Lake Michigan Outdoor Fishing Report - July 27, 2020
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
- Fox River and Green Bay Creel Report
Southern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: July 27, 2020
Sheboygan County
- Sheboygan: Fishing off the north pier in Sheboygan was slow. The south pier remains closed for a major reconstruction project by the Army Corps of Engineers that is scheduled to last through 2022. A troller reported catching eight trout and salmon, and the fish were scattered from 100 to 300 feet of water.
Ozaukee County
- Port Washington: Despite cold water temperatures nearshore, fishing off the pier was slow. Anglers were able to find a few alewives to use as bait, but they did not produce any trout or salmon. Inside the harbor, one carp was caught at the power plant discharge. Strong south winds made for difficult boating conditions Saturday afternoon and evening. Only one fishing boat was interviewed in Port Washington, and they came back after only an hour.
Milwaukee County
- South City: One boat reported catching two lake trout 80 feet down in 110 feet of water off of Bender Park. Another troller caught a mixed bag of rainbows, chinooks, and lake trout in 150 feet of water.
Racine County
- Racine Piers and Shoreline: The piers and shorelines in Racine saw limited activity this week. The warm air and water temperatures seemed to keep many anglers away. Anglers were seen mostly targeting salmon, trout, and perch. Throwing spoons and crankbaits as well as slip bobber rigs seemed to be the most common fishing set ups. The anglers that did put in some time had very little success. Anglers who were targeting perch were only able to catch a small handful of them as well as a few gobies. Anglers that had their eyes set on salmon and trout caught a few freshwater drum and a channel catfish.
- Racine Ramp: The nice weather this week led to high boat activity at the ramp, especially over the weekend. Even though the ramp saw a lot of activity this week very few fishing boats were spotted. No catches were recorded. The high water temperatures created conditions that are more favorable among pleasure boaters than fishermen.
Kenosha County
- Kenosha Piers and Shoreline: The piers and shorelines in Kenosha were fairly empty most of the week. The warm water temperatures in the harbor made for very slow fishing. Anglers were seen targeting a variety of fish species. Anglers targeted salmon, trout, perch, pike, carp, and various panfish. Despite many species being targeted, many anglers were generally unsuccessful. The only fish that were caught include one pike as well as a small handful of panfish and gobies.
- Kenosha Ramp: The ramp in Kenosha saw lots of boat activity over the weekend. The anglers who did go out on the lake to fish had mixed success. Some boats came in emptyhanded while others came in with several fish. All salmon and trout species were targeted by anglers but coho and chinook were the most caught fish. A few steelhead and lake trout were caught as well. Anglers reported catching fish in 60 to 195 feet of water. A variety of spoons and flies were successful in catching fish. One boat went out and targeted perch instead of the usual salmon and trout. The boat came back with their limit of perch that were caught using plastics and kastmaster spoons.
Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: July 27, 2020
Manitowoc County
- Fishing success for salmon and trout was moderate with a handful of each being caught. At the Manitowoc ramp there were reports of a handful of lake trout, rainbow trout, coho salmon and king salmon using flasher flies and spoons. The most common colorations were green and blue for spoons as well as green for flasher flies. Other tackle used to catch salmon included fly dipsies, dodger flies, spin doctor flies, flounder pounders and a chrome spinner. There was also a report of a handful of smallmouth bass being caught at the Manitowoc ramp. The smallmouth bass were caught using rattle trap lures and plastics. In the Manitowoc Harbor there was a report of a northern pike being caught using a t-bone lure. In Two Rivers there was a report of only one coho salmon being caught using a green spoon. There were reports of salmon being caught earlier in the week by anglers at the Two Rivers ramps.
Door County
- Northern Door County Bayside:
- Murphy Park: Two anglers were interviewed and reported that the fishing was slower. They managed to catch around five smallmouth bass. The majority of the fish came on night crawlers under a slip bobber. They tried using artificial baits but only had a few bites on them before switching back to worms.
- Egg Harbor: Anglers fishing at Egg Harbor were mainly focusing on fishing inside of the marina due to waves crashing up along the break wall. The anglers reported catching rock bass and a few yellow perch. The yellow perch were caught near the fuel pumps using worms. While the rock bass were caught between the break wall and main docks going around the marina. A few smallmouth bass were reported being caught inside the break wall as well. The smallmouth bass were less than 10 inches in size. One group of fishermen targeting smallmouth bass in a boat managed to catch roughly 20 smallmouth. They did not say what depths they caught the fish, however they mentioned that Rapala shad raps caught most of the fish.
