Wisconsin Fishing Reports 11/13/08

[Lee Borgersen]

Eagle River Area    ( top )

Eagle River Area

Muskie action has been very good lately. A lot of anglers are catching fish, primarily on live bait. A 50-incher was released last week.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Green Bay Appleton Area     ( top )

Green Bay/Appleton Area

Cooler temperatures are settling in, bringing diving ducks out onto the bay. Both Oconto Park II and the Oconto breakwater landing were producing perch, with minnows and crappie rigs working well, as were slip bobbers. Casting for browns from the breakwater in Oconto has yielded limited success, but this should get better. Stiles dam anglers were having success on crappies by using small minnows and slip bobbers rigged for near-neutral buoyancy.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Hayward Area    ( top )

Hayward Area

The cool, windy, and rainy weather kept fishing pressure down, but a fair number of diehard anglers did venture out to try their luck. Muskies have been the main target for most of these late-season anglers, and action has been very good. Nearly all anglers have been dragging suckers around, and many anglers have been experiencing multiple fish trips. Most of the catches have been of muskies in the 34- to 42-inch range, with a few reports of bigger fish being seen. Big-fish action should get better into November. There also have been a few walleye anglers out, and they have been having fair success. Large fathead minnows fished on the breaklines in 10 to 16 feet of water have produced a few limits of walleyes in the 12- to 16-inch range. Some decent crappie catches also have been made, with the fish being found near the deeper areas and suspended 2 to 5 feet off bottom.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

La Crosse Area    ( top )

La Crosse Area

Bald eagle sightings have been increasing steadily during the past several weeks as the fall bird migration progresses. Good numbers of eagles can be seen along the Mississippi River and Kickapoo River. Eagles, however, are not confined to traveling exclusively along river corridors, so keep a sharp lookout wherever you go. For example, bald eagles have been seen flying over Viroqua in central Vernon counties, 20 miles from the Mississippi River and 15 miles from the Kickapoo River. Fall turkey hunters have been reporting good success and plenty of birds to hunt. Turkey hunters should be aware that the acorn crop is smaller than that of the past several years. Therefore, wild turkeys may be spending less time feeding in the woods and more time in grain fields.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Lake Michigan Metro Area Lakes    ( top )

Lake Michigan/Metro Area Lakes

In Sheboygan, pier anglers have been catching a few browns and steelhead on spawn and spoons. In the Sheboygan River, some cohos, chinooks, and browns have been caught on flies near the Kohler dam and in Esslingen Park.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Lake Winnebago Area    ( top )

Lake Winnebago Area

Crappie fishing is excellent on the Wolf River near New London and Shiocton. Anglers were having success using minnows and pinky jigs.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Madison Area    ( top )

Madison Area

Fishing pressure has been pretty light, although fishing action has been pretty good. Northern pike, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch have been hitting on Lake Mendota. Lake Monona has turned over and muskie action should start picking up out there pretty soon. Bluegills also should start stacking up pretty soon in the bays on Lake Monona. Lake Waubesa panfish action has been better than average, with crappies preferring minnows, while the bluegills are taking worms. Muskie action is improving on Waubesa.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Manitowoc Two Rivers Area    ( top )

Manitowoc/Two Rivers Area

In Manitowoc, anglers had a fair week of fishing with most of the fishing activity concentrated around the marina and the north pier stub. Most anglers were casting spinners and spoons or using spawn sacs. Anglers were landing a mix of chinooks, rainbows, and browns, but fishing was on the slow side. A few boat anglers were fishing inside the harbor and landed a few nice rainbow trout. One lucky angler who braved poor weather conditions on Lake Michigan landed a 7-pound brown trout while trolling in 35 feet of water. On the Manitowoc River, anglers had success landing chinooks at Mill Road (Hwy. R), and at Manitou Park. On the Branch River, anglers had some success fishing lower river segments with spawn sacs or flies. In Two Rivers, anglers had a slow week of fishing. A couple of boat anglers who went out on Lake Michigan and trolled in 140 to 170 feet of water were able to land a chinook salmon and a rainbow trout. On the East and West Twin rivers, anglers had a fair week of fishing. Most were using spawn sacs, but fly fishermen also were able to land a few chinooks.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Marinette Area    ( top )

