Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 3.23.12Surgeon spawning has begun on the Wolf River, which is the earliest it has occurred in at least 62 years. Prior to 1950, according to weather records, the last time spawning began in March is believed to have been 1938. The sturgeon are spawning along the Sturgeon Trail west of New London on County Highway X, which is only known current spawning site, but that is expected to change by early next week.
The spring walleye spawning run is at, or near its peak. In recent days more than 2,200 walleye were captured, tagged and released in the New London and Shiocton areas. Relatively high flows are providing excellent spawning conditions from New Long upstream to Lemann. Rain is needed to maintain flow and water level and if weather holds, warm water will provide excellent incubation and an early hatch.
Anglers are having exceptional success catching 10-12 inch perch and a few in the 13-14 inch range on the Mississippi River with minnows and night crawlers the most popular baits. Sauger, northern pike and walleye are also biting.
Douglas County Anglers have gone straight from ice fishing to open water fishing on the south shore and north of Washburn. With open water season upon us, people need to check their boat registration and safety gear. The water temperature on Lake Superior is currently about 35 degrees, so don?t be fooled by air temperatures and make sure you are wearing your life jackets at all times. Trumpeter swans have been seen in the north and many never left because of open water on the St. Croix Flowage. Pussy willow branches are blooming lime green and several bucks have been seen with new antler growth. A resident near Lake Nebagamon saw about 70 tundra swans that stopped over from their northern flight on a small area lake last weekend. Sponsored by the Douglas County Fish and Game League, the annual Douglas County fish and game show is being held Friday-Sunday at Wessman Arena in Superior.
Bayfield County After all this warm weather including it being in the 70-80s all the snow is gone and the trees are trying to bud. Ice on local lakes deteriorated from close to 12 inches one week ago, to less than six inches by Sunday and is now mostly gone. Fishermen have gone straight from ice fishing to open water fishing on the south shore and north of Washburn. The water levels in the tributary streams are low, but with some hopeful rain this week it should help the fish run up the streams. The ice in the Chequamegon Bay should be totally gone before long and no one is really sure how early the smelt run may be this year. The water temperature on Lake Superior is around 35F so do not be fooled by the air temperature and make sure you are wearing your life jackets at all times in case you do go in.
Polk County The ice is out and according to older area residents it is the earliest departure since the early 1970s.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) Ice has gone out or is currently going out on nearly all lakes. With the very early ice-out, angling pressure on area waters has been generally light, with just a few sucker anglers out trying their luck. The sucker fishing has been fair with some decent catches of redhorse and white sucker coming from the deeper holes on the Flambeau and Chippewa rivers.
Vilas County Temperatures in the 70s have all but eliminated the ice on area lakes near Boulder Junction. Trout Lake?s southern boat access is open and the entire lake will soon be open to boat traffic. Water temperatures are about 40 degrees and fish spawning will begin soon
Marinette County Spring fish run is in full swing on both the Menomonee and Peshtigo rivers. Walleye are running in the area rivers and northern pike are swimming their way to spawning marshes as well. Anglers were having some success catching nice walleyes on both the rivers. With the warm temperatures this past week most boat landings on the West Shore of Green Bay are now open. Water temperatures range from 48 degrees at the Peshtigo Dam to 42 degrees at both the Menominee River and the Oconto Breakwater. Many boaters and shore fishermen were targeting walleye and trout with some fish being caught. Shore fishermen at the Peshtigo Dam were starting to catch some nice walleye and the occasional brown trout. The mouth of the Menominee River was the hot spot for walleye this weekend with some very large fish being caught. Boaters trolling the bay at the mouth of the Peshtigo River were catching some nice fish. Most boaters were vertical jigging with green and hot pink jigs tipped with minnows or Gulp Alive.
Waupaca County Anglers have reported some success catching crappies in the shallows on the Chain O Lakes. White bass on the Wolf River are just starting to show up as many were seen caught in the Fremont area. This is about a month early than normal. Sturgeon are also in the Wolf River and are getting close to spawning.
