Ashland Area Fishing Report for April 30, 2015
~ Fishing guide Roger LaPenter and wife Carolyn Swartz from Anglers All, 715/682-5754 (http://www.anglersallwisconsin.com), report the following:
This report is about the Ashland side of Chequamegon Bay. People are still catching plenty of trout and salmon all the way from the head of the bay out to the Apostle Islands.
Anglers are traveling from Bono Creek north and getting brown trout and Coho salmon. “They are going further out now, all the way to the first breaks around the islands and doing well on browns,” said Carolyn Swartz, co-owner of Anglers All in Ashland.
She said they are still working the South Channel for trout and salmon as well.
Northern pike are being caught along the Ashland shoreline and around the breakwall over the weedbeds. “They are casting spoons on the shoreline over the weedy, rocky areas,” Carolyn noted.
People have been trolling and casting for walleye in the Xcel Energy “hot pond” and the surrounding water in the low-light hours using shallow-running stickbaits.
Sturgeon are being caught in the bay at the back end of the breakwall and out by the lighthouse. Carolyn said anglers are soaking smelt for those and she reminds people that they must have a sturgeon tag from the Wisconsin DNR to legally harvest one.
In addition, all harvested sturgeon must be registered. Anglers who harvest a legal-size fish must immediately attach the harvest tag to the fish and take it to a registration station by 6 p.m. the next day for registration.
The area around Ashland’s lighthouse is also a good spot to catch whitefish right now, according to Carolyn.
Stream fishing continues to be good. The Brule River and other South Shore tributaries like the Sioux and Onion are full of fish. Currently, anglers can find fish from U.S. Highway 2 all the way to the lake and there are fish entering other South Shore and Chequamegon Bay rivers as well.
For the most complete and up-to-date fishing report, just give them a call at Anglers All and they will gladly keep you informed!
~ The Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce, www.visitashland.com, 1-800-284-9484, reports:
Fishing is always a thrilling adventure in the Ashland area! Chequamegon Bay is famous for its world-class smallmouth bass fishing.
The 9th Annual Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival will be held Thursday through Saturday, May 14-16. This highly anticipated weekend event features guided field trips, hands-on workshops, educational programs, exhibits, speakers, and more than 100 activities from which to choose.
Sharon “Bird Chick” Stiteler of Minneapolis, Minn., a National Park Service ranger and expedition leader, and Ryan Brady, a research scientist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, are the keynote speakers this year.
The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and County Highway G in Ashland, will serve as home base for the event. For registration information or more details, go online at www.birdandnaturefest.com or call the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-284-9484.