Wisconsin Outdoor Report as of July 27, 2006

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General | Northern Region | Northeast Region | Southeast Region | South Central Region | West Central Region

Welcome recent rainfall has reduced wildfire danger levels in eight northwestern Wisconsin counties, allowing fire control officials to lift emergency outdoor burning restrictions in Polk, Barron, Rusk, Price, Taylor, Chippewa, Eau Claire and Clark counties, effective Thursday, July 27.

Because of continued dry conditions in Douglas, Bayfield, Iron, Burnett, Washburn, Sawyer and Ashland counties, emergency burning restrictions will remain in effect in those counties until substantial rainfall arrives and conditions improve. Check the DNR website for areas affected by these regulations.

Weather across the state has been unsettled and warm for the past several days and promises to remain that way through the upcoming weekend. High humidity, temperatures in the 90s and slight chances of scattered thunderstorms over the state are forecast into early next week. When camping, boating, fishing or just enjoying nature in the outdoors, everyone needs to be careful of the heat and humidity to stay healthy. Fire control officials also want to remind everyone that the forests, grasslands and marshes remain very dry across wide areas of the state and that it’s a good idea to check with the local fire warden, DNR forester ranger or fire department before doing any burning.

Water levels remain at mid-summer lows, surface water temperatures are high and the stormy and unsettled weather over the last week have combined to make for generally slow fishing. One bright spot has been largemouth bass action, with the best fishing times in the early morning and late evening. Walleye fishing has been slow and erratic. Panfish action is reported as fair in most lakes and musky anglers are noting some improvement in the bite, although the fish seem to be holding in deeper water.

In the southeastern part of Wisconsin, largemouth bass action has been good to very good although anglers are reminded to play the fish to the boat quickly and release it immediately to minimize stressing the fish in the warm conditions. Bluegills and perch action has also been good, with the fish suspended in 12’ to 15’ of water.

Large catches of Chinook salmon and rainbow trout and decent numbers of lake trout and brown trout were reported by anglers trolling Lake Michigan out of Manitowoc. Boats targeting perch also had some real success with some very large perch caught. Nice catches of Chinook salmon, rainbows and lake trout came in to most of the Door County ports. Smallmouth bass fishing was reported as good all over Door County and southern Door bays were reporting some very good perch action. Anglers trolling Lake Michigan out of Kewaunee had a great week of fishing for both salmon and trout, with good numbers of Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and a few lake trout as well.

The hot weather has led many animals to remain inactive during the day, so early morning and evening produces a flurry of wildlife watching activity. Bats have been very active thus summer and this also seems to be a very good year for dragonflies and damselflies, the hawks of the insect world. Whitetail deer fawns are beginning to venture away from the does oftener and further, and people are reminded not to interfere with fawns or other baby animals. Ticks have been plentiful the past few weeks and mosquitoes are out in full force. Cedar waxwings, peewees, swallows, nighthawks and other insect-eaters have been feeding heavily on flying insects lately.

Fields and wood edges are filled with various wildflowers creating a colorful landscape. Choke cherries, service berries, pin cherries and other berries and fruits are ripening and wildlife is taking advantage to the food sources. Raspberries are at their peak in many areas where they grow.

NORTHERN REGION

Superior DNR Service Center area -- Fishing on Lake Superior has produced some good catches of lake trout. Anglers are picking up lake trout out on the flats off Long Island and outside the Gull Island and Outer Island refuge areas. When in these areas anglers should make sure to stay out of the refuges. This year the Gull Island and Outer Island refuge locations are enhanced with GPS coordinates provided in the fishing pamphlet. Refuge buoys are still located along the line from Bad River to the Michigan Island Light house. Some anglers continue to take a chance and "wander" into the refuge especially off buoy #14. That is a costly mistake and there is no reason to violate the refuge boundaries. Anglers are still looking for bass in the areas of sand cut and the sloughs but that action has slowed. Walleye fishing has also slowed in the Big Lake but action is picking up in the Kakagon Sloughs and Bad River. Live bait using a shiner or a worm harness seems to be the rig of choice. Trout anglers are finding area streams with very low water conditions. The White River and other larger streams still have adequate water but the smaller tributary streams are in poor shape and the fishing activity is down. Duck and geese broods in the area are growing fast. Seems like summer just got started but the reality is that fall is not far off. Fawns are getting larger and more active, wandering away from the does for longer periods of time. Some nice bucks in velvet are showing up in the evenings on the edges of hay fields in the area. The boating season on Lake Superior is in full gear. There have been a couple of complaints of loud, high-powered speed boats operating in the area of Madeline Island. Boaters are reminded that the noise limit is 86 decibels for motor boats. Many of the high speed boats have after market equipment installed that makes the boat slightly faster and many provide better mileage. These after market installations are a "lot" louder in most cases.

