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Wiconsin Outdoor Report September 24

Wisconsin finally received some much needed rain this week, the first significant rain reported so far this month. The south central part of the state received the most, with more than 3.5 inches reported in some areas. Rainfall dropped off quickly moving north, with most of the northern two-thirds of the state receiving less than an inch of rain.

Fall color is now approaching the 50 to 75 percent level in northern Wisconsin, with many northern areas predicting peak colors in the next one to two weeks on the Department of Tourism Fall Color Report (exit DNR). Peak colors are about a month away yet in the south, though many areas are reporting that trees are dropping leaves early.

Continued mild weather has maintained water temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s on northern lakes. Fishing pressure has dropped some with the opening of the grouse and bow hunting seasons this past weekend. Musky fishing continues to provide the most consistent action, with reports indicating musky are active at nearly all times of the day and most anglers were reporting action and quite a few fish caught. Warm water temperatures have kept walleye action slow, and bass fishing has been erratic, with smallmouth providing more consistent action than largemouth.

This week’s rain should trigger Lake Michigan trout and salmon fall spawning runs, as reports prior to the rain indicated fish had already started to move up tributaries despite some very low water levels. Fish have been reported up the Little, Ahnapee, Kewaunee and Manitowoc rivers. A mixed bag of Lake Superior run fish were also being reported in the Bois Brule River this week. Perch fishing continued to be good along the shores of Green Bay. Walleye action has also been good out on the bay. Trout and salmon action out on Lake Michigan was only fair this week, with trollers taking mostly chinooks along with a few coho and rainbows, with most fish found deeper than 100 feet of water. .

The inland trout season closes at the end of fishing hours next Wednesday, Sept. 30, so this weekend will present some of the last opportunities to get out, with grasshopper imitations currently a popular bait due to high grasshopper numbers late in the season.

The northern zone duck season opens this Saturday, and hunters may find that there will mostly local ducks to hunt during this weekend’s duck opener until the cold temperatures push the migratory birds down from their northern territories. Check the waterfowl regulations for hunting zones and bag limits.

White-tailed deer have begun to shed their red summer hair and replace it with their brownish-gray winter coats. This fall’s nut crop appears to be about average. Fox and grey squirrels are currently busy harvesting and gathering black walnuts and hickory nuts, but they will turn their attention to acorns as black walnuts and hickory nuts become depleted. Hen of the Woods, a beautiful cauliflower-like mushroom may be found this time of the year at the base of oak trees.

A few late season prairie flowers are still blooming including brown-and black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, asters and, goldenrods.

A three-minute audio version of this report can be heard by calling (608) 266 2277.

Brule River State Forest – A mixed bag of lake run fish can were being found in the Bois Brule River. Anglers are reminded that fishing on the Bois Brule River, Highway 2 and upstream to the headwaters closes September 30. Highway 2 and downstream to the mouth of the River will be open until November 15. Much to many northlanders delight, summer has seemed to be hanging on a little longer, giving people a longer stretch of time to soak up the sun, schedule one more camping trip, get out on the water, or visit the cabin one last time before the cooler weather sets in. Temperatures are forecast to start cooling down to provide a little more fall like temperatures. This may also get the fall migration for migratory waterfowl and song birds started. Duck hunters may find that there will mostly local ducks to hunt during this weekend’s duck opener until the cold temperatures push the migratory birds down from their northern territories. The fall colors still have a way to go before peak. It is only about 10 percent color so far. In another week or two the fall colors should be really putting on a show. Extreme Home Makeover- “Brule Edition”: Last month ABC’s program, Extreme Makeover Home Edition was busy filming at a nearby residence. Some of the film cast stopped off to do some filming on the Brule River. It is expected that the show will air this weekend Sept. 27. Aired episodes be seen at http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition/episode-guide#

Spooner DNR Service Center area

Night hawks were migrating through Washburn County last week. More geese have been seen on the fields now that the early goose season is over.

