Wisconsin Statewide fishing report 8.26.11Most of Wisconsin continued to experience some very pleasant late summer weather, with the exception of some severe weather that moved across the west central and north central portions of the state Tuesday evening, resulting in at least one possible tornado in Clark County.
Most of the state received some rainfall in the last week, and some rivers continue to run above seasonal norms, including the Flambeau, Chippewa and St. Croix, while many others are near seasonal norms, and some northeastern rivers are running below seasonal norms. Water levels on the Mississippi have dropped 1 to 2 feet in the last week and the levels are getting closer to normal. Water levels on the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway are near normal, with abundant sandbars available.
In the north most fishing pressure has been for musky and bass, but a fair number of walleye and panfish anglers have also been trying their luck. With cooling water temperatures, musky activity increased and some nicer fish have been showing up along deep weed edges. Action for both largemouth and smallmouth bass has been consistent and some nice catches have been made in the last week. Walleye action has been best in the river sections of the larger flowages.
On Green Bay, some very nice catches of perch were being taken on the west shore about a mile out from the mouth of the Little River and on the east shore off Bayshore Park, Chaudoir?s Dock and Little Sturgeon Bay, with some limits reported.
On Lake Michigan, surface water temperatures outside the Manitowoc pier dropped about five degrees this week and was at 67 degrees Sunday. Chinook salmon numbers have picked up slightly with an occasional 20-plus pound chinook reported. These old chinook have started turning their dark fall colors, with many observed around the pier heads. Trollers out of the southeastern ports report the majority of fish taken have been chinook, with some lake trout, rainbows, and coho also being caught. Near-shore water temperatures were reported as low as 50 degrees and some chinook were being taken off the piers at Sheboygan.
Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) The variable late summer weather of the past week has kept both fishing activity and success at below normal levels. Most of the fishing pressure has been for musky and bass, but a fair number of walleye and panfish anglers have also been trying their luck. With cooling water temperatures, musky activity seems to have increased and some nicer fish have been showing up along deep weed edges. Nearly all musky anglers are reporting good numbers of follows and sightings, with bucktails, plastic swim baits, and surface lures getting most of the strikes. Any time of day has produced action and was mostly dependent on local weather conditions. Action for both largemouth and smallmouth bass has been consistent and some nice catches have been made in the last week. Largemouth are well settled in to their typical summer pattern and have been relating to the heavy cover such as woody structure, thick weed beds and deep bog edges. Soft plastics and rubber frogs have been the most productive and have to be fished tight to the cover. Smallmouth have been a bit more erratic than largemouth but action continued to be fair on the flowages and larger rivers. Soft plastics fished near mid-depth cover and crank baits fished on deep rocky drop-offs have produced the best success. Walleye action has been a bit inconsistent, though a few anglers have been reporting some decent catches and especially in the river sections of the larger flowages. Leeches and crawlers fished along the deep edges, and in/along the weeds have produced most of the fish. Panfish action continued to be fair with some decent catches of crappie, perch and rock bass being made along deeper weed edges and suspended over mid-depth cover.
Peshtigo Water temperatures at the landings remain in the upper 70s to low 80s with fishing pressure heavier in the mornings and evenings and light during the mid day period.
Marinette County Shore fishing on the Menominee River, from the Hattie Street Dam down to the mouth, remains on the slow side. Low water and high water temperatures has made fishing hard, however, those anglers plying their trade early morning and in the evenings when it is cooler have been having some success catching panfish, sheepshead and the occasional walleye dead drifting live bait or casting crank baits at structure. The evening walleye and catfish bite remains good trolling with stick baits or vertical jigging the deeper sections of the river. Some very nice limits of perch are being taken about a mile out from the mouth of Little River using minnows or crawlers fished on a crappie rig or slip bobber, look for weed beds. Browns and the occasional rainbow are being caught trolling in 55 feet of water from the Menominee River to Little River, as of yet the salmon bite remains slow.
Shawano County Water is starting to cool down and fishing is starting to pick up. Boating is still busy with people trying to get in their last minute time on the water. Hunting is just around the corner and lots of birds are staring to group up.
Brown County Bayshore Park anglers have been catching limits of perch in 15 to 25 feet of water. Minnows and worms have been producing the best results; most anglers have been using minnows in an attempt to stay away from the gobies. Anglers have reported catching numbers of smaller perch as well but having no problem finding good-sized fish. Walleye fishing has slowed the last few days with a large drop off in fishing pressure. Most anglers have been targeting walleye with harnesses. The majority of the anglers catching walleye found fish tight to the bottom. On the Fox River, anglers have been finding good numbers of channel catfish fishing from shore. Most have been targeting them with worms or cut bait. Anglers are also finding some good-sized smallmouth bass. Most have been targeting them along rocky shorelines along the river channel. Shore anglers at Suamico have reported catching some small perch and bass along the boat landing. Walleye fishing has been slow with anglers having a hard time trying to keep drum off the lines. Weeds are also causing problems with anglers having to reset every ten minutes or so.
