Wisconsin Statewide fishing report 9.16.10With the cooler temperatures in the last week, musky fishing has really picked up on northern lakes, with nearly all anglers experiencing some sort of action. The most productive baits have been bucktails and jerk baits, though some anglers have also begun to use suckers. And anglers are reporting there has finally been some improvement in walleye action, with anglers reporting better fishing especially on rivers and flowages.
In the south, walleye and bass action remained good on the lower Wisconsin River, and a 63-inch sturgeon was registered that was caught below the dam at Prairie du Sac. White Bass continue to be caught as well throughout the Rock River system.
Cooler, blustery weather kept fishing pressure down on Lake Michigan and Green Bay. The weather dampened the Sturgeon Bay Fall Open Bass Tournament. Of the 53 boats taking part in the catch and release competition, only 26 recorded a fish, with the winners coming in with a weight of 25 pounds and six fish. The cooler weather brought a few more salmon up tributaries, but in general most fish seem to still be staging offshore and the fall run has yet to kick into high gear.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
Cool and seasonal fall weather has prevailed across the Northwoods for the last week or so and this seems to have spurred on the fall fishing action. Musky fishing continues to be very good on many waters across the north and fish have been active pretty much throughout the day. Nearly all anglers are experiencing some sort of action -- follows, 'porpoising', short hits, and there has also been a fair amount of catching. The most productive baits have been bucktails and jerk baits, though some anglers have also begun to use suckers. Most of the musky are being found along the weed edges and around scattered weed patches. Some nice 40-inch-plus fish have been showing up and musky up to 48 inches have been reported in the last week. Smallmouth bass action continued to be good on most of the local rivers and flowage. The smallmouth were still being found near woody cover along deeper water areas, with crank baits and finesse plastics being the most productive baits. Fishing for largemouth bass continues to be erratic, with fish starting to change into more of a fall pattern. Fewer largemouth have been found in the mid depth cover and more have moved into the shallower weed beds. Soft plastics continue to provide the most consistent action, and the top-water bite has continued its slow trend of the entire season. Walleye fishing has begun to show some signs of life and a few anglers have been reporting some increased success. The best action has been found on the local rivers, with crawlers and leeches being the favored baits. A few anglers have switched to large fathead minnows for lake and flowage fishing, and reported some success on the deep break lines and around structure in 10 to 15 feet of water. Northern pike continue to be very active and spinner baits along the weed lines have been very successful. Panfish action has been fair, and some nice crappie and perch have been showing up near shallow water cover. With the relatively cool weather of the past couple weeks, the aquatic weeds have started to die back on most waters and this is opening up some of the thicker weed beds.
Peshtigo
Fishing pressure this past week has been light with weather being a big factor. Temperatures at the landings has dropped into the low to mid 60s. Water clarity is good.
Marinette County -
Bass and pike fishing at the Peshtigo Harbor has been extremely slow, as has the catfish bite. Shore anglers on the Menominee River have been having some success with panfish at the boat landings and the Lighthouse pier, early morning is best. Brown trout and salmon were still biting at the Government Pier and the Lighthouse pier early in the morning casting spoons, silver has been the hot color. Little River is starting to produce king salmon fishing from shore with a drop sinker and spawn sack with an average length of 30 inches and a weight of between 16 to 18 pounds.
Oconto County -
The bluegill bite at Stiles Dam has dropped off some what in the past week but with a little perseverance some nice fish were still being caught. Slip bobbers and worms were still the bait of choice. From Pensaukee to Oconto Park II the walleye bite has been poor, on the other hand the perch bite is picking up. Fish are being caught in 9 to 14 feet of water adjacent to weed beds. Sip bobbers and crappie rigs tipped with minnow are getting the best results. Brown trout and a few salmon were being caught off the breakwater in Oconto using spoons, 3/4 oz. fished early morning before first light.
Brown County -
Shore anglers are having good success finding drum and catfish on the Fox River. A few smallmouth bass are being caught from the metro landing as well. Anglers also report catching some yellow perch in Voyager Park. With the cooler weather as of late anglers have begun trolling for musky in the river and lower bay. Most are finding it difficult to find fish. Anglers have bee fishing the Suamico area for walleye and perch over the last week. Anglers fishing perch have been catching fish in 15 ?20 feet of water. Most have been searching for weed beds that have been holding fish. Slip bobbers and bottom rigs have been taking the most fish. Anglers fishing from shore have had good luck as well with good catches of perch in the river. Most have been using bottom rigs with minnows. Walleye fishing has been slow but fish were still being caught. Most anglers were having to put in a lot of time to find fish but once located they are easily caught on crank baits and crawler harnesses. Perch fishing continues to be the best thing going at Bayshore Park, with good catches from boat and shore. Most have been using minnows on bottom rigs to stay away from the gobies. Most fish have been very nice sized with some perch over 10 inches being caught. Walleye fishing has been slow but fish were still being caught. Most anglers have been trolling crank baits for the best action.
