Wisconsin Statewide fishing report 7.4.17The beautiful weather over the Fourth of July holiday weekend made for some great recreational boating opportunities, but also resulted in some tragic boating accidents, involving both personal watercraft and motor boats. State recreational boating specialists are reminding operators of personal watercraft that it is illegal to operate above slow no wake within 100 feet of another watercraft, including other PWCs, and within 200 feet of the shoreline.
The increased boating activity and warm temperatures resulted in inconsistent fishing action. Anglers that had the most success fished during the early morning or late evening quiet hours. Musky action continues to pick up on northern lakes. Panfish continue to be found in relatively shallow water, with bluegill still being found on their beds in the last week. Largemouth bass action has really picked up with fish just starting to get into their typical summer pattern of associating with thick cover. Smallmouth bass have been erratic, as the post-spawn fish seemed to have moved to the deeper structure. Walleye success clicked up a notch in the last week as mayfly hatches wind down for the year.
Water levels on the lower Wisconsin River dropped dramatically in the last week and sandbars have returned for canoe campers. Bass, northern pike and catfish have been biting on the Wisconsin, along with some walleyes and nice sized sauger. The recent warming trend has resulted in algae blooms on some southern lakes, including Lake Wisconsin and Beaver Dam Lake. Water levels have also dropped significantly on the Rock River and are now at normal summer levels. The Crawfish River is still slightly high but is also dropping.
Smallmouth bass fishing has been good on Lake Superior?s Chequamegon Bay with most fish moving into the post-spawn phase. In the deeper water, lake trout action has been heating up, with fish being found at various depths through the water column. Along Green Bay and Lake Michigan, catfish, bass, walleye, and sheepshead were being caught at the mouth of the Peshtigo River and catfish were being caught at the Oconto Breakwater. Walleyes action has been good over rock piles on lower Green Bay. Along Door County, bass fishing was good over the last week at Little Sturgeon Bay with anglers catching both smallmouth and largemouth.
Along the lake, harbor water temperatures remain around 66 degrees, with surface temperatures between 54-55 degrees offshore to 57 degrees near the lakeshore and pier heads, though some colder temperatures into the 40s were reported in some areas. Strong winds late last week let up for the weekend, which was good for participants at salmon derbies at both Manitowoc and Port Washington. Action was inconsistent out of Manitowoc with most boats averaging one to three fish but an occasional boat bringing in 10 to 20 fish, with a mixed bag of coho, chinook, and rainbows with a few lake trout. The biggest fish registered in Ozaukee derby was a 23 pound chinook. Fishing out of Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha remained good with coho still the dominant catch.
Ashland
Smallmouth fishing has been good on Chequamegon Bay with most fish moving into the post-spawn phase although there are some stragglers still in shallow. Kakagon Sloughs and Sand Cut are still producing but the fish have moved into deeper water. The rock pile area has been seeing fishing pressure with successful anglers covering as much water as possible and covering as many presentations as possible. Walleye bite has been fair with people taking fish both trolling and casting from shore. However, the bite has been on-again, off-again, so patience and persistence has been key and will remain so as temperatures warm. Catches have been coming on everything from trolled stick baits and crawlers to jigging leeches. Shore anglers seem to be taking northern pike on spoons or crank baits. In the deeper water, lake trout action has been heating up, with the flats, south channel and island structure all producing. The fish seem to be all over the water column so it is a good idea to run lines at a variety of depths and pay attention to electronics for clues to the location of suspended fish. Bigger fish seem to be coming from deeper water.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties)
The beautiful weather over the July 4th Holiday weekend made for some great recreational boating opportunities - but also resulted in some inconsistent fishing action across the Northwoods. Anglers that had the most success fished during the quiet hours - either early in the morning or in the late evening just before dark. Musky and panfish seemed to be the favorite targets of the last week, with panfish providing some decent catches and musky action just starting to pick up. For musky, weed lines and sparse weed beds have been productive areas and slow-moving surface baits have given the best action. Quite a few small and medium-size fish in the 30 to 40-inch size have been seen, and a few fish in the mid to upper 40's have also been reported. Panfish continue to be found in relatively shallow water, with quite a few bluegill still being found on their beds in the last week. Crappie have been found near shallow and mid-depth cover, and often just beneath the surface along emergent weed lines. Perch have retreated to a little deeper water, but some decent fish have been caught on crawlers and leeches at the 12 to 16 depths. Largemouth bass action has really picked up in the last week and the fish are just starting to get into their typical summer pattern of associating with thick cover. A lot of largemouth are still being found along weed edges and in the lily pad beds, though some lakes are starting to see the fish moving to woody structure and under docks. Smallmouth bass have been especially erratic in last week, as the post-spawn fish seemed to have moved to the deeper structure while they recover from the spawning activity. But look for the smallmouth to move back to shallow and mid-depth cover -- especially as the crayfish begin to molt with the 70-degree water temperatures. Walleye success did click up a notch in the last week as it appears that the mayfly hatches are done for the year. The best action has been occurring on leeches and crawlers, with quite a few 14 to 18-inch fish being found on the mud flats and along weed beds in relatively shallow water (4 to 8 feet).
