Fishing report update
Fishing WisconsinLake Michigan Outdoor Fishing Report - June 3, 2019
In general, fishing reports will be updated once per week, usually on Tuesdays. This may change based on availability of reports and work schedules of field staff.
REMINDER - Anglers must carry a paper copy of their license/stamps while fishing on the waters of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and the WI/MI, WI/MN and WI/IA boundary waters.
- Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report
- Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report
- Green Bay Fishing Report
Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: June 3, 2019
Sheboygan County
- Sheboygan Shore/Piers: There was no angling effort seen along the shoreline and very few anglers seen on the south pier on Memorial Day, most likely due to the rainy and cold weather on that day. However, those that were out reported catching two small cohos. The pelicans are back in Sheboygan and are all over the jetties and piers, seem to be eating many alewives. Surface water temperatures remained around 58°F. Anglers that were seen on the pier over the weekend were mostly targeting salmon and trout. A group of anglers were fishing all morning on the south pier and only reported two common carp being caught. Other anglers reported no success at all. It appears most anglers were using spoons, alewives, or floaters.
- Sheboygan & Cleveland Ramp: There were very few trailers seen this week and weekend during survey time. There were some anglers out trying their luck for salmon and trout, but again reported no success. The Cleveland ramp is finally in and ready for use!
Ozaukee County
- Port Washington Shore/Piers: During the week there were very few anglers seen on both the pier and shore during survey time. Most anglers seen were fishing the utility area and targeting browns and cohos but unfortunately had no luck. One group of anglers were specifically targeting carp and had some success with those. There were a few anglers trying their luck on the pier during the weekend but were not successful. There were many Pelicans seen near the piers and utility area, appeared to be eating many alewives.
- Port Washington & Amsterdam Ramp: Very few trailers were seen at the Port Washington Ramp earlier in the week, however it started to pick up during the weekend. Many of the anglers out were targeting lake trout or cohos, with a few targeting chinooks. A few boats reported keeping one or two lakers and cohos, and some came in with nothing at all. Sunday was the most active day with many anglers bringing in two or three decent size rainbows and lake trout per boat. Some anglers that were not as successful reported tracing many fish on their fish finder, they just haven’t been biting yet. There were no trailers seen at the Amsterdam Ramp as it is still in the process of being put in.
Milwaukee County
- City Shoreline, North: A handful of anglers were seen fishing the north city shoreline over the weekend, but no success was reported. The majority of anglers were seen near the red lighthouse at Lakeshore State Park and reported no bites.
- McKinley Marina: McKinley saw a good amount of action this week. Fishing boats reported catching a few coho and lakers south of the city, but success was rather limited. Most anglers only reported 1 or 2 fish caught, while others just enjoyed being out on the water.
- City Shoreline, South: Shore fishing remained slow this week. No fish were reported during surveys.
- South Shore and Bender Park Ramps: The South Shore Ramp and Bender Ramp saw a fair amount of activity this week and quite a lot of success. A few fish were reported at south shore, while anglers were reaching bag limits with coho and steelheads at Bender. A fishing party also came in on Saturday with some good sized chinook - the biggest being 24 lbs.
- Oak Creek Power Plant: The pier at the power plant were relatively active this week but success was quite limited. Only a few carp were reported during survey times and the pier was closed Saturday due to weather.
Racine County
- Fishing activity over the last several days has picked up significantly. Decent weather is finally starting to become a little more consistent. There were still a few periods of rain, which has left the water levels high and the water cloudy. Most anglers weren’t deterred by this. Fishing success on the shores and piers has still not been successful, but fishing success on boats is starting to become more frequent.
- Racine Harbor and Piers: Fishing activity on the shorelines and piers in Racine has still been a little low, but consistent. Most of the fishing activity from shore has come from the south pier along Christopher Columbus Causeway. The anglers who do try their luck from shore are having absolutely no success. Fishermen are trying several different baits including crankbaits, spoons, wax worms, nightcrawlers, alewives, and shrimp. Nothing has been working as nothing has been reported caught in weeks.
- Racine Ramp: Fishing activity at the ramps in Racine has increased the past several days. The weather is continuing to improve, which is bringing more trailers to the boat launches. Fishing success has also begun to improve among boats who head out onto the water. Many more fish are being brought in compared to the catch numbers from previous weeks. Coho continues to be the most targeted fish species, but fishermen are having luck catching other species as well. Anglers are bringing in combinations of steelhead, lake trout, coho, and chinook salmon. No brown trout have been reported caught in quite some time. Fish are being caught in water only 40 feet deep all the way up to 150-200 feet deep. The water temperature at and around the ramp fluctuated from the mid to high 50’s
Kenosha County
- Fishing activity has started to pick up now the weather is staying better for longer amounts of time. Fishing from shore has still been slow, with no fish being caught in a few weeks. Even with different bait presentations being used, no fish have been reported caught. The fishing success on boats has been improving though.
- Kenosha Harbor and Piers: Fishing activity along the piers and shores in Kenosha has been constant. Several anglers have tried their luck every day, but no fish have been caught. Most of the activity has occurred on the north or south piers running down both sides of the harbor heading out to the lake. A dredging project is set to begin within the next week, which could affect the amount of people fishing on the piers.