Park Falls DNR Service Center area

Upper Chippewa Basin fisheries report (Price, Rusk, Sawyer Taylor and inland Ashland and Iron counties) – Continued mild and pleasant weather in the past week has maintained water temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s. This has made for some nice fall fishing conditions — but fishing pressure seemed to be reduced with the opening of the grouse and bow hunting seasons this past weekend. In addition, angling success has dropped off quite a bit in the last few weeks, with musky fishing providing the most consistent action. Reports indicate that musky have been active at nearly all times of the day and most anglers were reporting some sort of action — whether it be follows, short hits, ‘porpoising’, swirls and even quite a bit of catching. The most successful baits continue to be artificials, with bucktails, jerk baits, and soft-bodied lures being the favorites of late. Most of the musky have been in the 30 to 38 inch size, but fish up into 46-inch size have also been reported. Sturgeon anglers continue to have fair success with most anglers reporting catching a few of these ancient fish. Most of the fish have been in the 30 to 52-inch size, with just a couple legal 60-inch-plus fish being taken. The larger rivers have been the most popular spots, with the best action coming on cut bait or gobs of night crawlers fished in the deep holes or deep river bends. Very few reports of walleye success have come in as most anglers seem to have given up until the fall bite begins. A few anglers have reported some nice walleye caught incidental to their fishing for bass — on small plastics, and near cover or deep water. Bass fishing continued to be erratic on local waters, though some good action has been experienced on a couple of days. Smallmouth have been more consistent than largemouth, with the area rivers and flowages providing the best action. Spinner baits and small finesse plastics have been the more successful lures. Largemouth fishing has been an on-again, off-again experience — with some good days of fishing mixed in with some very poor days. The most consistent action for largemouth has been in mid-depth cover, near weed edges, woody structure, or bog edges. Soft plastics and jig/craw combinations continue to be the best baits, though rubber frogs over the thick weeds have also produced a few fish. Northern pike fishing has remained good, with the consistent water temperatures continuing to favor this species. Spinner baits fished in or near any weeds has provided some great action. Panfish success has been fair, with some perch, bluegill and crappie showing up along the deeper weed edges. With the cool night-time temperatures of the past couple weeks, the aquatic weeds have begun to die back and densities have declined from their high summer levels.

Flambeau River State Forest – Both the North and South Forks of the Flambeau River are very low. Recent paddlers on the north fork report very low conditions and the need to get out and pull through occasionally, but still worth the trip. Geese are in their feeding patterns; lots of turkeys are moving about. Grouse hunters are reporting it is slow, still lots of leaves on trees. The fall colors are at about 75 percent along road sides and should be peak in about 1 week. ATV trails are open till Nov. 15. Lake of the Pines Campground is open till Dec. 15 and will reopen April 15. Connors Lake Campground closed after Labor Day and will reopen Thursday before Memorial Weekend.

Marinette County – - Little River has been the hot spot for salmon, fish in the 12 to 25 pound range were being caught in the early evenings. Anglers were trolling with stick baits around the Green Island area and doing well on walleye, crawler and harness is another fish favorite. A few salmon and walleye were being caught by the Hattie Street Dam. Sandhill cranes are beginning to flock up in agricultural fields preparing for their flight south. Bear hunters say bear are off bait sites possibly due to acorn drop and change in seasonal diet requirements. Turkey broods still vary in size from small to medium. Daylight hours are decreasing significantly so be aware of earlier deer movement in the evenings and post dawn hours. There has been some rain in the area, but conditions are still dry and care should be taken when burning any brush or campfires.

Oconto County – Water temperatures at the landings have dropped into the upper 60s, while the water clarity remains good. Perch anglers have been providing most of the fishing pressure which has been moderate at the landings. Walleye were being caught south of the Breakwater Harbor on jigs tipped with minnows and twister tails off the rock bars. Perch were still top of the menu and were being caught from Pensaukee landing to Oconto Park II. Minnows are the bait of choice, you may have to do a little searching but it will be well worth it. 14 to 15 inch perch are being caught in 10 to 15 feet of water. Stiles Dam continues to produce bluegills.

Green Bay DNR Service Center area

Manitowoc County – The salmon run appears to be underway this week. Low water conditions may slow the upstream movement of fish already in the rivers and new fish up from Lake Michigan. The larger streams are likely better bets than are small streams that are nearly dry. In Manitowoc, trout and salmon anglers had fair fishing this past week. Anglers on the south pier were landing some large chinook salmon fishing at sunrise or sunset. Anglers using 1/2 to 3/4 oz spoons with orange, green, or chartreuse had the most luck landing salmon this week. By late Sunday afternoon anglers fishing the north end of the marina had some nice catches of chinook salmon that ranged from 15 to 18 pounds in weight. On the Manitowoc River, bass anglers had a good weekend. One group fishing the river near Mill Road landed some nice smallmouth bass, a few rock bass, and one small catfish. The bass were caught on spinners while the catfish took a worm off the bottom. On the West Twin River at Shoto, a lot of salmon have moved up to the smaller dam.