Peshtigo
Fishing on the Bay has been slow last week for walleye and perch. Water temperatures at the landings are in the low 70s with temps on the bay 5 to 7 degrees cooler.
Marinette County
The Peshtigo River mouth has been producing some very nice catfish, bass, walleye, and sheep head. Shore anglers are mainly using crawlers fished on bottom while the boaters are drifting the river from Klingsborn's landing down to the mouth using jig heads tipped with crawlers. The Menominee River has been producing its share of sheepshead along with some nice catfish with anglers still fishing from boats and from shore. Some walleye were being caught in the vicinity of the Hattie Street Bridge drifting crawlers. Salmon fishing remains slow.
Oconto County
Fishing remains slow in the Oconto River with a few bass and panfish being caught around the Stiles Dam area using live bait and spinners. Slip bobbers worked the best. Bass were also being caught from the Highway S bridge down to the mouth of the Pensaukee River floating live bait or casting Raps and spinners. Catfish were being caught at the Oconto Breakwater fishing crawlers on bottom.
Brown County
Walleyes have been biting good over the last week on lower Green Bay with anglers fishing rock piles in 8 to 14 feet of water. Most have been trolling #7 flicker shads in bright colors. Most have been finding a good mix of perch, drum, and catfish as well. Anglers have also been drifting and producing numbers of fish. Many anglers have been targeting Volk?s reef for this procedure. Bayshore Park anglers have been finding perch to be slow over the last week with early morning being the best time. Minnows have been the ticket when used on a slip bobber or bottom rig. Most activity for perch has been in 25 feet of water just to the north of the launch. Walleye have been active this week with anglers pulling harnesses being the most successful. Most have been targeting 15-20 feet of water.
Manitowoc County
Strong southeast winds at 10-15 mph with gusts up to 20 mph creating 3 to 4 foot waves slowed anglers pre-fishing for the Manitowoc salmon derby during the week. By the weekend, winds quieted down to 5-10 mph with waves less than 1 foot. During the week temperatures hung around 60 degrees, rising to the mid-70s by Friday and holding over the weekend. Water clarity cleared up after nearly 3 inches of rain last week. Harbor temperatures remain around 66 degrees, with surface temperatures between 54-55 degrees offshore to 57 degrees near the lakeshore and pier heads. Inconsistent angling success appeared to be the story of the salmon derby for boaters along the lakeshore. An occasional boat would bring in 10, up to 20 fish with most boats at the launch averaging 1-3 fish. 140-180 feet out of both Two Rivers and Manitowoc appeared to be common fishing grounds for boaters. Coolers were a mix of coho, chinook, and rainbows out of both ports, with more lake trout landed north of Two Rivers and brown trout nearly non-existent. Anglers were very secretive this week about their fishing locations and what baits and colors worked for them due to the salmon derby. But for salmon, green dodger/fly combos located throughout the water column will work with any spoons containing orange or green up high in the water column for rainbows. Several chinook between 13-20 pounds were common at the ramps over the weekend. Coho salmon and rainbow trout averaged between 5-8 pounds out of both ports. Pier fishing remains slow for trout and salmon off both Two Rivers and Manitowoc. An occasional chinook has been landed off the Two Rivers and Manitowoc piers, but there has been no consistent action.
