Lake Michigan Fishing Report: April 19, 2010

[Woody]

Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: April 19, 2010

Kenosha Co.
In Kenosha trollers have started catching coho. Look for coho to start moving further north as the spring progresses. In the Kenosha harbor steelhead and brown trout fishing has been slow, but anglers have been catching a few crappies on small fatheads near the boat launch. Steelhead fishing on the Pike River has been slow.

Racine Co.
Root River: Water levels are still slowly dropping and are now are just about at "normal" levels. Clarity has improved greatly in the past few days and sight fishing is now again possible. The weir is now closed and fish have an open passage upstream. As a result, no area has been proving best. Steelhead fishing is starting to slow down noticably as most fish have completed spawning, but there are still a few finishing up. Most of the steel left have been actively spawning on gravel beds with good current flow. There have been a few fish as well holding in the deeper pools, most of these fish have completed spawning and are recovering in the river before moving back to the lake. Flies have been best when fishing for spawning fish. Small natural flies as well as egg imitators have been working best. For the fish holding in the deeper areas, spinners and drifted spawn have been producing a few fish...Sucker numbers are also beginning to drop slowly. Fish were processed at the Root River Steelhead Facility on Wednesday, April 14, and the facility has been shut down. An additional 32 steelhead were passed upstream, for a total of 363 this season.

Milwaukee Co.
In Milwaukee anglers fishing the Milwaukee River along the wall under the Hoan bridge have been catching a few browns on spawn and shiners, but overall fishing has been slow. In the Milwaukee River anglers have been catching a few steelhead on yarn flies at Kletzsch Park, but numbers of fish have dropped here in the past week. Steelheading on Oak Creek and the Menomonee River has been slow. Boaters working in and around the gaps in the Milwaukee harbor continue to catch browns and lake trout. Both jigging and trolling small crankbaits have been effective.

Ozaukee Co.
There was very light fishing effort from the ramps, pier, harbor/shore, utility and on Sauk Creek. There was action to report from the pier. The temperature was in the low 40’s, skies were clear and there was a light wind to the east. Port Washington Ramp: The water at the ramp was 46-48° F, blue green with moderate clarity. No anglers were interviewed. Port Washington Utility: The water was blue green with moderate clarity. Undersized brown trout and suckers were caught. Port Washington Piers: The water outside the pier was a little choppy, 42-44° F, blue green with moderate to good clarity. A brown trout was caught on a minnow in the early morning on the harbor side of the pier. Port Washington Harbor/Shore: The water in the harbor was blue green with moderate clarity. No anglers were interviewed. Sauk Creek: The water was low and the current was moderate. The water was brown with good clarity and was 48-50° F.

Sheboygan Co.
There was moderate fishing effort from the ramps, light effort on the piers and very light effort from the shore and on the Sheboygan River. There was no effort from Edgewater Power Plant or on Pigeon River and Weedens Creek. There was action to report from the ramp, piers, and Sheboygan River. On the 15th, the temperature was in the 60’s, skies were mostly sunny and there was light wind to the north in the early morning and moderate wind to the east later in the morning. On the 17th and 18th, the temperature was in the 40’s, skies were clear and there was a moderate wind to the south and southeast. Sheboygan Ramps: The water at the ramp was 52-54° F, brown and a little muddy with low to moderate clarity. On the mornings of the 17th and 18th, mostly brown trout were caught but lake trout, rainbow trout and Chinook salmon were also caught. Most fish were caught by anglers trolling in water less than 30 feet. Fish were caught on spoons, plugs, stickbaits and shad wraps on planar boards, dipsy divers and down riggers. Sheboygan Piers: The water off the lakeside of the north pier brownish blue green with low to moderate clarity, on the 15th the water was calm but on the 17th and 18th there were waves crashing on the pier. The water off the lakeside of the south pier was calm, 48-50° F and blue green with moderate clarity. The water in the harbor was 50-52° F and brown and muddy with low clarity. Brown trout were caught throughout the morning on the 15th and 18th on the lake side of south pier on minnows and a Swedish pimple. There were also reports of lake whitefish caught early in the morning on the 18th. Sheboygan Shore: The water in the marina was brown and a little muddy with low to moderate clarity. Pigeon River: The water in the river was 52-56° F, brown with moderate to good clarity, the water level was moderate and the current was moderate. Sheboygan River: The water at the mouth of the river was 54-56° F, brown with moderate clarity and upstream the water was 54-56° F, brown with moderate clarity, the water level was moderate and the current was moderate. Undersized rainbow trout and a smallmouth bass were caught on the morning of the 18th at Esslingen Park on a spinner. Weedens Creek: The water in the creek was 52-54° F, brown with good clarity, the water level was low and the current was moderate.

Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: April 19, 2010

Manitowoc Co.
Fishing pressure became relatively low throughout the week on the East and West Twin Rivers, the piers and Lake Michigan due to cold temperatures, strong winds, and little angling success. Strong south and northwest winds combined with cool temperatures dominated the week's weather. The winds created waves 1-3 feet high on Lake Michigan and the lack of precipitation dropped water levels 4 inches in the area rivers by the end of the week. East Twin River: Anglers fishing for steelhead on the East Twin had little success this past week. The sucker and steelhead run slowed by the weekend, but both are still present in quantities worthy of a fishing trip. Use night crawlers to catch several suckers near the Mishicot dam or spawn sacs for steelhead. West Twin River: Steelhead fishing has slowed down as water levels dropped as the water temperature rose from 46F to 54F. Anglers had the greatest success early in the week using flies or an orange jighead/tail. A few anglers tried their luck catfishing, but the fishing was fairly slow. Manitowoc River: Fishing was relatively quiet this week due to high, murky, fast flowing waters. A few anglers ventured out for catfish, landing a few small fish. Anglers used a variety of bait from night crawlers to even spawn sacs on bottom. The water temperature at 56F. Little Manitowoc and Branch Rivers: A few fly fishermen on the Branch River, near the golf course landed nearly a half dozen steelhead during the week. Orange and brown or black flies received the most action. The Branch river had very good water clarity with water temperatures at 52F. On the Little Manitowoc River late arriving steelhead with great color were taken near the mouth of the river by floating spawn or orange yarn. Silver Creek: Water levels have dropped and so have the amount of steelhead and suckers swimming in the creek. A few anglers have been observed but there has been very little fishing pressure. Two Rivers and Manitowoc Harbor/Piers: Winds calmed long enough during the early morning hours to get some good fishing in. Using orange casting spoons, a small number of Brown Trout were landed. A few catfish have been taken on spawn while Brown Trout fishing. Manitowoc/Two Rivers Ramps: Anglers fishing on Lake Michigan in 7 to 13 feet of water south of the Manitowoc Harbor were landing brown trout this week. Spoons with any white combination on the dypsies are hot, with crankbaits and high lines relatively slow.

Kewaunee Co.
High winds for the majority of the week limited the amount of fishing pressure on Lake Michigan from boats. The higher temperatures have also raised the water temperatures in the streams to an average of 49 degrees. The Algoma ramp is starting to see an increase in usage towards the end of the week when the winds began to calm down. The fishing itself seems to be very hit and miss for Brown trout and Lake trout. The majority of the fish have been caught on spoons this week. The Algoma pier has seen moderate pressure with very few fish to show for it. The northern pier has seen a few catfish pulled in with the use of sucker chunks. All of the surrounding streams in Algoma have seen diminished fishing pressure due to few fish being caught and the warmer temperatures in the water. The most active streams are still Stony Creek and just below the Forrestville dam. The Kewaunee ramp is also seeing increased use as reports of Brown trout and Lake trout being caught begin to come in. As with Algoma, the streams in Kewaunee have seen decreased fishing pressure as fewer rainbow trout are being caught. The majority of the fish being caught have been near Footbridge and behind the Brummer Zoo on spawn sacs.
 
Door Co. (Lake and Bay sides)
The week in Door County brought high winds and rough conditions throughout the week, however fisherman were not deterred from angling. The week started with strong winds from the East but switched to strong winds from the West for the weekend Brown Trout fishing tournament. The unique shape of Door County allowed for fishing on whichever side of the peninsula that was more protected. It was a big weekend for many anglers fishing in the Lake Michigan and Green Bay waters Brown Trout Tournament. Pressure definitely increased over the weekend with most fishermen having success on both the bay and the lake. A twenty pound Brown Trout took the tourney title, with many fish close behind in the high teens. Overall fisherman reported good numbers of fish taken in the single digit pound range, mostly using stick baits and spoons. Heavy winds were cause for some turbid waters, a factor that benefited the fishing. The Walleye spawn should be right around the corner. Fish are still being reported with consistency off the train bridge in Sturgeon Bay, and along the shorelines moving west towards Potawatomi State Park and Green Bay. Many northern pike have been seen in the local marinas looking to begin their spawn too. One fisherman reported a 25 lb pike taken while fishing for Browns out of Fish Creek during the weekend, a very nice catch. Stream fishing has been picking up a little with some steelhead being taken out of Heins and Whitefish Bay creeks. Many fishermen reported seeing a good number of Steelhead, however the fish are very skittish and spook easily. Spawn sacks have been the popular choice for results.