OUTDOOR NEWS FISHING REPORTS

Manitowoc Co. Salmon fishing out of Manitowoc and Two Rivers was slow yet again this week. Even with a small tournament bringing out over 60 boats between the two ports on Saturday, most boats didn’t bring in more than one fish. Many anglers have still been targeting the 150-200+ feet-of-water range, but some tried trolling in 60 or less feet after a couple days of west winds brought some cooler water close to shore. Those that did troll in close reported no more than a stray brown with no discernable pattern. Boats fishing in the deeper water caught more chinooks than any other species, but some rainbows also made a trip back in the cooler. With most boats only having one fish, it was hard for anglers to report any pattern as to depth, lure, or color, but those boats that came in with 4-6 fish had mixed reports. One boat had a mix of 6 chinooks and rainbows that all came on the same green fly/dodger combo and one boat with 4 chinooks caught all their fish on different spoons. Because of this, anglers say it has come down to luck when finding fish, and the boats that had multiple fish reported catching them in a short window, sometimes one after the next. Many anglers also reported marking schools of what were likely baitfish in about 60-80 feet-of-water, but had no luck when fishing around them. Some anglers out of both ports turned to smallmouth fishing for a change of pace, but that was mostly unsuccessful as well. Some anglers reported that it was tough to get them to bite hard enough to get a hook into them, but tubes seemed to be the best lure for getting any fish to commit. Anglers fished the rocks along the Manitowoc marina as well as the harbor and around the outside of the piers, and anglers out of Two Rivers fished around the base of the piers as well as further upriver. Pier anglers breathed a slight sigh of relief this week as they hooked into something besides just a sheepshead. With the west winds came cooler water which brought a handful of salmon in. A couple chinooks and rainbows came off in Manitowoc and Two Rivers, and a couple is very literal as only a few lucky anglers came off with fish. The chinooks came off casting spoons, either champs or cleos, and the rainbows were caught on both spoons and nightcrawlers. Anglers fishing the harbor with spoons or spinners in Manitowoc reported hits from smallmouth and northern pike, and some anglers fishing with nightcrawler pieces around Two Rivers have had good action with bullhead and a channel catfish or two. Kewaunee Co. Fishing pressure was below average this week in Kewaunee County and fishing has been tough for most anglers. Despite a tough bite, anglers have been harvesting a good number of Chinook Salmon, along with a mixed catch of Lake Trout and Rainbow Trout. Trolling in 200-300 feet of water has been reported to be working well, along with a shallow nearshore bite for Brown Trout. Sturgeon Bay In the Sturgeon Bay Canal perch fishermen have had consistent success with some catching their 15 fish limit. Walleye fishermen out of Stone Quarry have had limited success trolling crawler harnesses. Bass fishing has been good, fishing weed beds seems to be the most productive pattern. Green Bay Fishing Report: August 20, 2017 Door Co. Salmon fishing in Door County this past week has been hit or miss but some anglers have been catching a good number of very large fish along with good numbers mainly North of Sturgeon Bay. The best action has been reported in 150-300 feet of water. Although anglers are catching salmon and trout on spoons and plugs, flasher/flies combos have been producing good action. Baileys Harbor has been great and has produced some very large Rainbow Trout this past week. The Smallmouth Bass fishing has slowed down throughout Door County. The best bite this past week was still being reported from 10-30 feet of water near offshore structure. The Yellow Perch fishing has slowed but still remains good in the Sturgeon Bay area with most success occurring near deep weed lines. The Walleye fishing in Door County along the Green Bay shoreline remains good and anglers are reporting excellent fishing. Jigging has been the best method for catching Walleyes, but trolling has also brought success for many anglers. Chaudoirs Dock – Only a few anglers were interviewed during the week. At the end of the week most boats were after walleye and caught approximately 2 to 4 of the target species while usually keeping at least one fish. Few anglers reported fishing for yellow perch and had similar success with small numbers. Anglers from boat also caught freshwater drum, white perch, and a white fish. The parking lot averaged about 8-15 trailers during the week. Sugar Creek - No anglers observed. Rites Cove - No anglers observed. Little Sturgeon Bay – Anglers had pretty good luck this week while targeting yellow perch. Most were able to catch well over 10 perch total per boat, though reported many of them to be short. Freshwater drum catch has decreased, but anglers were still reeling in a few here and there for each trip along with few northern pike and white perch. Anglers targeting walleye throughout the week did not have as great of luck however, harvesting between 1 to 3 fish throughout