Lake Michigan Fishing Report 9/30/09

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Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 30, 2009

Kenosha Co.
In Kenosha shore a few chinooks and browns have been taken in the harbor on spawn sacs and white tube jigs, and other chinooks have been taken on spoons near the mouth of the Pike River. Water levels remain relatively low on the Pike, but some chinooks have been seen in upstream stretches.

Racine Co.
Shore anglers fishing off the Racine piers and shoreline have been catching a few chinooks on spawn, and trollers working in front of the harbor have been catching them on spoons and crankbaits. Water levels on the Root River are still on the low side, but rain over the weekend has triggered upstream movement of chinooks. Fish can be found from the river mouth up to the Root River Steelhead Facility. Wooley buggers have been productive for fly anglers, and spawn sacs and skein have both produced as well.

Milwaukee Co.
In Milwaukee trollers have been catching chinooks 60 to 80 feet down in 100 to 140 feet of water; and a few browns and chinooks have also been taken by boaters in the harbor and around the gaps. A few chinooks and rainbows have been taken out of Oak Creek, but water levels are low. Fishing on the Menomonee River has been slow, but some chinooks have started to move up the Milwaukee River. Chinooks can be seen jumping in Kletzsch Park, and there have also been reports of steelhead caught just north of Capitol Drive.

Ozaukee Co.
Shore fishing has picked up in Port Washington. Anglers have been catching browns and chinooks near the power plant and in the north slip. Spawn and glow spoons have produced the most fish. Fishing on Sauk Creek has been slow, and water levels are low.

Sheboygan Co.
In Sheboygan fishing has been generally slow for anglers off the piers, but a few chinooks and rainbows have been taken. Sheboygan trollers have been catching chinooks and rainbows from the harbor out to 135 feet of water. Most fish have been taken from 20 to 70 feet down on spoons. Water levels remain low on the Sheboygan and Pigeon Rivers, but in the Sheboygan chinooks have been caught as far upriver as the Kohler dam. Northern pike and smallmouth bass have also been hitting small spoons and spinners in Kiwanis Park.
The Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report is updated twice per week from March 1 to December 1 each year. This report is a copy of the fishing report we post on our fishing hotline at (414) 382-7920.

Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 28, 2009

Manitowoc Co.
Salmon fishing in Two Rivers and Manitowoc was good early last week, but slowed by the weekend. A few nice sized Chinook salmon and an occasional brown trout were caught by anglers fishing the piers or from boats in the harbors. Yellow perch anglers fishing deep water inside the Two Rivers harbor had slow but steady success this week. Most of the perch ranged in length from 6 to 12 inches and were caught using small minnows. On the East Twin River, salmon anglers have had some success fishing at the road crossings on the lower half of the river. Some nice catches were made by drifting spawn sacs or fly fishing just after sunrise. Salmon fishing success near the Mishicot dam has been slow so far, but on Sunday, one angler fishing the dam landed a nice, very brightly colored, male steelhead. On the West Twin River, salmon anglers were concentrated near the Shoto dam. Friday was a good fishing day for most anglers with many Chinook salmon harvested that ranged in weight from 12 to 22 pounds. A few brown trout were also landed on Friday. By Sunday fishing success near Shoto had dropped substantially. Most anglers were using spawn sacs or casting spinners and spoons.

Kewaunee Co.
Salmon are continuing to get darker as the fall spawning run gets closer, and there are many fish being spotted and caught up the Ahnapee and Kewaunee Rivers. Anglers have been reporting some success casting spoons for trout and salmon off of the piers in Algoma and Kewaunee. Most of the fish are being caught at sunrise and sunset, but some are being taken during the day. Anglers that have been going out on the lake had limited success this week. Kings, steelhead, and lakers were all being caught this week. Water temperatures are still been holding in the upper 60s on the surface this past week. Most of the fish that are being caught are being found in water depths between 75 and 125 feet with most anglers fishing over water that is in the 125 to 200 feet range. Anglers have also been fishing in the nearshore areas around the mouth of the harbors and in the harbors, and they have also been finding a few fish.

Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
The salmon action on Lake Michigan was only fair again this week. Anglers trolling out deep with spoons and fly and dodger combinations in the top 60 to 80 feet over 100 to 300 feet of water were having some limited success. Action off the piers at the Coast Guard Station and from the shore along the canal was best described as fair. Spoons and crank baits were producing a few fish for anglers trolling in the canal. Further north anglers continued to report taking a few fish out of Baileys Harbor, Gills Rock and the waters around Washington Island. The smallmouth bass action continued to be good on Green Bay from Little Sturgeon all the way north to Washington Island. The reefs and points are all producing some smallies. Tube jigs, stick baits, grubs and Kailans fished in 8 to 15 feet of water all were producing a few fish. Top water lures, spinners and crank baits fished in 2 – 10 feet of water near structure were also productive. Walleye action was reported as good to very good throughout the county, especially at night and under low light conditions. Anglers trolling over Henderson Reef and Monument Shoals as well as around islands such as Chambers and the Strawberries reported some success, mostly on crank baits and crawler harnesses fished in the 12 to 15 feet of water. The perch action was fair to good this week. The usual areas off of Chaudoir’s dock, the weed beds in Sturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon Bay, the flats and the area between the bridges in Sturgeon Bay all were producing some perch; minnows and night crawlers fished in 8 to 15 feet of water remain the baits of choice. Northern pike were cooperating with anglers casting off the points and along the weed edges in Sturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon.