NORTHERN REGION - Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and
inland Ashland and Iron counties) - With the summer tourism season in full swing, both fishing
pressure and recreational boating have been fairly high on most Northwoods waters - despite the
unseasonably cool and constantly changing weather. Musky have been the main species of interest
lately and action could be termed very good. Activity seems to have bumped up a notch in the past
few weeks and most anglers have been reporting some consistent action along weed edges and
amongst the less dense weed beds. Bucktails and top-water baits have been the favorite lures of
late. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass have been providing fairly consistent action as well and
some nice 18- to 20-inch fish have been reported. The largemouth seem to have taken up shop
near firm overhead cover such as logs, stumps or bog edges and fewer fish have been found
cruising the weed beds. As such, top-water baits have become less successful, with soft plastics
and bass jigs getting most of the action. All the major bass waters in the area have been producing
some great action and they include Miller Dam (Chequamegon Waters Flowage), Nelson Lake and
the Chippewa Flowage. Smallmouth bass have also gotten into their typical summer pattern and
have been relating real close to woody structure. The best action has been on the larger flowages,
with small plastics and spinner baits catching most of the fish. Walleye success has been fair, but
many anglers have had to move around quite a bit to find fish. Some success has been reported on
the deep weed edges and deep rock/gravel bars, with leaches and night crawlers being the best
baits. A few walleye have been caught on minnow stick baits fished along weeds edges after dark.
Panfish action continues to be good -- most people have had no trouble catching bluegill and rock
bass, but fish have generally been small. Look for the bigger panfish to be suspended near cover in
the mid-depth ranges (8 to 14 feet). With the low amount of rain in the last few months, water levels
are very low on most of the natural lakes in the area, while flowages are near normal to a couple
inches low. Weed densities continue to be real variable and algae blooms still have not been
reported to be too heavy on any lakes. River and stream levels have also been running at very low
levels and canoeists, kayakers and anglers should take note.
NORTHEAST REGION - Marinette County - The big story has been the salmon bite. Anglers
launching from the Peshtigo Harbor, Little River, and the Menominee River are having good
success fishing Chamber's Island, Green Island, the Cans, and Seagull Bar. Fish are being found at
varying depths, with lure selections running the gambit of colors. Perch fishing has been slow
although some fish were being caught out of Little River is 8 to 12 feet of water, minnows and leaf
worms are the baits of choice.
Oconto County - Temperatures at the landings remain in the lower to mid 70s due to a rather cool
summer. Fishing pressure has been moderate with most anglers using the launches between 8 and
9 a.m. Water clarity is great despite some recent rain fall. Bank anglers at the Stiles Dam are
enjoying great success with panfish using slip bobbers and leaf worms. Catfish and some panfish
were being caught at the Oconto Municipal Landing, fishing floats and directly on the bottom. Perch
anglers at Oconto Breakwater Park as well as Oconto Park II were having minimal success for perch
but doing well on walleye using crawler/harness in 14 to 20 feet of water.
Brown County - Bay Shore Park- The walleye action over the last week has been fair with most
anglers fishing University Bay or at Two Mile Reef. Anglers are targeting walleye with crawler
harnesses. A few perch are also being caught but there has been no real pattern as to where and
when they start biting.
Manitowoc County - Fishing this past week along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Manitowoc County
was fair. Anglers had to contend with some strong winds and high seas that made fishing difficult on
Lake Michigan at the beginning and end of this reporting period. Between unfavorable fishing
conditions anglers had good success fishing the piers and trolling on the lake that produced some
quality sized fish. In Manitowoc, most boat anglers were trolling in 20 to 60 feet of water using
flasher and fly combinations on downriggers or running spoons off dypsis. This week, green and
orange J-plugs produced a lot of fish and successful anglers were fishing the early and late bites.
Pier fishing was great this past week. Most anglers were casting 3/4 oz spoons with reflective green, silver, or yellow colors. Catches were mostly Chinook salmon although some steelhead were also caught. Anglers fishing out of Two Rivers were also trolling in shallow water this past week. Many boat anglers were trolling to the north along the Point Beach Park and near the nuclear power plant. Boat anglers were running planner boards, dypsis, downriggers, or lead core-line out to the third color. Glow in the dark spoons and J-plugs produced some nice catches. Most boat catches were dominated by Chinook salmon and rainbow trout with a few Coho salmon and lake trout mixed in. Due to high winds, pier anglers were concentrated on the north pier. Anglers were casting spoons, deep diving stick baits or using alewife off the bottom.
Door County - Anglers at Little Sturgeon Bay have been having some luck with perch on minnows
and night crawlers at Henderson Point. The walleye fishing has been fair with most anglers catching them in the early mornings. Sturgeon Bay anglers were reporting good numbers of perch being caught but most have been on the smaller side. Bass fishing has improved over the last week with some very nice fish being caught on leeches. At Chaudoir’s Dock, perch fishing has been very good over the last week. Most anglers were finding the bigger perch in 30 to 40 feet of water. The walleye fishing has been fair with most anglers fishing north of Chaudoir’s.
Kewaunee County - Weather this past week continued to be a little cooler than average and dry on most days. Some rain moved in during the middle of the week to bring some rain to the area. West winds on most days have been helping to bring in cooler water and keep the near shore area calm enough to fish. Anglers have been reporting some success casting spoons for trout and salmon off of the piers in Algoma and Kewaunee. The fish are mostly being caught during the night with a few being caught during the day. Anglers that have been going out on the lake had some good fishing this week. Kings and steelhead still account for most of the catch with there being more kings than steelhead being caught. Anglers have found that the fish are still holding closer to shore and as such they are finding fish in shallower waters. Most fish are being caught in water depths between 40 and 100 feet with most anglers fishing over water that is in the 75 to 125 feet range. Steelheads are still hanging higher in the water column with the kings hanging out in the deeper water. Most anglers have been using a combination of dipsies and flashers and flies, but spoons and J-plugs have also been having success as well. The most common colors seem to be either a bright green or blue.
Wautoma DNR Service Center area - There have been reports of good numbers of walleye and
perch being caught on area lakes. Algae blooms are common right now. This is due to an increase in plant nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates.
Oshkosh DNR Service Center area - Perch anglers are reporting some success with hellgrammites
on Lake Winnebago. The much anticipated Lake Winnebago sturgeon history book is now available for purchase. People of the Sturgeon tells the story of this prehistoric fish and includes some stunning photography. The book is being sold at a number of sites including Amazon.com and the Wisconsin Historical Society web site. Sturgeon for Tomorrow donated $25,000 towards publication costs to keep this full color, 300+ page book at a very reasonable price for sturgeon enthusiasts. There will be a book premier and signing event at the Oshkosh Public Museum on Sunday Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. You can read more about the book at the following links: [
www.winnebagosturgeon.org] or [
shop.wisconsinhistory.org].
SOUTHEAST REGION - Lake Michigan fisheries team report: Sheboygan County - In Sheboygan anglers on the end of the south pier have been catching chinooks on spoons and alewives. Sheboygan trollers have been taking mostly chinooks and a few rainbows, but fishing has been slow overall. The best catches have been 20 to 50 feet down in 60 to 100 feet of water on a variety of spoons and J-plugs.
Ozaukee County - Shore anglers in Port Washington have been catching perch in the west slip and off the end of the pier on jigs. Pier anglers have also been catching a few chinooks and coho on alewives and spoons, and shore anglers near the power plant have been taking browns. Trollers out of Port have reported chinooks, coho, and rainbows taken 20 to 40 feet down in 40 to 80 feet of water, with spoons and J-plugs producing the most fish.
