Outdoor Report

October 18, 2018

DNR Outdoor Report as of October 18, 2018

Fall colors continue to be near peak across much of the center part of the state on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s Fall Color Report. Colors are past peak in the far north where tamaracks have now turned gold, and many leaves are dropping. Colors are still approaching peak in the most southern tier of counties.

Drier weather for the past week has allowed some rivers to begin to drop but many waterways across the state are still well above average for this time of year.

Strong winds resulted in slow fishing this past week on Green Bay. When anglers could get out they found turbid waters that made fishing difficult. Many areas of the Fox River were seeing white caps. Those anglers that ventured out on the Fox had some luck catching a couple of walleye each.

Along Door County yellow perch anglers had success fishing in Little Sturgeon Bay and Sawyer Harbor. Bass anglers fishing from Sister Bay, Ellison Bay and Gills Rock have been finding a few bass, including fish over 6 pounds being caught.

The fall salmon run is slowing down. Anglers fishing on the Manitowoc River found murky water conditions that made it harder to target salmon moving upstream. Anglers fishing the East Twin River were still catching chinook by the Mishicot dam. Browns and coho are starting to be caught more frequently. Despite high West Twin River water levels anglers were able to catch chinook up by the Shoto dam. Sauk Creek saw a lot of fishing pressure with some anglers reaching daily bag limits. The Milwaukee River and Oak Creek were seeing higher fishing pressure with anglers finding some success catching kings or the occasional brown trout. Fish were still being caught on the Root and Pike rivers where water levels are starting to drop.

Snow in Canada and colder weather brought a rush of ducks migrating through this past weekend. Hunters were having success on the rivers and in the marshes. Grouse and woodcock hunters are happy that the leaves are falling quickly now. Woodcock hunting was very good last weekend in northwestern Wisconsin. Conditions are shaping up for a wet, windy pheasant season opener this Saturday due to the high water still persisting across many areas.

The underbrush is opening up and making for more visibility in the woods. Archery hunting activity is picking up. Hunters are encouraged to search the DNR website for “CWD sampling” to find locations where they can drop off a head from their harvested deer for sampling for chronic wasting disease. Increased numbers of car-killed deer are being seen, indicating deer are becoming more active. Pay attention while driving in the north not just for deer but for eagles feeding on dead deer along roads. Give them plenty of room to take off as they are slow to get out of the way.

The Mississippi River Valley is also host to large numbers of waterfowl with a report of an estimated 100,000 ducks and coots at Lake Onalaska. Nearly 1,000 red-breasted mergansers were seen along Lake Michigan. Common loons are on the move showing up on the Great Lakes and various inland water bodies. Thousands of sandhill cranes were reported at Navarino and Crex Meadows and other wildlife areas as they stage for their southward departure in coming weeks.

This will be a spooky weekend at Wisconsin state properties with nearly a dozen Halloween-themed events taking place. Search the DNR website for “Get Outdoors,” for a complete listing of events.