Lake Michigan, Milwaukee

[Justinm]

Welcome to the official Lake Michigan Thread

[Eric Haataja]

Fished twice so far out on the big pond. I did a charter trip last Sunday and we limted out 15 fish, 11 coho's and 4 lakers. Most of our fish came in 120-150 feet of water on 00 orange dodger's with small peanut flys behinf planner boards, with 1/4 to 5/8th ouce in line keel weights 50 feet back. The kings are being taken down deep on rigger anywhere from 60 to 150 feet down on dodger fly combo's and spoons. Fished today with a buddy and the bite was a bit slower we caught 8 coho's in 4 hours and missed 6 other fish, all came up in the top 30 feet of water. Our best depth was 95 to 120 feet of water.

Eric Haataja

Big Fish Guide Service

[Jason Woda]

Fishing the big pond for the last couple of weeks has been outstanding. Fish are coming in 100 fow to 200 fow from top to bottom. Orange 00 Luhr Jensen Dodgers and peanut flies are the best producers in the top 40 fow and white coyotes with Howie flies have been good down deep. Find the bait and you will find the fish. Some big kings are already coming in the boat. With all the bait around July and August look to be great monthe for putting in some monsters. The thermocline is just setting up so the fishing for the next week or so will be day to day, but after that it should pick up rapidly. Good luck and see you on the water.
Captain Jason Woda
Reel Sensation Charters
414-384-8096
www.reelsensation.com

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the great report Jason, I'm heading out now for a few hours for a fathers day afternoon fun fishing adventure.

Eric

[Eric Haataja]

We ended up going 5 for 7 tonight which I guess was decent under the tough bite the past couple of days. Green crinkle howie fly's on dipsey's and rigger down 55 to 75 was the ticket for us, we had 1 small laker on a spoon. There's also a ton of floating and half dead alewives out there which is a sure sign why the bite has slowed down, I'm sure the fish have thier guts full since there are thousands of floaters from the warms spell. Perch are also biting well

Fished from the north gap to the towers in 80 to 110 feet of water.

Capt. Eric Haataja

[Jason Woda]

Fishing in Milwaukee is back to being good again. After a week of tough fishing some big kings and good numbers have shown up. Coyote and fly set ups have been stellar on everything....downriggers, dipseys, and lead core. Greens and whites have been the colors of choice. The fish seem to be set up from 65 to 100 fow from 25 to the bottom down. The summer pattern is definately here. That means waking up before the rooster and going to bed after the sun has. Low light conditions are going to become more important from here on out. Here is a few pictures from this past weekend. Good luck and see you on the water. Jason.
Captain Jason Woda
Reel Sensation Charters
414-384-8096
www.reelsensation.com

[Eric Haataja]

Great report Jason! Your the Maan!

[NOBADDAYS]

ok set up today 530am in 60fow and had a fish on asap.
1 on rigger Raider glowtoad? down 54 = nice brown
1 on dipsy 69loc w/blue ladderback = King
for the next half hour the kid reeled in
1 on 1/2 core w/purp/blk spoon = sweet King
its now 6:15 reset lines and missed 2 on the Raider
spoon again 55 down and they were screamers on my 20# set ups just couldnt hang on to em those single hooks set good if hooked right when they dont *)^%*&%!
next fish came
1 on dipsy 105loc w/ cracked ice = King
1 on full core w/monk puke = King
then had another Raider hit and miss on same spoon that was just HOT today down 54 on rigger.
next one didnt come loose now in 68fow and water temp
50's down 60 in 68fow so cold water moved out but fish are still hangin round
1 on dipsy 125loc w/cracked ice = King
took another miss on Blue/white strike zone down 46 on SWR.
put a cracked ice on the SWR &
1 on SWR 46down = King
1 on dipsy 125loc cracked ice again = King
1 on white/yellowish opti inticer flash w/ siggs glow ghost fly down 44 on rigger = King
it started to rain at 9ish so we packed it up and go figure fish are still biting took a miss on dipsy 85loc w/blue ladder back.
went 10 for 14 today ending 70fow and 930a.
BEST DAY OUT SO FAR. big fish 20# king next 15#'s
big ones are showing up now.
NO BAD DAYS
toyman2k

[finfanatic]

Fished Sat evening and Sunday AM. SLOW :( was the word of the days. Cold water all over had slowed action to a crawl. We managed one fish on a dipsy (green dodger Fly) Sat. as we were pulling lines, and went 1 for 2 on Sunday AM with one hit on a Dipsy (pearl dodger blue fly) and one fish on a j-plug 90' down in 100' of H2O. Most boats came in with 1 to 3 fish, a few had 5 that I saw. This warm spell we are going to hit should kick it all in the butt! :D

Will report next trip out. :confused:

[Jason Woda]

Had a trip tonight from 2:30 to 6:30. Ended up going 10 for 28. The fish were definately biting. Bites started in 100 fow out to 140. All but 4 of our bites came on Coyotes and aqua flies. Deepest downrigger was set at 105 and had good action. Highest rigger at 55 with a double cracked ice spoon had 4 hits. Dipseys, lead core and downriggers all had equal action. The water 75 feet down was 51 degrees. Not perfect but still held fish. Deeper water is definately the way to go after the early morning bite. Good luck and see you on the water. Jason
Reel Sensation Charters
414-384-8096
www.reelsensation.com

[NOBADDAYS]

ok late report for Sunday 7/23 set up in 80fow off atwater where temp down 60 was 46degrees @ 530am and set SWR down 50 with cracked ice mag pro-king and FISH on! but with a disaster as my flash/fly set up stacked right above it got wrapped up. got the fish in nice 14#King.
went like this
3 for 3 on cracked ice down 50-58 in 85-94fow on SWR
2 for 2 on full core with monkey puke silverstreak
1 for 2 on rigger down 62 with kaliedscope looking pro-king with glow ladderback on the 12# line set up.
(man that is so much fun and makes it twice as hard to land a biggen)
0 for 1 on flash/fly wht/LBB coyote down48 on rigger

4 kings 1 bow and 1 nice coho biggest 17#'s

ended day at 830am with fish still biting and you aint kidding put your sea legs on. The waves 1ft or less THEY LIE.
1ft or less = 3ft
1-2ft waves = 3-5's
and 3-5's = DONT GO DONT GO

NO BAD DAYS
toyman2k

filled up parking lot at Mckinley

[Jason Woda]

Fishing was OK this past weekend. Warm water that rode in with the northeast wind on Friday slowed the fish down a bit. Managed to catch 8 Saturday morning and 10 in the afternoon. Leadcore and dipseys were key. Spoons on core and flasher fly combo's on dipseys and riggers were productive. Missed a lot of bites, but that's what happens in warm water. Best spoon was Double Cracked ice Pro King on 10 color core. Southwest winds today should usher in some colder water and good fishing along with it. Fished mostly 85 to 110 fow.
Jason Woda
Reel Sensation Charters
414-384-8096
www.reelsensation.com

[Jason Woda]

I have nothing to report more than....the fish were biting today. Fished 70 feet of water today. Had a 2 boat trip and both boats had their limit by 9:00am No secrets Ran the same program I have been running for a month. Flashers and flies and spoons on leadcore. Get out there.....fishing is going to be good from here on out till the eng of the season.
Jason Woda
Reel Sensation Charters
414-384-8096
www.reelsensation.com

[Eric Haataja]

I may have a group of 12 calling from Chicago to do a trip. You run a classy operation and catch a ton of fish, that's why I send the big groups to you Jason! Thanks for the report as well!

[Eric Haataja]

The fishing is hot and has been for a few weeks now. Lots of kings in the 60-100 foot depths. Green Crinkle fly and disco Hot N Spts flasher have been good and moon glow spoons also very good. !st and last light has been very very good! Get out and catch some kings!:)

Eric haataja

[Eric Haataja]

Forgot to add these pics from this past weeks charter trips on the big pond.