Door County
Little Sturgeon Bay: Bass fishing has been good over the last week with anglers catching numbers of smallmouth and largemouth bass. Most have been targeting areas around rock or weed beds for best action. Perch fishing has been slow with most fish being caught small in size.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County
Trollers in Sheboygan have been having the most success fishing in 100 to 135 feet of water. The water temperature has decreased and was reported as 46 to 50F, depending where you are fishing. The bait of choice has been dodgers and peanut flies or spoons, and the most productive colors have been blue, green, sliver, and orange. Catches have consisted of mainly coho salmon, along with some chinook, rainbow, and lake trout. Shore fishing in Sheboygan has been slow lately, with only a few small northern pike taken off the piers. The nears hore water temperature is 56 degrees.
Ozaukee County
In Port Washington trollers continue to catch good numbers of fish, although action has slowed a bit. Coho still dominate the catch, but overall numbers of rainbows, chinook, and lake trout have been increasing. Most fish have been caught in 125 to 180 feet of water. Orange dodgers and flies continue to produce, but some fish have also been taken on spoons. The biggest fish registered last weekend in the Ozaukee Great Lakes Sport Fishermen's Derby was a 23 pound chinook. Fishing from shore in the harbor has been very slow for both trout/salmon anglers and perch anglers. Off the pier, the water temperature has been 56 degrees. Some perch have been caught on minnows and worms, but the perch have been on the small side with most under 9 inches.
Milwaukee County
The fishing off Milwaukee remains good for boat anglers. Coho are still active, but they are scattered and can be found in a variety of depths from 50 feet of water out to 180 feet of water. Flashers and flies in blue or green continue to produce good numbers of coho. A few chinook were also showing up in the creel but with no frequency or pattern. Boaters fishing for perch off the South Metro boils have been catching a few, and South Shore ramp has had some perch action on the rocks and the center break wall north of the landing, and minnows have been the best perch bait. A few perch have also been taken off the end of McKinley pier, but shore fishing remains slow elsewhere in the Milwaukee area.
Racine County
Coho action remains very good off of Racine, and most trollers have been doing well around 100 feet of water. A few chinook have been taken as well, but coho still outnumber the chinook. Dodger and fly combinations as well as white spoons have taken fish. Racine shore anglers have been taking a few perch off the south pier and from other shoreline areas.
Kenosha County
Good coho action continues off Kenosha, and some chinook have been taken also. The most popular bait continues to be orange or red flashers coupled with flies in blues, greens and reds, although spoons have also produced. Most fish have been taken around 100 feet of water. Perch fishing on the Kenosha shore and piers has been slow, but few boat anglers have been getting their limit of five fish just off of the rock breakwall. Plastics and minnows have been the best baits.
Sauk County
The bass and northern pike have been biting on the Wisconsin River between Spring Green and the Arena boat landing and catfish have been biting on the river in the Lone Rock area. Anglers area also reporting that the walleyes are biting in the 18 plus size class as well as nice sized sauger. The striped and smallmouth bass were also biting in the evenings on the river. The water has been dropping lately and there were good sandbars for camping between Sauk City and Lone Rock.
Columbia County
The recent warming trend as increased the amount of algae in area lakes. Both Lake Wisconsin and Beaver Dam Lake has had a significant change in water clarity due to increased algal blooms. Walleye anglers on Lake Wisconsin were still catching fish. Fish can be found in the evenings in 10 to 12 feet of water. Successful anglers were trolling lures near the drop off's. Wardens remind anglers that fishing licenses must be carried with you and not left at home or in the vehicle.
Jefferson County
Anglers have been catching channel catfish on the upper Rock and Crawfish rivers using an assortment of baits including stink bait, chicken livers, shrimp and worms. Many of the fish were in the 12-14 inch range. Water levels have dropped significantly on the Rock River due to the dry conditions lately. Levels are now at normal summer conditions. The Crawfish River is still slightly higher than normal but is also dropping. Boaters are taking advantage of the nice weather recently and the boat landings have been full on the weekends.
Rock County
The catfish on the Rock River are biting very well with large numbers seen while contacting anglers during the 4th of July weekend. The water temperature on the Rock River near Beloit is around 79 degrees at the surface. Many boats were out enjoying the Rock River as water levels are slightly lower than normal in the Southern stretches of the river. Baby raccoons and deer are out and about as many were observed during the last week while out at night driving.
Minocqua area fishing report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htmLake Michigan Fishing Report and tips
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htmWausau Area fishing report
http://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htmInformation compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
