The variable and generally cool weather, as well as the abundance of hunting opportunities, has limited fishing pressure. Water temperatures have now dropped into the mid to upper-40s and fall turnover has been completed on most northern lakes. Musky continue to provide most of the fishing action and success has been generally good, with most anglers now fishing with live suckers. Walleye success continued to be slow and it seems that the fish haven't settled into a solid fall pattern yet. There was a recent surge in crappie action.
Very few trollers have been heading out onto Lake Michigan or Green Bay, but the fall trout and salmon run has continued on Lake Michigan tributaries with good numbers of anglers out last weekend with fair to good numbers of chinook being caught. An estimated 800 people turned out for the open house at the Root River Steelhead Facility in Racine County last weekend and they were able to watch fisheries crews harvest eggs from hundreds of chinook that passed through the facility. A slide show from the open house is available on the DNR?s Fish Wisconsin flickr page.
The Mississippi River has maintained a fairly level water stage this week. It held around the 7.6 foot mark all week at Prairie du Chien. Water clarity continues to be very good. Walleye and sauger action improved greatly this week, with sauger particularly active on several days last week.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
Variable and generally cool weather, as well as the abundance of hunting opportunities, has limited fishing pressure in the Northwoods in the last week. Water temperatures have now dropped into the mid to upper-40s and fall turnover has been completed on all but the large, deep lakes in the Upper Chippewa Basin. Musky anglers have provided most of the fishing pressure on our local lakes and their success has been generally good. Most anglers have switched from artificials to live suckers, and a medium-size sucker (12 to 16 inches) on a quick-set rig has been the most productive method. Most of the musky caught have been in the 32 to 40-inch size, though fish up to 46 inches have also been reported. Walleye success continues to be slow and it seems that the fish haven't settled into a solid fall pattern yet. Late October and early November should provide a little better walleye action with jig/minnow and slip bobber/ minnow combinations working best on deeper rocky structure and along mid-depth break lines. There has been a recent surge in crappie action with some nice fish being found along and near the mid-depth cover, such as emergent weed lines and brush in 4 to 8 feet of water. With the cold water temperatures, bass fishing is all but over for the year.
Marinette County -
Temperatures at the landings are in the mid 40s with good water clarity. Fishing pressure has been extremely light with few boaters on the water. The Hattie Street Dam is producing some nice browns over 15 pounds along with a few walleye and the occasional salmon. Rapalas and spoons as well as drifting crawlers have been working. Fishing the Little River for salmon has been slow as has been the Peshtigo River with a few salmon being caught daily. Leaf fall is in full swing with the current rains driving more off the trees. Waterfowl are moving southward. Area bird feeders are beginning to see some traffic with birds looking for quick sources for energy.
Oconto County ?
The Stiles dam has been producing some panfish for anglers using slip bobbers and leaf worms or minnows. Drifting the Oconto River for smallmouth bass with crank baits and chug baits has been working well. A few salmon and browns were being caught at the Oconto Breakwater Harbor casting cleo's and stick baits. Perch were also biting on minnows and crawlers at the Breakwater and Oconto Park II.
Manitowoc County - Salmon anglers fishing in the East Twin River had a good week of fishing. Anglers were concentrated around the Mishicot dam catching large chinook salmon. Anglers were catching fish during daylight hours by casting spinners or using spawn sacs. Some spawn sacs were combined with yarn balls, ear plugs, or small marshmallows. On the West Twin River, salmon anglers also had a productive weekend harvesting some big chinook salmon. Fishing pressure was high in Shoto all weekend with anglers fishing from both river banks at the dam and in the river downstream. Successful anglers were using spawn sacs or yarn balls with a single hook. In Two Rivers, boat fishing was slow this past week, with very few anglers fishing from boats. On Sunday a couple anglers were casting spoons from both the north and south piers with little success.
Door County -
Cool temperatures and rainy days made for less than ideal weather this past week. Again, no report of salmon action on Lake Michigan this week, there just didn?t seem to be anyone going out on the big lake. Action off the piers at the Coast Guard Station remained poor; the rain and cold temperatures seemed to keep most anglers off of the piers. A few anglers reported taking some kings trolling spoons and crank baits in the canal. Farther north kings could still be seen swimming in most of the harbors. Again this week there was not a lot of action on the other species, probably due to the weather.
Strawberry Creek Egg Collection Facility -
On Thursday, Oct. 15, crews collected the last of the chinook salmon eggs needed for DNR fish hatcheries. The pump supplying the supplemental water to Strawberry Creek was shut off on Friday and crews are done collecting salmon at Strawberry Creek for 2009. Although a few salmon may still try to make their way up Strawberry Creek, they will no longer be able to enter the pond this fall. Over the next week crews will be closing up the Strawberry Creek facility and getting it ready for winter. The salmon run is not over and crews are still operating the Besadny Fisheries Facility on the Kewaunee River where over the next couple of weeks we will be collecting coho salmon eggs for the Wisconsin DNR hatchery system.
