Lake Michigan Fishing Report 9/25/09

[Woody]

Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 24, 2009

Kenosha Co.
In Kenosha shore fishing and trolling have both been generally slow. 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. A few chinooks have been caught by trollers off the mouth of the Pike as well.

Racine Co.
Shore anglers fishing off the Racine piers and shoreline have been catching a few chinooks. Most fish have been taken before dawn on spoons. Trollers out of Racine have been finding some mature chinooks and a few coho in front of the harbor, and J-plugs and crankbaits have produced the most fish. Trollers working offshore have been taking chinooks and lake trout 50 to 100 feet down in 100 to 140 feet of water. Cracked ice spoons or flasher & fly combinations have taken the most fish. Water levels on the Root River are very low, and there has been very little sign of fish activity in upstream stretches.

Milwaukee Co.
In Milwaukee nearshore waters remain warm, and shore fishing has been generally slow. Trollers out of Milwaukee have been catching a few chinooks, coho, and lake trout 60 to 80 feet down in 100 to 160 feet of water; and a few browns 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 fishing on the Milwaukee and Menomonee Rivers has been slow. Water levels remain low in all area tributaries.

Ozaukee Co.
Shore fishing has picked up in Port Washington. Anglers have been catching browns near the power plant and chinooks, rainbows, and coho have been taken in the north slip. Spawn has produced the most fish in both locations. Trollers out of Port have reported mostly chinooks taken 80 to 110 feet down in 130 to 200 feet of water. Green or orange spoons have taken fish.

Sheboygan Co.
In Sheboygan fishing has been slow for anglers off the piers and also for trollers. Water levels remain low on the Sheboygan and Pigeon Rivers, but in the Sheboygan some chinooks and a few browns have been seen up to Esslingen Park. 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.

Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 22, 2009

Manitowoc Co.
The salmon run appears to be underway this week. Low water conditions may slow the upstream movement of fish already in the rivers and new fish up from Lake Michigan. The larger streams are likely better bets than are small streams that are nearly dry. In Manitowoc, trout and salmon anglers had fair fishing this past week. Anglers on the south pier were landing some large Chinook salmon fishing at sunrise or sunset. Anglers using 1/2 to 3/4 oz spoons with orange, green, or chartreuse had the most luck landing salmon this week. By late Sunday afternoon anglers fishing the north end of the marina had some nice catches of Chinook salmon that ranged from 15 to 18 pounds in weight. On the Manitowoc River, bass anglers had a good weekend. One group fishing the river near Mill Road landed some nice smallmouth bass, a few rock bass, and one small catfish. The bass were caught on spinners while the catfish took a worm off the bottom. On the West Twin River at Shoto, a lot of salmon have moved up to the smaller dam.

Kewaunee Co.
Some salmon have already begun to get darker as the fall spawning run gets closer, and there are some 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, as well as in the middle of the night. Anglers that have been going out on the lake had some success this week. Kings accounted for most of the catch this week, but a few steelheads and lakers were also being caught. Water temperatures have been holding in the upper 60s on the surface this week. Most fish are being caught in water depths between 75 and 125 feet with most anglers fishing over water that is in the 125 to 200 feet range. Some anglers have been going out to even deeper water up to 500 feet to try to locate fish, but not many fish were caught this last week. Anglers have also been fishing in the nearshore areas around the mouth of the harbors and in the harbors and have also been finding a few fish. Anglers have been using a combination of J-plugs, spoons, dipsies, flashers, and flies in various color patterns.

Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
The salmon action on Lake Michigan was fair this week. Anglers trolling out deep with spoons and fly and dodger combinations in the top 80 feet over 250 to 300 feet of water were having some success. Action is picking up for anglers fishing off the piers at the Coast Guard Station and from the shore along the canal. Anglers trolling in the canal and out to the half mile buoy on the big lake reported some success with big spoons and crank baits. Further north anglers reported taking a few fish out of Baileys Harbor, Gills Rock and the waters around Washington Island. The smallmouth bass action was good to very 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 15 to 25 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 continues to be fairly 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 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 biting for anglers casting off the points and along the weed edges in Sturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon. Also try trolling big (4 to 6 inch) crank baits in 12 to 18 feet of water. Some muskies were also reported out of Little Sturgeon Bay.

The Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report is updated once a week until October 31.