SET THE HOOK! Fishing Lake Michigan

Fishing WisconsinLake Michigan Outdoor Fishing Report - October 3, 2018

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: October 3, 2018

Milwaukee Co.

• McKinley Ramp – Morning boaters targeting salmon had a little success this weekend. Anglers continue to report marking quite a few fish through the north and south gaps, but fishing produced only a few kings and browns using spoons.
• McKinley Pier – Fish continue to jump at the surface shortly after sunrise and close to sunset but biting is few and far between. Those targeting salmon or brown trout found a little success harborside, landing only a couple of kings using a variety of baits including spoons and crank bait. Surface water temperatures lakeside, range between 62° - 64°F.
• North Lakefront Shoreline (McKinley, Veterans Park, Summerfest) – Fishing pressure increased shoreside. Those anglers targeting salmon observed by the Summerfest grounds (near the lighthouse or under the Hoan Bridge) and Lakeshore State Park continue to see little to no action. Anglers targeting salmon around McKinley Shore landed a few coho or brown trout using spawn. Shoreside anglers targeting panfish, perch, or catfish saw little action.
• Milwaukee River – The mouth of the river, surface temperatures range from 62° - 63°F. Anglers targeting panfish around Caesar's park using a variety of bait saw very little action. Hubbard, Estabrook, and Kletzsch Parks are seeing higher fishing pressure (especially areas near the falls). Fly fisherman using a variety of flies or yarn have seen little action, anglers are finding the most success catching kings using spawn. A surprising catch of a pink salmon (with its distinct coloration and oval spotting throughout it's tail) was identified at Kletzsch that was landed slightly before sunset, also using spawn. With the on and off rains, water levels are slightly higher than normal flow and murkier waters. Water temperatures range between 52° - 54°F further upstream.
• Menomonee River – Low fishing pressure throughout the week/weekend. Higher than normal water, murkier water levels and normal flow in the tributary. Temperatures range between 65° - 66°F near MMSD. A few panfish continue to be caught further upstream using live bait. The few anglers trying their luck for salmon and trout around Miller Park/Three Bridges, where temperatures are 54°F, saw little action.
• South Lakefront (Jones Island, Cupertino Park, South Metro Pier) – No reported fishing pressure through the weekend.
• South Shore Ramp – Very few boaters utilized South Shore through the weekend No available reports were taken.
• Oak Creek – Continued high fishing pressure near the falls(especially in the morning hours). Anglers are continuing to see fish throughout the creek but landing the salmon is proving to be a challenge. Anglers using a variety of flies and yarn saw very little action, spawn has been the better choice. Water levels are low, clear, but expect it to be high and muddy for a few days with the incoming rains. Temperatures throughout the creek are around 56º F.
• Bender Park – Very few boaters utilized this location through the weekend. No available reports were taken.
• Oak Creek Power Plant – Low fishing pressure continues at this location. Those handful of morning anglers trying their luck for salmon or trout continue to see very little action. Surface temperatures at the end of the pier are around 66º F.

Racine Co.

• Racine Ramp – Most boaters are trolling close to shore trying to pick up Kings. Lots of color change for King while the coho are still looking fairly silver.
• Racine Pier & Shoreline – Most anglers using spoons/cranks and spawn with cranks seeming to work the best. Water temps were down to 59°F.
• Root River – Lots of fly fisherman out targeting Kings. There has been a decent amount of fish caught out of Lincoln Park and up by the Horlick Dam. River was slightly low but will be rising with the rain in the forecast.

Kenosha Co.

• Kenosha Ramp – Most boaters sticking to the harbor or mouth of the pike trolling for King. Anglers finding the most luck trolling small cranks.
• Kenosha Piers & Shoreline – Most anglers casting spoons/cranks and floating spawn sacs. Water temps went down to 58°F. Some small coho have been caught and many fish can be seen jumping.
• Pike River – Most anglers fly fishing and floating spawn. Only a couple reported catching fish but have seen many swimming.

Sheboygan Co.