Marinette Area

Deer movement and increased seasonal activities such as rubs and ground scrapes are common. Leaf fall is almost complete except for oaks, which are still holding. With the cool temperatures and winds of the past week, fishing pressure has been light. Water temperatures at the landings have dropped into the mid-40s. The good news is the fish are still biting and it is a beautiful time of the year to be outside. So dress warmly and take advantage of the fishing opportunities available this time of the year. The Menominee River is starting to produce some walleyes at the Hattie Street bridge. Zip Baits and crankbaits fished in the current with a slow retrieve works well for walleyes and browns. Some perch are being caught in the slip behind the Mystery Ship Landing on slip bobbers and minnows. Kings were still being found behind the library in good numbers, but the fish were getting black.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Sauk City Area    ( top )

Sauk City Area

Smallmouths are bunched up in deep holes on the Wisconsin River and they are just hammering. Anglers can fish for the smallies, but they should release those fish because they are very vulnerable at this time of year. Trout are hitting like crazy on Devils Lake. On Lake Wisconsin, the crappies are stacked off of the first break, usually in 10 to 15 feet of water. White bass are everywhere. If you find baitfish on your screen, there will be lots of white bass around.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Siren Area    ( top )

Siren Area

Fishing has been a little on the slow side, but anglers have been catching crappies, walleyes, and smallmouths on different waters around the area. Muskies have been hitting on Yellow Lake. Deer hunters registered a lot of deer during the October antlerless season. The fall turkey season is getting a lot of attention from are hunters.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Sturgeon Bay Area    ( top )

Sturgeon Bay Area

Like the weather, the fishing this week was pretty much a repeat of last week. There were still good numbers of chinook salmon swimming in the Sturgeon Bay/Lake Michigan ship canal, as well as in all of the harbors. Smallmouth bass action seems to be improving a little. The deeper waters off of the points - as well as deeper off-shore structure in 20 to 35 feet of water - were producing increasingly better numbers of smallmouths. Tube jigs and live bait seem to be the baits of choice. For shore anglers, the Stone Quarry County Park was the place for smallmouths. Anglers fishing early mornings and late evenings were picking up a few walleyes under the low-light conditions. The best bet for walleyes remains the areas around Sherwood Point, Henderson Point, Dunlop Reef, and the flats, along with the shoreline areas off or Potawatomi and Peninsula state parks and the waters around Washington Island. The walleye bite also was decent near Henderson's and Larson's Reef. Crankbaits and crawler harnesses remained the best bets for walleyes. Anglers trolling the weed edges along the channel between the bridges in Sturgeon Bay were taking a few northern pike in 12 to 18 feet of water. For a chance at some bigger pike, try trolling in 23 to 30 feet of water around Washington Island. Near Chaudoir's dock, the yellow perch bite was very good. There were a number of large perch being caught in this area. In the Little Sturgeon Bay/Sawyer Harbor area, perch were biting. Many anglers were finding perch in 10 feet of water.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST

Wausau Area    ( top )

Wausau Area

As fall has progressed, fish have been moving and holding out deeper in the rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Try hard-bottomed areas near structure or current breaks. Live bait has been working well lately, with jigs and minnows accounting for splendid mixed bags of smallmouth bass, walleyes, white bass, and crappies. Try casting jigs along the sharper hard-bottomed breaklines, up and under deeper undercut banks, or parallel to downed timber and rock outcroppings. In addition, both smallmouths and walleyes are being caught by anglers casting or trolling crankbaits in natural patterns. Crappie anglers are also doing well by working slip bobber rigs baited with minnows in thick cover in backwater areas. Muskies and northern pike have been feeding aggressively, with fish of both species having been released after being caught on on jerkbaits, large jigs, and live suckers.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:13 AM CST