Wisconsin Statewide fishing report 6.17.10The wet weather of the last week reduced fishing pressure somewhat, but many anglers continue to head out when conditions allowed. Both bass and musky anglers were out in good numbers on northern lakes. Walleye fishing continued to be erratic as the mayfly hatch continued. The bass harvest season opens this Saturday in the northern zone, and fisheries managers say bass fishing opportunities have never been better, with both largemouth and smallmouth bass populations booming in northern and particularly northwestern Wisconsin.
Fox River anglers have been catching a few musky in the river. Anglers have been doing well trolling lower Green Bay for walleyes. Perch anglers have been having limited success from Bayshore Park up to Chaudoir?s Dock. Bass anglers were having good success especially around Sturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon Bay. Success has continued to improve week by week for trollers on Lake Michigan, with boaters averaging five to seven fish and some boats coming in with four or five person limits. Chinook salmon continue to dominate the catch, but coho, steelhead and some lake trout are also being reported. Action was also good for trollers out of southeastern ports, with a mixed bag of chinook, coho, rainbows, and a lake trout reported. Shore fishing at harbors and piers was picking up at Port Washington, Racine and Kenosha for brown trout, and some coho and steelhead reported.
Peshtigo
With cooler temperatures and rain, fishing pressure the last week has been light. Water temperatures at the landings have risen to a balmy 70 degrees.
Marinette County -
The Peshtigo Harbor area is giving up some nice catfish along with the occasional sheepshead and smallmouth bass. The big news is the bay continues to produce some nice King salmon in the 10- to 12-pound range in 50 to 70 feet of water 40 feet down. Colors to try, purples and pinks.
Oconto County -
With the Oconto River on the rise, fishing seems to have suffered a bit. A few small perch and some 2- to 3-pound catfish are being caught from the Municipal Landing. Oconto Park II is reporting a few walleye being taken in 8 to 12 feet of water with crawler/harness, purple and pearl have been hot colors
Green Bay
Brown County - Lower Green Bay anglers have been trolling for walleyes with a crawler harness and have been doing well; most have been fishing in 10 to 20 feet of water. With the rough weather over the last week the bite has slowed a bit. Anglers have also been fishing perch from Bayshore Park up to Chaudoir?s Dock with limited success. Fox River anglers have been catching a few musky in the river. Most anglers have been targeting walleye and bass are having some good success. Anglers fishing from shore have been catching a lot of rough fish.
Manitowoc County -
Heavy rains during the week turned into great fishing weather by the weekend with light winds and temperatures around 70 degrees. Water temperatures rose slightly in the area ranging from 57-59 degrees. Angler success has continued to improve week by week, with boaters averaging five to seven fish and some boats coming in with four or five person limits. Chinook salmon continue to dominate most coolers, but several nice rainbows in the 10- to 12-pound range have been consistently caught. Out of Two Rivers, Angling success has been concentrated in the 60 to 100 foot range north of the trap nets to the lighthouse. Those fishing straight out of Manitowoc and south of Manitowoc in 100-125 feet had the most luck during the week. Coolers consisted mostly of chinook salmon, with a few nice rainbow trout mixed in. Blue flasher/aqua fly, green dodger/green fly combinations, and green glow spoons have been successful with more fish coming on pump handles and dypsies. Green pro kings and various color spoons with a purple ladder also had success. The large rainbows have been caught deep north of Two Rivers, coming 40-60 feet down on down riggers and lead core. Out of Manitowoc, the rainbows have been taken on surface lines using orange and green spoon combinations. Anglers looking to go out north of Two Rivers should watch out for the crane wreck in the 60-65 foot range just south of the lighthouse. This wreck is marked with a white buoy.
