Your Wisconsin Outdoor Community
Fishing => Great Lakes Fishing => Topic started by: mudbrook on June 03, 2010, 05:29:02 AM
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Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: June 1, 2010
Manitowoc Co.
Calm winds picked up at times out of the southeast at 5-10 mph with perfect temperatures ranging between the mid-60 to mid-70s. Heavy fog continued on Monday but gave way to sunny skies the rest of the week. The lack of rain in the last few weeks and calm winds created good water clarity with water temperatures in the mid-50s on Lake Michigan, with temperatures in the mid-60s in the harbors. Anglers spent several hours on the water with the great weather for the holiday weekend, with an average of 3-5 fish per boat. Boaters who ventured straight out and north of Manitowoc had success landing rainbow from a wide range of 150-250 feet using a variety of spoons on surface lines. Orange, green, blue/silver, and watermelon spoons had the most success. More chinook salmon were taken from 80-150 feet with a few taken out deep at the above depths. These 11-14 pound salmon weren?t picky, coming on high lines, downriggers, and on the dypsy both on spoons and dodger fly combos. A green dodger with a green or mirage fly and blue dodger with blue fly worked throughout the water column on the downriggers or dypsies. Working straight out of Two Rivers and north to the lighthouse saw the same action over the weekend. North of the trap nets, boaters had success as shallow as 60 feet. Outside the trap nets, 140-200 feet was the hot location for rainbows and chinook salmon, with some boaters having success as far out as 300 feet. The same colored spoons and dodgers listed above also worked out of Two Rivers. Many boaters had a few lake trout and coho salmon mixed in while fishing for chinook and rainbow trout out of both ports. Manitowoc pier fishermen had some success landing a few rainbows over the weekend on both piers. Silver and orange or gold and orange champs and cleos are reported to be the bait of choice.
Kewaunee Co.
The week started off a little rocky with dense fog in both Kewaunee and Algoma areas but gave way to sunny conditions for the rest of the week. The average temperature for the area was in the upper 60?s to lower 70?s with very few clouds in the sky. The Memorial Day weekend weather couldn?t have been better for vacationers with mostly sunny days and an average temperature in the low 70?s. The combination of low winds and sunny skies helped keep the water crystal clear. Algoma: The action on the south pier in Algoma is starting to pick up with a few steelhead being caught by anglers using green or purple spoons. There is a lot of baitfish along the rocks of the pier and an occasional steelhead can be seen swimming in the area. There was an increase in fishing pressure as the week grew on into the Memorial Day weekend. The majority of fishermen were catching 3-4 fish out on the water. The catch seemed to be a mixed bag with combinations of Steelhead, Chinooks, and Lake trout being the most abundant catches. The majority of the fish caught were in depths of 400-450 feet of water with some anglers catching them around 130-160 range. The steelhead caught were most commonly found only 8-15 feet below the surface and the salmon averaged to be around 90-140 feet down. The most successful lures being used were spoons that were green with silver and a little bit of black on the lure. Some fish were being caught off purple spoons as well. Kewaunee: Fishermen have been very successful fishing out of Kewaunee for trout and salmon this week. As the week began the majority of the fish were taken in waters ranging from 180 to 250 feet but as the week passed, more fish were being caught in depths of 90-130 feet. Similar to Algoma the majority of the steelhead were caught within 20 feet of the surface. The main lures being used to target the fish have been either green or blue spoons. A few boats have been successful with green flasher/flies. Boats are bringing in about an average of 2-3 fish with some of the boats being more successful and hauling in 6-7 fish. The Kewaunee pier has seen an increase in fishermen this week with a few steelhead being caught out by the lighthouse on green or blue spoons.
Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
Beautiful weather and warm temperatures this week may be an indication that the dog days of summer are approaching. Temperatures reached into the 80s this week and winds stayed relatively calm allowing for great fishing conditions. The lake side of the county provided some relief to the warm weather with slightly cooler temperatures than the bay side, but countywide great weather was had. Salmon, steelhead, and lake trout fishing has remained productive for this time of year. Nice catches have been reported off the Bank Reef out of Sturgeon Bay, as well as some good numbers starting to come from Baileys Harbor. Working flasher and fly combinations down deep has produced some nice salmon, whereas working the upper 60 feet of the water column has produced some nice steelhead. Walleye fishing has also remained consistent both in Sturgeon Bay and towards the tip of the county on the Green Bay side. Most fisherman have had success using crawler harnesses, however some fish are still being caught with crank baits and stick baits. Areas like Fish Creek, Sister Bay, and out towards the Strawberry Islands have been some lucrative areas recently. Smallmouth bass remain on their beds as they will likely do for some while. Fishing in 2-10 feet of water with plastics has been the popular choice for anglers. Fishing has been pretty heavy along the Bay side in Fish Creek and Ephraim, but fish can still being caught on the Lake side in some of the northern bays. Some anglers have reported substantial rock bass fishing too, an interesting idea for anglers to try. Northern pike fishing has been slow, but working the weed edges with stick baits, in-line spinners, and spoons would likely be the best bet. Musky fishermen hit the water after the season opened on Saturday the 29th. There have been reports of fish being seen along the weed beds and in the shallows along the shorelines towards the Sturgeon Bay shipping canal, but no takers. Heavy boat traffic in the bay during the Memorial Day weekend may also have been a factor causing skittish fish. There have been minimal reports in regards to perch fishing in the bay, but hopefully it will begin picking up in the next few weeks.