Roger's Outdoor News

FISHING NEWS:  EXPANDED FISHING ON LAKE MICHIGAN SET TO TAKE EFFECT APRIL 15^th;   Starting Saturday April 15^th Lake Trout harvest will take effect thanks to an emergency rule approved by the Wis. DNR Board.  The rule takes into account current lake trout populations including the reestablishment of natural reproduction in some refuge areas and is not expected to affect long-term restoration efforts. The new 5 fish daily bag limit was developed following an extensive angler engagement process that included seven public meetings with total attendance of 500. Other provisions of the new rule are:  Count the 5 fish daily lake trout limit as part of the overall five trout and salmon combined daily bag limit; Maintain closure of refuges, which are supporting some natural reproduction; Offer a continuous open season in 2017; Maintain the commitment to lake-wide lake trout restoration and promotion of a diverse salmon and trout fishery through continued assessment of lake trout restoration goals and management actions. DNR will hold a combined public hearing to the emergency rule and gather additional information for a permanent rule at a hearing set for June 22 from 6 to 8 pm in the ballroom at U-W Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53204. Written comments can be sent to:  DNRLAKEMICHIGANPLAN@wisconsin.gov  or mailed to: Brad Eggold, DNR, Great Lakes Water Institute, 600 E. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, WI  53204. The deadline for comments is July 17, 2017.  The initial emergency rule will run 150 days with two expected 60 day extensions for a total of 270 days. For 2017, the new bag limit will therefore be in effect until December 31, 2017. The department intends to seek a permanent rule that would take effect as soon as possible upon expiration of the emergency rule extensions.

Walleye runs continuing on rivers and fishing pressure has been very heavy at some locations, including at the Hattie Street dam on the Menominee River and at Voyager Park on the Fox River where it was shoulder to shoulder angler wading near shore over the week. On the Wolf River walleye are starting to make it up to the Shawano Dam. Anglers reported catching mostly males but with more females starting to show up with many not spawned out yet. Sturgeons have not been spotted below the Shawano Dam yet, but with the warmer weather it will not be long before they arrive to spawn. The steelhead run on Lake Michigan tributaries continues to be a mixed bag. The Kewaunee River is still producing some steelhead and steelhead were moving up the Ahnapee River with good catches just downstream of the Forestville Dam. Some small brown trout and a few bigger steelhead were taken from the East Twin River. Not much pressure on fishing so far this week on the West Twin River the number of times it was checked. Steelhead fishing farther south of Manitowoc are reporting just about the same of the local fishing in the Mishicot and Shoto areas. Smelt fishermen were reporting good catches of up to 300 smelt per night along the Milwaukee shoreline.

If you would like to report any fishing experiences you are having locally in the Manitowoc or Two Rivers areas, or if you are a hardcore fisherman or woman, drop us an email at: roger@VLoutdoormedia.com, and we will be sure to place it on the CUB Radio blog site, and the http://VLoutdoormedia.com  site.  This also applies for all hunting, club news or anything that the public might be interested in.