Northern Wisconsin received some much needed rain in the last week, which greatly relieved unusually high fire danger levels for summer that had been reported prior to the rainfall. Some areas in the northwest corner of the state are down as much as 30 inches of precipitation since 2004. Trees, shrubs and grass are all showing signs of moisture stress. Up to an inch and a half of rain was reported in the last week, which has fire danger levels now back down to low to moderate.
The rain brought a temporary increase of river flows but many lakes in northern Wisconsin remain at very low levels, with some lakes several feet below their normal summer levels. Recent cool evenings are also keeping lake temperatures from reaching their summertime highs, and keeping lake weed growth a bit behind for this time of year.
In the north, walleye action has been fair with the best action on weed edges in 10 to 12 feet of water with both leeches and crawlers tempting them to bite. Bluegills were being found on the weed edges in 6 to 7 feet of water. Musky fishing has been fair and bass anglers continue to reporting good success.
On Green Bay and Lake Michigan, anglers had some very nice weather but also had to contend with some windy days and high seas, which limited access to the lake. Overall, fishing during the last week ranged from poor on windy days to good on the nice days. Most boats were able to land fish, with chinook salmon and rainbow trout dominating the catch. Smallmouth bass fishing was good along most of Door County, with Little Sturgeon Bay, Riley’s Bay, Sand Bay and the Sturgeon Bay flats, all producing some smallmouth. Walleye action on Green Bay was good again this week, with night and day fishing both successful. Perch fishing seems to be picking up, although most of the fish being caught were on the small side. Fishing on Lake Winnebago system slowed down considerably this week, with none of the anglers in one professional walleye tournament reaching the five fish bag limit.
Along southern Lake Michigan, shore anglers have been catching brown trout at Sheboygan. Perch fishing has been good at Port Washington and Milwaukee. Trollers have reported chinooks, coho, and rainbows taken in 70 to 150 feet of water, although fishing has been relatively slow.
The Mississippi River remained fairly steady this week. It rose slightly after last week’s rain but has settled down to a level of 7.1 feet at Prairie du Chien this week. A new slow no wake zone in now in effect on the Mississippi River’s main channel adjacent to the City of McGregor Iowa. The area is marked with slow no wake buoys that line both sides of the navigation channel. Walleye and sauger action was generally good this week, but panfish action has been slow.
Berry crops are just starting to come in with blueberries and raspberries becoming ripe. This should help to alleviate some of the nuisance bear complaints that have continued to be common in the north.
Cedar waxwings, pewees, great-crested flycatchers, nighthawks, whip-poor-wills, and bats have been very active lately, feeding heavily on flying insects. Wild turkey broods are also taking advantage of large numbers of grasshoppers and other insects.
Fireweed, cow parsnip, St. John's wort, rabbit-foot clover, water hemlock, turk's cap lily, black-eyed Susans, wild bergamot, hawkweed, eye daisy, black and brown-eyed Susan’s, and wooly yarrow are blooming.
A three-minute audio version of this report can be heard by calling (608) 266 2277.
A new report is put on the line each week.
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHERN REGION
Superior DNR Service Center area
Blueberries are ripening in the Northwoods.
Catherine Khalar Photo
Brule River State Forest - Nuisance bear complaints continue to come in due to the lack of food sources. The berry crops are just starting to become available to the bears so hopefully this will alleviate some of the problems. Blueberries are now becoming ripe, it certainly is not a bumper crop due to the drought but it could be considered fair. Juneberries should be ripening soon and blackberries look like they could ripen up in the next few weeks. The area received an inch to an inch and a half of rain Tuesday night, hopefully this will help the food sources for the wildlife...and berry pickers. The rain brought a temporary increase of river flows and levels for the Brule River. The flow peaked around 135 cfs (cubic feet per second). As of July 16 the flow has gone down to 114 cfs. Some animals that have been benefitting from the drought are the game birds such as ruffed and sharp-tailed grouse, turkeys, and woodcock. Their young do much better with dry conditions which increases their survival rate. New flowers adding to the color of the area are fireweed, cow parsnip, St. John's wort, rabbit-foot clover, water hemlock, turk's cap lily, and black-eyed Susans.