Sturgeon Bay DNR Service Center area

Door County – Again this past week the weather was absolutely beautiful, warm temperatures during the day and cool temps at night, with moderate breezes. The salmon action on Lake Michigan was fair this week. Anglers trolling out deep with spoons and fly and dodger combinations in the top 80 feet over 250 to 300 feet of water were having some success. Action is picking up for anglers fishing off the piers at the Coast Guard Station and from the shore along the canal. Anglers trolling in the canal and out to the half mile buoy on the big lake reported some success with big spoons and crank baits. Farther north anglers reported taking a few fish out of Baileys Harbor, Gills Rock and the waters around Washington Island. Smallmouth bass action was good to very good on Green Bay from Little Sturgeon all the way north to Washington Island. The reefs and points are all producing some smallmouth. Tube jigs, stick baits, grubs, Katelands fished in 15 to 25 feet of water all were producing a few fish. Top-water lures, spinners and crank baits fished in 2 to 10 feet of water near structure were also productive. Walleye action continues to be fairly good throughout the county, especially at night and under low light conditions. Anglers trolling over Henderson Reef and Monument Shoals as well as around islands such as Chambers and the Strawberries reported some success, mostly on crank baits and crawler harnesses fished in the 12 to 15 feet of water. Perch action was good this week. The usual areas off of Chaudoir’s dock, the weed beds in Sturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon Bay, the flats and the area between the bridges in Sturgeon Bay all were producing some Perch, with minnows and night crawlers fished in 8 to 15 feet of water remain the baits of choice. Northern pike action was good for anglers casting off the points and along the weed edges in Sturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon and for anglers trolling big (4 to 6 inch) crank baits in 12 to 18 feet of water. There were also reports of some muskies being taken out of Little Sturgeon Bay.

Kewaunee County – Weather this past week continued to have some above average temperatures with lots of sun. Winds were calm out of the south and the east for most of the week, but they did pick up a little in the middle part of the week. Some salmon have already begun to get darker as the fall spawning run gets closer, and there are some fish being spotted and caught up the Ahnapee and Kewaunee Rivers. Anglers have been reporting some success casting spoons for trout and salmon off of the piers in Algoma and Kewaunee. Most of the fish are being caught at sunrise and sunset, as well as in the middle of the night. Anglers that have been going out on the lake had some success this week. Kings accounted for most of the catch this week, but a few steelheads and lakers were also being caught. Water temperatures have been holding in the upper 60s on the surface this week. Most fish are being caught in water depths between 75 and 125 feet with most anglers fishing over water that is in the 125 to 200 feet range. Some anglers have been going out to even deeper water up to 500 feet to try to locate fish, but not many fish were caught this last week. Anglers have also been fishing in the near shore areas around the mouth of the harbors and in the harbors and have also been finding a few fish. Anglers have been using a combination of J-plugs, spoons, dipsies, flashers, and flies in various color patterns.

Oshkosh DNR Service Center area

Anglers fishing mornings on the west side of Lake Winnebago have been experiencing some perch action. White bass are feeding in large schools of shad. Bluegills are in the weed beds and are biting on hellgrammites or small leeches with slip bobbers. The waterfowl season starts this weekend, Sept. 26 north of Hwy 10 and for the south, Oct. 3. Water levels on our local marshes are very low do to lack of rain over the previous four weeks, so duck hunters will have to work for their prize for opening weekend. Those who put in the effort should do well. Hen of the Woods, a beautiful cauliflower-like mushroom may be found this time of the year at the base of oak trees.

SOUTHEAST REGION

Havenwoods State Forest – Prairie flowers in bloom include: brown-eyed Susan, giant sunflower, asters (heath, smooth blue, panicled, calico, frost), New England aster, sneezeweed, sawtooth sunflower, bee-blossom, great lobelia, cheerful sunflower, sweet black-eyed Susan, sweet Joe-Pye weed, goldenrods (stiff, showy, grass-leaved, Canada), tall coreopsis, tall boneset, hoary vervain.

Lake Michigan fisheries team report

Sheboygan County – In Sheboygan anglers fishing on the piers have been catching a few chinooks and rainbows in the late night and early morning hours. Blue or silver spoons have been producing the most. Sheboygan trollers have been taking mostly chinooks along with a few coho and rainbows, and most fish have been found deeper than 100 feet of water. Water levels are low on the Sheboygan and Pigeon rivers, but in the Sheboygan some chinooks have been seen up to Taylor Drive. Northern pike and smallmouth bass have also been hitting small spoons and spinners in Kiwanis Park.