- Fish Creek/Peninsula State Park: There were no anglers interviewed at Fish Creek as no anglers were fishing there. The only interviews were reported at Weborg Point in Peninsula State Park. The anglers reported catching smallmouth bass using rapala shad raps. In addition to catching smallmouth bass they also caught a few yellow perch using crab tails under slip bobbers.
- Ephraim: The anglers fishing at Anderson's Dock were able to catch a few smallmouth bass. The smallmouth bass were caught using worms under slip bobbers and then a few were caught using ned rigs. The smallmouth bass ranged between 10 to 16 inches. There was only one trailer parked by the launch.
- Sister Bay: Anglers fishing at the Sister Bay Marina reported catching no fish. However, all the anglers that were interviewed reported that either they just started to fish or were only fishing for 30 mins. One group of anglers did mention that the day before they managed to catch a few smallmouth bass.
- Ellison Bay: Anglers fishing from shore managed to catch some smaller smallmouth bass using worms. One boater interviewed was targeting salmon. That angler did not have any luck targeting salmon. After fishing for salmon, he went and targeted smallmouth bass and managed to catch around 10. He did not specify what type of baits or depths he was fishing.
- Sawyer Harbor: Potawotami State Park had just a handful of trailers. This was the first time I interviewed anglers with panfish to report. There were about 40 pumpkinseed caught and 15 bluegill, but only a few kept. Minnows were reported not to work well for perch or walleye, but the nightcrawlers were a successful bait. Any perch or walleye caught were small.
- Little Sturgeon Bay: Carmody County Park had a handful of trailers, a mix between pleasure boaters and anglers. The anglers were looking for smallmouth bass (catch and release.) Between the two boats, there were 44 caught and no keepers. They were using nightcrawlers and soft plastics. There were no shore or pier anglers to report in Little Sturgeon Bay.
Kewaunee County
- Kewaunee, Algoma, Sturgeon Bay: Fishing success was low this week due to changing water temperatures. In Sturgeon Bay a handful of gobies were reported being caught at Stone Quarry Park as well as a northern pike using leeches. One angler reported catching a small handful of smallmouth bass earlier in the week using leeches. In Kewaunee there were reports of two chinook salmon and a bowfin being caught at the Kewaunee ramp. At the Kewaunee pier there was a report of one rainbow trout being caught using a green colored spoon. At the Algoma ramps there were reports of rainbow trout, lake trout and chinook salmon being caught using spoons, flasher flies and meat rigs. The most common colorations were orange, black and green for spoons and purple for flasher flies. There was also a report of a perch being caught in the Ahnapee river.
Fox River and Green Bay Creel Report: July 27, 2020
Fox River
- The Metro launch of the Fox River locations was the busiest. Many pleasure boaters were observed and there were shore anglers looking for catfish and sheepshead. One charter group caught 25 walleye (10 kept) and 1 perch caught and kept. Voyager Park had a handful of shore fishing, while the Fairgrounds was relatively quiet. Fox Point had activity, which was mostly pleasure boating.
Oconto County
- Activity was limited along the bay and up river because of weather. Most boat anglers seen were pre-fishing for the Cabela’s tournament and were on the water during my time in Oconto. Some big catches were taken during the tournament with 10 fish weighing over 77lbs taking first place.
Brown County
- Suamico, Geano Beach, Duck Creek & Longtail Point: Geano Beach launch and Suamico did have the heaviest traffic of both anglers and pleasure boaters. I was told that walleye were undersized and perch were not biting. Duck Creek had a few anglers out on the water and the occasional shore angler. Long Tail launches were quite vacant.
Marinette County
- Fishing activity was pretty steady this week when the weather was decent. Boat anglers could be seen at most launches on the Menominee River with Menekaunee Harbor being used the most. A few walleye anglers were out in the bay trying by Green, Chambers, and Hat Islands with very light catches of walleyes reported. Other anglers in the bay were trying for trout and salmon with mixed results. Chambers Island was the only place with reported catches of some salmon with the occasional rainbow or brown trout. Fish were averaging 3 to 5lbs and were caught 50 to 70 feet down in deep water south of the island. Peshtigo River had activity from boat anglers at the mouth and upstream at the County BB launch. Anglers fishing bass were having luck on topwater baits and jig/plastics at the mouth of the river. A few small perch were also caught.
Last revised: Monday July 27 2020