Woodruff DNR Service Center area
Lake weed growth and water temperatures are still a bit behind for this time of year. The cool evenings are preventing lake temperatures from reaching their summertime highs. Walleye action is fair with the best action on weed edges in 10-12 feet of water with both leeches and crawlers tempting them to bite. Bluegills are done spawning and can be found on the weed edges in 6-7 feet of water. Musky fishing is fair right now and bass anglers are reporting success throughout the Lakeland area along the deep side weed edges with leeches the preferred bait. Antler development on deer is now quite visible with the heavy velvet growth. Fawns are abundant and more active so be watchful along the roads. If you spot the doe, the fawns are not far away. Raspberries and blueberries are beginning to turn ripe and it appears to be a good crop and with periodic rains it could be a great berry year. Summer weather has brought out numerous recreational boaters. Please use caution when traveling about and respect the rights of others.
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHEAST REGION
Peshtigo DNR Service Center area
Marinette County - There has been a noticeable increase in the number of salmon anglers launching from the Menominee River landings and from the landing at Little River. Success is starting to pick up with some fish being taken in the 50 to 70 foot range. Green has been a hot color. Fishing in the Menominee River was producing some walleye and lots of sheepshead, both trolling and fishing from shore. Fishing the Peshtigo River up by the dam is yielding some nice bluegills and smallmouth bass, along with the occasional trout. Slip bobbers with worms and spinners or small stick baits are working well. Water levels on the Upper Menominee River near Wausaukee are low with sandbars showing in low parts of the river. The northern forests are dry which may effect the berry harvests.
Oconto County - The weather has been great with a moderate number of boaters taking advantage of this. Temperatures at the landings are in the mid-70s, with good water clarity. Anglers at the Stiles Dam were catching panfish with slip bobbers and worms up at the dam location. Some smallmouth bass were also being caught on spinners and chug baits. The landing at the Iron Bridge has been getting a lot of use from canoeists and kayakers floating the Oconto River for fish and for pleasure. Pensaukee Landing, Oconto Breakwater Landing, and Oconto Park II were getting moderate use by anglers looking to catch walleye and perch.
Green Bay DNR Service Center area
Brown County - The walleye fishing has improved over the last week out of Bay Shore Park. Some nice fish were being caught to the south near University Bay. Most fish that were being caught were falling victim to a crawler harness. The depth of water does not seem to matter. Perch fishing has been spotty anglers have to relocate several times before active fish are found.
Manitowoc County - During this past week anglers experienced some very nice weather but also had to contend with some windy days and high seas which limited access to the lake. Overall, fishing during the last week ranged from poor on windy days to good on the nice days. In Manitowoc anglers had a good week of fishing although the number of fish landed declined this week. Most boat anglers were able to land one to four fish with chinook salmon and rainbow trout dominating the catch. Anglers were fishing at many depths looking for fish but had the most success in 70 to 120 feet of water. Lead core line out to the third color and dypsys rigged up with glow in the dark spoons worked well for some boat anglers. Angler pressure on the piers picked up over the weekend with anglers casting spoons for trout or salmon. Although fishing was slow, pier anglers were able to land a few chinook salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout. Inside the harbor, perch anglers had some success using a bobber with a worm or minnow. Harvested perch ranged from 8 to 11 inches. In Two Rivers, boat anglers were out in high number but success was limited with some boaters returning empty and others with 1 to 3 fish. Most catches were dominated by rainbow trout or chinook salmon. Piers anglers had a very slow week landing only one rainbow trout.