• Sheboygan Ramps – There was very little action at the ramps this week. The weather likely contributed to the lack of boats on the water, with only a couple boats seen on the Sheboygan River. During surveys, no data was taken from the ramps.
• Sheboygan Piers and Shore – Fishing efforts remained fairly low on the piers. When waves were not breaking over the piers, anglers tried fishing for trout and salmon using mainly spoons and spinners, but little success was noted.
• Pigeon River – Little fishing effort was seen on the river this week. A few anglers were fishing for salmon at Pigeon River Park, but were having no luck.
• Sheboygan River & Weeden’s Creek – A lot of success was seen near the Kohler Dam. Anglers were reporting steady catches of kings, coho, steelheads, and brown trout. Nearly all of the fish being hooked were off of fly rods, and most of them were being returned to the river because they were fairly dark to keep. Aside from the dam, anglers were trying their luck near the harbor but saw little success.

Ozaukee Co.

• Port Washington Ramp – The ramps were very quiet this week, with few people going out onto the lake. No anglers were surveyed due to a lack of fishing effort this weekend.
• Port Washington Pier and Shore – Few anglers were seen fishing off of the piers, but those that were surveyed were targeting salmon and trout and were using crankbaits. No fish were reported during the survey but anglers claimed that a couple kings were caught off of the south pier before dawn. Shore fishing was moderately slow this week, with many people sticking to the marina. During the survey, one female King was reported and a few anglers reported hits, but often didn't see much luck overall.
• Port Washington Utility – The utility had the most success this week, with many kings, brown trout, and steelhead reported. Some anglers were using spawn sacks, while most stuck to spoons. 7 fish were seen caught during the survey, and more were reported caught by anglers. Some of the kings were released as anglers said they were getting too dark to keep, but some others were still looking fairly silver.
• Sauk Creek – No fishing efforts were seen during the creel survey.

Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: October 3, 2018

Manitowoc Co.

• Manitowoc Ramp – Just like in Two Rivers the number of boats going out on the lake has decreased to only one or two boats a day depending on the weather. Also, the anglers had no luck while fishing on the Lake.
• Shoto Ramp – There were some boats that went out and tried for Chinook salmon. I saw one boat catch at least two salmon but was unable to get an actual interview from them, so I don’t know how they ended up or how long it took them to catch their fish. The fish are jumping at a steady rate in the river right now.
• Two Rivers Ramp – The number of boats that used the ramp has decreased to one or two boats a day depending on the weather. The few boats that ventured out onto the lake did not have any success. Boats are trying both near shore and offshore to find fish with no luck.
• Manitowoc Pier – Anglers fishing on the piers in Manitowoc had little success over the week. The number of anglers fishing on the piers is decreasing as well.
• Two Rivers Pier – Fishing on the piers has slowed down to a crawl with couple anglers trying a day. I haven’t seen a salmon or trout caught off the pier in over a week. Hopefully with some rain and colder temps in store it will bring some fresh fish into the pier heads and provide anglers the opportunity to catch fish off the pier yet.
• Manitowoc Harbor – Fishing pressure in the harbor decreased. In addition, to the decrease in fishing pressure the number of fish being caught decreased as well.
• Two Rivers Harbor – No anglers were found fishing in the harbor in the past week while I was on the creel routes.
• Manitowoc River – Anglers fishing by Manitou Park have been able to catch Chinook Salmon throughout the week. The fish caught at Manitou Park were caught on both spawn sacs and casting crankbaits. The water flow at Clark Mills has started to decrease over the week and should be fishable now. Some salmon were spotted jumping by the Clark Mills dam. Fishing pressure is moderate on the weekends but low during the week.
• Branch River – There were finally some anglers fishing on the Branch River this week. The three anglers that I talked to who were fishing the branch had no luck, but they all said they spotted salmon in different parts of the Branch.
• West Twin River – Anglers are having success catching Chinook salmon by both the large and small dams. Water levels and flows varied throughout the week depending on the rain storms the area received. To start the week levels were low with fish being caught with ease. Now that the water level has risen, and the water clarity has decreased the catch rates decreased. Spawn sacs are what produced the most fish over the week. On Sunday Sept 30th the water clarity increased, and you could see the bottom, however, the number of fish caught didn’t increase.
• East Twin River – Mishicot Dam has produced the most fish so far and this week was no different. Anglers by the dam had good luck this week using spawn sacs. Chinook salmon dominated the fish being caught with a few brown trout being caught. Anglers downstream from the fire station also produced fish using spawn sacs. Just like at Shoto the water levels increased as the week progressed. By the weekend water levels started to return to lower levels and the number of fish caught increased. The fishing pressure is dramatically lower during the week compared to the weekend.
• Silver Creek – No anglers were found fishing Silver Creek while on creel route this week. Water level and flows have decreased compared to few weeks ago.

