Lake Michigan Fishing Reports

[Rick]

Milwaukee, WI - The weekly Lake Michigan fishing reports from 7/11/13 are gathered by local DNR officials, angler creel surveys, county and state parks staff. They are compiled. There are always current Wisconsin Fishing Reports and hunting reports as well as outdoor reports in this forum. Enjoy.

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Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report:

Kenosha Co.

Ramp: Activity was back to normal this weekend at the Simmons Island boat ramp. Rain, lightning, and high winds kept most boaters off the lake for nearly a week. The catch rate has been very low lately, according to anglers at the fish cleaning station. Most of the anglers reported that they’ve been motoring out to the “hills” to start their fishing trips. A few anglers returned with nice catches of cohos and a few kings averaging 15-20 pounds. Most anglers report that they’re having a hard time finding the fish. A couple of boaters motored north to Wind Point, but they returned with only 1 or two coho in the cooler. Anglers fishing for perch have been active as well, but they’re working hard to find them. The break wall outside the harbor has been a popular spot, especially the southern side where the water is deeper. A few perch anglers reported some luck fishing the rocks and woodpiles along the shoreline. Most of the anglers are using a jig and plastic, and some of them report that they have better luck when they add a wax worm or a spike to the bait. A couple of boaters have been trolling the harbor for brown trout, and they’ve been having good luck. There isn’t much room to troll in the harbor because of all the boat traffic and because of all the lines in the water from anglers on the piers.

Shoreline: Fishing pressure on the shoreline was steady all week. Anglers finally got a break with a few days of warm and dry weather. Nice catches of browns were taken all week long from the short pier, the area around the Pike Creek outlet, the point behind the Best Western hotel, and from the old wooden pier in front of the Coast Guard station. Most anglers have given up on perch for the time being as large numbers of brown trout continue to be caught in the harbor. Anglers reported catching a few perch while fishing from the rocks between South Pier and Southport Marina, but they’re working hard to catch them. The perch were hitting on minnows and on jigs tipped with small plastic worms. The surface temperature at the lakefront was 64F on Sunday.

Piers: Fishing pressure has been heavy on the piers over the past week. Nice catches of brown trout have been reported all week long on North Pier and South Pier. Some anglers have been walking off the piers with their limit of browns. Artificial lures are taking most of the fish. The browns have been hitting tube jigs, kastmasters, cleos, krocodiles, white twister tail spinners, swedish pimples, and fire tiger spinners. Anglers fishing with alewives are having limited success. The browns have been rolling on the surface of the water all day long for over a week. One angler lowered an underwater camera into the water from North Pier and everyone watched as nice size brown trout swam past the camera. Anglers on both piers are still fishing for perch, and some of them have been catching brown trout by accident. The most productive lure for catching the browns was a ½ ounce, blue/silver or green/silver kastmaster.

Racine Co.

Ramps: Activity at the boat launch was heavy this weekend as temperatures climbed to the upper 80’s. Nearly half of the boats at the ramp this weekend went out for pleasure boating rather than fishing. Anglers report that they’re having a hard time finding schools of fish. Trolling in 80-90 feet of water around the 3rd hill produced nice catches of fish over the past few days. And a few boaters from Salmon Unlimited came in with some nice catches of cohos and kings on Saturday. They trolled straight out from the harbor until they located a school and then worked the area until the fish stopped hitting. Sometimes it took 3-4 hours to find the school but when they did, they caught cohos, lakers, and kings. A couple of boaters tried fishing for perch along the break wall by Gateway Tech and by the bubbler outside the water treatment plant on Sunday. They reported limited success. Perch fishing has been very slow this year. A couple of anglers went spear gunning for perch along the break wall. They saw a small school of perch (20-30) but couldn’t get close enough to spear them. It was their first attempt at spear gunning for fish.

Shoreline: Fishing pressure on the shoreline was average this week, and the catch rate continues to be low. One of the regular anglers at the Pershing Park wooden pier reported that the perch fishing has been very slow for over a week. She managed to land one bluegill over three days while fishing with crab tails and minnows. One angler caught his limit of perch, some over a pound, while fishing from the rocks below the DeKoven Center. The perch were caught on a jig tipped with a small plastic worm. Another angler at the DeKoven Center reported that he finally caught his first perch of the year after 6-7 days of fishing. One angler landed some nice size brown trout while fishing the point at the water treatment plant with a white twister tail. There was little to no fishing pressure on the Reichert Court fishing pier over the past week. A couple of anglers tried bow fishing from the pier on Saturday, but it was difficult to see the fish due to the dirty water. The surface temperature at the lakefront was 64F on Sunday.