Sturgeon Bay DNR Service Center area
Door County – Warm, sometimes hot, temperatures and sunny skies made for a great week. The only exception was Friday night when a line of strong thunderstorms passed through the county. Salmon action on Lake Michigan remained good to very good this week, with the exception of Saturday, which could best be described as slow, probably due to the thunderstorms that moved through the night before. The bank reef north of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal remained the place to be early mornings this week. Anglers trolling spoons and fly and dodger combinations in 60 to 150 feet of water were making good catches of chinook salmon, along with rainbows which were coming out of the top 30 feet of water. Later in the day the successful anglers were moving out to waters as deep as 300 feet, and fishing 80 to 140 feet down. Just like on the reef spoons and fly and dodgers were producing the most fish. Farther north, anglers fishing out of Baileys Harbor reported fish coming out of 60 to 80 feet of water. Up north salmon were being taken from the waters on both sides of the peninsula, with the areas around Sister Bay, Ellison Bay and Washington Island all producing some nice fish. Smallmouth bass fishing was good throughout most of the county. Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay, Sand Bay and the Sturgeon Bay flats, along with the shoreline off Potawatomi State Park are all producing some smallmouth. Tube jigs, stick baits, grubs, Katelands and even some top water lures all were producing fish. Up north, Anderson’s dock in Ephraim, as well as Baileys Harbor, Rowley’s Bay, Egg Harbor, Sister Bay and Washington Island are all produced fish. The daytime action for walleyes continues to be good with some nice fish being taken from areas South of Chaudoir’s dock and off the reefs. Anglers trolling crawler harnesses and crank baits in 8 to 25 feet of water accounted for the majority of the walleyes taken. The area around Henderson Point was producing walleyes for anglers trolling waters from 8 to 40 feet. Up north the walleye action was still on the slow side this week, with the areas around Chambers Island and the Strawberries producing a few fish. The nighttime walleye action continued to be good with anglers trolling stick and jerk baits in 10 to 25 feet of water. Henderson Point, Sherwood Point, the Sturgeon Bay flats and Dunlap Reef all remain good spots to try for walleye. A few nice catches of 25 to 30 perch were reported this week. Perch fishing seems to be picking up, although most of the fish being caught were on the small side. The dock fishing has slowed a bit over the last week at Chaudoir’s dock but anglers were still finding some perch. Once again anglers have to be aggressively searching to find fish. Sturgeon Bay anglers were finding good numbers of perch in and around Sawyer Harbor most of the fish have been on the smaller side. Minnows and night crawlers seem to be producing the best results. At Little Sturgeon Bay, anglers were having some luck finding perch but they are hard fought. Anglers were also having luck finding a few musky.
Potawatomi State Park - Potawatomi is the destination for hundreds on bike riders on July 19 completing the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Scenic Shore 150 bike ride. The route ends at the Picnic Shelter on the park's south shoreline. Naturalist programs this weekend include: Water coloring nature with local artist Elaine Cregan giving a hands-on lesson in watercolor painting on Friday, July 17, from 1-3 p.m. Geologic History of Door County on Friday, from 7-8 p.m.: and a Ice Age Trail Hike on Saturday, July 18, from 4-5 p.m.
Kewaunee County - This week brought some warmer temperatures to the area, but not quite the seasonable weather we would expect at this time of the year. This week was also dry for the most part and the windy towards the end of the week. Anglers have been reporting some success casting spoons for trout and salmon off of the piers in Algoma and Kewaunee. Only a few fish are being caught by these anglers in the mornings and evenings. Anglers that have been going out on the lake are still finding some success. Most fish are being found in depths between 80 feet and 130 feet. Steel head are hanging higher in the water column with the kings hanging out in the deeper water. The weather has helped to scatter the fish some, and as a result catches have been smaller this week. Most anglers have been using a combination of dipsies and flashers. Action this week started off good, but slowed down in the middle of the week when the winds picked up. Action remained somewhat slow over the weekend due to strong winds, but boats that were going out were reporting that they have been catching some fish.
Wautoma DNR Service Center area
Sandhill chicks are learning to fly which is extraordinary knowing that by Oct. they will be traveling to Florida & beyond. Mourning dove banding is underway. Deer antler growth is near peak and spots on fawns are starting to fade away. Trout fishing in this area has been very slow. Prairies are at mid-summer bloom. Karner Blue Butterflies are beginning their second flight.
Oshkosh DNR Service Center area
Wildlife Biologists are beginning to repair the outlet point for Rush Lake after last years devastating floods. They are making a big push to make repairs to the areas around the el Dorado dam in the next few weeks. Five berms near el Dorado will also be repaired after sustaining considerable flood damage. Fishing on Lake Winnebago has slowed down considerably. The pro-fishing tournament going on at the Old Pioneer reported that none of the anglers have reached the five bag limit any day so far.
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUTHEAST REGION
Lake Michigan fisheries team report
Sheboygan County - – In Sheboygan shore anglers have been catching brown trout off the south pier on alewives. Sheboygan trollers have been struggling to find fish, with most boats only catching a couple. A mixed bag of chinooks, coho, and rainbows has been taken 20 to 60 feet down in 70 to 120 feet of water.
Ozaukee County - Shore anglers in Port Washington have been catching perch near the power plant and off the pier on jigs and minnows. Trollers out of Port have reported chinooks, coho, and rainbows taken in 70 to 150 feet of water, although fishing has been relatively slow.
Milwaukee County - In Milwaukee perch anglers have caught fish early in the morning off McKinley pier, with jigs producing the most. Cupertino pier has started to produce some perch on minnows. Shore fishing for trout and salmon has been slow. Trollers out of Milwaukee have taken chinooks and coho in 100 to 150 feet of water.