Manitowoc County -
Water temperatures up the Manitowoc, East, and West Twin rivers have dropped under 60 degrees, which has brought in the first sight of salmon near the dams. Harbor and near shore temperatures have been inconsistent with the extreme winds and changes in air temperature, with water temps ranging from the upper 40s to upper 50s. Temperatures early in the week were in the upper 50s, but rose to the upper 60s late in the weekend. The cold weather, strong swirling winds, and little angler success slowed angler activity throughout the week. Boats out of both ports have been averaging 2-3 fish per boat. Salmon fishing throughout the past week has been hit and miss. Boats remain in around the pier heads, having success on both J-Plugs and on crank baits. With boats picking up a fish here and there and averaging small amounts of landed fish, no specific colors have been hot. Recently, white plugs and any green crank bait have landed fish. A few boats have wondered out to 80-100 feet with little success. A few 6 to 8-pound salmon was all that resulted in the trips out to deeper water. Since the beginning of the month, boating activity has slowed significantly. Pier fishing off of Manitowoc and Two Rivers also has been hit and miss this last week. One afternoon along a 30 yard stretch will bring seven or eight fish in an hour. The next morning, one or two will be caught off both piers and throughout the harbor. The salmon appear to be moving up river in schools, resulting in several still silver salmon being landed in the harbors. A few coho salmon and brown trout have been mixed in with the chinook off the piers and in both harbors. Green crank baits and green champs have worked the best with spawn taking a few fish off the bottom. Salmon have been caught as far up as the hospital on the Manitowoc River and the first couple salmon were caught by the Shoto dam over the weekend. With the fall run starting up, there are several regulations to keep in mind. Hook and line fishing is prohibited from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise in all Manitowoc County tributaries starting Sept 15 to the first Saturday in May. Starting Sept. 15, you may not use hooks that have a gape size larger than one-half inch from point to shank in tributaries. Also remember that it is illegal to take fish by any means other than hook and line and it is illegal to keep any foul hook fish that was not hooked in the mouth.
Door County -
The second week of September continued with some blustery conditions and some inclement days of rain making fishing difficult during the week. Pier and shore anglers were the most prevalent seen during the week with little offshore action in the northern part of the county. Steady rain dampened the Sturgeon Bay Fall Open Bass Tournament on Saturday in which 53 boats competed. Bad weather during the tournament produced some poor fishing for many anglers. Of the 53 boats taking part in the catch and release competition, only 26 recorded a fish. One smallmouth was taken over 7 pounds and the winners came in with a weight of 25 pounds and six fish. Most boats were seen around the Sturgeon Bay area and north toward Egg Harbor working the West shoreline of the county. Traveling farther north was difficult due to the rough waters and steady rain. The turbulent winds have stirred up some cooler water, which has been beneficial for pier anglers for a consecutive week. Working green spoons and champs off the canal piers has been a popular choice for picking up a few salmon and brown trout; minimal live bait action has been reported. Boats have moved in closer to the pier heads following the soon-to-be-spawning salmon; however, few reports were gathered in regard to fish being taken. Action in the canal will start to pick up soon as salmon make their way toward their spawning grounds at Strawberry Creek and other spots in Sturgeon Bay. Bass anglers were finding good numbers of fish over rock in Little Surgeon Bay the last few days. Perch fishing has slowed the last week are so. Most perch anglers are targeting deeper weed lines to find fish. Perch anglers are also reporting catching pike, bass and drum as well. Walleye fishing has been a little slow over the last few days mainly do to the high winds preventing anglers from get out. Larson?s Reef has been producing the most fish. Action for salmon in the northern part of the county has been very minimal with only a few boats fishing in closer to shore out of Baileys Harbor. Fishing has been hit or miss with a few boats averaging 1-2 fish. Walleye fishing remains productive out of Sturgeon Bay and north near Fish Creek and Sister Bay. Working stick baits in the dawn and dusk hours has been the popular choice near the Strawberry Islands and the reefs out of Sister Bay. Northern pike fishing has been slow; however, more boats have been seen out targeting big fall monsters. Trolling spoons between the bridges and canal in Sturgeon Bay has produced some fish as well as casting up over weed beds in some of the shallower areas around the bay. Perch fishing was slower this week as some of the poor weather detracted anglers from hitting the water. Fishing with minnows along the edges of the shipping channel in Sturgeon Bay was still the general consensus, as well as in around the moored sailboats in the weed beds.