Eric

[MU Fish]

Finally got my new rig ready for action and did some fishing and some boating in Milwaukee. Attaching some scenery photos as well as a couple of fish photo's from 8/13/06. Slow day for us but did manage to catch a couple of nice kings North of Milwaukee in 85 FOW- 1 came on SWR with easter egg spoon and the other on a silver dodger with Blue glow fly. Will be getting out again next weekend.

[MU Fish]

Fished out of Milwaukee- South Shore on Friday 8/18/06. Went 6 for 7. Fished 5 AM to 10 AM. Most action between 90-120'. Downrigger's Down 95-105 and dipseys back 190' on the line counter were productive. All action on dodger and flies with the Green Spin Doctor + green Fly the most productive rig. My buddy lost a 20+# right at the boat secondary to operator error but the second trip out for the year was good. Plan on getting out later next week with my father who is visiting from out of town.

[Eric Haataja]

The fall salmon run has begun. Kings are showing up everywhere, and now is the best time to catch them while they are stagging or just moving up the rivers. If your fishing in the rivers such as the Pikes in Kenosha, Root in Racine, Grant Park in South Milwaukee or the Milwaukee River, a few baits that work well for me are: Chartruse spinners, chunk of scain under a float or spawn under a float. If fishing the mouths of Grant park or Pikes creek try useing glow spoons such as crocdiles, rattle traps, cleos, KO woblers in green glow. I like using about 15 lb power pro with a 12 lb florocarbon leader when fishing from shore. Also you can catch these fish stagging in the harbors with jigging spoons fishing verticle if you do not like to troll, which is just a blast!!

Pike river in Kenosha is hot early, late and into the night.

The lake michigan trolling bite is also still really good out in 160+ feet of water, heading out there tonight for an afternoon trip.

Good Luck !

Eric Haataja

[Brian Mirek]

Picked up a very fresh, very silver appx 15 lber this morning. Saw 4 others, had one on that snapped me in some rocks. Fish are few and far between, but they are there. I was fishing the Milwaukee....

[BigMusky]

I hit the Kenosha Harbor Friday night and pike creek. Did not see alot of fish caught. Fished from 3-7:30pm. Might need to stay out later. Lost one fish on a spoon and dispey at mouth of harbor. Water temp was 72 degrees. Will be back out again soon.

[curtb03]

Went down to the big pier the past few nights. Weather has been wicked up until last night things cleared up nice. The fish are getting thick harbor side, but you can still catch them lake side. Many fish caught the passed few days on glow cleos/ko's and my favorite #13 jointed rapala.

[Eric Haataja]

Thanks for the awesome report curt!

[curtb03]

went out last night from 11:00 to about 1:00. Had a few hits on the 2/3 oz blue and glow KO. then changed to a #13 split Rapala in the "clown" pattern and caught a nice king on my second cast pushing the 20lb class. Will post a pic of it when I get the chance. Heading back down tonight for a few hours of excitement, hopefully...

curt

[curtb03]

Fished last night mostly harbor side. started off nice with a 10 pounder caught on a #13 rapala (clown pattern). Lost a few after that on the same lure. Switched to a 3/4 silver and blue rattle-trap and picked up about a 15lb chin immediately on that. Last I changed to a #13 rapala in the white and chart. pattern and managed to get one last fish around 15. My buddy caught fish on the same lures as I used except his rattle-trap was in the silver to chart. pattern. Lots of action and lots of fun. Fished from 9:00 to about 12:30.


Curt

[Brian Mirek]

Thanks for the posts Curt. I've been down to the river a few times, and the fish are still moving into there. They are still very few and far between. Thinking of heading down to McKinley tonight to give that a shot.

[Brian Mirek]

Went out from 6am - 8am on the Milwaukee River upstream from North Ave. Picked up an 11 lber on a chartreuse spinner, and a few decent smallmouth. Fished behind Summerfest from 10 - 11:30am while waiting for my girlfriend to finish Al's Run, picked up a 9 lber on a firetiger Rat-L-Trap. I'll post some pics on the Pics section later today.