Ozaukee County – Shore anglers in Port Washington have been catching some chinooks off the pier, with green and silver spoons producing the most shore fish. Trollers out of Port have reported mostly chinooks and coho taken 80 to 110 feet down in 130 to 200 feet of water. Green or orange spoons have taken fish, as well as glow-in-the-dark J-plugs.

Milwaukee County – In Milwaukee nearshore waters remain warm, and shore fishing has been generally slow. Trollers out of Milwaukee have been catching a few chinooks, coho, and lake trout 60 to 80 feet down in 100 to 160 feet of water; and a few browns have also been taken by boaters in the harbor and around the gaps. A few chinooks and rainbows have been taken out of Oak Creek, but fishing on the Milwaukee and Menomonee Rivers has been slow. Water levels remain low in all area tributaries.

Racine County – Shore anglers fishing off the Racine piers and shoreline have been catching a few chinooks. Most fish have been taken before dawn on spoons. Trollers out of Racine have been finding some mature chinooks and a few coho in front of the harbor, and J-plugs and crankbaits have produced the most fish. Trollers working offshore have been taking chinooks and lake trout 50 to 100 feet down in 100 to 140 feet of water. Cracked ice spoons or flasher & fly combinations have taken the most fish. Water levels on the Root River are very low, and there have been no signs of fish in upstream stretches.

Kenosha County – In Kenosha shore fishing and trolling have both been generally slow. A few chinooks and browns have been taken in the harbor on spawn sacs and white tube jigs, and other chinooks have been taken on spoons near the mouth of the Pike River. A few chinooks have been caught by trollers off the mouth of the Pike as well.

Baldwin DNR Service Center area

St. Croix County

Willow River State Park – Fall color has started largely due to the continued drought. The August rains were welcome but it’s a long way from restoring normal soil moisture. Its been dry all of September and this week’s rain was almost nothing. Area rivers are running very low. Trout fishing ends September 30 and no other species may be angled for in trout waters. Work continues on the new campgrounds and the new fishing piers. Water will be turned off and flush toilets/showers closed by October 1. Pit toilets will be open in the campground, at the boat launch, and near the Nature Center. Nature Center hours vary on Saturdays and Sundays depending on volunteer availability. The next Full Moon Hike is Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Nature Center at 7 p.m.

La Crosse DNR Service Center area

September is the month in which white-tailed deer shed their summer hair and replace it with winter hair. Summer hair is reddish-brown and rather short and thin. Winter hair, on the other hand, is brownish-gray, dense, and long. Deer hair is hollow, trapping more insulating air than non-hollow hair. Winter deer hair insulates so well that a deer may become covered with a layer of snow during a snowstorm that does not melt. Watch for this transition to occur over the next few weeks. This fall’s local nut crop, comprised of acorns, walnuts, and hickory nuts, appears to be about average. Fox and grey squirrels are currently busy harvesting and gathering black walnuts and hickory nuts, but they will turn their attention to acorns as black walnuts and hickory nuts become depleted. Ever wonder how a squirrel can successfully open the extremely hard shells of black walnuts and hickory nuts? Squirrels typically chew a groove around the entire nut until it splits into two perfect halves. Sharp incisors and perseverance pay great dividends for squirrels in their pursuit of nuts, which are excellent sources of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Perrot State Park – Water levels are low and fishing is slow. Trails are in good condition. Sumac and Virginia creeper continue to blaze crimson red and maples are joining them. Carpets of red maple leaves are found on trails throughout the park. Migrations are happening primarily at night right now, but warblers can be heard flying overhead on quiet nights. Pelicans are regular visitors through and over the park. Sporadic warblers can also be occasionally found on trails throughout the park. Goldenrods and white snakeroot are currently blooming in the park. All campsites are open. The shower building in the Upper Loop will be closed Sunday afternoons through Friday morning, but will be open on weekends. Water shut-off is scheduled for October 15, but may happen earlier if freezing weather approaches. Call the park if you have questions. Reconstruction of Sullivan Road from Trempealeau into the park has begun. Lane restrictions and road closures can be expected through the middle of October. Campers should just consider taking the North Road into the park. Call the park (608-534-6409 ) for details.

Great River State Trail – The trail is open and in good condition. Resurfacing has begun. Please be aware of heavy equipment occasionally on the trail. Work will only be done on weekdays. Watch for the reds of Sumac and Virginia Creeper as you ride along. Gnats are rather thick right now, so eye protection is recommended!