Park Falls DNR Service Center area -- The Park Falls area finally received some rain but it was not evenly distributed across the area and some areas missed out entirely. Water temperatures remain high and water levels are very low. Much more rain is needed. Panfish continue to be found in deeper water. Walleye fishing has been slow while a few fish are being caught after dark. Bass fishing remains fair and fish are being found in shady areas or near structure on sunny days. Anglers are catching some musky but mostly smaller fish are being caught. Boating and water recreation activity continue at a busy pace. Please be sure to have life vests available to all passengers on your boat and have all children wear them while on the water. Fields and wood edges are filled with various colors of wildflowers creating a colorful landscape. Purple is a dominant color currently. purple loosestrife, fireweed, and spotted knapweed all lending their colorful display Choke cherries, service berries, pin cherries among others are ripening in the forest and wildlife is taking advantage of these food sources. Raspberries are at peak and many plants are drying out from lack of moisture. Some nice berries can be found along forest roads and openings. Take some time to enjoy what nature offers and slow down during the extreme heat and drink plenty of fluids.

Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) - The Upper Chippewa Basin has received over an inch of some much-needed rain in the last several days. However, it all seems to have soaked into the ground as river and lake levels continue to be at mid-summer lows. With the warm and dry summer of 2006, submergent weed growth seems to be abnormally light for this time of year on many lakes and flowages. However, emergent vegetation such as wild rice, bulrush and water lily are at typical densities. Angling success continued to be generally slow with the hot and stormy weather of the past week. Largemouth bass have been providing the most consistent action as the fish have been showing much more of a typical summer pattern. The best success has been coming from the thick cover - in the down wood, the thick lily pad and grass beds, and under mats of vegetation. Top-water baits and soft plastics have been the most productive lures and the key has been to work them slowly through the cover. Smallmouth bass action has also increased on many lakes and flowages in the area. Some nice fish have been caught on a slow presentation of plastic finesse baits worked near woody cover in the 4 to 8 foot depths. Musky action also improved a bit in the last week. The changing weather with periodic thunderstorms seems to have sparked an increase in activity and anglers are reporting quite a few follows and sightings. Most of the fish being caught have been in the 28 to 38-inch size and the bigger fish seems to be holding off in deeper water yet. Topwater baits and bucktails have been the favorite lures. Walleye success continues to be erratic. Some days have produced some good catches around mid-depth weed beds and structure, and others days find fish hard to come by. Leeches and crawlers, fished on a weedless jig, have been the most productive bait. Panfish action has been fair. Some decent catches of perch, crappie and rock bass have been reported, but larger bluegills have been a little tougher to find.

Woodruff DNR Service Center area -- Hot dry weather continues adding to the drought like conditions across the area. Flowages and lakes are really showing the impacts as their levels continue to drop creating some navigation hazards. Raspberries are beginning to turn ripe and they appear to have a good crop but could fall prey to the dry conditions without some measurable rain soon. There continues to be a great bite for muskellunge with this past weekend’s reports indicating numerous good size fish being boated. Bass anglers are reporting success throughout the Lakeland area along the deep side weed edges with leeches the preferred bait. Walleye are also reported to be in and around any weed growth with both leeches and crawlers tempting them to bite. Weed growth and water temperatures are about normal for this time of year. As you travel the area, be cautious of deer crossing the roads, more often than not the fawns are close behind. The recent warm summer weather has brought out numerous recreational boaters. Please use caution when traveling about and respect the rights of others.