- Kenosha Ramp: Fishing activity at the Kenosha ramp has increased significantly over the last several days due to the improved weather. The improved weather seems to be bringing good luck, as boats are bringing in more fish than in previous weeks. Coho still seem to be the most targeted fish species, but anglers don’t seem to be complaining when they are catching some of the other big, sport fish. Anglers are bringing in a combination of steelhead, lake trout, coho, and chinook salmon. These fish are being caught at a variety of depths and distances from shore. With water levels being so high, flooding at the parking lot of the Kenosha ramp has been common. The water temperature at the ramp and in the harbor has been between the low to high 50’s.
Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: June 3, 2018
Door County
- Northern Door County Lakeside: The only port where there was fishing effort was Rowley's Bay. Smallmouth bass fishing in Rowley's Bay was slower than what most anglers would prefer, with on average 10 fish being boated in an all-day trip. The majority of the fish were caught near the mouth of the Mink River and in the Mink River. The smallmouth bass averaged around 3 pounds according to the anglers. Some fish were spotted around beds. I did not see any anglers targeting salmon or trout this past week, possibly due to the winds that occurred. The water temp in Rowley's Bay ranged from 52 degrees to 59 degrees depending on the time of the day.
- Northern Door County Bayside: Anglers could be found fishing all along the bay from Murphy Park to Sister Bay. Egg Harbor and Ephraim had the best luck out of the ports. I did not get to talk to the fishermen out of Murphy Park, but they were trolling for walleyes it appeared. The smallmouth bass fishing was hit and miss according to the anglers. It appears that color and presentation was a determining factor on how the day went. White plastics seemed to be working best for some anglers. The anglers using jerkbaits had a lower success rate but still managed to catch some fish. Walleye fishing is still slow for anglers on the bay in Northern Door Co. However, there was an angler who managed to catch a walleye while fishing for smallmouth bass in Egg Harbor. On average the smallmouth bass were 3 pounds.
- Chaudoirs Dock: The walleye and smallmouth bite was slow at this launch this week. The usage was averaging around 5 to 10 boats all week normally. There was nobody shore fishing from this launch. Nightcrawler harnesses was the better way to troll during the week it did a little better than crankbaits. Anglers were only averaging 0 to 2 walleyes on this launch.
- Sawyer Harbor: The usage at this landing was steady as well during the week. The smallmouth bass were the main target of anglers during the week, and most were averaging 2 to 4. There were some anglers targeting walleyes, but not having much success. They were some recreational boaters out there during the week. There was nobody fishing from shore at this launch.
- Little Sturgeon Bay: During the week there was a steady flow of anglers launching off of this launch. Walleye anglers were doing okay averaging only 1-2 walleyes. While people who were targeting smallmouth bass was having a little better success rate. Most of the anglers were catching 3 to 5 smallmouth bass. The people who were targeting musky was hit or miss. Most didn’t catch a single musky while some were catching 1 or 2. There weren’t any shore anglers at this launch.
Fox River and Green Bay Creel Report: June 3, 2019
Fox River
- The holiday weekend beginning this week showed quite high traffic at landings for angling and pleasure alike. Most popular were Fox Point and Metro, with large numbers of shore anglers (and picnics) at most river access points. Voyageur park had many shore anglers although reporting low success. Anglers are reporting fish at mixed depths with no clear zone producing fish. Midweek, water clarity was low with both the river and bay appearing cloudy brown. Walleye anglers have been reporting consistently a low catch, however some have found evening fishing to be more productive.
Oconto County
- Activity was high at boat launches early in the week as many walleye tournament anglers were out prefishing for Thursday and Friday’s tournament. Walleye fishing was slow but a little better than the previous week as most boats were getting a few fish. Anglers were trying various depths finding the fish to be scattered throughout. Upstream on the Oconto River had a few bass anglers out with little to no success. Perch anglers were trying their luck at Oconto Park II and the city docks in Oconto with little luck. Most fish caught were small and not kept.
- Geano Beach: Geano’s Beach showed an early week traffic (but not catch) increase, effort and catch remained slow yet steady by the end of the week.
Brown County
- Duck Creek, Longtail Point: Longtail access points remain unused by anglers besides bowfishing. Duck Creek shore angling has increased with continuing effort throughout the week. Following early week rains, water clarity was also low on the west shore.
- Bayshore: In the beginning of the week the usage of the launch was low, but once the end of the end week hit the usage increased. There hasn’t been anybody fishing from shore. In the beginning of the week the bite was very slow with anglers only bringing in 1 or 2 walleyes, but by the end of the week the bite really picked up. Anglers were averaging 5 to 7 walleyes. The boats that were using nightcrawler harnesses were catching quite a few catfish at the end of the week. Both crankbaits and nightcrawler harnesses were producing walleyes. The water temperature ranged from 60 to 63 in spots according to anglers. Anglers were saying that there is a lot of debris floating in the bay, and that boaters need to be on the lookout.
- Suamico: Suamico River was quite popular Memorial Day weekend with anglers primarily focused on bass, catch report was slow. Reports of fish were mainly in shallow (4-6) ft of water. Shore angling was increased at this location early in the week.
Marinette County
- High angler effort at most launches as prefishing for the walleye tournament was taking place. Walleye fishing was slow with best luck taking place at night or low light in the Menominee River. Fish were being caught off the piers and off Hattie St. under these conditions with various sizes being caught. Peshtigo River had some good catches of walleyes reported by jig fishermen. Some limit catches were seen this week from the launch on County BB down to the mouth. Most fish taken were 15 to 20 inches with bigger fish still up to 30 inches present. Plastics and live bait working on jigs. High angling effort for muskies this past week in the Peshtigo River with fish of all sizes being caught. Most boats were reporting 1 fish caught a day with others seen.
Last revised: Tuesday June 04 2019