Wisconsin Statewide Fishing report 6.1.12Recent heavy rains in some areas of the state have raised water levels on many river systems and many areas are reporting excellent conditions for canoeing and kayaking. The Kickapoo River was crowded with paddlers over the Memorial Day weekend. The Lower Wisconsin River had been low but is expected to rise due to the rain, but then drop back to normal levels. The Mississippi River was also rising and was up 4 feet above normal at Genoa and expected to rise as much as another 4 feet.
The erratic windy, rainy and cooler weather of the last week did slow fishing and boating activity in some areas. Despite the windy weather, musky anglers hit the waters in the Northwoods for the northern zone musky opener. Most anglers reported good action with many sightings and follows, and a good number of fish being boated. Most of the musky have been in the 30- to 38-inch size, but fish up to 44 inches have also been reported. Bucktails and surface baits such as hog wobblers seemed to produce the best. The mayfly hatch is well underway in the north and will disrupt the regular walleye bite for the next few weeks as mayflies are a major source of natural food for walleye this time of year.
Both bluegill and pumpkinseed have been moving back up into shallow water on warmer days and providing some good action. Northern pike action has been fair and bass action during the early northern zone catch and release season has been good.
Anglers were catching nice bluegills just about everywhere on Mississippi River Pool 8. Some walleyes and white bass have been caught on minnows below dams. Catfish activity along the Wisconsin River is booming, with many anglers catching some nice cats.
High winds and rain also kept fishing pressure low at time on Green Bay and Lake Michigan, but when conditions were good fishing pressure was heavy as word of excellent salmon fishing has spread. Smallmouth bass fishing was good along most of Door County and walleye action also remained strong in many areas along the bay. Trollers continue to report outstanding catches of chinook on Lake Michigan, along with a mixed bag of coho salmon and brown and rainbow trout.
Bayfield County Panfishing activity has picked up this past week on the inland lakes in the southern part of the county. Crappie have moved into the shallows and have begun to spawn. Minnows seem to be working best for those fishing the tree snags along the shorelines catching crappie. Sunfish and bluegill have also begun to spawn, with limits being caught on both Namekagon and Owen Lakes; wax worms and spike gulp bait have been working well.
Polk County People have been catching crappies and bluegills on Lake Wapogasset and Deer Lake using small artificial bait and lures.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) The erratic and almost continually changing weather has made for some tough fishing conditions across the Northwoods in the past week. Several days of nice weather have been followed by storm and cold fronts, and this seems to have really disrupted fish activity. Fair to good fishing success has been experienced during the stable weather periods, but the wind and storm activity seem to really shut down the action. The biting insects have also started to come out in the far north and the first big hatches of mosquitoes, no-see-ums and black flies have been noted in the last week. With the Memorial Weekend Opener, musky fishing was the highlight of this past week. Most anglers reported good action with many sightings and follows, and a good number of fish being boated. Most of the musky have been in the 30- to 38-inch size, but fish up to 44 inches have also been reported. Bucktails and surface baits such as hog wobblers seemed to produce the best action. Walleye success has gotten real inconsistent in the last week. The mayfly hatch is well underway on many lakes and this will disrupt the regular walleye bite for the next few weeks. The mayflies provided a big source of natural food and the walleye seem to key on them at this time of year. This usually signals the end of the bite on jig and minnow combinations and the start of leeches and crawlers as the more productive baits. Panfish action could only be termed fair as the windy conditions and cooler water temperatures have chased some of the fish back to deeper water. Both bluegill and pumpkinseed have been moving back up into shallow water on warmer days and this has provided some good action when conditions were right. Look for this to greatly improve with any kind of warming trend, which will also trigger some heavy nesting activity. Crappie have pretty much finished up their spawning activity in the shallows and most fish have dropped back to the mid-depth cover. Northern pike action has been fair with anglers catching medium-size fish along the newly developing weed beds. Bass action during the early catch and release season has been good, with some very nice catches of both largemouth and smallmouth bass being made. Soft plastics and finesse baits have been the most productive and most largemouth have been found in the newly developing weed and lily pad beds. Both largemouth and smallmouth are in their final stages of spawning on most lakes and look for action on larger fish to pick in the next week or two.
Price County The Flambeau and Chippewa river systems in the Park Falls area have good water levels making for great canoeing. Area ATV trails are open and already getting a lot of use. Some anglers are taking advantage of the reduced size limits on musky on Butternut Lake. The fishing action has been pretty steady despite the cooler temps.