NORTHEAST REGION

Manitowoc County - Anglers trolling on Lake Michigan out of Manitowoc had a week with excellent weather conditions that produced large catches of Chinook salmon and rainbow trout. Other anglers brought to shore smaller catches of lake trout and brown trout. But in general, trout and salmon fishing was great this past week on Lake Michigan. Boats targeting perch this weekend also had some real success with some very large perch caught out on Lake Michigan. Salmon anglers fishing the south pier had a good week for Chinook salmon with most success in early morning and late evening. Casting spoons off the end of the pier around the mouth of harbor provided the most action.

Anglers fishing out of Two Rivers also had very good week catching Chinook and Coho salmon. Some large rainbows were caught this weekend with steady fishing activity in the early mornings. Anglers fishing the Two Rivers piers had a slow week, with few salmon caught.

Sturgeon Bay DNR Service Center area

Door County - Typical summer like weather this week in beautiful Door County. Anglers participating in the 24th annual Kewaunee/Door County Salmon tournament, as well as anglers, who are just enjoying the usual excellent Door County fishing, should find good to excellent opportunities all over the county. Nice catches of Chinook salmon, rainbows and lake trout came in to most of the Door County ports. Out of Sturgeon Bay, anglers fishing the Bank Reef reported good success on fly and dodger combinations, spoons and herring strips. Most of the fish reported are coming out of 30 to 150 feet of water and from the surface to 100 feet down. Anglers fishing out of Baileys Harbor and Rowley’s Bay also reported good to excellent catches. Smallmouth bass fishing was reported as good all over the County. The new, and improved, Stone Quarry County Park as well as Egg Harbor were both hot spots for smallies. Most of the fish caught were smaller bass coming out of 5 to 15 feet of water, although more than a few keeper size fish were also taken at both locations. For consistent action on larger bass try the deeper offshore reefs. Tube jigs, crank baits and spinner baits along with minnows, night crawlers and leeches are all producing smallies. The perch action continues to be good, with the southern Door bays producing some very good action. The mud flats extending south of Henderson Point produced some nice catches of good size perch from 15 to 40 feet of water. Night crawlers and minnows continue as the baits of choice for perch. The area around the new boat launch at Carmody Park in Little Sturgeon Bay continues to produce nice catches of bluegills, crappie and perch. A few reports of fair to good walleye action coming at night to anglers trolling around the reefs and points. Most of the fish seem to be coming 10 to 20 feet of water with crank baits and night crawler harness rigs the baits of choice.

Kewaunee County - Anglers trolling Lake Michigan had a great week of fishing for both salmon and trout. Boats have reported good numbers of Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, and a few lake trout as well. In the early morning, boats have been targeting fish in depths of 60-150 feet of water and then moving out to deeper depths as the day goes on. Anglers have been reporting success using dodger/fly combinations and spoons. Green, aqua, purple, and Little Boy Blue flies have been hot colors. Shore fishing has been decent this past week. Salmon and trout are still being found in shallower water and have been hitting on various spoons and alewives. July 30th is the last day to register fish for the Kewaunee / Door County Salmon Tournament. So far 97 Chinook salmon over twenty pounds have been registered with the leading fish weighing in at 26.48 pounds.

Oshkosh DNR Service Center area – On Lake Winnebago, walleye activity has slowed down in the deeper water areas, but has picked up in the shallower areas around the reefs and mud. Live bait (crawlers and leeches) have been producing good results. Perch fishing around Garlic Island is good; however, they are running on the small sizes. Fishing in and around Asylum Bay are producing bigger perches. On Lake Butte des Morts, walleye activity is still running well, along with bluegill and crappie. On Lake Winneconne, white bass fishing off of the bridge in Winneconne has produced good results using spinners. Walleye and northern action has slowed down. Anglers on the Wolf River are reporting some sheephead and catfish activity at the north end of the bridge in Winneconne. In addition, some crappie and bluegill activity.

SOUTHEAST REGION

Havenwoods State Forest – Plants presently blooming include blazing star, hoary vervain, Jerusalem artichoke, leadplant, black-eyed susans, prairie dock, rosinweed, cup plant, wild quinine, rattlesnake maker, compass plant, purple prairie clover, gray goldenrod. Invasive control efforts at this time are concentrated on wild parsnip and teasel, which are flourishing (unfortunately).

