Wisconsin Fishing Reports

The Milwaukee Journal (http://www.jsonline.com/) publishes a weekly fishing report each Thursday. It can be found on line in the "Outdoors" section listed as Weekly Fishing Report. It also has archived reports available. Last weeks report said:

AREA LAKES

Anglers fishing the Rock, Wisconsin and Wolf rivers caught walleyes, crappies and white bass. The walleyes were hitting jigs or live bait rigs baited with a jumbo fathead, medium golden shiner or small red-tail chub. Jig-and-twister combos also worked great. Crappies were in shallow water around fallen trees and brush. A jig tipped with a small fathead minnow or plastic worked best. For white bass, use a jig or river rig baited with a large fathead minnow.

Muskies were caught from Pewaukee, Okauchee, Oconomowoc, Waubesa and Monona, plus Silver Lake in Kenosha County. Most were found around weed lines or breaks in 10-15 feet. Anglers cast jerk baits, glide baits, bucktails, spinner baits or Bulldawgs. But most were caught on live suckers on quick-strike rigs.

For walleyes, the best time was evening hours when they moved to shallow weed beds to feed. Casting crank baits over the tops of weeds worked best. During the day, present a jumbo fathead, medium shiner or red-tail chub fished on a slip bobber or live bait rig near deep weeds or structure. Try Mendota, Oconomowoc, Delavan, Wisconsin, La Belle, Pewaukee and Pine lakes.

Smallmouth bass were biting on Oconomowoc, Nagawicka, Geneva, Mendota, LaBelle and Pine lakes. Red-tail chubs, crank baits, jig-and-plastic combos or Carolina-rigged plastics worked best. Work the breaks or points.

Becky Smith

LAKE MICHIGAN, MILWAUKEE

The tributaries, especially the Milwaukee River around Kletzsch and Estabrook parks, were producing some steelhead, along with a few mature kings and browns. Spinners, spawn, tube jigs and marshmallows were productive. A few walleyes and northern pike were also taken in these areas. The inner harbor still has many active brown trout in the 5- to10-pound range. They were hitting crank baits early and late in the day. There was also some action on mid-sized shiners, 3 to 5 feet below the surface.

Some kings were also active near the McKinley launch ramp. The trollers were also taking browns from the main gap to the Hoan Bridge. The best lure was a Shad Raps worked near the surface. Most activity was at sunup and sunset.

Bob Hesiak

AROUND THE STATE

In the north, water temperatures held in the low 50s to upper 40. Muskies provided the most consistent action. Most anglers were dragging large suckers around, but many also cast artificials. A few muskies were caught, most in the 34- to 40-inch size. Walleye fishing was inconsistent, with some days providing good action on small and medium-size walleyes and other days with bites hard to come by. Live minnows were the best bait, whether fished below a slip bobber, on a jig or a bare hook dragged along the bottom. Cloudy days produced catches all day long. On sunny days, the bite was in the hour right before dark.

Compiled by the DNR

Wisconsin Rod