Door County -
The second week of June brought happiness to farmers in the area and tough conditions for anglers as some wet weather was had in Door County, along with some decent thunderstorms. The rain was spotty all week and into the weekend, but anglers were still seen targeting good catches of salmon and trout. The somewhat needed rain compensated for relatively dry conditions up until this point. Salmon fishing has continued to be steady and productive with many nice coolers coming in off the lake. Fishing out of Sturgeon Bay, Baileys Harbor, and Rowley?s Bay has been successful for sometime now, with more anglers starting to get out on the big pond. Flasher and fly combinations have been consistent, however anglers have also reported success with spoons. Working anywhere between 60-150 feet of water has produced the best catches, with some rainbows still being taken in the upper part of the water column. Fishing on the Green Bay side has also picked up with some decent catches being reported out of Ellison Bay and Gills Rock. One fisherman stated, ?Paying attention to natural signs around you is helpful,? in regards to seeing diving terns picking alewife out of the top water area, and switching the lures and depths he was working. Smallmouth bass fishing pressure has reduced somewhat, with perch anglers quickly taking their place. Some decent catches of perch have been reported in the bay, with some wall hangers in the mix. Working the edges of the shipping channel and Dunlap?s Reef have been common spots for anglers using minnows suspended near the bottom. On an exciting note, musky fishing in the area has been producing some nice fish. Five reported legal fish have been caught and released in the last week, and a few others just below legal have been seen throughout the bay. Bucktails have been the hot ticket, and most anglers admit that it didn?t take 10,000 casts. Little Sturgeon Bay anglers have been finding great success on smallmouth bass in and around the bay. Most are using tubes in a brown or white color. Also a few largemouth have been caught as well. Walleye anglers continue to have some decent action around Henderson point during low light conditions. A few perch have been caught as well with most being small in size. Sturgeon Bay anglers fishing for bass have been finding some good success with some big bass being caught in Sawyer Harbor. Those that have been targeting walleye have been trolling the ship channel and finding some fish with crank baits and crawler harnesses. Also 0a few perch are being caught on night crawlers.
Kewaunee County -
The week began with great fishing weather with relative low winds and partly sunny skies. This unfortunately didn?t last as the clouds began to roll in on Wednesday and the rain followed starting on Friday. The weather during the weekend was sporadic rains with increasing winds that limited some of the boats that able to launch. The Kewaunee ramp was again a very successful location for trout and salmon anglers this week. The action was hot all week but slowed down on Saturday and Sunday. Many boats hit their limits of fish on Friday and Saturday with some large fish being brought in. The majority of the fish being caught have been chinook salmon but just below half the fish being caught have been lake trout. A few coho salmon and steelhead have been hooked as well. The most successful depths seem to range from 60-100 feet with the fish striking around 40 feet down. There hasn?t been one specific color that has been more successful than others this week. A lot of people have been trying their luck at the Kewaunee pier this week and have seen some increased success. Some nice sized brown trout and rainbow trout have been caught on spoons near the lighthouse. In Algoma, steelhead action on the pier continued this week with steelhead being taken on fire tiger colored spoons. A few brown trout were also caught this week with fire tiger spoons as well. The Algoma ramp saw a lot of fish being caught between Monday and Friday with many boats filling their limits. Unfortunately Saturday and Sunday were not as productive as boats had trouble landing more than 2-3 fish a boat. The fish being caught were mostly chinook salmon and were caught in waters with depths ranging from 60-110 feet.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County -
In Sheboygan trollers have been catching chinook, coho, and rainbow trout. Fish have been caught from 40 to 65 feet of water or from 80 to 130 feet of water. Spoons or flashers and flies fished 20 to 50 feet down have been productive. Fishing from the piers in Sheboygan has picked up. Rainbow and chinook have been caught off the north pier at dusk, and off the south pier in the mornings. Spoons and alewives have both taken fish.
Ozaukee County -
Trollers in Port Washington have found a mixed bag of fish between 65 and 120 feet of water. Decent numbers of chinook, coho, rainbows, and a few lake trout have been hitting flashers and flies or spoons fished anywhere between the surface and 70 feet down. Shore anglers in Port Washington have taken a few chinook off the pier on alewives and a couple of rainbow near the power plant.
Milwaukee County -
In Milwaukee trollers have been catching decent numbers of coho and chinook, along with a few rainbow and lake trout. Orange dodgers coupled with blue or green flies have taken the majority of fish. The most consistent depths have been 110 to 150 feet of water. Overall, Milwaukee shore fishing remains slow but some coho and rainbow have been taken off McKinley pier. Live alewives fished on the bottom have produced the most.
Racine County -
In Racine trollers have been catching decent numbers of coho as well increasing numbers of chinook. Most fish are still being caught in 50 feet of water or less. Dodgers and flies continue to produce fish, but spoons are starting to take a larger percentage as well. Fishing has picked up for pier anglers in Racine. A few coho have been taken in the early mornings, and brown and rainbow trout have been caught throughout the day. All fish have been hitting silver spoons fished in the top half of the water column.
