Wisconsin Fishing Reports & Outdoor Report for May 4, 2017

[Rick]

Rain held on through the weekend and start of this week, but has since subsided into lightly cloudy sunshine. In Northern Wisconsin, the weather had been colder, but the rain, sleet and snow seem to have finally passed, leaving a more true May feel in their wake. Watch for a fast and vibrant green-up in the Northwoods thanks to the heavy moisture as leaves fill out and flowers unfurl. Wisconsin's general inland game fish season opens this Saturday and fisheries biologists say anglers can expect to find some trophy potential fish as well as abundant numbers of popular game species this spring. The musky season opens on southern Wisconsin waters while on northern waters the season opens May 27 to give musky additional time to complete spawning. Smallmouth bass are also divided into northern and southern zones with catch and release only in the north until June 17.Fishing reports from the last week tell of tough weather and a difficult bite. Rivers across the state are still running high. Trout streams are in similar shape, but should be in better shape by the opener Saturday. Along Lake Michigan, boaters landed browns, pike and a few walleye in Marinette, while anglers at Oconto were able to land smallmouth, northern pike and a rare walleye. Brown County anglers saw an increase in white bass and freshwater drum, with Door County reporting a slight increase in night walleye bite. Boaters out of Sheboygan and Port Washington saw occasional catches of brown and lake trout.

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