Northern Door County Lakeside: There were only a few interviews conducted at Bailey’s Harbor this week due to stopping there early in the morning while anglers were still fishing. Some of the reports were that rainbow trout are still being the fish caught the most. Chinook salmon catches were starting to increase compared to last week, but their numbers were still low. The salmon and rainbows were being caught in 150 to 300 feet of water running the top 70 feet of water. Both spoons and flasher fly combos were producing fish. Rainbows were caught on your bright colored spoons, while some salmon were caught on blue or green colored flasher fly combos. Shore anglers fishing around the Bailey’s Harbor marina managed to catch 8 smallmouth bass in roughly an hour of fishing. The fish were caught using worms under a bobber. Majority of the smallmouth caught were under 14 inches. Gills Rock anglers managed to find some salmon and rainbow trout fishing on the lakeside out in 200 to 250 feet of water. There was a few anglers that went out of Rowley’s Bay and motored up to Washington Island for walleyes. That angler was able to find four walleyes that ranged from 26 to 28 inches. All the walleyes were caught trolling crankbaits.
Northern Door County Bayside: Murphy Park shore anglers this week caught a few smallmouth bass using worms under a slip bobber. The majority of the bass that were caught were under 12 inches. Smallmouth Bass anglers fishing out of Egg Harbor had decent success on Saturday morning with catching roughly 15 bass in 3 hours of fishing. The fish were caught using Ned Rigs while fishing 12 to 16 feet of water. Anglers fishing in Fish Creek and Peninsula State Park had a tough week from shore. A few smallmouth bass were caught from Weborgs Pier as well as the fishing pier in Nicolet Bay. There were more rock bass caught from the fishing pier in Nicolet Bay compared to smallmouth bass caught there. All of those fish were caught using a worm and bobber. Anglers fishing off of Andersons Dock in Ephraim managed to catch roughly 10 smallmouth bass in 3 hours. The best method of catching bass were using a slip bobber and worms that was set so the bait was 2 feet off the bottom. There was one angler casting plastic baits with no luck. Walleye anglers fishing out of Ephraim had good success with one boat bringing in four walleyes in two hours of fishing. The biggest walleye that they caught was 28 inches and weighed 8 pounds. Walleyes were being caught using crankbaits and trolling in 7 to 30 feet of water. Sister Bay shore anglers were catching smallmouth bass off of JJ’s. The anglers fishing there had constant action and were using slip bobbers and worms. The majority of the bass were under 14 inches, however one angler did manage to catch one over 16 inches. There were no anglers interviewed at Ellison Bay this week.
Sturgeon Bay: Fishing pressure was low during the start of the week, increasing toward the weekend. Salmon fishing has been decent off of the bank reef, with many parties having success catching rainbows and chinooks primarily using spoons in 150-200 feet of water. Walleye fishing on Larsen’s Reef improved as the week progressed, anglers had success jigging and trolling cranks in 15-19 feet of water. The perch fishing has improved slightly for most locations, slip bobbers with crawlers or minnows have been producing the most fish.
Chaudoir’s Dock: On August 18th there was nobody fishing due to the rough water conditions. On August 20th there was low fishing pressure with only 2 to 5 boats launching from this site. I got two interviews with both anglers trying for walleyes. They didn’t have much luck with only 2 walleyes coming in. The one angler also tried for perch but didn’t catch anything due to having to leave early. The walleyes were caught trolling using shad raps and flicker shad.
Sawyer Harbor: On Aug. 23 there was low fishing pressure with only 7 to 9 boats launching off of this site. I didn’t get any interviews due to nobody coming in. This was the only shift at this site I had.
Little Sturgeon Bay: On Aug. 23 there was medium fishing pressure with 10 to 15 boats using this launch. I got some interviews with most anglers trying for walleyes and smallmouth bass. Anglers trying for smallmouth bass we’re having luck. The catch rate was 4 to 8 smallmouth bass. Most anglers were trolling and throwing shad raps on drop offs. The walleyes most anglers were bringing in 3 to 5 walleyes. The length was between 17 to 20 inches. Anglers were trolling with shad raps and flicker shads to target walleyes.