Kenosha County -
In Kenosha trollers have been finding fish in a variety of depth ranges, from 50 feet of water as well as 100 to 120 feet. Trollers continue to catch mostly coho, but larger numbers of chinook and rainbow have been caught as well. Dodger and fly combinations have been productive, but spoons have been catching a fair number of fish also. Fishing from shore in Kenosha has been improving, with brown trout biting in the harbor in the early morning hours. Silver and chartreuse spoons and white tube jigs have both produced.
Baldwin
Recent heavy rains have risen river levels and the Mississippi and St Croix are on the rise and fairly muddy in color. The Rush River is high and muddy, but should be dropping quickly. The Kinnickinnic is higher, but fishable. Panfish action on area Lakes has slowed somewhat, but nice catches have been seen on Lakes Menomin, Baldwin Pine, Cedar and Squaw Lakes. Sauger and walleye are still providing good action trolling on Lake Pepin and the Mississippi River below Redwing Minn. Bass action is good everywhere.
Crawford County ?
The Mississippi River has been on the rise slightly this week. Rain in the upper basin has been working its way down. The river stage was at 8.19 feet at Mc Gregor on Monday. The forecast for the Mississippi River is for a slow rise to around 8.6 feet, baring any more heavy rain. The Kickapoo River is up a little from last week. The river stage in Gays Mills and Steuben is at 6.9 and 7.28 respectively. The Wisconsin River has been up and down quite a bit this week. The river stage in Muscoda was 2.37 feet. Historically the Wisconsin River fluctuates a few inches per day under normal flow. Canoers and kayakers who spend the night camping on the Wisconsin River must make sure they secure their watercraft so it doesn?t drift away over night. Local trout streams are at normal flow. Water clarity is very good, with a few exceptions, on all waterways. Some of the back waters on the Mississippi River are a bit murky primarily due to algae and carp action. Fishing activity remains pretty good.
Prairie du Chien Area?s Lower bottoms and Ambro Slough Complex:
Anglers have been finding pretty decent bluegill action in the backwaters or in sloughs with light current. Some anglers are starting to find bluegills in back water snags and on wing dams or shallower (approx 6 to 12 foot) flats on the main river. Horseshoe Lake was producing some bluegill and crappie along with a few perch. Garnet Lake?s action was similar to Horseshoe Lake. Much of the backwaters in the ?lower bottoms? are filling up with weeds. The Upper and Lower Doubles, Big and Little Missouri, and Fish Lake have all been producing bluegills but action has been very spotty and the fish running on the small size. Most anglers are using a chunk of night crawler for bait. Perch action has been spotty throughout the area. Some are finding decent sized perch in the 10 to 12 inch range, but you?ll have to look hard for them. Check for perch along or in deeper weed lines. Walleye anglers are starting to target the wing dams on the main channel in the Prairie du Chien area. Also look for walleyes on the Roseau Slough. Walleyes have been hitting crank baits and night crawlers. Large and small mouth bass have been active throughout the area. Some anglers have been looking for crappies in the snags in backwater sloughs. Crappie action has been spotty so far.
Cold Spring:
The Cold Spring area continues to be slow. Better fishing exists on the other side (west side) of the railroad tracks on the Mississippi River. Walleye and small mouth and large mouth bass are being taken on live bait and crank baits. Anglers venturing out to the Deer Island complex have found bass and walleyes at the upper and lower ends of Deer Island. Boat operators are reminded that the Cold Spring area is a slow-no-wake area. Also, Cold Spring (east of the railroad tracks) is considered inland waters.
Mississippi River:
Walleye and sauger action was pretty good this week. The Lynxville dam area and the McDonald cut were producing some walleye and sauger. Wing dams along the main channel have been pretty good. Walleye tactics include dead lining, drifting with jig and night crawlers, trolling crank baits, or anchoring above a wing dam and working live or artificial baits. Another place to check for walleyes is the ?S? curve by Harpers Ferry. Walleye activity has been decent there. Anglers fishing at the mouth of the Wisconsin River have had limited success. Fishing for catfish, both channel and flathead, has been pretty good. Catfish prefer night crawlers or stink bait while flatheads prefer live bait. Sheepshead are very active and can be caught on a variety of baits. Sheepshead are found throughout the river system. There has been some bluegill action starting on the wing dams and along the shorelines. If the water level rises much more, action might change. But for now, deadline or drift the flats with a piece of night crawlers. Trout anglers are finding that local streams are in good shape. Trout anglers will find insect pests and shoreline vegetation might cause some problems. Even so, trout fishing conditions are very good and action has been good. Gnats, deer flies, horse flies and mosquitoes are out.
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.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
