Wisconsin Statewide fishing report 6.12.10Some much needed rain fell in northern Wisconsin in the last week, which is helping to alleviate severe drought conditions, but much of the north still remains well behind annual rainfall averages. The north received 1.5 to 2 inches of rain, while some areas of southern and central Wisconsin received more than 3 inches. Streams and rivers are running much higher in the last week statewide. Some lakes in northern Wisconsin came up a little, but many still remain well below normal levels. The rain has kept wildfire conditions at low statewide.
The erratic weather continued to make for variable fishing success. In the north, musky anglers have been out in good numbers and nearly all have been seeing fish. Mayflies are now hatching on many northern lakes and this has upset the walleye bite. Northern pike success continues to be good and panfish action has been very good, especially for bluegill and crappie. Bluegill are still nesting on many waters, with some nice fish found near spawning beds.
The first fish raised at Wild Rose Fish Hatchery?s newly renovated coolwater facilities were stocked in Wisconsin waters this week. Staff transferred northern pike raised at the hatchery to several south central Wisconsin lakes. A new video
http://dnrmedia.wi.gov/main/Viewer/?peid=409dd40577714f62ba1ed4acc9eed9aa shows the historic event and gives anglers and others a first glimpse of the coolwater facilities.
Lighter winds combined with nice temperatures allowed fishing to pick-up on Lake Michigan, but some northwest winds over the weekend made fishing difficult at times on Green Bay. Good smallmouth bass fishing has continued around Door County. Fish have still been seen on beds along the shorelines along the west side of the county. Perch fishing has been hit or miss for most anglers, but some fish were still being caught.
Water clarity on Lake Michigan remains good with temperatures ranging from 55-58 degrees along the lakeshore and mid-60s in the harbors. Salmon and trout fishing has remained productive, with some limits reached. Anglers were coming in with mainly salmon but some lake trout and an occasional rainbow trout as well. Trollers out of Manitowoc reported some large chinook salmon. Trollers out of southeastern ports reported decent numbers of coho and chinook salmon along with a few rainbow and lake trout. Overall, shore fishing remained slow but some coho and brown trout have been reported.
The Mississippi River has been holding steady for most of the week and was at 7.8 feet this week at Prairie du Chien. Fishing activity remained good with anglers finding decent bluegill action in the backwaters and sloughs. Bluegills should start to move out of the shallow water areas as the water temperatures rise. Walleye and sauger fishing also remained good.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) -
The erratic weather conditions of the past week have made for some variable fishing success. Musky anglers have been out in pretty good numbers and nearly all have been seeing fish, with good number also being boated. The musky have been relating to the edges of the newly forming weed beds and most of the fish that have been caught have been in the 32 to 40 inch size. The most productive lures have been smaller bucktails and stick baits, and fished a little slower than normal. Mayflies are now hatching on many northern lakes and this has upset the walleye bite on most of these waters. The jig and minnow combinations are no longer being successful and most of the action is taking place on leeches or night crawlers. Northern pike success continues to be good, with fish still being found in shallow water around and over any new weed beds. Panfish action has been very good, with bluegill and crappie providing some excellent action. The bluegill nesting period is still occurring on many waters and some very nice fish have been found near the spawning beds. Crappie have been found in fairly shallow water along the emergent weed lines, with a small minnow below a bobber providing some good action. Most largemouth and smallmouth bass have completed their spawning period, though some nesting can still be found on some of the larger, clear-water lakes. Anglers are reminded that the Northern Bass season opens on Saturday, June 19 - but anglers should still practice a lot of catch-and-release as many bass are still guarding schools of fingerling fish.