Manitowoc County Air temperatures remained in the low to mid-70s with winds steady at 10-15 mph, changing throughout the week back and forth from southeast to southwest. The Two Rivers and Manitowoc areas have gone several weeks now without any significant rainfall, leaving the tributaries for the upcoming salmon run very low. Water temperatures outside the pier heads dropped to 67 degrees by Sunday, with temperatures remaining between 71-72 degrees offshore for surface temperatures. Boaters continuously were hampered by the strong southeast/southwest winds that created 2-4 foot waves. The numbers have picked up slightly for chinook salmon with coolers consisting mostly of jacks (small chinook salmon less than 3 pounds) and an occasional 20-plus pound chinook. These large, four year old chinook have started turning their dark fall colors with many observed around the pier heads. Boaters continue to land a few rainbow trout, but numbers are considerably lower than the last few weeks and are much smaller fish. Anglers appear to be having success in two different water depths including 120-200 north and south of the trap nets and also along the lakeshore in 50-60 feet of water. Boaters have had success on a variety of glow spoons early on, with more fish coming on green/green flasher fly combos later in the day. Riggers, dypsies, and high lines down to 90 feet have worked throughout the week, seeming to change from day-to-day with the constantly changing winds out of the southeast and southwest. Those boats that find pockets of colder water at the surface appear to come in with higher amounts of fish. Pier fishing remains slow, but a rainbow and chinook were caught off the piers this week. It?s a good start and can only get better for pier anglers. On Sunday, water temperatures were nearly 5 degrees cooler around the piers than out in deeper water.
Door County Bass fishing has been slow at Sturgeon Bay, with most anglers finding fish in deeper water. Most have been using live bait rigs either on the bottom or under a bobber. Most anglers are reporting catching a few bass that are of legal size otherwise most have been small. Perch fishing has been fair with anglers catching numbers of small perch, but some reporting catching a few worth keeping. Walleye fishing has been consistent the last few weeks at Little Sturgeon Bay, with anglers trolling for best results. Most have been targeting Larson?s Reef. Mornings and evenings are best as always but anglers have been reporting it being worthwhile to spend some extra time out during the day. The bite has been mixed, with crank baits and harnesses working the best. Perch fishing has been good with some anglers finding numbers of fish. Fishing has been good at Chaudoir?s Dock, with numbers of perch being caught in 15 to 25 feet of water. Most anglers have been catching a lot of smaller fish as well. Anglers have found that minnows have been the best bait the last few days. Perch anglers are also catching drum, catfish, and a few white perch. Walleye fishing has been good as well with anglers trolling for them with best results. A few are also being caught drifting. The boats that have been trolling have been doing the best with crank baits.
Waushara County Water levels in Waupaca and Waushara county trout streams is near normal and brown and brook trout have been biting.
Lake Michigan fisheries team reportSheboygan County - In Sheboygan some trollers continue to fish depths of 120 to 180 feet with limited success. Spoons fished in the top 70 feet of water have been the most productive, but there has been no consistent color pattern. The majority of fish taken have been chinook, with some lake trout, rainbows, and coho also being caught. Some trollers have also been working outside the pier heads, and a few chinook and some browns have been taken on spoons and J-plugs. Near-shore water off Sheboygan has cooled to 54 degrees, and some chinook have also been taken by shore anglers casting spoons off the piers.
Ozaukee County Most trollers in Port Washington have been concentrating in 80 to 120 feet of water. Magnum spoons trolled 30 to 40 feet down have been productive for chinook as well as some lake trout and rainbows. Shore fishing near the Port Washington power plant has started to improve, as the near-shore water temperature has dropped to 50 degrees. Chinook and browns have both been caught on spawn sacs. Fishing off the pier remains slow, but should improve if the water temperature stays cool.
Milwaukee County Trollers fishing off Milwaukee have been catching a mix of chinook and some rainbows along with a few coho and lake trout in 120 to 160 feet of water. Spoons and flashers and flies have both taken fish. Shore fishing remains slow around most of the Milwaukee area, and perch fishing has tapered off for both shore anglers and boaters.
Racine County In Racine decent numbers of mature chinook salmon have been caught by trollers working in 80 to 150 feet of water. Green or white flashers coupled with blue flies have been productive, as well as spoons in blue or cracked ice. A few rainbows and lake trout have been in the same areas as the chinook, and some coho and rainbows have also been taken in 220 to 300 feet of water. Perch fishing has dwindled in Racine, and shore fishing for trout and salmon remains slow as well.
Kenosha County In Kenosha trollers have had success catching chinook and a few rainbows and coho in 90 to 140 feet of water. Both flashers and flies as well as spoons have taken fish. Perch fishing has slowed in Kenosha for both boats and shore anglers. A few brown trout have been caught in the harbor, but those have been few and far between.
Grant County Fishing continues to be slow throughout the county. A few hand sized bluegills were caught at Bagley Bottoms Boat Landing near Bagley fishing worms near the beaver dam near the boat landing. Water levels on the Mississippi have dropped 1-2 feet in the last week and the levels are getting closer to "normal"
Jefferson County Water levels have dropped significantly on the Rock and Crawfish Rivers over the past couple weeks thus affecting fishing success. On the upper Rock and Crawfish catfish angling success has slowed up with only a few fish being seen recently. Anglers on Rock Lake are catching bluegill throughout the lake on pieces of worm. Most of the fish are in the 5-6 inch range.
Rock County Catfish are being caught along the entire section of the Rock River from Janesville to Beloit. Some walleyes are reportedly being caught at Indianford. Panfish and white bass are also being caught along sections of the Rock River in Janesville. Littering continues to be an issue below the dams in Janesville and anglers are encouraged to contact the DNR hotline if they observe anglers leaving trash and have descriptions of license plates or suspects for wardens to follow up on.
Minocqua area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/minocquafishingreport.htmLake Michigan Fishing Report and tipshttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/lmfishingtips.htm
Wausau Area fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/wisconsinriverfishingreport.htm
Chippewa Flowage fishing reporthttp://www.wisconsinoutdoor.com/chippewaflowagefishingreport.htm
Information compiled from the WDNR Outdoor report and private sources