Kewaunee County -
Weather over this last week has been cool, windy, and rainy throughout the week making for some foul weather fishing this week. Some kings continue to move up the rivers this week, but the numbers have started to drop off. Fish are still being caught in the Ahnapee and Kewaunee rivers from the mouths all the way up to the fish refuges below the dams, but there has been much less success this past week. Anglers that have been fishing in the harbors have been able to pick up a browns and rainbows this week, but upstream it is all kings.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County -
In Sheboygan shore anglers have been catching chinooks and browns on spoons and skein in the marina. A few chinooks, rainbows, and coho have also been caught off the north pier on spawn. In the Sheboygan River anglers have been catching fair numbers of chinooks between Taylor Avenue and the Kohler dam. Most fish have been taken on flies, but spoons have caught some as well.
Ozaukee County -
Shore anglers in Port Washington have been catching good numbers of chinooks, coho, rainbows, and browns near the power plant. Both skein and spawn sacs produced fish. In the north slip anglers have been catching chinooks and browns, and anglers fishing Sauk Creek have taken a few chinooks and coho near the mouth.
Milwaukee County -
In Milwaukee trollers fishing in the harbor and around the gaps have been catching a few chinooks and browns. Milwaukee shore anglers have been catching browns on spawn in the lagoon at Lakeshore State Park, and anglers fishing near the Milwaukee Yacht Club have been catching chinooks. Fishing has been slow in the Menomonee River, but some chinooks have been caught in the Milwaukee River in Kletzsch and Estabrook Parks. Black flies and spawn have both been productive. In Oak Creek, anglers have been catching a few chinooks on yarn in orange, green, or red.
Racine County -
Shore anglers fishing in the Racine harbor have been catching a few browns on spawn. Trollers fishing off Racine have been catching lake trout and a few coho 20 to 40 feet down in water 100 feet deep. On the Root River good numbers of chinooks, along with a few steelhead and coho, can be found below the Root River Steelhead Facility all the way down to the Main Street bridge. Large black flies and yarn have both been productive. In Colonial and Quarry Lake Parks, fish have been scattered and more difficult to locate, but there is a small concentration of chinooks below the Horlick dam. Fish were processed at the Root River Steelhead Facility on Saturday, Oct. 17. A total of 648 chinooks, 19 coho, 3 steelhead, and 2 browns have been passed upstream. The next processing day is tentatively Thursday, Oct. 22. An estimated 800 people turned out Oct. 17, for an open house at the facility. The event, put on by DNR, Salmon Unlimited, Southeast Wisconsin Trout Unlimited, and Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association, was designed to showcase the facility?s operations and Lake Michigan fishing opportunities. Participants enjoyed guided tours of the facility along with hands-on demonstrations of fish spawning procedures, seminars in rod casting, fly tying and fishing, knot tying, and boater safety. A slide show of the event is available on the Fish Wisconsin flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishwisconsin/sets/72157622619559334/show/ The Root River steelhead facility was built in 1993 by DNR in partnership with Salmon Unlimited and other local fishing clubs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to assist in the capture and egg collection of migrating trout and salmon. Millions of trout and salmon are stocked annually into Lake Michigan tributaries, where they live before entering Lake Michigan. The adults return to the same stream for annual spawning.
Kenosha County -
In Kenosha a few chinooks and browns have been taken in the harbor on skein under a slip bobber, but fishing has been slow overall.
Crawford County -
The Mississippi River has maintained a fairly level water stage this week. It held around the 7.6 foot mark all week. Water clarity continues to be very good. Floating weeds are continuing to come down the river causing some difficulties for anglers and congestion at some boat ramps. The Wisconsin and Kickapoo Rivers are at normal fall-time levels and water clarity is good. Water temperatures are starting to drop in area waterways. A few mornings last week thin ice formed on a few backwaters. Of course it quickly melted once day time temperatures rose. Boaters, anglers, and hunters should wear life jackets as a safety precaution because of the cooling water. Bluegill action was very spotty again this week. Some nice sized bluegills were caught on wing dams, but back water sloughs have produced better. The most popular bait has been a small jig tipped with a wax worm. Fishing at Cold Spring was spotty this week. Perch fishing was slow again this week. Walleye and sauger action improved greatly this week. Some of the days last week sauger were very active. Many small sauger were caught. Trolling or drifting with live bait or just a jig and twister tail has been successful. Anglers using live bait have switched over to minnows. A few days last week the sauger really bit well at the Lynxville dam, below Deer Island (upstream from the Lynxville boat landing), and outside Prairie du Chien on the East Channel. Smallmouth and largemouth bass action was fair. Smallmouth activity on local wing dams and rocky shore lines has been good. Largemouth bass can be found in a variety of habitats to include the ?slop?, weed edges, wing dams, and in the timber. Plastics, spinner baits, and crank baits have worked well. Catfish, white bass and northern pike actions has been spotty. Some white bass have been taken at the Lynxville dam.
information compiled from the WDNR outdoor report and private sources