Taylor County Anglers and boaters were out on many lakes over the holiday weekend. Anglers were having fair success on panfish in the shallows as well as deep water too. Weed growth is prevalent on area lakes and boaters and anglers are reminded to become familiar with the AIS rules and educate others so the invasives are not spread further. Recreational boating increases as the water temperatures do and with that, boaters are reminded of the basic boating rules designed to keep users safe as they recreate on area lakes and rivers.
Vilas County Panfish are now being caught in relative abundance on St. Germain area lakes. Smallmouth bass are on beds in many waters as well and can provide great action during the catch and release portion of the season. Memorial Day weekend brought fair numbers of people to the Eagle River area; however, the lakes didn?t see as much action especially for the recreational users due to mixed weather conditions and cooler water temperatures. Anglers were out in fair numbers though and reported catching a few muskies on the opener with many others at least raising some fish. Anglers are reminded that bass fishing remains catch and release in the north zone until June 16. Crappies are still spawning on a few lakes and bluegills are starting to spawn on most lakes.
Peshtigo High winds and rain again this past week kept fishing pressure low. Water temperatures at the landings are in the mid to upper 60s.
Marinette County Both shore anglers and boaters at the Peshtigo Harbor have been catching smallmouth bass using tube jigs and twister tails. The catfish bite is picking up on the Peshtigo River from Klingsborn's landing to the river mouth, crawlers fished on bottom works well. Bow fishing for carp in the Johnson's Bridge area has been providing some fast action. Drum, catfish, and walleye are being caught by shore anglers at the Mystery Ship Landing, crawlers fished on bottom have been working well. Menominee River boaters have been having limited success trolling for walleye during periods of low light, from the Turn Basin down river to the mouth.
Oconto County Fishing for smallmouth from the dam at Stiles down to the J Bridge has been good, with tube jigs and crank baits working well. Susie's Rapids was also producing some nice smallmouth along with the occasional walleye. Weather permitting, the walleye bite on the Bay from Pensaukee to Oconto Park II has been very productive. Good numbers of 17 to 23 inch fish were being caught in 6 to 10 feet of water by anglers trolling crawler/harness. There were reports of 25-inch-plus walleye being caught in 16 to 20 feet of water by anglers trolling stick baits.
Brown County Over the Memorial Day weekend, anglers on the inland waters or Kewaunee and Manitowoc counties were having success catching panfish. Wardens contacted multiple boats with limits or near limits of bluegills and other panfish. Most were catching the panfish with earthworms or wax worms. Boaters travelling between lakes should be reminded to remove all water from the live wells and bilges as well as removing all plant material from the boats and trailers prior to leaving a body of water.
Manitowoc County Fishing pressure is increasing on the lake with word spreading of the excellent salmon bite in the area. Kings are hitting a variety of lures and presentations. Good numbers of rainbows were also being caught along with an occasional coho or lake trout. Salmon fishing has been good off Manitowoc. Boats are setting up in 80 to 220 feet of water. Kings have been hitting throughout the water column with some hitting high rainbow setups while others are hitting presentations well below 100 feet. Flasher/flies as well as spoons have been effective with green/white flasher fly combos reportedly working very well. Coho were showing up mixed with king/rainbow catches. Lead core, copper line, dipsey divers, and downriggers were all working to help catch fish. Most boats are trolling around 3 mph. Some of the larger kings have been hitting the 18 pound range with many rainbows around 8 pounds. Fishing has been good at times from the Manitowoc and Two Rivers piers. Alewives are spawning near shore and this could be helping to draw salmon in. Anglers were catching fish on a variety of spoons in white or silver. Fish were caught in both the turbid river water inside the harbors, as well as clearer water on the lake side of the piers. Wind direction is an important factor for pier anglers. Sustained west winds are needed to bring cooler water shallow. River water levels have dropped considerably in the last week. Smallmouth bass have been active in area rivers. Occasional catfish are being caught in the Manitowoc River on cut-bait. With water temperatures continuing to increase on inland lakes, most bluegill, crappie, and bass are probably done spawning. Fish still may be feeding shallow near docks or thick weedbeds. Crappies may be deeper or near weed lines. Reports of decent bass fishing have come from Manitowoc County lakes.