Piers: Fishing pressure increased on the piers this week after a few days of warm and dry weather. A few anglers on the North Pier reported some nice catches of perch earlier in the week. The perch were taken on jigs tipped with small plastic worms and with small golden roaches. One angler said that he always has good luck catching perch on North Pier when the wind comes out of the northeast. The perch stopped biting on Friday when the wind direction shifted from northeast to southwest. As the water temperature has been warming up, anglers have been catching more brown trout from South Pier. Cleos, wobblers, and krokodiles have been taking most of the browns. Most anglers stopped using alewives for bait about two weeks ago. Repair work on South Pier resumed on July 3rd. Work was delayed for about a week due to strong winds and high waves. According to some anglers, the catch rate on South Pier has dropped since the repair work began and that the loud noise and vibration has been spooking the fish.

Milwaukee Co.

North Shore: Fishing has remained slow through the weekend though lighter winds have provided at least the opportunity to venture out on the lake consistently. Boaters only averaged about 2 to 3 fish landed per boat, so it remains much slower than is to be expected for this time of year. Those that were catching fish focused in 100-175 feet of water with no particular depth below the surface providing more fish than any other. Chinooks and lake trout made up most of the catch with spoons in blue and green producing the best. A few cohos were caught along with rainbows on blue and white flies with orange flashers. Fishermen off of McKinley pier caught a few brown trout off the pier in the evening on green spoons. The rest of the shoreline also had no reports of success fishing for browns or any other species. Perch fishing was extremely slow as well with only a few small perch caught off of the rocks near McKinley using jigs or live bait under a bobber.

South Shore: Fishing has remained slow through the weekend though lighter winds have provided at least the opportunity to venture out on the lake consistently. Boaters only averaged about 2 to 3 fish landed per boat so it remains much slower than is to be expected for this time of year. Around 100-175 feet of water produced the most fish with a few reports of more fish caught in around 100-115 f.o.w. between St. Francis and Oak Creek. A few Chinooks were caught on blue and green spoons. There were no reports of people catching fish from underneath the Hoan Bridge. A few perch fishermen went out of Bender Park to fish the boils, but only a few small perch were caught on soft plastics. Anglers fishing on the Oak Creek power plant fishing pier had no reports of fish being caught. Perch fishing was inconsistent around the South Shore floating pier with only a few keeper perch caught on minnows off the bottom between 5 and 7 am.

Ozaukee Co.

Fishing pressure has increased on the ramp, mainly due to the Ozaukee Great Lakes Sport Fishermen’s Fishing Derby. Pressure also increased slightly on the pier, and remained low from shore.

Port Washington Pier: Fishing pressure has increased on North Pier, but catch rates remain low. Many anglers the past few days have been fishing for anything, venturing onto the pier more for the sunshine and cool breeze than the fishing. Fishermen have reported a couple small perch being caught, as well as a couple nice Browns, but fishing effort is high and catch rates are low. Water clarity on Thursday (July 4) was low near shore, but clarity improved by the end of the weekend, mainly due to only light wave action generated by a consistently Southeast wind the past few days. This wind has made the lake quite choppy through the middle of the day and created some rough water near the mouth of the harbor as well. Anglers have also reported that water temperature near the end of the pier is in the high 50s to low 60s (°F).

Port Washington Shore: Fishing pressure has fluctuated from low levels on Thursday (July 4) and Saturday (July 6), to more normal levels on Sunday (July 7); in fact, I observed no shore anglers on Saturday. The recent increase in catch rates seems to have tapered off, with only small trout and a rock bass reported in the past few days, caught on worms and a silver spinner, respectively. Water clarity in the marina remains good, and water levels on Sauk Creek continue to drop while clarity improves. The path to Fisherman’s Park remains closed.

Port Washington Ramp: Fishing pressure has increased to more normal levels on the ramp. On Thursday (July 4), most boats stayed on the lake until past dark, most likely to watch the fireworks. I was only able to interview one group that day, but they caught nothing and had no strikes. Boat traffic increased on the weekend, mainly due to the fishing derby, and catch rates were higher, with most boats coming back with four to five fish. Catches consisted mainly of cohos, but also quite a few chinooks and rainbows were caught, as well as a couple lakers. Anglers continue to troll in 90 and 130 feet of water and are marking a lot of baitfish. Most success this weekend was with spoons. Anglers have reported large slicks of dead alewives in open water. Like other areas there has been a consistent Southeast wind the past few days that has grown stronger from late morning and continues into the afternoon, generating some sizeable waves.