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee shore anglers looking for perch have been catching a few on
minnows off the end of McKinley pier, off Cupertino pier, and in Bender Park. Boats near the Oak
Creek Power Plant and at the boils continue to catch perch on minnows. McKinley pier has also
produced some late night chinooks taken on glow-in-the-dark spoons, and browns have been
caught behind the Summerfest grounds. Trolling out of Milwaukee continues to be relatively slow,
although most chinooks have been taken 20 to 30 feet down in water 50 to 70 feet deep. Action has been more consistent south of the city, off of Grant Park.
Racine County - Shore fishing in Racine has been spotty for perch anglers, but boaters have been able to find some perch on minnows or crab tails along the ends of the breakwall and off the rocks near the DeKoven Center. Trollers out of Racine have been finding coho, rainbows, and chinooks off Wind Point in 30 to 40 feet of water early and 40 to 60 feet of water later in the morning. Glow-in-the-dark spoons and J-plugs have been producing, as well as white or green spoons and white flashers coupled with aqua flies.
Kenosha County - In Kenosha, perch anglers fishing from shore have been catching good numbers early in the morning from both the north and south piers as well as in Southport Marina. Boats looking for perch have also been catching decent numbers along the rock breakwall and at the bubbler. Minnows and crab tails have produced the most perch. Kenosha trollers have been
catching fair numbers of chinooks, coho, rainbows in as shallow as 30 to 50 feet of water.
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION - No Report.
WEST CENTRAL REGION - Crawford County - With the exception of a “bump” in water level after the Friday night storm, the Mississippi River remained fairly steady all week. The current level is 7.07 feet. The forecast for the Mississippi River is for it to remain fairly steady. Boaters on the Mississippi River must use caution now that the river is at summer time flow. Wing dams and closing dams have caused damage to several boats this past week. The Wisconsin and Kickapoo Rivers are settling down somewhat after last Friday’s storm. The sand bars on the Wisconsin River are in great shape for camping. All trout streams in the area are in good shape with normal flow and water clarity is good. Panfish action remained about the same this week. The best locations to find bigger bluegills have been on wind dams and in slower moving water in 6 to 12 feet of water. Anglers wanting to keep a meal of bluegills will have to keep medium sized ones. In the Prairie du Chien area try fishing wing dams and drop off in the Main Channel. The Ambro Slough, Black Slough, Fish Lake, the Upper and Lower Doubles and Big Missouri and Gremore Lake have been slow and the water is very low up there. The most popular bait has been a chunk of night crawler or garden worms. Fishing at Cold Spring continues to be slow. Perch fishing dropped off a little bit from the previous week. Walleye and sauger action was fair. Generally the early morning hours and later in the day has been the best for walleye action especially during the weekends when recreational boating traffic is the heaviest. Trolling and casting crank baits or drifting with live bait is the primary method of taking walleyes. Jump around on wing dams to find active walleyes. Night crawlers and leeches have worked well too. Smallmouth and largemouth bass have been very active. Smallmouth bass can be found on closing dams and wing dams or rock shorelines on the main channel. Largemouth bass can be found in a variety of habitats. Plastics, spinner baits, and crank baits have worked well. Bass anglers report catching numerous undersized fish. Catfish, both flathead and channel, activity was pretty good. A variety of live baits have produced cats. Move around until active fish are located. Channel cats have been a bit more active than the flatheads. Sheepshead are very active. A piece of night crawler fished off the bottom has been the best tactic. White bass
action was very spotty. Some moderate action was reported at the dam this week. Watch for surface feeding fishing and work those areas in the main channel. Northern pike action continued to be very good. Look for northerns where small feeder streams enter the river or try fishing the weed edges. Many popular bass baits have worked well for northerns including spinner baits and plastic top water baits. Trout fishing has been very good even though vegetation and insects are staring to make fishing a bit more difficult. Many local streams produced some very nice brown and brook trout. Insects like mosquitoes and deer flies are out in large numbers. Mosquitoes are really a problem in the river bottoms while the deer flies are in the wooded areas. Another hatch of gnat came out after last Friday’s rain.
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Topic: Wisconsin Fishing Report 8/6/09 (Read 1899 times)