Door County High winds kept angler pressure low in the first part of this past week; however, upon the arrival of the holiday weekend effort substantially increased and Sturgeon Bay Ramp, Ole Stone Quarry Ramp, Egg Harbor Ramp, Peninsula State Park Ramp, and Ephraim Ramp saw the bulk of the launching action. Smallmouth bass are in various stages of spawning activity, scattered in the southern areas and on their beds in the more northern areas. Anglers heading out of the Sturgeon Bay area up to Sister Bay continue to pressure smallmouth, northern pike, walleye, and perch. Smallmouth success was reported on crawfish colored and purple soft plastics including twister tails and tubes; live bait in the form of crawlers has also been working in the 5-10 feet of water range. A few northern pike have been caught on minnows in the Sturgeon Bay ship canal area. There were also a few reports of good walleye catches in the Sturgeon Bay area and to the south, with a few scattered catches reported to the north. Perch success reports are low, but a few are being caught in the Sturgeon Bay area. Trollers continue to report outstanding catches of chinook on Lake Michigan from Sturgeon Bay north to Bailey's Harbor, fishing in 80-200 feet of water, using flies and dodgers. There were reports of a decent rainbow trout and lake trout returns in this same range. Pier and shore anglers are fishing the Sturgeon Bay canal shoreline, the Ole Stone Quarry shore and piers, Fish Creek, Ephriam, and Sister Bay piers with reports of decent smallmouth bass catches casting tubes, twister tails, other soft plastics, and live bait in the form of crawlers; a few walleye, northern pike, and perch have also been mixed in the catches. Anglers fishing the Sturgeon Bay piers and Sister Bay piers reported pressuring for brown trout with no catches. On Little Sturgeon Bay, anglers were targeting smallmouth bass and a few walleye. Sheepshead were still being caught with a few Burbot being caught as well. Smallmouth bass were being caught with live bait (night crawlers) and with artificial (mainly rubber worms, green in color). Water temperature was in the low to mid 60s as well. Memorial Day Weekend was very busy for Chaudoir's Dock and Bayshore Park. A storm rolled through causing anglers to retreat for only a little while, but anglers continued to come and go and they were targeting Walleye for the most part. At Chaudoir's Dock anglers were still mainly targeting walleye ranging in sizes of about 15 to 19 inches and about 1 1/2 pounds to 4 1/2 pounds. Perch are also being targeted, but numbers were very low this week. Crawler harnesses, crank baits, and flicker shads were the main baits of choice with purple being the most successful. The Walleye were caught in about 12 to 15 feet of water and the water temperature was about 63.5 degrees. Sheepshead and catfish continue to be caught as well. At Bayshore Park, anglers were targeting walleye and some were starting to target perch. Perch numbers remain low for this week, but walleye have been successful. At Sawyer Harbor, smallmouth bass were being targeted with a few anglers looking for walleye and perch. Lots of anglers are catching rock bass, a few largemouth bass, and sheepshead as well. Smallmouth bass were caught in about 5 feet of water, and the bait of choice was crank baits and jigs with purple being most successful. Some live bait was also used, mainly night crawlers. The water temperature was about 60 to 67 degrees.
Kewaunee County A mostly windy past week has made it difficult for the small boat trollers to enjoy salmon and trout fishing on Lake Michigan, with only two days in the past seven featuring calm or mostly calm seas. Fewer limits came in the past week, but there were still good to very good catches when anglers were able to get out. Instead of the larger chinook salmon that dominated the coolers throughout May, there was a greater mix of fish species and size ranges. Steelhead and an occasional coho salmon or lake trout have been caught from near-surface to 60 feet down, while chinook are coming 30 to 70 feet down at dawn and 50 to 110 feet down after sunrise. The 110- to 190-foot depths, roughly about 4 to 6 miles off shore, have been the most popular in the past week. Surface water temperatures have ranged from 44 to 50, depending on the day, depth and wind direction, while sub-surface water temps where most of the fish are cruising have mainly been in the low 40s. Slow-trolled flasher and fly combinations are popular in the cold water. Many boaters had success running between 1.5 and 2 miles per hour. Spoons, flasher and squid combos, herring strips, cut plugs and J-plugs were also being used. At Dyckesville (Green Bay side), the walleye reports remain very good for those trolling crawlers, stick or crank baits for suspended fish in 10 to 20 feet of water behind planer boards. Some anglers were also slip-bobbering the reefs with live bait, with occasional bites from walleyes, perch, smallmouth bass, sheepshead and bullheads. On the inland scene, bluegills and bass were cruising shallow spawning sites in area lakes, and river anglers enjoyed smallmouth bass, catfish, carp, northern pike and bullheads on the Ahnapee and Kewaunee rivers. Bass season is still catch-and-release only in the rivers and lakes north of State Hwy. 29.
Fond du Lac County Anglers are still catching walleyes on Lake Winnebago even though windy conditions in the last week kept some anglers on shore. Weather is anticipated to be cooler this week so fish activity might change from last week. Shore fishing activity has slowed from last week when many anglers were out enjoying the warm weather. The panfish bite has been decent at best on lakes in the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Long Lake has had the best overall activity but Auburn, Wolf, and Mauthe lakes have also provided action. Largemouth bass are being seen on weed edges as they get closer to spawning. The mushroom hunting window has been closed.