Green Bay
Manitowoc County - Light easterly winds combined with temperatures in the 60s last week allowed fishing to pick-up out of both Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Scattered rain with strong easterly-northeasterly winds slowed fishing on Sunday. Water clarity remains good with water temperatures ranging from 55-58 degrees along the lakeshore and mid-60s in the harbors. Angler success has picked up during the past week, with boaters averaging five to seven fish and some landing up to 13 fish. Some large chinook salmon have been reported from several boats anywhere from 18 to 21 pounds. Angling success has been concentrated in the 140-160 foot range between the areas straight out of Manitowoc all the way to the northern most trap nets north of Two Rivers. North of the trap nets, off the lighthouse, anglers had success throughout the week in 80-100 feet of water. A few boats reported catching some 8- to 10-pound chinook as shallow as 30 feet north of the trap nets. Coolers consisted mostly of chinook salmon, with a few rainbow and lake trout. Blue dodger/aqua fly, white dodger/pearl fly combinations, and blue and silver spoons were successful on downriggers throughout the week. Orange, bloody nose, watermelon, and blue dolphin spoons had the most success on high lines, pump handles, and the dypsy. With your downrigger depths out deep, try setting them in the 80-110 foot range. If fishing less than 100 feet in total depth, set your riggers in the 40-60 foot range. The majority of salmon have been taken during the morning bite before 7 a.m., so start as early as possible to get big chinook before fishing slows by mid-morning.
Door County - Pleasant weather conditions were had for the beginning of last week; however rain, fog and wind showed up toward the weekend. Rain on Friday dampened some fishing activity, fog on Saturday morning made navigating difficult and strong winds from the northwest on Sunday made for tough fishing on the Green Bay side of the county. Despite a few poor days of weather, anglers continued to be successful. Salmon and trout fishing has remained productive for this early in the year. Fishing along the bank reef has been a popular destination; however, fish were also being targeted in 150-200 feet of water in other spots in the lake. Fishing out of Baileys Harbor for salmon picked up with many reported limits being reached. Most anglers were working fly and flasher combinations on down riggers, and spoons on dipsy diver rigs. Steelhead have been active in the upper 60 feet of the water column, and an occasional lake trout has been seen down deeper too. Good smallmouth bass fishing has continued around the county. Fish have still been seen on beds along the shorelines of Sturgeon Bay and in the bays heading north along the West side of the county. Plastics and crank baits have been productive, usually fishing in 4-10 feet of water. Perch fishing has been hit or miss for most anglers, but some fish were still being caught. Fishing near the bottom with slip bobber rigs with minnows is a safe bet to land some tasty fish. Working the weed edges and the edge of the shipping channel in Sturgeon Bay has been the choice for most anglers. Walleye continue to be caught within the bay and out toward Sherwood Point, crawler harnesses have been the main attraction. Northern pike fishing has been slow with few reports of catches, however a few musky have caught since the season opener.
Kewaunee County - The week started off on the right foot with temperatures in the low to mid 70s with sunny skies. The winds were also very calm at the beginning of the week and led to lots of fishing opportunities. Unfortunately as the week progressed, a cold front moved in and brought a few thunderstorms and high winds with temperatures in the low 60s. As a side note to weather, the Wild Rose Fish Hatchery released about 720 brown trout that averaged 10 inches per fish at the Kewaunee Ramp on Thursday. The Kewaunee ramp has been very successful again this week with a few boats coming in with eight to 10 fish. The species have been mainly king salmon and lake trout this week with an occasional rainbow trout being brought in as well. The action in the latter part of the week took place at about 90-120 feet of water with fish biting about 70-80 feet down. The more common lures being hit at flies but there has not been a specific color as it seems most colors are getting hits. The Kewaunee pier continues to see increases in fishing pressure and there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of fish being caught. The more successful anglers have been catching the fish down near the end of the pier and have been using aqua colored spoons. The Algoma ramp saw a decreased amount of fishing pressure this week due to the rough weather in the last part of the week. Anglers were highly successful at the beginning of the week with many boats harvesting four to five fish that were composed mostly of king salmon. The depths being fished varied from 130-260 feet with fish being caught through out those depths but as the week progressed, the action slowed down and the fish moved shallower with the most successful depths being around 80 feet. The south pier continued to see increased action as more reports of steelhead being caught and as more schools of bait fish begin to emerge along the pier.
