DNR Fishing report for week of May 2nd, 2022

MANITOWOC COUNTY

• Those continuing to try for steelhead have succeeded with spawn, minnows, flies and plastics. However, these anglers have been catching more suckers than steelhead in the East and West Twin Rivers. One weekend angler caught and released seven smallmouth bass in the Manitowoc River in under an hour using artificial lures. The weather was bad, and Lake Michigan was rough, limiting boat traffic and pier access due to precipitation and waves.

KEWAUNEE COUNTY

• Kewaunee:
  • At the Kewaunee River, a few rainbow trout were reported to a creel clerk as being caught using beads, yarn and spawn. Successful bead colors included red and pink/orange, while successful yarn colors included orange, orange/green and white. Data collected on the Kewaunee River included one rainbow trout weighing 6.2 lbs. Water levels were lower; however the current was good for fishing, according to anglers. Additionally, the water clarity was good, with most locations clear to the bottom. Suckers were still seen throughout the river. At the Kewaunee ramp, one angler caught two rainbow trout weighing 3.1 lbs. and 4.9 lbs. using orange and brown stick baits 10 feet down in 20 feet of water at a trolling speed of 2.2 mph. Water temperature ranged from 43 to 46 degrees. Alewives were seen at the Kewaunee pier, and water clarity was 1 foot or less.
• Algoma:
  • At the Ahnapee River, a few northern pikes were reported to a creel clerk as being caught on a blue and silver spoon. Anglers reported also seeing rainbow trout and suckers. Water clarity was 1.5 feet down or more. Some northern pike were also caught from the Ahnapee shore close to Algoma using spoons in perch, silver/blue and silver/green colors. Clarity here was 1-2 feet. Rainbow trout were caught on pink yarn balls in Stoney Creek, including fish weighing 4.9 and 6.6 lbs. Water levels were lower with more average current, and anglers reported seeing the bottom in most locations. Water temperature was reported at 43 degrees out of the Algoma boat ramp.

DOOR COUNTY

• Anglers have continued to report seeing rainbow trout in Door County’s streams. One angler fishing near the mouth of Whitefish Bay Creek managed to catch three, with the two larger fish being close to nine pounds each. The fish were caught on flies with orange and chartreuse hairs on a brown body, and these flies were drifted down the stream. Another angler fishing Heins Creek caught a rainbow weighing just over seven pounds. Both anglers also saw a fair number of suckers in each stream. Anglers continue to catch northern pike around 20 inches from shore along the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club using a variety of lures, including spoons and crankbaits. One angler fishing out of the Sawyer Park launch reported catching a couple of mid to upper 20-inch walleye on rippin’ raps and hair jigs and water temperatures in the low to mid-40s.

FOX RIVER:

• Fox River shore anglers: The shore anglers reported catching walleyes, smallmouth bass, northern pike, whitefish, suckers and sheepsheads along the fox river. There were fewer walleyes caught this week than in previous weeks as they seem to be finishing up their spawning and are heading back into the bay. The walleyes were mainly caught on jigs with soft plastics this week. The smallmouth bass was caught on swimbaits, and the northern pike was mostly caught on jigging lures. This week, the whitefish were caught on jigging baits, and the suckers were caught on jigging lures and blade baits. The sheepshead was reportedly caught on worms. This week’s most commonly effective colors appeared to be yellows, oranges and firetiger.
• Fox River boat anglers: There were fewer boat anglers on the Fox River this week than in previous weeks, and the people using the metro boat launch are mostly going out onto the bay or staying near the mouth of the river. The anglers reported catching mainly walleyes, catfish, carp and sheepshead. The walleyes were mostly caught on crankbaits, jigging baits and jigs with soft plastic. Anglers reported catching catfish on jigs with soft plastics, and they reported catching carp on jigging lures and crankbaits. The sheepsheads were mostly caught on crankbaits and jigging lures. The anglers reported dark and natural colors as being effective this week. The water temperatures for both the bay and the Fox River this week were about 47 degrees Fahrenheit.

EAST SHORELINE OF GREEN BAY:

BOWN COUNTY

• Bayshore Park: There was limited activity most of this week due to rainy and windy weather. Boating anglers targeting walleye did have success using flicker minnows and flicker shads from 10 to 16 feet. One young angler was able to land a 10-pound walleye on a flicker minnow. The reported water temperature was from 44 to 47 degrees.

DOOR COUNTY

• Chaudoir’s Dock: There was limited activity most of this week due to rainy and windy weather. Boating anglers targeting walleye had success trolling crankbaits and flicker shads from 10 to 22 feet deep. The reported water temperature was around 44 degrees.
• Sugar Creek: It was raining and windy throughout the week. There were no anglers observed at this location this week.
• Fish Haven: It was raining and windy throughout the week. There were no anglers observed at this location this week.
• Little Surgeon Bay: There was moderate fishing activity observed this week. The weather was windy and rainy throughout the week. Early in the week, boating anglers targeting walleye had great success using jigs, crankbaits and stickbaits. A successful color for the jigs was purple. The reported depths for the walleye were from 6 to 28 feet deep. Boating anglers later in the week were mostly targeting smallmouth bass and had some success using jerk baits, swimbaits and plastic jigs. The reported water temperature was between 42 to 46 degrees.
• Sawyer Harbor: There was limited fishing activity at the beginning of the week due to snow and windy weather. The fishing activity picked up later in the week. Boating anglers targeting smallmouth bass successfully used jerk baits, crankbaits and green-pumpkin tube baits. The reported depth for the caught smallmouth bass was between 3 to 16 feet deep. A few anglers reported catching northern pike while targeting smallmouth bass and walleye. The reported water temperature throughout the week was 40 to 46 degrees.

KEWAUNEE COUNTY

• Red River Park: It was windy and cold weather at the beginning of the week. No anglers were observed this week at this location.

WEST SHORELINE OF GREEN BAY:

BROWN COUNTY

• Suamico River: No report is available this week. Please check back again for more up-to-date information. Thank you.

OCONTO COUNTY

• Oconto River: Walleye and northern pike were caught in the river’s lower portion out to the mouth. Shore anglers had success fishing dead bait on the bottom for northern pike along the pier. A few walleyes were caught in the river around the city docks, while most catches were coming from the mouth of the river. Hair jigs and rip n raps were most popular for the walleyes. Angler numbers at Stiles Dam dropped significantly from previous weeks. Anglers reported finding only suckers in the area and in high numbers.

MARINETTE COUNTY

• Walleye were being caught this week throughout the Menominee River. Both boat and shore anglers were having luck. The best areas from shore are just below the dam on the WI side and off the upstream tip of Stephenson Island. The best baits were ripped n raps and stick baits. Boat anglers were having luck fishing the shallow flats off of Marinette Marine and around the Ogden St. bridge using jigs with minnows or plastics. Most of the walleyes were post-spawn, with various sizes still present in the river.
• Fishing pressure on the Peshtigo was down this week. Those that were out were having good luck on the northern pike on the lower river towards the bay. A few walleyes were caught, with better catches coming from the bay out from the river mouth.