Winnebago County Fishing has slowed down drastically from the Winneconne Bridge. However trolling on lakes Winneconne and Poygan was still producing many walleyes and white bass. The Fox River is also producing walleyes and white bass. Largemouth bass and northern pike were being caught in many areas of the Upriver lakes.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County Trollers in Sheboygan have been catching good numbers of chinook in 65 to 105 feet of water. Spoons and dodger and fly combinations have both been effective. Anglers fishing off the Sheboygan piers have been catching a mixed bag of chinook and coho salmon and brown and rainbow trout. Fish have been taken on glow-in-the-dark spoons, spinner baits, and alewives.
Ozaukee County In Port Washington trollers have been catching decent numbers of chinook, along with coho, rainbow and lake trout in 65 to 180 feet of water. Spoons as well as dodger and fly or flasher and fly combinations have been productive. Port Washington anglers fishing off the pier and in the harbor have been catching a few brown trout and coho, and the most fish have been taken on alewives.
Milwaukee County In Milwaukee trollers have been fishing for chinook and coho, and a few lake trout have also been picked up with the salmon. Most trollers have been focusing in 80 to 115 feet of water with baits about 40 to 60 feet below the surface. The best baits have been spoons of various colors and dipsey divers with flashers and flies. Fishing on McKinley pier has been very slow in recent days with a few coho and chinook and an occasional rainbow caught on live bait rigs of alewives during low light times of day. Casting spoons off the pier have picked up a few chinook as well. The shoreline along Summerfest is producing some small brown trout. Most have been caught on minnows and a few have been taken on spoons. Shore fishing at Jones Island has been slow. The Bender Park boat ramps will be under construction for the next several weeks; however, one launch lane will be open daily.
Racine County Those fishing from shore in Racine have had their best luck casting spoons while soaking live bait on the bottom at low light conditions, but success has been limited. Anglers have been catching browns, coho, and a few chinook from the pier and in the harbor. Trollers have had good success with dipsey divers and flies as well as spoons in anywhere from 60 to 110 feet of water. Anglers have been catching good numbers of coho and Chinooks, with additional rainbows and lake trout not uncommon.
Waukesha County Bluegill where being caught in the weed beds in 5 to 10 feet of water over the holiday weekend in Waukesha and Walworth county lakes. Anglers were reporting good numbers of bluegills from Upper and Lower Nemahbin, Nashotah, Phantom and Big Muskego lakes. Anglers report catching bluegill and crappie on Lake Keesus. Bass and northern pike activity has also increased, many anglers reporting success using plastic baits with a drop shot for bass. Anglers report catching largemouth and smallmouth bass on Pewaukee and Pine Lakes. Musky fishing has been slow on Pewaukee Lake. Bow fishing on the Fox River continues to be steady and good numbers of carp have found in shallow backwater areas
Kenosha and Racine counties Fishing activity has picked up in the last few weeks. Bluegills and other panfish have been targeted from 5-10 feet of water and should be moving in to spawn with the water temperatures heating up. The bass bite continues to be impressive with anglers having the best luck in the mornings. The Fox River dropped very quickly last week after the significant rainfall, restricting access for larger boats with outboard motors. Anglers are still doing well on white bass, especially near Wilmot.
Jefferson County White bass have still been biting on the Rock River. The catfish are also biting in most rivers.
La Crosse County Anglers were catching nice bluegills just about everywhere on Mississippi River Pool 8. Bass seem to be everywhere also and casting crank baits, pitching jigs and dragging crawlers on the bottom will also lead to northern pike, huge sheepshead and the occasional walleye. There were a number of anglers having good luck catching catfish as well. However, the water is rising and the bite is expected to slow down.
Vernon County Mississippi River water levels have raised over the last several days due to heavy rains to the north. Water levels are about 4 feet above normal at lock and dam 8 (Genoa) and water levels are predicted to come up another 3 to 4 feet by June 6. Anglers were starting to catch some bluegills in the backwaters by fishing weed edges or down trees. Some walleyes and white bass have been caught with minnows below lock and dam 8
Wood County Nice size brown trout were being caught on portions of Ten Mile Creek in Southern Wood County particularly between Rangeline Road and Hwy. Z. Anglers should note that Ten Mile Creek- downstream from Rangeline Road is Category 5 and has the following regulations: Only artificial lures may be used and the daily bag limit is one trout with a length limit of 15 inches
Minocqua area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htm
Lake Michigan Fishing Report and tipshttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htmWausau Area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htmChippewa Flowage fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
