Beautiful yet unseasonable weather has graced the state this week
Cooler weather again makes for ideal outdoor recreation conditions
Beautiful yet unseasonable weather has graced the state this week, with comfortable highs in the mid 70s and lows in the 40s and even upper 30s to the far north. With these cool nights have come cooler water temperatures. Most lake temperatures have been holding steady in the low to mid-60s. In the deeper waters of Lake Michigan the water temperatures have been in the mid-40s in some areas such as Sheboygan.
The more stable and moderate weather has made for improved fishing success in the Upper Chippewa Basin waters in Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Ashland and Iron counties. Anglers are reporting both musky and bass providing some very good action. Musky activity showed a nice little surge and most anglers reported some good action from small and medium-size fish (28- to 40-inch). The fish seemed to be active along the weed edges and deep break lines, with jerks baits and swim baits such as bulldawgs being the most productive.
Action for both largemouth and smallmouth bass has been consistent and some very nice fish have been caught and released in the last week. Largemouth bass have pretty much settled in to their summer pattern and have been relating to the thick cover. Walleye action has also picked up a notch and a few anglers have been reporting some very nice catches. A weekend musky tournament on Butternut Lake, just outside of Park Falls, produced some very good success for the 39 boats that participated. A total of 26 entry fish were tallied during the 2-day tourney, with the largest 45 inches long. Most anglers did report quite a bit of activity, with a lot of follows and short hits. There was a good number of small fish being caught and released as well (Butternut Lake has a 28-inch minimum length limit for musky).
The water levels and weather on the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway have been making for some great paddling and summer camping. Fishing has been good for smallmouth bass, panfish, walleyes, and sauger. White to pearl colored crank baits, and night crawlers have been the most successful baits used. Fishing on Cox Hollow in Governor Dodge State Park has been consistent with many panfish, bass, and a few walleyes being caught, on night crawlers and lures.
Perch anglers in Door County have been returning with some good results in the last week. Perch are being caught with minnows or crawlers in several places around the county. Walleye numbers were low around Door County, with the average size 18 inches in 20 to 30 feet of water.
Perch were also producing for anglers at Bayshore Park in Brown County. Fishing activity was high on Friday and throughout the weekend with the majority of anglers targeting perch and just a few seeking walleye. A good number of perch were caught with about half returning with their limits.
The signs of the fall season are already beginning to show. In Manitowoc some chinook salmon are already turning darker and moving towards shore. Around Manitowoc County there have been some large fish caught including a 30-pound chinook out of Manitowoc and a 15-pound rainbow out of Two Rivers. Signs of fall approaching are also appearing at Willow River State Park, where some of the trees are showing fall color already. Typically it is the ash trees which have a short growing season.