Kewaunee County
Kewaunee: Fishing pressure was low for the start of the week, and moderate during the weekend. Anglers had success catching rainbows and chinooks using spoons in 250-350 feet of water, with a few being caught within 200 feet. The fish seem to have moved shallower as the week moved on, hopefully this trend will continue.
Algoma: Fishing pressure was low for most of the week. Anglers had success fishing anywhere from 150-300 feet of water, primarily rainbows were caught with some chinooks scattered in. The majority of fish caught this week came on spoons between 50-70 feet down.
Fox River and Green Bay Creel Report: August 26, 2019
Fox River
Use was low yet steady during the week, with an increase of weekend traffic dominated by recreational boaters. An angler interviewed at at Metro boat launch trolled for Walleye releasing two fish. Parties were also shore angling for Freshwater Drum. Fox Point and Fairgrounds showed moderate use by pleasure boaters, with no anglers available for interview. Many jetskis were also utilizing these access points. Voyageur park had low shore angling effort.
Oconto County
Fishing effort for walleye and perch remained strong this week with Pensaukee, Oconto Breakwater, and Oconto Park II launches all seeing high usage. Walleye fishing was a bit slower than previous weeks. Fish were still being caught trolling crawler harnesses and crankbaits such as flicker shads and flicker minnows. Most were targeting deeper water as 20 plus feet was common. The shoals off Pensaukee and Oconto were popular spots along with Youngs Reef off Oconto Park II. Anglers were also getting a few walleyes casting shiver minnows and jigs with crawlers around weeds in shallower water of about 10 feet. Most boats were getting 2 to 5 fish for a half days fishing. Perch fishing was also slower this week with 10 or less fish caught per boat with very few of keeper size. Most anglers were using crawlers fishing the weeds between Oconto Park II and Oconto in 8 to 15 feet of water. Water temps ranged from the upper 60’s to low 70’s.
Geano Beach: During the week use was light yet steady with ~5 parties consistently utilizing this access. The weekend showed an increase in angler effort, however catch success was inconsistent. A party found success using crawler harnesses in <15 feet of water. Another group reported a catch and release of two Walleye, both under 17 inches. Other parties available for interview reported low success.
Brown County
Duck Creek, Longtail Point: Kayaks and canoes dominate launch use; however during the weekend 3-4 smaller trailers can be consistently observed. No parties available for interview, however light shore angling was observed at the VFW launch. Aquatic vegetation at these locations remains dense, often coating trailers.
Bayshore Park: On August 18th it was a very slow day for this landing with nobody using it due to the rough conditions, so I didn’t get any interviews for that day. Then on August 20th there were between 30 to 45 boat trailers using this launch. Nobody came in during the time I was sitting there during my shift, so I couldn’t get an interview. Both days there weren’t any shore or pier anglers.
Suamico: Anglers at this access point were consistent throughout the week in low numbers. Weekend traffic showed an increase of recreational boaters however congestion was not an issue as in previous weeks. An angler with his efforts focused on Muskellunge released two Northern Pike. Shore anglers were using night crawlers and bobbers for pan fish, trip lengths and success were low.
Marinette County
Perch were being caught in the Peshtigo River upstream from the launch on county road BB using crawlers and also at Red Arrow Park. Fishing the weed edges in shallow water of less than 5 feet was productive. Most anglers were getting around 5 keeper perch with several small ones caught also in a couple hours of fishing. Fishing for smallmouth bass and pike was slow this week in the Peshtigo River with only a few fish reported casting topwater baits and spinnerbaits.
Boat launches out of the Menominee River overall were lightly used this week with Menekaunee Harbor getting high traffic Friday and Saturday because of a walleye tournament. A few anglers that were prefishing the tournament were traveling long distances from the launch to places such as Green Island, Chambers Island, and the different reefs along Door County. Fishing was reported to be good one day and slow the next with over 10 fish caught one day and then 2 the next. Wind and changing water temps were said to be causing the inconsistent bite. Most anglers were trolling crankbaits and crawler harnesses in various depths of 10 to 50 feet. A few brown trout anglers were out this week with very little to report. A couple rainbows and small salmon were reported caught on the Trout Bar and at Chambers Island. Water temps were very cold early in the week with 50 degree water seen only 15 feet down in spots while warm water moved in for the weekend pushing the cold water deeper than 50 feet down. Surface temps ranged from the low 60’s to around 70 degrees this week on Green Bay.