Waukesha County – Bluegill action in the area is picking up for big suspended gills. Good catches have been reported from Pewaukee, Beaver and Okauchee. Largemouth bass fishing has been good for anglers fishing on Nagawicka, LacLabelle and Pine Lakes. Best baits have been Texas rigged plastics with surface lures working mornings and evenings. Anglers have been reporting good catches of walleye from Pine and North. Try trolling crank-baits over deep weedlines or jigging leeches and large minnows.

Milwaukee County and Ozaukee County –: Fishing opportunities along the Milwaukee River and tributaries were fair over the last week. Heavy rains and increased turbidity levels may be partly responsible for the slower action. Anglers were experiencing some success for smallmouth bass and an occasional walleye in Milwaukee County. Smallmouth bass fishing was steady along the Milwaukee River in Washington County and Ozaukee County. Smallmouth are running on the small side, typically less than 15". Anglers are encouraged to practice catch and release due to heavy fishing pressure and fish consumption advisories for PCBs downstream of Grafton to and including the Milwaukee River Estuary as a result of historical discharges of PCBs. Consult current Fish Consumption Advisory Consumption pamphlets for specific waters.

Walworth and inland Racine and Kenosha counties – Largemouth bass fishing is good on area lakes. Work the shallows in the early morning and evenings with plastic worms or surface lures. Bass are suspended during the day. Anglers are doing well using nightcrawlers fished in 12 to 18 feet of water. Northern pike anglers are catching nice fish in 25 to 35 feet of water using suckers. Walleyes are biting on nightcrawlers in 20 to 25 feet of water. Suspended bluegills and yellow perch are biting on leafworms and leeches12 to 15 feet of water.

Washington, eastern Fond du Lac, and inland Sheboygan counties - Fishing action and catches in general have slowed somewhat with the warm summer weather. Some anglers have been successful on the Milwaukee and Sheboygan Rivers chasing smallmouth bass. Some of the catches have been very good. The Onion River is in good condition for flows this summer and is providing some fairly good trout action in the artificial lures only section.

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION

Dodgeville DNR Service Center area

Wyalusing State Park -- Hiking trails should be in good condition. The downed trees from last week’s storm have been cleared. The Mississippi River Canoe Trail has been resigned, with blue and white signs. The new coloring should make the trail signs more visible. The canoe trail is also in good condition, even with the low water. Due to the low water, there are two places on the canoe trail between the boat landing and the main channel that canoeists will have to get out and drag their canoe over the sand. Recent bird sightings in the park include: Scarlet tanager, Henslow sparrow, indigo bunting, common yellowthroat, sedge wren, northern flicker, yellow-throated vireo, warbling vireo, chipping sparrow, song sparrow, cedar waxwing, red-shouldered hawk, yellow warbler, American woodstart, eastern wood peewee, yellow-throated warbler, downey woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, cardinal, bluejay, bluebird, goldfinch, and catbird. The swarming hummingbirds at the Visitor Center continue to delight park visitors. Whippoorwills can be heard at night. Orioles are once again feeding heavily on grape jelly, in addition to insects. There have been many deer sightings within the last few weeks, including does and fawns. The howling of coyotes is a familiar sound in the Homestead Campground. Young rabbits are often seen feeding along the roadsides in the park. Raccoons are frequent visitors to campsites in the Wisconsin Ridge Campground. Campers are reminded not to feed raccoons, and to take their garbage and recycling to the dumpsters each day. Food should be kept in the vehicle. Mississippi River stage at Prairie du Chien this morning is 6.7 feet, up .1 of a foot from yesterday. Fishing is “good” with nice catches of bass and bluegills being reported by local anglers.

WEST CENTRAL REGION

Baldwin DNR Service Center area

Willow River State Park -- Weekend camping has been full. Weeknights have some choice of sites although even that will be limited as we are in the peak of summer. Reserve if you are coming a long distance or if you need electricity. (888) 947-2757 or www.reserveamerica.com. Kansas City Chiefs football training camp begins in nearby River Falls on July 27th. Camping availability on weeknights will be limited since many of the Chiefs fans stay here. Ash, popple, and maple trees in the office area are losing leaves. Minor rain fell at the park Monday. The kids fishing contest last weekend had some good catches of panfish at the dam and the shoreline picnic area between the dam and the beach. Mike Reiter brings his animal skulls and dinosaur bones to the Nature Center Saturday evening July 29th at 7:00 pm. The program is free but regular vehicle admission fees apply.

