm water still swarming the lakeshore. One or two kings a day have been caught off the Two Rivers piers and the south pier in Manitowoc. A few salmon have been caught in the Two Rivers harbor, a good sign considering how warm the water is inside the harbor. Perch fishing picked up in the Manitowoc harbor and south pier using night crawlers, minnows, or just plastics. Casting crank baits and little cleos inside near the Manitowoc marina, several pike have been caught mixed in with a few smallmouth bass. The weed beds near shore have created excellent action recently, with many of the pike striking five yards from shore. Good Luck.
Kewaunee Co. The weather this week has been a lot more cooperative with guys fishing both off shore and on the piers. The water temperatures in the middle of the week dropped down to about 63 degrees at the surface but unfortunately a shift in the wind brought the temperatures back up into the upper 60's. Algoma: The fishing on the Algoma North and South piers remains very poor with only one report of a rainbow trout being caught in the last week. The fish was caught on an orange/silver spoon on the south pier. Many anglers are trying their luck with different colors spoons and flies but haven't had any success. It was another slow week of fishing off the shores of Algoma. The fishing was a little better at the beginning of the week because the water temperatures dropped down to 63 degrees but the wind shifted and brought back warmer temperatures and have risen as high as 70 degrees in some areas. The most successful fishermen have been fishing in depths of 140-180 feet of water and about 60-80 feet down. The catch was split evenly between spoons and flies this week but the hot color has been green glow with almost 75% of the fish being caught on that color. Kewaunee: The fishing off of the Kewaunee pier remains slow due to the warm water temperatures in the area. A few small king salmon have been caught earlier in the week on green/silver spoons down towards the lighthouse. A few anglers have landed some smallmouth bass right along the pier using bobbers and crawlers. The fishing off of Kewaunee remains pretty much unchanged from the previous week with very few fish being caught by the off shore fishermen. Boaters are averaging about 2 fish per boat this week but a few lucky boats have returned with 5-7 fish. The catch remains mostly King Salmon but a few more Coho Salmon are starting to show up. The hot lure for the week has been green J-plugs and spoons that glow green. The fish have been caught in a wide range of depths but it seems most consistent around 120-140 feet of water and about 50-70 feet down.
Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides) Boaters and anglers: 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 in the nets. Learn more in "Don't Get Trapped."
For a second straight week rain and inclement weather was absent from Door County allowing for fishermen and tourists to enjoy the beautiful features around the peninsula. Fewer anglers were seen thus week likely due to the completion of the Door Kewaunee Salmon Tournament. Salmon fishing has slowed somewhat county wide from Sturgeon Bay to Gills Rock. Some decent coolers were seen, but most fishermen averaged around two or three fish. Many boats were seen to still be working green j-plugs and looking for cooler water. Few reports came from the Green Bay side of the county correlating to the decreased fishing pressure. Perch fishermen in Sturgeon Bay continue with the, ?same report, different day,? story in which many fish are being seen with minimal size. Working minnows along the weed edges and in the moored sailboats has been a popular choice for anglers. Fishing south on Green Bay near Chaudoir?s Dock has been promising with good fish and decent size. A few smallmouth bass fishermen were seen having success on the flats in Sturgeon Bay and along the west shore of the county. Plastic grubs and tube jigs have worked for artificial baits, and night crawlers have been a good choice for live bait. Walleye fishing has been good on Green Bay towards the southern part of the county. Crawler harnesses have produced some nice catches with most of the fishing pressure taking place along the southwest shore of Door County. A few musky fishermen were out this week; however they had nothing good to report.
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