View current conditions for Wisconsin State Parks, Trails and Forests
This weekend, June 1-2, is Free Fun Weekend in Wisconsin when no state park admission stickers or trail passes are required, and people may fish without fishing licenses or state trout stamps. Non-resident all-terrain vehicle operators do not need a non-resident trail pass to ride state ATV trails this weekend.
This weekend is Free Fun Weekend when there is free fishing and free admission to parks, forests and trails. A great opportunity to take the family on a bog hike.Photo credit: James Enigl
More than a dozen fishing clinics will be held at properties across the state, including one at Governor Dodge where you can learn to prepare your catch for a fish fry. Pike Lake is holding discovery day with geocaching, archery, kayak demos and more. There is a National Trail Day Celebration on the Red Cedar. On Sunday enjoy breakfast in the park at Harrington Beach and Richard Bong is holding a family fair along with a fish shocking demonstration, a method used by biologists to assess fish populations. With a new moon, this should be a great weekend to view the Milky Way at Wisconsin’s only dark sky park, Newport in Door County.
Rivers are still running high so the waterfalls at northern state parks and forests are still spectacular. Staff at Pattison State Park counted almost 1,400 vehicles over Memorial Day with a lot of people enjoying the beautiful weather and waterfalls.
With the high amounts of rain and flooding this spring, trout and bass fishing on inland streams and rivers has been difficult. Fisheries crews are just finishing up spring electrofishing surveys in the Wautoma area and were finding bass are on their beds. Bluegills are starting to feel the warming waters and getting ready to start their spawning.
There was heavy fishing pressure over the weekend on Green Bay with many anglers prefishing for an upcoming walleye tournament. Early week weather included winds that increased wave action to rolling waves and whitecaps especially at the mouth of the Fox River.
There was little fishing pressure this week on the bayside of Door County. Anglers fishing from shore were catching smallmouth bass, including a few 5-pounders. Lakeside fishing pressure was focused out of Rowleys Bay, where anglers reported averaging 10 to 25 smallmouth bass caught per boat.
Lake Michigan again had some strong wind and waves over the last week but conditions improved for the holiday weekend. Although the weather was nice the fish did not want to work with the anglers. There were some lake trout caught out of Kewaunee and Two Rivers. Most boats out of Milwaukee were pleasure boaters, but the fishing boats that came in reported hit-or-miss success with lake trout, coho and steelhead.
Strong wind and waves made for some difficult fishing conditions at Racine last week.Photo credit: Andrew Krecak
Fawns are starting to be seen following after their mothers. Black bears and cubs are being seen along roads in the north. Turtles will soon be laying eggs.
Trillium are still in full bloom in Door County along with dwarf lake iris, bellwort and columbine and yellow lady slipper orchids are starting to bud. Juneberry and pin cherry are in bloom at the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest.
The past week saw a shift in peak migration activity finally bringing big numbers of warblers to northern counties. Loon chicks are hatching, great horned and barred owls, sandhill cranes, Canada geese, mallards, wood ducks, and hooded mergansers are fledging young.