La Crosse DNR Service Center area -- Cedar waxwings, pewees, nighthawks, and whip-poor-wills have been very active lately, feeding heavily on flying insects. The dry, hot weather has led to many other animals remaining inactive during the hot times of the day. Therefore, many animals are not readily observed during daylight hours. Evenings and early mornings typically experience a flurry of animal activity and offer excellent wildlife watching opportunities. Bats have also been very active this summer. Their twists and turns in flight are truly amazing. This also seems to be a very good year for dragonflies and damselflies, the hawks of the insect world. They frequently occur in striking colors. Mallard production has been poor again this year along the Mississippi. Wood duck production is fair and hooded merganser production seems fair to good.

Crawford County - Hot, humid and dry weather continued this week. Water levels on all the river systems in the area remain low. Boat operators must use caution when traveling outside the Main Channel of the Mississippi River. As expected with the low water, wing dams and slough closures, sand and mud flats, and deadheads all pose a real danger to boaters on the Mississippi. Boaters that are unfamiliar with the river should seek out a river map and slow down! The Wisconsin River is at its best if you’re looking for sand bars to camp upon, navigation is tricky however. The Kickapoo River is also low and hard to navigate due to numerous trees and deadheads. All of the trout streams in the area are in pretty good shape considering the dry weather. Recreational boating activity has been very high on weekends. Most of the early spring flowers and summer grasses have seeded out and are turning brown. Numerous reports of whitetail fawn sightings have come in. Please do not interfere with fawns or other baby animals. Outdoor enthusiasts have noticed that ticks have been plentiful the past couple weeks, mosquitoes are really out in force, and deer and horse flies are starting to show up. Stinging nettle and poison ivy are up. Parsnip plants are starting to die back, however they still pose a risk to hikers and other outdoor users. Bluegills being caught are smaller than a couple weeks ago, however, they seem to be biting all over the place. Action around the Prairie du Chien was pretty good. Anglers have been finding some action throughout the Ambro Slough complex to include Big Lake, Fish Lake, Tilmont Lake, Spring Lake and the Upper and Lower Doubles, Big Missouri. Sturgeon Lake (also known as Horseshoe or McGregor Lake) has been slow. Crappie fishing has been spotty but some have been found along emerging weed beds and in the downed tree tops. Minnows have produced well as have small jigs tipped with twister tails or crawlers. Some really nice catches of perch are being taken however anglers have had to search out where they are hiding. Walleyes are being taken on the wing dams using nightcrawlers or casting or trolling crank baits. Trolling or casting with crank baits worked well. Other anglers are anchoring and casting a jig and twister tail. Nightcrawlers are the preferred live bait this time of year. The channel outside of Cold Spring and the upper end of Deer Island have been good again. In Prairie du Chien area walleyes were being taken at the bottom end of the Roseau Slough and on some of the wing dams. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass action continues to be hot. Most anglers report very good action and some very nice fish have been taken. There are many locations where bass have been biting along the Mississippi River and on the Wisconsin River. Bass anglers are finding active fish all over the Prairie du Chien area and in Pool 9 from Lynxville to Lansing. Most anglers are using plastics, crank baits, or spinner baits. Both channel and flathead catfish are biting on the river also. Sheephead are very active and are readily caught on a piece of nightcrawlers. Trout anglers report pretty good action even though the fishing conditions are pretty tough due to vegetation growth and insects. Plum Creek, Copper Creek, Tainter Creek, and Pine Creek to name a few all produced some very nice brown and brook trout. Many anglers used nightcrawlers however some preferred to use spinners or flies. Most of the trout streams in Crawford County have a 9 inch size limit, with a bag limit of 3.

Wisconsin Rapids DNR Service Center area

Buckhorn State Park - Campsites have been filling up on weekends. Many sites are available during the week. Canoes and single person kayaks are available for rental. Campers and day users have been enjoying the beach during this host weather. A cold water rinse shower for washing off sand and algae is in the beach picnic area. There has been some algae on the lake but it has been clear around the beach swim area and most campsites. People were catching a lot of white bass over the past weekend. Check out the new nature room at the park office!! There are some biting flies right now. Park visitors have been taking photos for the annual photo contest.