Kewaunee Co.

• Kewaunee Ramp – There was moderate fishing pressure this weekend with some folks coming back with king salmon in the harbor. Due to this weeks rain and cool weather, the water temperature dropped 10°-11° from last week and was reported to be 54°-55°F at the surface. Good luck was had using crank baits.
• Kewaunee Shoreline – There was light fishing pressure along the shoreline as folks were out at dawn and dusk. The catch rate was low near Harbor Express and the Tug Ludington as anglers caught the occasional king salmon. King salmon could be spotted going up into the Kewaunee River but not many fish were landed. Water temperature was reported to be in the mid 50s at the surface. Spinning anglers did well with silver and lime green spoons.
• Kewaunee Pier – The catch rate was low for king salmon at the pier this weekend as anglers thinned out from the previous week. Folks were having better luck on the lake side for king salmon. Many anglers had moved on to the river system.
• Kewaunee River – Fishing pressure was high this weekend as folks crowded around footbridge and Bruemmer Park. Many dark brown and black kings were being caught close to Devil’s bend on flies and spawn sacs. A few coho salmon were hooked as well. The water was very low this week which moved folks to look for deeper holes up and down the river closer to C Bridge. Early morning anglers appeared to have the best luck.
• Algoma Ramp –The water temperature was noted to be 53-55°F at the surface all the way out to 200ft of water. It was reported to be cooler at the shore and slightly warmer as you went out. King salmon was the only fish coming in this week out in the harbor and in 150-200ft of water. Good luck was had using silver and blue spoons.
• Algoma Shoreline – This weekend there was moderate fishing pressure with a low catch rates on king salmon. Strong winds made conditions unfavorable at times. Anglers were hoping for fresher salmon at the shore and at the pier though they were more difficult to catch.
• Algoma Pier – Folks were crowding the north pier with no reports of any king salmon coming in, though the occasional boil was noticed. Northern pike were hooked intermittently on the north side of the pier.
• Ahnapee River – Folks were up and down the Ahnapee River all week though the catch rate did not reach the same numbers as Kewaunee. There were reports of northern pike biting near Olson Park, though not too much luck was had with salmon. Anglers down in Blahnik park were doing better with king salmon, though the catch rate remained low. Fly anglers near the Forestville dam seemed to land the most king’s this week though it was reported that the salmon were not stacked up.
• Stony Creek – Fishing pressure and catch rate was high this week. Both fly and spin anglers were readily hooking king and coho salmon near the mouth of the crick. Many folks were getting their salmon on spawn sacs.

Green Bay Fishing Report: September 25, 2018

Oconto County

• Oconto Breakwater and Harbor Area – Fishing pressure was extremely high this weekend. Reports of many sheepshead being caught by boat anglers, with an occasional walleye.
• Oconto River – Throughout the week, the water temperatures for the Oconto River ranged from 76-60 °F. Many fluctuations of water temperature had occurred as the week progressed.
• Stiles Dam & Iron Bridge Area – Fishing pressure remained very light over the weekend. Low fishing pressure was observed at the remaining sites on the Oconto River. Pensaukee River Boat Ramp – Medium fishing pressure was observed here this weekend but no interviews were obtained.

Marinette County – Menomonee River

• Lower Menominee River: 5 brown trout (21.8 to 34.1 inches) and 20 pink salmon were captured. One 22.4 inch unclipped Chinook salmon was netted. Flows were at 3020 cubic feet per second and water levels continue to be high due to the influence from Lake Michigan. Water temperature was 55 F. A few smallmouth bass, several walleye, and some lake sturgeon were observed but not netted.
• Lower Peshtigo River (City landing up to riffle): 8 pink salmon (all but 1 were males) were netted. One female brown trout in the low 20-inch range was netted. Flows were very low, at 356 cubic feet per second. Water temperature was 55 F. A few northern pike and smallmouth bass were observed.