Probably going to hit up the river the rest of the day with the fly rod.

I took the eggs from one of the fish I caught, and was wondering what I am supposed to do w/ them. They are still attatched to the skein (I believe that's what it's called) and I have heard you are supposed to cure them some way or another, but looking for some advice on how to do that. I currently have them sealed in a large ziploc bag in the fridge. Thanks in advance.

[curtb03]

Brian, there are a few ways to use the eggs. I personally do not cure my eggs b/c I believe it takes away from the natural scents etc. and I dont believe that the eggs work as well. They do last longer when cured and usually harden up a bit to stay on the line better. A good way to fish with them right now is to use it just as it is, skein. Cut a chunk off and "thread" it on the hook, thats it. Another way is to make spawn sacks. You can pick up netting, line etc at a local gander or sportsmans. The thing with making spawn sacks with skein is that its a lot more of a mess and dont turn out quite as good as loose eggs would. hope that helps you out. Now to the reports... Fished last night down at mckinley with no luck. Saw very few fish but my buddy and his friend managed to each catch one. Not even a hit!! Fished with rattle-traps and jointed rapalas in all different colors. Was down there from 9:30 until 11:30. Also fished this morning down at estabrook and miller park. Fished estabrook from 6:45 until 8:00. waded up from capitol dr. to hampton with no success. Saw very few fish, maybe 6 or so. A few guys fishing with no success also. Miller park was pointless with the whole 1-2 ft of water and dry spots here and there. Verrrrry low water!
Anyhow good luck everyone.

Curt

[Finseeker]

Eric turned me on to a hot bite in Milwaukee trolling cranks. We went 5 for 10 today with the biggest fish scaling in at 22.8 lbs and 38 1/4" Biggest salmon I have caught in 11 years on the big pond. The wind was a bit much to contend with at times but we found some places to hide.

I forgot to mention that we were catching these fish on Walleye gear 12 lb test. We did have 1 break off. Anyone looking to get turned on to an awesome bite should give Eric a call and book a trip.

Thanks for the Heads up!!!

[Brian Mirek]

Went out for salmon this afternoon on the Milwaukee. Didn't land any, but did catch a bunch of nice smallies, and what looks like a Brook Trout? The fins had the markings, as well as the body. First brookie out of the Milwaukee for me. Take a look at the pic attatched.

[Z-man]

Brian..thought about heading out there yesterday too, and fish for other species in the river or other cover from the waves, but went to the Rock instead. Were you throwing at the smallies, or trolling the river?

[Eric Haataja]

There's a great king bite going on down in Mckinely it's been going on for about 10 days. casting spoons, or cranks has been good, and trolling cranks has also been good. Client landed a pig this past week along with lots of kings in the 15-20 lb class. Firetiger is the best color.

Also a good pike pike starting casting spinners in the harbor and in the Marina's.

Eric Haataja

[BigMusky]

they have been going pretty good at Grant Park as well...yesterday better then today. Hot time I have noticed is right before sun comes up.

[curtb03]

fished tonight from 11:45 until 1:30. Caught a 8-10 lb chin on a fire-tiger yo-zuri hardcore rattlin vibe on my second cast. about 20 minutes later had another one on that was jumping like crazy. I knew something wasnt right and after it got off I noticed scales on the hooks... bumped a lot of fish. Was hard sometimes to tell a hit from bumping into a fish. Had another fish on right before I left that practically spooled me and eventually broke me off. have been catching these fish all summer long until now and have not had one snap my line. I use 20lb power pro and have had no problem until tonight! I have had hooks break, swivels bust, but not the line until tonight. It was a big fish, wonder if I had him tail hooked? oh well, fun time and lots of action for the short Time I was out.

good luck everyone!

curt

[BigMusky]

I have lost two big silver chins the last two days. Both went airborn and were gone...one broke the line, the other just spit the lure. Seems fresh fish are still coming.

[Finseeker]

My buddy was out the other day and had 2 fish break off on 40 lb test. I had one bust 30 lb fireline last week.

