Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: May 31, 2011
Manitowoc Co.
Watch out for the orange flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets set in Lake Michigan. Steer clear and give these markers a wide berth to avoid getting tangled and capsizing. Learn where the nets are set on our Trap Net page.
Strong northeast winds during the week switched out of the southwest at 15-20 mph by the weekend. Mid-week temperatures in the mid-40s increased to the mid-50s by the weekend. Fog occurred on and off during the week with occasional light rain showers along the lake. Harbor temperatures dropped to 56 degrees, with Lake Michigan surface temperatures dropping significantly to 40-42 degrees off of Two Rivers. Boaters out of Two Rivers showed the first signs of success when it comes to salmon fishing over the weekend. Between Two Rivers and the lighthouse north of Two Rivers, boaters landed several chinook salmon ranging 7-15 pounds in 90-120 feet of water. Most boats came in with one or two, with charter boats coming in with 6-8 fish consisting of rainbows, lakers, and chinook salmon. A small number of the fish came on spoons with the majority of the salmon coming on white glow/mirage and green/green dodger/fly combos. Anglers reported luck in the deeper third of the water column with their downriggers. Shore fishermen continue to have little to no success in Two Rivers and Manitowoc this week for trout and salmon. Suckers in the Manitowoc Marina continue to be caught using night crawlers on the bottom. Pier fishermen out of Two Rivers have consistently landed carp up to 30 pounds this week using alewife on the bottom. Overall, the strong northeast winds kept the lakeshore very quiet all week.
Kewaunee Co.
Fishing pressure remained very light due once again to windy and inclement weather. Algoma: Algoma had light fishing pressure. Some Chinook were being caught straight out of the harbor in the 100' range, 40 or so feet down. Dodgers and flies seemed to be the lure of choice.
Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
Boaters and anglers: Watch out for the orange flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets set in Lake Michigan. Steer clear and give these markers a wide berth to avoid getting tangled in the nets. Learn more on our Trap Net page.
This week was another up and down week for fishing weather. We saw a few days with slow western winds that allowed more boats to launch but also saw some days with strong eastern winds that limited fishing. The Memorial Day weekend saw beautiful weather that allowed many boats to launch in order to search for fish. The water conditions remain cold for this time of the year with many boats reporting temperatures ranging from low 50?s to low 60?s in different areas. The hottest place this week for fishing in Northern Door County was at the pier in the Peninsula State Park. Anglers that waded into the water towards the rocky point managed to land many large smallmouth bass. The anglers on the pier had some luck as well with some smallmouth bass being caught on night crawlers. Ephraim?s Pier saw quite a lot of action this week with some of the larger bass caught from shore being from this location. The hot bait of choice were pumpkin seed colored tube bait. Egg Harbor, Bailey?s Harbor, and Sister Bay some low fishing pressure from shore and did not produce many fish. Boats that Launched from Sawyer Park and the rock quarry had marginal success for smallmouth and northern pike. A few boats did report catching some larger walleye in the Potawatomi Park areas. The fishing pressure from both of these launches remained low compared to last year at this time.