Racine County - Shore fishing in Racine has been slow for perch anglers, but a few rainbows and browns have been taken off the piers on alewives and spawn sacs. Boaters have been able to find some perch on minnows and crab tails along the rock breakwall south of the harbor. Trolling out of Racine has improved recently, with decent numbers of rainbows, chinooks, and coho taken on white flasher and aqua fly combinations, as well as on large cracked ice or green spoons and white J-plugs. Fish have been found in 50 to 70 feet of water early and out in 80 to 120 feet later in the day.
Kenosha County - In Kenosha shore angling has slowed, but trollers have been catching salmon in 60 to 80 feet of water. Boaters fishing for perch have had some success fishing at the bubbler and along the rock breakwall in front of the harbor. Minnows and crab tails have produced the most perch.
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Dodgeville DNR Service Center area
Wyalusing State Park - Trails that are open are in good hiking condition. There are a number of first come (nonreservable) campsites, including a few electric sites available for this weekend. All reservable campsites have been reserved for this weekend. The forecast for this weekend sounds near perfect with highs in the mid to upper 70s and no rain. Resident songbirds include: yellow-billed cuckoo, black-billed cuckoo, Eastern wood peewee, Acadian flycatcher, least flycatcher, Eastern peewee, great crested flycatcher, Eastern kingbird, blue jay, American crow, chickadee, house wren, Eastern bluebird, veery, wood thrush, robin, yellow-throated vireo, warbling vireo, red-eyed vireo, cerulean warbler, prothonotary warbler, Kentucky warbler, cardinal, rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting, towhee, chipping sparrow, Henslow’s sparrow, song sparrow, Northern oriole, purple finch, American goldfinch humming bird. Canoeists using the marked canoe trail through the Mississippi River backwaters report a number of mature and juvenile bald eagles. Bluebirds continue to thrive at Wyalusing State Park. Bluebirds are sighted daily near the office and throughout the park. Ruby-throated hummingbirds continue to delight park visitors at the park office. “Hummers” were busy raising their young for the last few weeks and there was not much activity at the feeders. They are now back with a “vengeance”, draining the office feeders about twice a day (2 gallons of sugar water per day). “Swarms” of humming birds are particularly active at the feeders right before night fall and early mornings. There are approximately 40-50 hummingbirds at the feeders during this peak feeding time. The prairie garden at the park office is especially beautiful this year. Flowers in bloom include: pale purple coneflower, purple coneflower, butterfly milkweed, purple milkweed, cardinal flower, purple prairie clover, black eyed susan, liatris, and false indigo. On Saturday, July 18 there will be a guided canoe trip through the backwaters of the Mississippi River sponsored by Friends of Wyalusing beginning at 9 a.m. at the boat landing. Canoe and kayak rental available at park concession.
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEST CENTRAL REGION
La Crosse DNR Service Center area
Cedar waxwings, pewees, great-crested flycatchers, nighthawks, whip-poor-wills, and bats have been very active lately, feeding heavily on flying insects. Wild turkey broods are also taking advantage of large numbers of grasshoppers and other insects. Turkey broods search fields and forest openings for insects. Huge quantities of insects are devoured by poults and adult turkeys. Insects provide a valuable protein-rich food source which is necessary for the rapid growth of young birds. Adult birds also require protein for basic body maintenance, as well as feather growth during the molting or feather replacement process.
