Fishing success compared to last week was slower, but anglers still caught a few salmon. There were reports of a handful of salmon being caught off of the Two Rivers northern pier using either spoons or cleos. During the week there was a report of a 24 pound chinook salmon caught using a green and silver colored kastmaster at the Two Rivers piers. The Two Rivers ramps had success in catching salmon and rainbow trout using spoons as well as flasher flies. In Manitowoc there were reports of chinook salmon being caught in the Manitowoc river as well a northern pike using cleos as well. At the Manitowoc Ramp there were reports of chinook salmon as well as coho salmon being caught in small numbers with one particular group using a moonshine spoon to catch both chinook and coho salmon. Most returning boaters reported that the majority of boats were extremely close to the pier heads while during afternoon no boats were over a quarter mile away from the piers and breakwall. Many boaters reported cooler water near breakwall, while warmer water was located outside of breakwall. There was only one report of a chinook salmon being caught off the Manitowoc piers this weekend.
Door County
Northern Door County Lakeside: Fishing pressure remained fairly low throughout the week due to midweek storms that brought pop up rain showers and strong winds. On Saturday there were only two trailers counted at Bailey’s Harbor. So there were only a few interviews conducted out of Bailey’s Harbor. The reports were that salmon were being caught in 100 feet of water using down riggers and leadcore to target the fish. Both spoons and flasher fly combos caught fish. Rainbows were still being caught out in the 150-250 feet of water when the weather allowed the anglers to get out that far. There was one party fishing for smallmouth bass at the Bailey’s Harbor Marina that had no success using crank baits. Rowley’s Bay had high fishing pressure on Saturday, however no interviews were conducted. There were anglers fishing for smallmouth bass off the pier during the middle of the week with no success. However, the anglers fishing during the weekend in the marina managed to catch 8 yellow perch. The perch were all on the small size with them being less than 6 inches. These fish were caught using worms. There were no interviews conducted in Gills Rock this week.
Northern Door County Bayside: Ramps along the bay had low fishing pressure during the week due to the Northwest winds that occurred on Wednesday while on creel. However, once the weekend rolled around the usage increased both by pleasure boaters and anglers. Majority of the interviews conducted over the weekend were pleasure boaters. However, one of the interviews that occurred at Murphy Park resulted in a group of anglers catching four walleyes. The walleyes were caught using crank baits in 18 to 24 feet of water. Egg Harbor had little fishing pressure from boats or from shore this week. The one interview conducted from shore resulted in one smallmouth bass being caught using a minnow and a slip bobber. The angler was fishing for yellow perch when the smallmouth bass was caught. The yellow perch that were caught were on the small size, with minnows and wax worms producing most of the fish. Fish Creek/ Peninsula State Park had high launch usage over the weekend. One angler targeting smallmouth bass towards the end of the night had no luck. The only fish that angler caught was a sheepshead. Rock bass are still being caught using worms at the piers in Fish Creek and Peninsula State Park. Ephraim Pier fishing effort was low this week due to the winds that occurred making the pier hard to fish without getting wet feet. Ellison Bay anglers also reported subpar conditions for fishing that resulted in fishing for 20 mins with no fish being caught.
Sturgeon Bay: Fishing pressure was low this week due to storms and high winds. Some chinooks have begun staging, with a few being caught within the canal early in the week. Perch fishing is still hit or miss, anglers have had some luck in sawyer harbor using slip bobbers with crawlers and minnows. Good quality smallmouth, many in that 3-4 pound range are still being caught in most areas with crawlers, dropshots, and tubes.
Chaudoir’s Dock: Windy conditions caused low angler effort the majority of the week; however into the weekend traffic increased significantly. Although traffic was quite high, low numbers of parties were observed exiting the launch during my shift. Low success was reported pursuing Walleye, however an angler caught and released Whitefish in the process.
Sawyer Harbor: Potawotami State Park: Angler traffic at this location was low until the weekend brought a traffic increase. Shore angling along the docks for Bluegill and Smallmouth Bass was popular but not successful. Angling pressure was low yet steady in numbers, however with little to no reported success. A guide and company was observed to have caught a handful a nice Yellow Perch.
Idlewild: This location was not observed to be utilized by anglers.
Little Sturgeon Bay: The Carmody launch showed higher numbers of fishing parties and anglers during the weekend after winds subsided. Commerical fishing vessel was observed utilizing this access. Angler effort in general declined from previous weeks and interview opportunity was sparse. Riley’s Bay access had very little to no use with no angler success reported.
Kewaunee County
Kewaunee: Fishing pressure was low during the beginning of the week and high towards the weekend, but some chinooks have been caught outside of the can. The anglers that had success had luck trolling crankbaits. In the next few weeks, we should expect a few more chinooks to make it up to shallower water.
Algoma: Storms and high winds kept most people in during the beginning of the week. Chinooks and rainbows are still scattered between 80-250 feet due to the recent turnover. Many small chinooks have been caught recently, with some high-quality fish being found. Spoons have been producing the most fish, with a handful coming on meat rigs, anywhere from 25-50 feet down.