Amsterdam Road Ramp: Fishing pressure remains low on the Amsterdam Road ramp. No trailers were observed on Thursday (July 4) and only jet skis launched from the ramp on Saturday (July 6). On Sunday (July 7), 5 groups launched from the Amsterdam Road ramp, but no boats came back while I was in the area. Judging by catch rates in Port Washington, fishing was probably quite slow. Like other areas there has been a consistent Southeast wind the past few days that has grown stronger from late morning and continues into the afternoon, generating some sizeable waves. This wave action could make launching a boat quite difficult. Though there has been constant light wave action, clarity near shore is quite good.

Sheboygan Co.

Watch out for the orange flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets set in Lake Michigan. Steer clear and give these markers a wide berth to avoid getting tangled and capsizing. Learn where the nets are set on our Trap Net page.

Fishing pressure has increased on the ramps, remained low on shore and increased on the piers.

Sheboygan Ramps: Fishing pressure has increased on the marina ramp, and one trailer was observed from the 14th Street landing (but they evaded me). There was a constant stream of boats on Thursday (July 4), and this boating pressure continued through the weekend. Catch rates were slightly higher on Thursday, with most groups catching three to five fish; most catches included coho, but some also bagged nice rainbows and chinooks. Catch rates tapered off by the end of the weekend, with about half the groups interviewed catching nothing. Anglers continue to have success, and mark fish, in 80 to 140 feet of water and seem to be catching most fish on spoons. There has been a consistent Southeast wind the past few days that has grown stronger from late morning and continues into the afternoon, generating some sizeable waves. Most anglers are reporting large slicks of dead alewives in open water. The lake has also been hazy during the day due to humid air. The 8th Street ramp remains closed.

Sheboygan Piers: Fishing pressure fluctuated in the past few days, from very low numbers on Thursday (July 4) to more normal levels on Sunday (July 7). Low numbers on Thursday were mainly due to the closure of South Pier for holiday festivities. Despite resumption of more normal fishing pressure, anglers continue to report no catches, though some have seen or heard of a brown trout caught here and there. Like other areas there has been a consistent Southeast wind the past few days that has grown stronger from late morning and continues into the afternoon, generating some sizeable waves. This wave action has influenced higher fishing pressure on North Pier (mostly the lake side), as well as focused effort on South Pier to the marina side. Despite wave action, water clarity on the lake side of both piers remains good.

Sheboygan Shore: Fishing pressure remains low on the Sheboygan River and the lake shore. Water clarity on the Sheboygan River and in the marina remains poor. I observed only one fisherman on shore, at North Point; I was doing my count at the time and was not able to get the interview later. My guess is nothing was caught, mainly due to warm water near shore and also low water clarity due to constant wave action.

Cleveland Ramp: Fishing pressure has increased the Cleveland ramp. Mainly recreational boaters used the ramp on Thursday (July 4), but the weekend saw an increase in fishing boats. Anglers fishing on Sunday (July 7) averaged one fish per boat, with catches of a coho, a laker, and a chinook. Anglers were trolling between 70 and 100 feet of water, and like other areas continue to report lots of baitfish but few strikes. There has been a consistent Southeast wind for the past few days, which has generated some sizeable chop (usually from midday to the early afternoon) and constant wave action on shore that has made launching slightly difficult. Due to wave action, clarity in near shore areas is low.

Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: July 8, 2013

Manitowoc Co.

Watch out for the orange flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets set in Lake Michigan. Steer clear and give these markers a wide berth to avoid getting tangled and capsizing. Learn where the nets are set on our Trap Net page.