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County - In Sheboygan trollers have been catching chinook, coho, and rainbows, although fishing has slowed somewhat. The most fish have been caught between 100 to 120 feet of water, anywhere from 20 to 70 feet down. Shore fishing in Sheboygan has been relatively slow, although a few browns have been taken near Edgewater Power Plant.
Ozaukee County - Trollers in Port Washington have found a mixed bag of fish between 60 and 180 feet of water, from the surface to 90 feet down. Decent numbers of chinook, coho, rainbows, and a few lake trout have been hitting flashers and flies or spoons. Shore fishing in Port Washington has been generally slow.
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee trollers have been catching decent numbers of coho and chinook, along with a few rainbows and lake trout. Orange dodgers coupled with blue or green flies have taken the majority of fish, and the spoon bite remains slow. The most consistent depths have been 45 to 150 feet of water. Overall, Milwaukee shore fishing remained slow but some coho and brown trout have been taken off McKinley pier. Alewives fished on the bottom have produced the most. The McKinley fish cleaning station is now up and running.
Racine County - In Racine, trollers have been catching decent numbers of coho as well as a few chinook. Fish have been in as close as 30 to 50 feet of water or as deep as 120 feet. Orange or red dodgers and green flies have taken the most fish. For shore anglers in Racine, an occasional coho has been taken off the piers on alewives, and early mornings have been the most productive.
Kenosha County - In Kenosha trollers have been finding fish in a variety of depth ranges, from 40 feet of water all the way out to 130 feet. Trollers have been taking mostly coho, along with a few chinooks, some of which have been in the 20-pound range. Dodger and fly combinations have been productive, but spoons have been catching a fair number of fish as well. Fishing from shore in Kenosha has been slow, and there has been very little fishing pressure.
Crawford County - The Mississippi River has been holding steady for most of the week. The river stage was at 7.8 feet Tuesday. The forecast for the Mississippi River is to remain steady just below the 8 foot mark. The Kickapoo River is up a little from last week. The river stage in Gays Mills and Steuben was at 7.45 and 7.24 respectively. The Wisconsin River has been up and down a bit during the past week. The current river stage in Muscoda is 1.53 feet. Historically the Wisconsin River can easily fluctuate a few inches in one day under normal flow. Canoeists 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. If the Mississippi River drops near the 7 foot mark boaters will have to use extra caution around wing dams, closing dams, and back water sloughs. 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. Look for bluegills to start to move out of the shallow water areas, especially as the water temperatures rise. Horseshoe Lake, the Upper and Lower Doubles, Big and Little Missouri, and Fish Lake have all been producing bluegills. Most anglers are using a chunk of night crawler for bait. There has been some bluegill action staring on wing dams too. 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 nightcrawlers. 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. There has been some action in the shallows, but there are better spots to try for bluegills. Better fishing exists on the other size (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. 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 minnow, 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. Trout anglers are finding that local streams are still 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. There still are a substantial number of gnats out awaiting outdoor users. Besides the gnats, deer flies, horse flies and mosquitoes are out. Poison ivy, parsnip and stinging nettle are also out. The DNR advises that if you come across a baby wild animal to just leave it alone. Pets are problematic for the young animals so control your pets. Whitetail deer have having their fawns now and numerous reports of fawn sightings are coming in. Whitetail mothers are notorious for leaving their fawns unattended for long periods of time. If you locate a fawn don?t pick it up, just move away as the mother will return eventually. Black bear sightings have been on the increase in Crawford County. A dozen or more sighting have been reported in the past couple weeks. Area residents should not be overly concerned, however pet food, garbage cans and bird feeders should be secured or removed to the bears don?t make a habit of returning to those areas.
Chippewa Flowage fishing report 6.12.10http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=3861.0Lake Geneva fishing report 6/6/10 - 6/13/10http://wisconsinoutdoor.com/smf/index.php?topic=3835.0Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