Fox River and Green Bay Creel Report: September 3, 2019
Fox River
Fox River: On August 31 the usage of the two ramps was low with only 7 boats launching out of both ramps. Most of the boats were pleasure boaters enjoying the nice weekend. For shore angling there was 5 people trying along shore. Nobody was really having luck catching anything besides freshwater drum. Most of the anglers were trying for walleye, but there was one trying for musky from shore. On August 26 and 28 there was nobody launching out of these launches.
Fox River Mouth: On August 31 the usage at this ramp was low with only 15 to 20 boats launching from this site. I did manage to get a few interviews with all but one boat targeting walleyes. The one other boat was trying for musky. The boats that targeted walleyes did have luck. They managed to catch any between 3 to 8 walleyes. The most that an angler kept was 4 walleyes. The average size on them was between 18 to 24 inches. Most of the boats were trolling with night crawler harnesses to catch the walleyes. The boat that targeted muskies didn’t catch a single one, but they only fished for 2 hours, and had to stop due to engine issues. On August 28 the usage of this ramp was low it only averaged 5 to 7 boats launching. During my time there no boats came in, so I didn’t get any interviews. On August 26 the usage at this ramp was extremely low with only 1 boat launching from here during my shift. The boat never came in during my shift at this launch so I couldn’t do any interviews.
Oconto County
High winds during the week kept fishing activity down but a few anglers ventured out after perch and walleyes. Perch were being caught in low numbers straight out from Oconto Park II on crawlers in 8 to 12 feet of water. Most fish are small around 5 inches with only a couple keeper size perch caught. The shore around Oconto Park II was producing bluegills fishing crawlers under slip bobbers. Walleye were being caught off the shoals in Oconto and Pensaukee. Lower catches were seen this week with 1 to 3 fish being brought in per boat. Fish were being caught trolling flicker shads in waters 10 to 30 feet. Water temps have cooled a bit with temps in the mid 60’s to around 70 seen throughout the week.
Geano Beach: On August 31 the usage at this ramp was moderate with an average of 25 to 35 boats launching from here. Most of them were people going out fishing, but there was a handful for pleasure boating. I did get to do one interview and the angler targeted walleyes. He hooked up to 5 walleyes and kept them all. The average size ranged from 17 inches to 22 inches. He was trolling with shad raps and flicker shads on. On August 28 the usage of this ramp was very low as well with only 2 to 4 boats launching from this site. I didn’t get to interview anybody at this site. On August 26 this launch only averaged 1 to 3 boat using this site as well. Most of these boats didn’t launch until after 10 that morning, so none of them came in while I was there.
Brown County
Duck Creek, Longtail Point: During my shifts this week there was light usage of these launches. Most of the people launching were kayaking, but there was a few boat trailers averaging 1 to 2 usually. I didn’t get to interview any boaters coming back. There was nobody shore fishing either during my shifts. On August 28 there was only 1 boat trailer during my shift to launch. There was one party that tried shore fishing from this Duck Creek, but only managed to catch 2 really small smallmouth bass. They were casting flicker shads from the dock. On August 26 there was nobody launching or shore fishing during my shift for the day.
Bayshore Park: A weekend increase of angler effort yielded inconsistent success for anglers targeting Walleye. Traffic was extremely high Saturday, with over 100 parties and the overflow field utilized. Although there was high effort, few parties were available for interview. One such party was targeting Yellow Perch with some success, however reported small sizes and release.
Suamico: On August 31 the usage at this ramp was moderate with about 35 to 40 boats launching from here. It was a mixture of pleasure boaters and people going out to fish. I didn’t get to collect any interviews from boats since none came in during my sits at this landing. There was a steady flow of shore anglers on this day. I got to interview 4 of them with 2 of them targeting bass and the other two targeting perch. All four didn’t have any luck going after their target species, but did manage to catch and release some small bluegills and rock bass. On August 28 the usage of the ramp was very low. It averaged only 5 to 8 boats launching off of this site. I didn’t get an interview from a boat on this day, but did manage one shore interview with the guy targeting smallmouth bass. They didn’t have any luck catching anything that morning. August 26 there was only 1 to 3 boats launching off of this site during my shift, and they all launched off when I was there. I didn’t get to do any interviews since there was nobody shore fishing or no boats came in.
Marinette County
High winds during the week cooled surface temps and kept fishing pressure down until the weekend when fair weather moved in. Peshtigo River had some decent amount of anglers out trying for perch, bass, and pike. Perch were being caught in the weeds on crawlers with most fish running small with 5 or less keepers seen per boat. A few smallmouth bass and northern pike were hitting topwater lures and spinner baits on the lower river towards the bay. Low numbers were caught but more action was seen by anglers over the weekend. Temps in the river were in the mid 60’s.
Walleyes were being targeted in the bay around Green Island and Chambers Island. The fish that are being caught were said to be active one day and not the next. Anglers were casting shiver minnows and trolling crankbaits around the rocky areas of the islands catching walleyes up to 28 inches. Some boats had 2 to 6 fish while others had zero after a half day of fishing. Temps in the bay were holding around 65 degrees.