Green Bay/Fox River

• Metro Boat Launch – There were a decent number of anglers out over the past week despite the rain and high winds. Effort was evenly split between walleye and musky with both groups catching fewer fish than desired. Most boats were trolling with flicker shads or jigging with minnows but the most walleye caught by any group was 3. Musky anglers didn't fair much better with about 1 out of every 5 boats netting a fish. The rough fish catch has also decreased greatly over the past week with many boats unable to catch even a drum. At the beginning of the week water temps were in the mid 70's and by the end they crept down into the mid to high 60's. The water clarity is low due to the recent rains and the abundance of blue green algae. The parking look was empty at the beginning of the week but blossomed to over 2 dozen trailers by Saturday.
• Fox Point/Fairgrounds – Effort has stayed consistently low with less than 6 trailers in both the fox point and fairgrounds launches at a given time. Only a few interviews took place with all anglers in search of smallmouth bass. None of the boats landed any fish. There were also a few pleasure boaters out trying to enjoy the fall weather. By the end of the week the water temperature was in the mid 60's.
• Voyager Park – There have been a few more anglers out this week compared to last with effort primarily focusing on whatever they could catch. Out of the interviews taken the only things that were a caught were catfish, freshwater drum, and smallmouth bass. Despite the low catch numbers some anglers report catching a few walleyes after dark from the fishing pier.

Brown County

• Bayshore – Very few boaters out this week due to the weather conditions. Those that were out reported slow fishing for both walleyes and yellow perch. Most anglers harvest very few or no fish while out this week.
• Suamico – Both walleye and musky fishing has been slow out of geanos/suamico. Walleye anglers were primarily trolling with more than half the boats not catching a fish and the ones that did only caught a few. There were far more musky anglers out but success was still very limited. The few fish that were caught were reported to be in the mid 30's. Most musky anglers were trolling but there were a few casting but neither method appeared to be more successful than the other. Water clarity is still low due to the recent storms that have passed through. Suamico averaged a dozen trailers in it during the week and was full during the weekend. Geanos was more consistent with having 12 to 20 trailers in it throughout the week on the days that were surveyed.
• Duck Creek – Yellow Perch remains very consistent out of duck creek despite their limited size. Boats interviewed were catching more than 2 dozen fish for half a day out on the water. Sizes ranged from 5-8 inches with many smaller fish being tossed back. Throughout the week both launches averaged 0-5 trailers at a given survey time. There were also a few duck hunters out that managed to bag a few birds.

Door County

• Northern Door County, Green Bay Side – Angler effort has been very low for the majority of Door County. A few bass anglers around Ephraim, Sister Bay and Gills Rock have had success fishing deeper water (15-40ft). Fish have been caught on jerkbaits, drop shot and jigs. Water temps are holding around 60 degrees. Look for fall patterns to pick up once the water hits 50 degrees. Not many people have been fishing the piers. A few salmon can be seen cruising through most of the harbors. No word about any perch or walleye action north of Sturgeon Bay.
• Northern Door County, Lake Michigan Side – People have been casting Baileys Harbor marina for salmon and a few fish have been caught. A few salmon have been seen in area streams but most streams are blocked by sand deposits at the mouth. Most fishing action is in the Sturgeon Bay Canal. Both trolling and casting in the canal has produced some nice Kings including a 31 pounder on Friday. Perch anglers are still catching fish on the east side of the canal. Early mornings in deeper water seems to be the best. Both salmon and perch anglers also report catching the occasional pike.
• Chaudior’s Dock – Most of the anglers out of choudoirs dock were out in search of yellow perch and came back with mixed success. Some anglers found more than a dozen fish for the cooler while others struggled to catch any at all. There were reports of many small fish being caught. There was one walleye boat interviewed but they failed to land any fish. While out some anglers also caught freshwater drum, white bass, round goby and whitefish. Anglers reported the water to be very green with high turbidity. At its busiest time there were 8 trailers in the parking lot.
• Little Sturgeon Bay/Sawyer Harbor – There has been a resurgence in bass anglers over the past week out of both little sturgeon and sawyer harbor. Numbers weren't the greatest but all the boats interviewed were consistently catching at least 3 fish for half a day out on the water. There were a handful of walleye anglers out as well but they struggled to net a couple of fish for a few hours out. Perch fishing has been relatively consistent with most anglers harvesting half a dozen fish in the 6-10 inch range. Both locations were the busiest over the weekend and had more than 6 trailers in the parking lot. During the week both lots averaged only a couple trailers.

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