Kewaunee County -
This week was marred by consistent high winds in both Algoma and Kewaunee areas. This did not stop anglers from trying their luck both on the piers and out on the lake. The water temperatures this week ranged from 50-54 degrees at the surface near the shores with the water remaining very murky. The fishing on the Kewaunee pier has been pretty slow this week with a day or two where anglers reported higher success. The majority of the fish being caught down near the lighthouse and are striking on spoons. There has not been one better color but the majority of anglers seem to be using green/silver cleos or green/silver cast masters. The majority of the fish being caught were chinook salmon with only a few brown trout being caught. The best times to be fishing seem to be from about 5 to 8 a.m. The fishing pressure is increasing in the footbridge area as more and more reports of salmon being caught in the area begin to trickle in. The fish seem to be biting mostly on spawn sacs in the area. The fishing should continue to get better in the next few weeks. The fishing remains slow for the boats trying their luck out on the waters near Kewaunee. Once again the most success has been reported by boats trolling near the piers but fish are being caught out in depths on 150-200 on j-plugs. The fishing on the Algoma pier was very inconsistent this week with a few days very little action to days where the action was hot. Both the north and the south piers have seen very similar results but because of the wind the northern pier has seen more fishing pressure than the southern pier. The majority of the fish being caught have been king salmon or brown trout with the king salmon just starting to change to their darker colors. A few coho salmon have been caught this week with the majority of the coho being caught on the northern pier. This week there were no best colors and the best strategy seemed to be casting 20-25 times and then switching to a different color. The only place along the Ahnapee River seeing any fishing pressure is near the Washington Bridge but there is little to no fishing pressure elsewhere. The fishing on the lake continues to remain slow out of Algoma. The majority of the boats are trolling right along the piers and the shores for the chinook salmon. A few boats continue to have success for rainbow trout out in 300 feet of water on spoons.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County ?
In Sheboygan trolling has been slow, with most boats working 30 to 40 feet of water in the area in front of the harbor. A few chinook have been taken farther offshore in water out to 300 feet deep. Shore anglers in Sheboygan have been catching fair numbers of chinook, coho, and rainbows off both the north and south piers. Spoons and tube jigs have both produced. Fishing has been slow on both the Pigeon and Sheboygan rivers. Boaters and anglers recreating in the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area will want to keep an eye out in coming weeks for the flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets. [http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/greatlakes/trapnets.htm] Restrictions on the nets location changed after Labor Day so the nets may be in different places than during your last trip.
Ozaukee County -
Trollers in Port Washington have found some chinook, coho, and brown trout scattered in 30 to 125 feet of water. Fishing has been slow overall, but spoons and J-plugs have taken the most fish. Shore anglers in Port Washington have been catching browns and coho at the power plant on spawn sacs; and chinook, browns, and coho have been caught in the harbor on skein.
Milwaukee County -
In Milwaukee fishing has been relatively slow for boaters. There are some mature salmon in and around the harbor, but they have not been hitting. Trollers out in 70 to 90 feet of water have had some limited success on glow spoons and J-plugs for chinook, coho, and rainbows. Shore fishing has also been slow, although the near-shore waters remain cool. The rivers around Milwaukee have shown very little evidence of upstream salmon movement so far.
Racine County -
Fishing effort in Racine has been low, but those venturing out have had some occasional success. Off and on trollers have been catching some chinook and brown trout in 50 to 60 feet of water, with spoons and J-plugs both taking fish. Mature chinook and coho have also been taken by trollers working around the mouth of the harbor. Racine shore fishing has picked up, with some chinook, coho, and rainbow trout 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.
Kenosha County -
In Kenosha trollers have been catching some chinook and coho in 60 to 80 feet of water, but fishing there has been relatively slow. Shore anglers in Kenosha continue to catch occasional browns in the harbor near the Best Western, and fresh skein and white tube jigs have been producing. There have been a few chinook taken on spoons near the mouth of the Pike River as well, but there has been minimal chinook movement upstream.
Iowa County -
The sturgeon anglers were somewhat disappointed with the small lake sturgeon on the Wisconsin River from the railroad bridge and farther down the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. Smallmouth bass and walleye have also been biting for a number of anglers in this area as well, mainly on night crawlers.
Green County -
Panfish have been biting at Cadiz State Springs State Recreational.
Minocqua Area Fishing Report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htmChippewa Flowage Fishing Report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htmLake Michigan Fishing Report and tips
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htmCentral Wisconsin Fishing report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
