Lake Michigan Outdoor Fishing Report - September 30, 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: September 30, 2019
Sheboygan County
- City of Sheboygan: Saturday morning (9/21) was cool, with clouds rolling in as wind speeds increased. Lake Michigan waters (66°F) were fairly choppy by midday. The Pigeon River was 68°F and clear. Several access points were difficult to get to due to several events, such as the bike riding event at Maywood and the craft beer fest at the south pier. A half dozen boats were out, hanging out near shore, but few anglers were fishing from the piers or on the Pigeon River. No catches were recorded. By Wednesday the Pigeon River (66°F) and Lake Michigan (65°F) had cooled slightly. Waters in the harbor and in the river were also turbid. No catches were recorded.
- Sheboygan River: Sunday evening (9/22) was mild and rainy. The river (70°F) was turbid and slightly high. Anglers were fishing at Kohler dam and at Kiwanis Park. A rainbow and some chinook were caught at the dam. Sunday night (9/29) was cool and rainy. The river was 68°F and turbid. Rainbows, cohos, and chinooks were caught at the dam.
Ozaukee County
- Port Washington: Saturday morning (9/21) was foggy and cool. Water in the harbor and at Sauk Creek was 66°F. Salmon were jumping in the harbor and marina. Both cleaning stations in Port Washington have been closed until spring. Boats were staying near shore and many anglers were fishing along shore, in the marina, on the piers, at the power plant outflow, and at Sauk Creek. Although no catches were recorded, anglers reported several chinook being caught earlier in day and week. Evidence of catches were seen along the creek’s banks. Sunday night (9/22), rainy and becoming foggy, saw less anglers but more success as a mix of rainbows, cohos, and chinooks were caught. Additionally, some gobies were caught at the north pier by anglers targeting perch. Sauk Creek and harbor waters were 68°F. The outflow was turbid and running fast. The following Sunday was cool, windy, and rainy, with large wave action. Sauk Creek waters were 66°F, while the harbor was cooler at 60°F. Anglers concentrated around the marina and at the power plant outflow and caught some chinooks, with reports of more being caught earlier in the week.
Milwaukee County
- McKinley Marina: Rain and wind over the course of the week limited the number of anglers launching out of McKinley. Those that did go out reported limited success with kings and browns. The pier saw a few anglers but no fish were reported.
- North City Shoreline: Shore fishing efforts on the north end of the city were fairly consistent from last week. Most anglers were seen in Lakeshore State Park and were targeting salmon and trout. No fish were reported during survey times.
- South City Shoreline: A couple anglers were seen shore fishing this week on the south end of the city. Anglers were mainly targeting salmon and trout but no fish were reported during survey times.
- South Ramps: The South Shore and Bender Park ramps saw little fishing effort for a majority of the week. No fish were reported.
- Oak Creek Power Plant: The pier at the power plant was fairly slow all week. Anglers were targeting salmon and trout but were reporting little success.
- Milwaukee River: A good number of anglers were seen fishing the Milwaukee River, even in the rain. Most anglers were seen near the Kletzsch Park dam and were targeting kings. A few kings were reported and water temps were in the high 60s.
- Menomonee River: Fishing efforts are still slow on the Menomonee River. A few anglers were seen near MMSD but no fish were caught during survey times. The river was measured in the high 60s this week.
- Oak Creek: Oak Creek was fairly busy this week. Most anglers were targeting salmon near the dam. A few kings were reported but success was hit-or-miss.
Racine County
- The Root River saw a major increase in activity this week as the King salmon run starts to come into full swing. While activity on the river increased, the lakefront saw a decrease in fishing activity. Very few boats were seen on the lake and not as many anglers were fishing from shore.
- Racine Harbor and Piers: The shorelines and piers didn’t see as many anglers as usual this week. Even though rain and wavy conditions limited fishing opportunities some anglers still found some time to try and catch a few fish. Anglers were using crankbaits, spoons, and spawn in order to target King salmon. A few anglers did have some success. Five King salmon were caught during the week on a combination of spawn, spoons, and crankbaits. The water temperature off the south pier hovered in the mid 50’s throughout the course of the week.
- Racine Ramp: Rainy and wavy conditions made it unsafe for boats to go out onto the lake during survey times this week. The boat ramp went unused. No boat trailers were reported.