Crawford County - A new slow no wake zone in now in effect on the Mississippi River’s main channel. The slow no wake zone is approximately half a mile long and is located adjacent to the City of McGregor Iowa. The area is marked with slow no wake buoys that line both sides of the navigation channel. For reference the area affected is in the area of river mile 633.5 Therefore boaters must maintain a slow no wake speed through the entire length, shore to shore. The Mississippi River remained fairly steady this week. It rose slightly after last week’s rain up to 7.3 feet but has settled down to it’s current level of 7.1 feet. The forecast for the Mississippi River is for it to remain fairly steady or slightly drop. Boaters on the Mississippi River should use caution now that the river is hovering around that 7 foot mark. Wing dams, closing dams, and sunken logs are now dangerously close to lower units. Boaters unfamiliar with the area should stay in the navigation channel or slow down and trim up their motors. Boaters are also advised to use caution at some boat ramps as the water levels drop. Don’t back your trailer in to far as the tires might drop off the end of the launch pad. Some deep holes have developed at the end of the ramps too. This is caused by large vessels “power loading.” The Wisconsin and Kickapoo Rivers are at normal summer time flows. The sand bars on the Wisconsin River are in great shape for camping. All trout streams in the area are in good shape with normal flow and water clarity is good. Bluegill, crappie and perch fishing is still slow. Many anglers are reporting that the larger bluegill are extremely hard to find. It appear that winter kill from the 2007/8 and 2008/9 winters have taken their toll on the bluegill populations in some area. In the Prairie du Chien area anglers have been fishing Horseshoe (aka Sturgeon, aka McGregor), the Lower Bottoms, Garnet Lake and wing dams with marginal success. The Ambro Slough complex and Spring Lake north of Prairie du Chien has seen a fair amount of fishing pressure however success has been spotty. Try fishing the snags on the Ambro Slough, Black Slough or Fish Lake, the Upper and Lower Doubles and Big Missouri or Gremore Lake. The most popular bait has been a chunk of night crawler or garden worms. Panfishing at the dam has been spotty. Fishing at Cold Spring continues to be slow. Most of the bluegill are running on the small side. Cold Spring is considered inland water, not boundary waters. Different fishing regulations are in effect there and non-residents must possess a non-resident fishing license. Boaters should also be aware that Cold Spring is a designated slow no wake area. Walleye and sauger action was generally good. Trolling and casting crank baits or drifting with live bait is the primary method of taking walleyes. Some of the hot spots have been on the Roseau Slough, Harpers Ferry Slough, and on the wing dams up and down the river. Nightcrawlers and leeches have been the best live bait so far. Walleye activity seems to be the best early and late in the day. Smallmouth and largemouth bass have been very active. Smallmouths can be found on closing dams and wing dams or rock shorelines. Largemouth bass can be found in a variety of habitats. Plastics, spinner baits, and crank baits have worked well. Catfish, both flathead and channel, activity was pretty good. A variety of live baits have produced cats. Move around until active fish are located. Channel cats have been a bit more active than the flatheads. Sheephead have become very active. A piece of night crawler fished off the bottom has been the best tactic. White bass action this week was spotty. Some moderate action was reported at the dam this week. Angler are casting small crank baits or using One-Eyes. Trout fishing has been very good even though vegetation and insects are staring to make fishing a bit more difficult. Many local streams produced some very nice brown and brook trout. Insects like mosquitoes and deer flies are out in large numbers. Mosquitoes are really a problem in the river bottoms while the deer flies are in the wooded areas. Parsnip is starting to die back, but still can cause severe blistering. Stinging nettle and poison ivy are out too so outdoor users should take appropriate precautions.
Black River Falls DNR Service Center area
Black River State Forest - All-terrain Vehicle trails were groomed two weeks ago and are in fair shape. The section of trail from Campground Road to the Clay School Parking Lot remains closed due to several areas with excessive water covering the trail and damage due to heavy ridership on Memorial Day Weekend. We estimate that by next week we will be able to re-open this section of trail unless we get heavy rainfall. Checkout the recently upgraded 2.2-mile section of the trail from Highway 54 to Bartos road. This project will protect the long term sustainability of the trail system and lessen the frequency of trail closings due to large rainfalls. Over the course of the next two years we hope to upgrade all wetland crossings on the property. The next section of trail we will work on is the 1+ mile stretch west of Wildcat road.
Eau Claire DNR Service Center area
Brunet Island State Park - The park trails are in very good condition.Species of birds seen or heard include: belted kingfishers, loons, red winged blackbirds, bufflehead and mallard ducks ,bald eagles, ravens, crows, phoebes, northern juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, flickers, red headed and pileated woodpeckers, great horned and barred owls, mourning doves, sandhill cranes, blue birds, Canada geese, great blue herons, robins and blue jays. Canada geese goslings are quite numerous this year and are growing quickly. Dragonflies, damselflies, and fireflies are still active in lesser numbers. The turtles are frequenting the warm roadsides. The wild bergamot has begun to bloom, as are the blue flag, dog violet, orange hawkweed, wild columbine, ox eye daisy, brown eyed Susan’s, and wooly yarrow. The raspberries and wood strawberries are producing fruit.
Wisconsin Rapids DNR Service Center area
Buckhorn State Park - The two beaches and picnic areas have been busy with people swimming and enjoying the warm weather (the mosquitoes have not been bad at the beach). Canoes and kayaks are available for renting at the park and many visitors have been enjoying them.
Roche-A-Cri State Park - The campground is open and many sites have been open on the weekends.
Last Revised: Thursday July 16 2009
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/or/#top