the week. During the weekend days the parking lot averaged about 40 trailers and about 8 trailers during the week. Sawyer Harbor – An average of 3 trailers were observed during the week with little success. Over the weekend there was an average of 10 trailers in the lot and the few anglers which were interviewed reported targeting walleye with varying success. Few boats were able to harvest their limit while others struggled to harvest at least 1. Brown/Kewaunee Co. - Bay side from Sturgeon Bay area south Bayshore - During the week most anglers were going after walleye and had pretty consistent success. Anglers reported harvesting their limit while also catching other shorts, freshwater drum, and white bass. The parking lot averaged about 15 trailers during the week. Suamico – When weather was bad there was no one out but when it was good the lot was at least half full. Everyone interviewed was fishing for walleye and they found mild success with most groups catching a few fish. Even though anglers found fish most were short and were tossed back. The freshwater drum bite hasn’t been as hot as some weeks in the past but anglers are still catching them. Longtail Lauches- no anglers or trailers Metro launch – When weather was good there were 10-20 boat trailers at the metro launch. Other days when the weather wasn’t as favorable the launch averaged only a few trailers. Most anglers interviewed were after walleye while a few others were after musky. The walleye anglers found consistent success with some boats catching over 10 fish for half a day on the water. The musky anglers on the other hand didn’t fair so lucky and had trouble finding fish. Walleye anglers out trolling also caught white bass and freshwater drum. Anglers from shore were mostly out to have a good time. They found themselves catching white bass, freshwater drum, and black crappie. Fox River Mouth – High trailer counts all week which ended up resulting in high number of interviews from pleasure boaters. With the nice weather we have had lately the public is getting on the water and enjoying the sun. As for anglers, walleye has been the main target with anglers launching from the mouth and running a couple miles north usually. Walleye angler have had a tough time finding decent numbers of walleyes and they are also struggling to keep the non-target fish off their lines, many times white perch or freshwater drum will hit their baits before a walleye has time. Shore anglers from the river mouth have still been doing good catching freshwater drum with the occasional channel catfish mixed in. The river’s water temperature is quite high right now with many anglers reporting 82-85 degree surface temperatures. Fox River- Almost all of my interviews from the upper portion of the river came from pleasure boaters with most of the anglers targeting fish out in the bay right now. Fish species that have been caught by anglers in the upper portion have been, freshwater drum, and channel catfish. Fox Point Launch – At best there were a few boat trailers in the lot over the past week. No interviews were taken. Fairgrounds – A few trailers were observed no interviews taken. Duck Creek - In the beginning of the week there were only a few shore anglers out but by the end the boat fishermen hit the water. Everyone interviewed was fishing for perch, and though they found fish the size wasn’t anything memorable. Voyager Park – There were only a few shore anglers out over the past week. No interviews taken. Red River - No anglers observed. Oconto Co. Bleu gill and small mouth bass are still the main draw below the Dam at Stiles on the Oconto River. Live bait and plastics have been working well below the dam all the way to the 141 bridge. Fly anglers report catching a few brown trout using streamers in the Iron Bridge area. The lower Oconto River is producing small mouth bass, a few walleye, crappie, cat fish, and drum using mostly live bait and some plastics or small spinners and spoons. Anglers from the landing at Pensaukee to Oconto Park II report perch starting to be caught in 6 to 14 feet of water using minnows and crawler pieces. Find the weed beds and keep moving when the bite slacks off has been the routine. The walleye bite has been going good with anglers trolling and rip jigging in 30 feet of water. Trolling anglers are fishing an ounce of weight 100 feet back, while rip jigging anglers are finding fish on structure. Marinette Co. The lower Peshtigo River is still producing walleye, perch, cat fish, drum, and small mouth bass using live bait and jigs with plastics. Look for deeper holes and structure. Pan fish are being caught below the Dam at Peshtigo using crawlers and small spinners. Anglers at Little River report catching perch in 6 to 14 feet of water using mainly crawler chunks and minnows, find the weeds and you should find fish. Sorting has been required as a lot of the fish are small. Reports of a few browns being caught along the Trout Bar but no reports of salmon yet. There is still a gate open on the Menominee River, but anglers report Catching a few walleye and small mouth at the Hattie Street Dam using jigs, spinners and crank baits. Anglers trolling the Menominee River report catching walleye, small mouth, cat fish and drum