Offshore: Lake Michigan trout and salmon fishing is starting to improve out of Two Rivers and Manitowoc. Water temperatures are rising, and 60˚F to 62˚F can be found in most areas at the surface. A layer of cooler water is reportedly setting up 50 feet down, but this is sure to change with variable wind and weather. Many boats are reporting a good early bite in the top 50 feet of water. Later in the day anglers are having a hard time connecting with feeding fish, though schools of alewives and occasionally game fish are being seen regularly on locators. Boats are fishing many depths, locations, and with many techniques to take fish. It has been described by one angler as a “random pattern out there.” Flies and flashers as well as bright colored and metallic spoons have all worked. Most boats are trolling in depths of 70 to 200 feet of water, but some boats are fishing out deeper for rainbows, up to 12 miles out of Two Rivers. The N.E.W.G.L.S.F Salmon Derby took place from July 5 through the 7th in Manitowoc, and some large fish were caught. A 28 pound chinook took the prize in its division and there were many nice coho, rainbows, brown trout, and lakers caught.

Harbor/Piers/Rivers: Pier and shore fishing has been slow overall, but is slowly heating up. Some brown trout in the 3 to 6 pound range have been caught off the piers in Manitowoc. Casting spoons such as Kastmasters, Champs, Little Cleos, and Krocodiles have worked. Heavy spoons are needed to get as much distance as possible with casts. Few salmon have been reportedly caught from the piers in Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Bullheads are being caught regularly from Vet’s Park and boat landing in Two Rivers. A large pike was caught and released from the Two Rivers harbor. Occasional smallmouth are being caught from area rivers along with channel catfish during lowlight conditions.

Kewaunee Co.

After a hot start to salmon fishing in the KeDoor area, things cooled off significantly during the week; however, the salmon that are being caught are huge (up to 30 lbs.!), so landing one fish can really turn a trip around. We saw 5-15 fish per boat early in the week, down to 1-5 fish per boat by the weekend, with many anglers returning with empty boxes. Part of the reason for the slowdown could be the south wind bringing colder water and the return of the alewives in full force after a brief absence. One can walk the lakeside piers in Kewaunee and Door counties to see the continuous procession of baitfish which, according to weekend anglers, goes out as far as 600 feet into the lake.

The salmon bite has been inconsistent this week, the majority of them are still coming at first light, but quite a few have been spread out during the day, so it could pay off to stay out a little longer if the weather is good. Most anglers start fishing for chinook in 70’ to 100’ of water during the early hours, with bait down 50’ to 80’, then moving out as far as 600’ with bait in the top 50’ to fish for steelhead. Kings are biting best on the fly and dodger combo, while brightly colored spoons work best for the ‘bows. In the past week, some nice 5-7 lb. coho salmon and even the occasional lake trout have been mixed in with the ‘bows in that top 50’.

Not too many anglers have been out pier fishing in Kewaunee County yet, but casting spoons or spawn could land a nice trout, which have been seen swimming amongst the baitfish. The Ahnapee and Kewaunee rivers have many public access points and are nice places to fish for panfish, bass, pike, catfish and bullheads. Look on your map for places where the road crosses the river or parks that are right next to them, like Bruemmer Park in Kewaunee or Blahnik Park in Algoma.

Northern Door Co. and Sturgeon Bay (Lake and Bay sides)

Boaters and anglers: Watch out for the orange flags and buoys that mark commercial fishing trap nets set in Lake Michigan. Steer clear and give these markers a wide berth to avoid getting tangled in the nets. Learn more on our Trap Net page.

After a hot start to salmon fishing in the KeDoor area, things cooled off significantly during the week; however, the salmon that are being caught are huge (up to 30 lbs.!), so landing one fish can really turn a trip around. We saw 5-15 fish per boat early in the week, down to 1-5 fish per boat by the weekend, with many anglers returning with empty boxes. Part of the reason for the slowdown could be the south wind bringing colder water and the return of the alewives in full force after a brief absence. One can walk the lakeside piers in Kewaunee and Door counties to see the continuous procession of baitfish which, according to weekend anglers, goes out as far as 600 feet into the lake.

Sturgeon Bay north to Baileys Harbor has been one of the better places for salmon in the area, especially the bank reef out of Sturgeon Bay. Charters have been reporting 5-10 fish with most success coming by fishing in the top 60’ of water at a depth of 90’ to 130’. Gills Rock and Washington Island have seen a few fish in the top 70’ of water at 80’ to 120’. As reported for Kewaunee County, anglers can pick up rainbow trout on brightly colored spoons fishing in the top 30’ of the water column. Schools of trout have been spotted rounding up baitfish off the piers in Sturgeon Bay.