Outagamie County The Wolf River walleye run is in full swing with some limits being taken by lucky anglers. The unseasonably warm weather has the sturgeon getting ready for their annual spawning run almost a month early. Sturgeon watchers can see the action at Bamboo bend in Shiocton or Highway X in New London. Check the camera at
www.wolfrivercam.com to see what is happening in the river with the walleyes and sturgeon. Watching the environment has gotten easier in the high-tech world. Migration of waterfowl is rapidly taking place. With the recent warm weather, anglers have been successfully catching walleyes, perch, bluegills, and crappie in numerous locations throughout the Fox Valley. Anglers have been reporting a slow but steady walleye below the Menasha dam and a good perch bite below the Neenah dam. Numerous anglers have been catching bluegills and crappie on the Fox River in Kaukauna and the Neenah Slough. Many individuals have been reporting that they are seeing dead whitefish floating on Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. These fish are dead gizzard shad and are part of a normal annual die off that occurs underneath in ice in winter
Winnebago County The 2012 sturgeon spawning season has begun - the earliest by far on record. At 6:30 p.m. March 20 crews two groups of sturgeon along the Sturgeon Trail on County Highway X spawning site west of New London that looked like they would begin spawning sometime that night. Biologists expect to see spawning fish on this site Wednesday. Some sturgeon were also along the shore at Bamboo Bend spawning site along Hwy 54 west of Shiocton. These fish though were not exhibiting behavior that indicated they would begin spawning, but it is possible spawning could begin at this site within the next day or two. Please contact our Sturgeon Guard coordinator Rebecca Pawlak at rebecca.pawlak@wisconsin.gov or by calling 920-303-5444 to get signed up for an early sturgeon guard shift or to switch your already scheduled shift to an earlier date.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County Anglers on the Sheboygan River have been catching decent numbers of steelhead and a few brown trout and northerns. Spawn and flies have both produced fish. Suckers have also been seen in the river. Pigeon River anglers have been catching a few northern pike, and the water temperature is 53 degrees. Brown trout and a few lake trout have been taken by Sheboygan boaters. Green colored spoons and stick baits have been productive.
Ozaukee County In Port Washington, shore anglers fishing near the power plant have been catching brown trout and a few rainbows on spawn, shiners, and night crawlers. Anglers fishing the north slip have had less success than those fishing near the power plant discharge. Anglers fishing on the pier have been catching browns and a few rainbows. The most productive baits have been shiners, silver or glow spoons, and spawn. Sauk Creek has low flows and little fishing activity, and the temperature is 51 degrees. Port Washington boaters have been catching brown trout on shiners.
Milwaukee County Browns are being caught in the harbor and between the gaps with crank baits and on various colors of spoons including sliver and green. A few coho and lake trout are also being picked up with similar presentations. Boats fishing out of Bender Park have been catching some browns and a few coho on spoons, crank baits and flies. The shoreline along Summerfest is producing browns and some rainbows with the most successful presentations focusing on minnows and spawn sacs, with a few additional fish being caught on spoons. A few perch were also being caught with live bait. Browns and a few rainbows were being caught at Jones Island on minnows and spawn sacs, but success varied day to day. The Milwaukee River is lower and less dirty than last week. Rainbows were caught up at Kletzsch.
Kenosha County Temperatures over the past week have been in 70-80 plus range. Steelhead have been observed staging in front of the Pike River and anglers were catching both brown trout and steelhead on the Pike River and Kenosha Harbor. Inland lakes have also seen an increase in pan fish success from shore with anglers using slip bobbers and wax worms. The piers at the Kenosha main boat launch should be in soon.
Adams County The ice is gone and unseasonably warm weather has everything hopping. The walleyes are biting extremely well and limits are being caught on the Wisconsin River below dams. . Gates have been closed at the Petenwell Dam. The closure should make the walleye bite pick up again as water levels stabilize.
Wisconsin Rapids Walleyes are now on their annual spawning run on the Wisconsin River in the Stevens Point-Wisconsin Rapids area. Anglers are having good success on fish in the 15-16 inch range with some in the 18-19 inch range being caught. Anglers are reminded that no walleyes between 20-28 inches may be kept on the Wisconsin River. With the unseasonably warm weather, the run will probably be over by the end of the weekend. Anglers are reminded that their 2011-2012 fishing licenses expire on March 31, which is the same day boat registrations also expire.
Minocqua area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htm
Lake Michigan Fishing Report and tipshttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htm
Wausau Area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htm
Chippewa Flowage fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htm
Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
