Wisconsin Fishing Report 5-10-10

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Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: May 10, 2010

Kenosha Co.
In Kenosha trollers continue to catch good numbers of coho from 20-60 feet of water just south of the harbor. Orange dodgers and small flies, crankbaits, and spoons fished high in the water column are all taking fish, and a few kings have also been mixed in. Early mornings have been best as the bite usually shuts down an hour or two after sunrise. Shore fishing in Kenosha remains somewhat slow.

Racine Co.
In Racine the steelhead run on the Root River is just about done, as fish have become quite scarce. Trollers fishing nearshore in Racine have been catching a few coho in water less than 20 feet deep. Those venturing out to 150 to 250 feet of water have been taking decent numbers of coho near the surface and chinooks 60 to 100 feet down. The coho have been hitting orange dodgers and flies, and the chinooks have been taking white flashers with blue flies. Racine shore anglers have been catching a few coho off the north pier, and both alewives and spoons have been productive at times.

Milwaukee Co.
In Milwaukee trollers found a few browns and lake trout off of the filtration plant before the high winds and storms moved in. Trollers working 40-70 feet of water had some action on spoons and crankbaits fished off of either downriggers or planer boards. Overall, Milwaukee shore fishing remains slow.

Ozaukee Co.
There was very light fishing effort from the pier, harbor/shore and utility and no effort from the ramps or Sauk creek. There was no action to report. The temperature was in the low to mid 40’s, skies were mostly cloudy with heavy rain at times, and there was a moderate wind to the southwest on the 7th and to the southeast on the 8th. Port Washington Ramp: The water at the ramp was 48° F, light brown with moderate clarity. Port Washington Utility: The water in the area was blue green with moderate clarity. No anglers were interviewed. Port Washington Piers: The water outside the pier was 44-46° F, blue green with moderate clarity and there was moderate wave action off the pier. The water inside of the pier was brownish green with moderate clarity. Port Washington Harbor/Shore: Undersized brown trout were caught in the north slip. Sauk Creek: The water was 50-52° F with good clarity but a brown tinge; the water level was low but off its lowest levels and current was moderate.
Sheboygan Co.
There was very light fishing effort from the piers, from Edgewater power plant and on the Sheboygan River. There was some action to report from the Sheboygan River and Edgewater power plant. There was no effort from the ramps, shore or on the Pigeon River or Weeden’s creek. On the 7th and 8th, skies were cloudy with some rain and a moderate wind to the south. On the 9th, skies were partly cloudy with a moderate wind to the northwest. The temperature was in the low to mid 40’s. Sheboygan Ramps: The water at the ramp was 54° F, brown with low clarity. Sheboygan Piers: The water off the lakeside of the north pier was blue green with moderate clarity and no wave action. The water off the lakeside of the south pier was calm, 50° F and brownish green with moderate clarity. The water in the harbor was 50-52° F, and brown with moderate clarity. Sheboygan Shore: The water in the marina was brown with moderate clarity. Pigeon River: The water in the river was 52-54° F, had good clarity with a brown tinge, the water level was low and the current was moderate. Sheboygan River: The water at the mouth of the river was 52-54° F, brown with good clarity. The water upstream was 52-54° F, brown with moderate to good clarity; the water level was low but off of its lowest levels and the current was moderate. Smallmouth bass and a steelhead were caught on the afternoon of the 9th, upstream of Esslingen Park on plastic grubs and jigs. Weedens Creek: The water in the creek was 48-50° F, with good clarity; the water level was low and the current was moderate. Edgewater Power Plant: Carp were caught by the outflows with corn in the late afternoon on the 9th.
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: May 10, 2010

Manitowoc Co.
Cold temperatures hovering around the freezing mark combined with strong winds and heavy rain mixed with snow left the Manitowoc/Two Rivers lakeshore quiet this past week. Strong southerly winds dominated most of the week while water temperatures dropped to the middle 50s throughout the area. Despite heavy rain during the week, water levels and clarity returned to normal by the weekend. Angling pressure for brown trout died down this past week out of both the Manitowoc and Two Rivers ports. A few boats ventured out over the weekend when winds allowed, but had little success. White and other light colored spoons on the dipsies have had the majority of hits and fish. The most success for brown trout came in the Manitowoc harbor, where anglers landed several using plain silver champs and cleos in several colors. Off the Manitowoc piers, a few 7-10 pound channel catfish have been landed using spawn slightly off the bottom. According to anglers, a few steelhead were still being caught using flies or floating spawn early in the week near the Shoto dam on the West Twin River. Several 17-18 inch smallmouth bass were also caught near the dam using crank baits and jigging large pieces of night crawler. At Cato Falls on the Manitowoc River, the excellent northern pike fishing continued this week mixed in with an occasional smallmouth bass using jointed-rapalas and other crank baits.
Kewaunee Co.
The majority of the week had high winds (20-30mph) and very limited fishing on both the lake and in the stream. The rain showers that we received also brought much needed water to the streams and helped raise the water levels. Mother’s Day brought great weather with temperatures in the 50’s and very low winds. Algoma: The Algoma ramp and pier have seen very little fishing pressure this week due to the high winds but the few boats that launched managed to return with a few rainbow trout. Stony Creek is the only stream that has seen any fishing pressure this week but there have been no reports of any fish being caught there. The clear water does reveal that smaller brown trout are now in the stream. The Forrestville dam is still providing panfish above the dam and a few rainbow trout have been caught below the dam on earthworms. Kewaunee: The Kewaunee ramp saw a few boats launch on Mother’s Day that came back with some great results. Most of the fisherman came back with some rainbow trout that were topping 11 pounds. Reports of salmon biting are starting to become more prevalent also. The fish are being caught on different colors of spoons ranging from purple to chartreuse. There have been no reports of fish being caught off the pier in Kewaunee. The area behind Brummer Park has seen low fishing pressure but the few fishermen have caught some rainbow trout close to the bridge on worms and rapalas.
Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
The Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report is updated once a week until October 31.

Green Bay Fishing Report: May 5, 2010
Temperatures at the landings are in the mid 60's with good water clarity. Fishing pressure has been light to moderate due to wind day after day.
Oconto Co.
Brown trout are still being caught at Stiles using small spinners, natural baits, and bead headed nymphs. A few bluegill are being caught by the Stiles Dam using slip bobbers and garden tackle. Pensaukee has been a hot spot for walleye trolling in 4 to 8 feet of water using just about anything. Nice limits of walleye in the 20 to 24 inch range are being caught on crawler/harness, stick baits, and plastics; color and size seems to be a non-issue to the fish. Some walleye are also being caught out of Oconto Breakwater and Oconto Park II, fishermen are having a little harder time of it, so Pensaukee wins the spot of the week. Some sunfish, bluegill and bullheads are being caught in the slip at Oconto Park II.
Marinette Co.
Peshtigo Harbor area is still producing some walleye drifting using jig and minnow, also some nice catch-and-release smallmouth have been observed in the last few days. A second run of sturgeon can be observed in the fish refuge at the Peshtigo Dam; take the family and have a look. The Menominee River walleye bite continues to be good both in the river and the bay. Small flat fish trolled in the river between the Interstate bridge and the turn basin has worked well. For you shore fishermen, both the Government pier and the Lighthouse pier have been producing nice walleye during the periods of low light. One bait of choice has been the plastic goby attached to a 3/4 oz jig head casted and retrieved very slowly off the end of the lighthouse pier.