- Root River: There was a slight increase in the number of anglers fishing above the Steelhead facility this week. Most of the anglers were targeting King salmon, but some of the anglers were also targeting Coho, Steelhead, and Brown trout. Most anglers were either using fly fishing tackle or spawn. Despite the slight increase in fishing activity only two fish were caught throughout the week during survey times. One King salmon and one Steelhead were both caught using flies. Water levels increased slightly while water clarity remains low. The river downstream of the Steelhead facility saw a major increase in fishing activity. Most of the anglers were also targeting Kings, with some targeting Coho, Steelhead and Brown trout as well. Even though many more anglers were fishing below the facility this week, no catches were reported. The water levels below the facility also increased slightly and the clarity was low as well. The water temperature in the river was about 64 degrees.
Kenosha County
- Fishing activity in Kenosha was a little slower than usual this week. There were still some anglers fishing from the piers and shorelines who were hoping to catch some more Kings. The boat ramp didn’t see much activity as it was much too wavy and windy to fish during survey times. The Pike River didn’t see many anglers either as only a few were spotted throughout the week
- Kenosha Harbor and Piers: The piers and shorelines still saw some activity in between the rainstorms this week. Most of the anglers are still targeting King salmon, but some anglers are also targeting other salmonid species due to the low fishing success rates. Anglers were seen using spoons, crankbaits, and spawn. The anglers did have some luck as a few fish were caught. One King salmon and one Brown trout were caught using spawn sacs as bait. The water temperature in the harbor fluctuated between 54 and 56 degrees during the week.
- Kenosha Ramp: The boat ramp in Kenosha went unused for most of the week. The rainstorms made the lake too wavy for fishing. Despite the poor conditions, a few boat trailers were still spotted at the ramp over the weekend. None of the boats were available for interviews during survey times. No catches were recorded.
- Pike River: The river went mostly unused during survey times this week. Only a few anglers were seen trying to catch some spawning King salmon. The anglers on the river didn’t have any luck as no catches were reported. Water levels increased due to the rain this week. The rain lowered water clarity as well.
Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: September 30, 2019
Manitowoc County
- No fishing report this week.
Door County
- Northern Door County Lakeside: There were no anglers actively fishing in boats on the lake this past week. There were a few anglers fishing from shore in Bailey’s Harbor with no luck. Those anglers tried floating spawn sacs as well as casting a variety of stickbaits. Salmon were seen jumping and surfacing inside the harbor at Bailey’s Harbor. There were no anglers fishing in the creeks this week, however Heins Creek did have salmon and/or trout swimming near the culvert pipe on highway 57. There were no reports of fish in any of the other creeks. Rowley’s Bay was producing some smallmouth bass from shore using minnows under a slip bobber.
- Northern Door County Bayside: Murphy Park shore anglers were able to catch a few smallmouth bass using a worm. The average size of the fish caught there this past week was around 14 inches. Anglers fishing from shore in Egg Harbor were targeting either smallmouth bass or salmon/trout with little success. The anglers fishing for bass had better luck than the anglers fishing for salmon/trout. There were no anglers fishing in Fish Creek, Sister Bay, or Ephraim this week. One angler in Ellison Bay managed to catch 4 smallmouth bass in just over an hour of fishing. This angler was using live bait and a slip bobber.
- Sturgeon Bay Canal: Anglers fishing in the canal were targeting several different species with mixed results. There were a few anglers fishing for musky and northern pike throughout the week with no success. While an angler bouncing bottom for yellow perch managed to catch 7 keeper perch and one northern pike that was 34 inches in length. That was the only perch angler that was talked to this week. Only one angler targeting smallmouth bass was interviewed this week and that angler managed to catch one smallmouth. The smallmouth bass was caught using a tube. Anglers fishing for salmon from shore in the canal have some success this week. The best method for catching the salmon this week was using spawn floating under a slip bobber. There were at least 8 fish caught this way between 4 anglers that were interviewed over two days. Majority of the anglers were fishing off of barge road. There were no anglers fishing on the pier heads this week due to the windy conditions. Anglers fishing in boats either trolling or jigging for salmon and trout in the canal had mixed results. Some boats managed to catch five fish trolling while other boats came in with no fish. There was no pattern to the fish that were caught in the boats.
- Chaudoir’s Dock: Use at this site also was very low. No more than two trailers were observed with no return trips available for interview
- Sawyer Harbor: Potawatomi State Park showed low traffic with few anglers launching throughout the week. A party interviewed had success targeting bass releasing 6 fish.
