South Eastern Wisconsin Kayak Fishing Report : September 11, 2010

After a long week of work and the fact that I would be up bright and early for work again on Sunday I loaded the car and readied the Kayak for another tour in Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.

I launched at a different spot this time, from the beach just north of the north arm of the Racine breakwater.  The kayak was easy to drag through the sand and I could load it next to the car and then pull it down to the water's edge.  The waves were 2-3 feet and rolling in the long gradual rise to the beach there in Racine, which made for a perfect spot to launch when waves would prevent launch on other beaches with steeper banks.  I paddled out through the break, keeping as dry as one can in a Kayak in 3 foot waves.  After the break the swell was very easy to handle and proved no challenge.  Water temperature was near 60 degrees at the beach and clicked down degree by degree as I headed east into the lake, finally resting at about 54 degrees.  I started marking fish almost immediately in 6 feet of water, and continued to mark fish all the way out to 30 feet of water, where marks started becoming less frequent.  Bait was not present in any large numbers but the sheer volume of large marks on the depth finder kept my hopes up.  I did about a 2 mile loop and after receiving a phone call I decided to head back to shore and meet friends further north.

As I neared the beach I decided to pull lines in 8 feet of water.  As I drifted with the waves I pulled a dipsy with a magnum spoon, as I was unhooking the snap swivel and stowing that rig my other rod started making a loud noise and bouncing in the rod holder.  I swiftly grabbed the rod and gave it a good hook set.  Fish on.  The fished thrashed on the surface, dove and took a strong run, jumped a few times, then calmly retreated to the side of my Kayak.  It was a beautiful female steelhead at around 8 pounds (I did not weigh or measure as I released it boatside).

She hit a J-13 while I drifted in the waves.  The lure must have been shallow and should have been making random dives as large waves lurched me forward.  It was a beautiful fish, and would be the only one I caught all day, though I did hook up once later at dusk at Oak Creek.

Oak creek is running strong and some fish have made it up the short run to the main pool under the falls.  I saw a pair of steelhead, a coho, and a nice jack king get pulled from the main pool while I was there, and I saw several gold colored kings pushing up through the turbulence.  I'm hoping conditions improve in the next week or two and we finally start to see large schools of Kings pushing to the harbor mouths.  It's been a slow start in terms of King Salmon and hopefully the ball will get rolling soon.

Lake Michigan Kayak Fishing Report : Salmon and Trout : September 5, 2010

Strong west winds and cool September nights have turned the lake over and has set the wisconsin harbors and river mouths in motion for shore fishermen, and small craft fishermen alike.  Water surface temperatures from the state line all the way up past Milwaukee range from 48 degrees to 53 degrees.  Water inside the Milwaukee harbor runs an average of 55 degrees as of Sunday.

My first time out this fall started at dawn on Sunday morning as I launched my newly fitted Kayak from the beach at the mouth of Pike Creek in Kenosha, where there was a colony of tents and shore fishermen hoping to tie into their first King of the fall.  I did a 2 mile loop, marking an occasional stray fish in the 15 foot deep range.   I kayaked out to 30 feet of water and hooked back to shore, as the other handful of boats out all pulled away one by one to deeper water where more fish could be found.  I wanted to get the Kayak in Milwaukee harbor where I knew more fish would be holding.

I launched from the rocks near the channel head light and set out in calm waters under a blue sky to the middle gap.  I was marking dozens of fish and bait clouds inside the wall of the harbor which dissapted after heading out of the main gap into the lake.  A freighter headed past and sounded its horn as it passed through the channel under the Hoan bridge.

Wind was steadily rising from the south and clouds were moving in.  I made a line to the North gap and began trolling counter clockwise circles through the gap.    At 1:45 p.m. I hooked and landed my first Kayak salmonid.  It was a small but beautiful brown trout.  It hit a Green Dolphin Magnum Stinger spoon behind a dipsy diver in 29 feet of water.   There was 30 feet of line on counter.   As winds had continued to rise I battled across the harbor to my launch point and pulled out and headed south to Racine to meet the crew I salmon fish with, I haven't seen them since the end of Steelhead season in the spring and was looking forward to catching up.  After arriving at the channel head and swapping fish stories from the summer I began casting a jig with a 5" gulp minnow.  A Steelhead had been landed by my friend Mike shortly before my arival.  Another friend Andrew, who runs the fishing website Fishing-Headquarters, which you should all check out, swiftly hooked a beautiful fall King Salmon at about 9 lbs.  After the sun set I hooked on a glow spoon (a 3/4 oz. Moonshine) and stuck the biggest Steelhead I've caught to date.  32" of chrome, beauty.

It was exactly how a start to the salmon season should go.  Just increadibly excited about the fall.  You can expect regular reports from here on out.

Harbor Brown Trout and Steelhead Report : 11/20/2009

A report from Mike P. over at Fishing Headquarters brings good news for those planning to hit the harbors this weekend!

Remember to be versatile, if fish are around and moving, don't sit there all night with spawn under a bobber, try casting, try bouncing spawn along the bottom, try jigs.

It's looking like a great weekend ahead for shore anglers and fly fisherman alike.

See ya out there.

Kenosha Area Salmon Fishing Report : October 2009

Kenosha Harbor : Kings are being caught nearly every night and morning on crank baits and glow spoons.

Pike River : the Pike River has a considerable amount of fish in it, but high pressure on the fish have made them tricky to successfully hook.

Racine Harbor : There are few reports to have come out of the harbor recently, but with fish in the harbor, hitting it on a good day could pay dividends in hard fighting salmon.

Root River : The root is fairly full of King Salmon and a few Steelhead. Fish have been passed upstream of the weir via opening the dam. Coho and Steelhead are mixed in with a full run of Chinook. Egg sucking leeches and yarn flies remain top producers.

Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha Salmon Fishing Forecast : October 1st

October is upon us, and things are looking up. Rain that will start later today and extend until the weekend should push a heavy load of King Salmon, Steelhead, a few Coho Salmon, and maybe some Brown Trout up into the Milwaukee River, the Kinnickinnic River, the Menominee River, the Root River, the Pike River, and Oak Creek.

It may be tough fishing in the rain, but when the flow goes down afterward and thing settle out, fishing should be amazing.

Wisconsin Salmon Fishing Report : Late September

Finally, the rain has started to fall. Last night we got a better than forecasted downpour of rain. This new flow of cool water out of South-Eastern Wisconsin tributaries will push staging salmon up the rivers.

Salmon feed heavily the first 8-12 hours they enter rivers so directly after rain the lower sections of the Root, Pike, Oak, Milwaukee, and Menominee rivers are sure bets for fresh from the lake Salmon.

Drifting spawn, casting spinners, spoons, and crank baits in deeper pools will all take Salmon in these stretches.

If you can find a spot where a river empties onto a beach instead of into a harbor that would be a perfect location to surf fish for staging salmon. My friend Keith landed this nice little 4 pound King from a beach in Wisconsin just this weekend. Way to go Keith!

This should be the whistle that starts the yearly salmon run. The next 5 or 6 weeks should sport rivers bulging with fresh (followed by not so fresh) King Salmon. They will fight their way upstream until they find a suitable spot to spawn (or hit a dead end) they will then spawn and pass away.

I'm planning a great trip to Kenosha and on up to Milwaukee this weekend. There will be photographs and stories here. Thanks for reading and if you are able to get out and fish in the southern harbors tonight, I would highly suggest it.

See ya out there!

-Tom Harris