Bass are still going pretty well in Door County, with many piers, harbors and off-shore islands giving up 5 lb. plus fish, including all the bays and shore around Washington Island, Sand Bay, Andersons Dock in Ephraim, the flats in Sturgeon Bay, and Rowleys Bay on the lakeside. Tubes, grubs and spinners baits are good choices, but don’t be afraid to throw out some crawlers on a slip bobber, just watch out for the gobies. Fishing the bottom transitions in 3’ to 11’ of water is recommended.

Walleye action has slowed around the county, but they can still be consistently found from Chaudoirs Dock south and usually around the islands near Sister Bay. 15’ to 20’ of water with flicker shads, smash shads, reef runners, deep husky jerks, deep diving rouges or crawler harnesses being good bait to try. As the weather heats up, so too should the walleye fishing from Henderson’s Point north, but this time of year, don’t be surprised to see a lot of sheepshead and large alewives taking walleye bait.

Perch action seems to be really good early in the morning, but shuts off around 8am. The newly formed weeds in the Sturgeon Bay shipping canal, Sawyer Harbor, Rileys Bay, Little Sturgeon, the rocky shoreline at George K. Pinney (formerly Stone Quarry), and the docks in Egg Harbor are some nice places to try. On Washington Island, Petersons Bay is reportedly giving up some nice catches. Fathead minnows, crawler pieces, flatworms and leaf worms are all good bait choices.

Muskies have been caught on big spinner and big body bait in perch and walleye colors on the flats and inside the bridges of Sturgeon Bay, Little Sturgeon, and Rileys bay.

Green Bay Fishing Report: July 8, 2013

Brown Co.

Overall, the weather was nice with warm temperatures and increasing water temperatures. Water temperatures were about 75 degrees by Suamico and Geano's Beach and up to 78 degrees at the Green Bay Metro launch in the shallows.

Fox River: Fishing activity out of the Metro launch was moderate, but pleasure boaters dominated the launch over the weekend. Fishermen were targeting walleye with very low numbers being landed. Baits used were cranks baits (purples) and crawler harnesses (copper) in about 10-15 feet of water. Shore fishing pressure was moderate with fishermen looking for walleye and smallmouth bass at the mouth of the river. None were caught, but fishermen did catch catfish, sheepshead, white bass, and a few gobies on night crawlers.

Geano's Beach: Fishing activity was moderate with most fishermen targeting walleye and a few targeting yellow perch. Perch numbers were not high, but the average size was about 8 inches. Perch were caught in about 30 feet of water using minnows. Walleye numbers were low, and fishermen used night crawlers and crawler harnesses (bluegill color) in about 10-22 feet of water. The average size of the landed walleyes ranged from about 17 inches to 24 inches. Other species caught were sheepshead and catfish.

Suamico: There was a lot of activity in and out of Suamico River this week. The majority of the boats were pleasure boaters with few fishing boats being seen. Fishermen were targeting walleye with limited success. Walleye anglers were using a variety of baits including night crawlers, crawler harnesses (purple), and rapalas (any color) and were fishing in 18 to 25 feet of water. A few fishermen were looking for yellow perch using minnows in about 10 feet of water. Very few perch were landed. Sheepshead and catfish were also caught by anglers.

East Shore

Walleye action has slowed around Door County, but they can still be consistently found from Chaudoirs Dock south and usually around the islands near Sister Bay. 15’ to 20’ of water with flicker shads, smash shads, reef runners, deep husky jerks, deep diving rouges or crawler harnesses being good bait to try.

Oconto Co.

Hot and humid weather this past week brought fishermen and pleasure boaters alike out in force. Kayaks and tubers were especially heavy on the rivers leading to Green Bay. The Iron Bridge boat landing overflowed with canoeists and kayakers; some brought fishing equipment with smallmouth being the target species. Spinners, small Rapalas, and live bait were catching some nice fish. A few panfish are being caught by the Stiles Dam using slip bobbers and crawlers. Some walleye and bass are being caught from the mouth of the Pensaukee River to Oconto Park II. Most walleye action has been in 16 to 20 feet of water, jigging with zip lures or tube jigs and trolling with crawler/harness.

Marinette Co.

Hot and humid weather this past week brought fishermen and pleasure boaters alike out in force. Kayaks and tubers were especially heavy on the rivers leading to Green Bay. Sheepshead and catfish are being caught by anglers at the mouth of the Peshtigo Harbor fishing on bottom with crawlers. Perch and salmon fishermen are reporting no fish as of yet. Menominee River anglers are catching some nice walleye, catfish, and sheepshead trolling and fishing from shore using live bait, stick baits and tube jigs.