- Little Sturgeon Bay: The Carmody launch also had low effort with ~3 parties utilizing this access, and the only other anglers observed to be commercial. Riley’s Bay access showed no use.
Kewaunee County
- Kewaunee: There was moderate Fishing pressure this week, many anglers fishing off of the breakwall and upriver near Bruemmer Park. Many of the anglers had little to no success. The parties who had success, caught 1 chinook at most. All the fish reported this week were caught on spoons and in-line spinners. The water level has been high all week and continuing to rise, causing the clarity to drop for most of the river locations all the way to the piers.
- Algoma: Poor weather conditions resulted in low fishing pressure this week. The majority of anglers interviewed were either fishing along the Ahnapee River and on the piers. One party had good luck fishing near Olson Park and caught 4 chinooks one morning, primarily using a fire tiger jointed shad rap. Later in the week anglers had success off of the county road J bridge in Forestville, catching a couple nice sized chinooks using fire tiger spoons. A few parties were interviewed off of Stoney Creek, with one party catching 2 chinooks with spoons during the end of the week. Water level has been continuing to rise with recent rainfall and has caused the clarity to drop dramatically.
Fox River and Green Bay Creel Report: September 30, 2019
Fox River
- Fox River: Fishing has been slow during the week with it being rainy on Sunday not many people were out fishing. There was only one boat that launched out of the mouth of the Fox River. Then on the 23rd there was an average of 7 to 10 boats that launched. I got one interview at the mouth, the angler was targeting smallmouth bass. He ended up catching 6 smallmouth bass, but he releases all of them. Then on the 27th there was a total of 4 to 6 boats launching out but after the rain ended in the morning, so I didn’t get an interview from any of them.
Oconto County
- Overall fishing was slow this week with light fishing pressure seen at the boat launches. A few walleye anglers were out off Oconto and Oconto Park II with the only success seen at Oconto Park II. Zero to 2 fish were reported from walleye anglers fishing Young’s Reef in water 20 to 40 feet deep. Trolling crawler harnesses worked for the walleyes along with catfish and sheepshead being caught as well. Shore anglers have been increasing at Oconto Park II with bluegills, bass, bowfin, and perch being caught. Not much was being kept as the perch fishing hasn’t turned on yet inside Oconto Park II. Water temps were still a bit warm with mid to low 60’s this week.
- Geano Beach: It was a very slow week for this landing. On the 22nd there was only 2 boats that launched out of this site. The only interview I managed to collect was on the 23rd with the angler catching 4. The average size of them was between 18 and 21 inches. The angler was drifting and jigging a minnow. Then on the 27th pressure was light again with only 5 to 7 boats using this launch.
Brown County
- Duck Creek, Longtail Point: On the 22nd there was nobody launched from either site due to the rain. Then on the 23rd there was an average of 3 to 4 boats. None of them ended up coming in while I was at the landings, so no interviews were collected. There was a couple of kayakers using these sites to launch out of. Then on the 27th there was nobody using these sites to launch their boats.
- Suamico River: On the 22nd there was an average of 2 to 4 boats that launched out in the late afternoon. The 23rd there was an average of 10 to 12 boats that were using this site. I interviewed a few boats and 4 of them were targeting walleye while 1 was targeting musky. The boat that was targeting musky didn’t have any luck. They had one on, but they couldn’t get it in the boat. They did catch a northern pike but they released it. The boats that were targeting walleye had to really work for them with the average catch rate between 3 to 6 fish. The average size that were kept was between 17 to 22 inches. Most of the walleye boats were using night crawler harnesses. Then on the 27th there was light fishing pressure with an average of 5 to 10 boats. No boat came in so no interviews were collected.
- Bayshore Park: There was low boater traffic, only anglers observed were 2-3 fishing guides utilizing this launch throughout the week. Light shore angling observed with no success.
Marinette County
- Little River had the occasional salmon angler this week with a few fish being caught. Fish were seen upstream at Krause Road and Little River Road over the weekend. Salmon were caught casting spoons around the boat launch and still fishing spawn sacs and twister tails in the river. Anglers on the Menominee River were targeting walleyes, brown trout, and salmon this week. Fishing was reported as slow with only a couple salmon reported caught during the week. Fish were being seen surfacing but were not willing to hit lures. Water temps were in the mid to low 60’s this week.