They are still biting and still fresh. Here are some more pics from this week. We also got a bonus pike

Thanks to Eric for the tip and pushing me in the right direction!!!!

[BigMusky]

typhoon conditions off Grant Park this morning, some people were "fishing" the creek and up by damn. I really need to get back out in the boat this weekend and try and get some more fish landed.

[Eric Haataja]

Heading out again this afternoon, and the bite has been very consistent. Worst trip I've done so far was 8 for 12 in about 4 hours of fishing with half casting and half long line trolling. Inside Mckinnely is the best bite for me, ecspecially at the mouth of Mckinely where there are a lot of fishing hanging out. The rain should only help things, and there are still 4 year olds out deep, my buddy caught 2 out in 100 feet of water......

Best baits are firetiger cranks or stick baits

Eric Haataja

[BigMusky]

have you tried Silver/Green Cranks? They always seem to out produce other color patterns for me...i will try some fire tiger ones...any style preferances? i usually go with slimmer models like deep diving husky jerks etc, but I have read magazines that trump up shad raps for casting, so I am sure they would work trolling. What about something more erratic like a tail dancer.

for stick baits you might want to try a Lucky Craft Pointer 100, at 15 dollars they are not cheap, but are great trolling lures. You can cast the things SUPER far as well. Make sure you put new hooks on it and split rings because the factory ones are soft.

[caustad]

The fishing by McKinley Marina today with Eric was unbelievably awesome. We caught so many big salmon we lost track of how many we put back! We only kept the females. Several of the hugh male chinook broke off or were lost around the piers or posts. We even caught a coho which will be on the grill tomorrow, while the rest are smoking!

I felt just like a little kid again!! :) :p :D :)

[curtb03]

was out last night from 11:30 until 2:00 and tonight from 10:00 until about 11:45. No fish landed with very few hits. I dont understand why they arent hitting? I see them jumping but far fewer than earlier this week. I wonder if all the fishing pressure in the marina is doing it... Casted like crazy both lake side and harbor side using jointed rapalas and rattle traps etc. in all different colors with no luck. My buddy got one yesterday and another buddy also caught one. The bite for me has been extremely slow and havent seen many fish caught at all. Eric, where in the harbor are you getting them? I have a boat I could bring out possibly to cast for them, but not sure if it would be safe depending how far out you are. Its like a 15' 7" glastron tri-hull fish n ski with a a 40hp mariner I just got put on by mwmarine. I would only go out on nice calm days but just wanted to know how bad it is out where your getting them. thanks for the info and good luck to everyone.

curt

[Finseeker]

The salmon are still biting very well. Spent a few days this past week or so trolling and was able to spend some time with Eric doing the spinning tackle thing as well. What a blast!!!

[Wolffy]

I have been trolling the main gap/ river without much luck. When you guys are talking spinning gear, are you fishing deep or shallow and using skein/eggs or casting?
Thanks,
Wolffy

[Brian Mirek]

Been doing well on the river. Took girlfriend out for her first time tonight, and well, the pic speaks for itself. I've attatched a few other pics from some recent outings.

[BigMusky]

took boat out to Kenosha yesterday, water was 58 degrees with strong north wind. Was not able to leave hardor and the fish were definitely not there. trolled for four hours and only one small brown to show, three other boats had similiar results. Used cranks and dipsey/spoons in several different color combos and styles.

[MLoppnow]

fished with Eric on Tuesday. In 3.5 hours of fishing boated 25+ fish, including one that went 25lbs. I am normally very loyal to the mighty musky but I HAD A BLAST!!!!!! Anyone looking for this kind of a trip, CALL ERIC!!!! He's got it down!!!! Thanks again man, for a fantastic afternoon on the water. All we got left this fall is Mr. 50 incher!!!! :D :D

PS: I didn't have a working camera. When Eric gets a moment to rest,take a breath and eat a meal, I am sure we'll see them. Mike

[Big_D]

Friend and I were out with Eric Monday Morning... What a blast this is... and apparently this was a Slow morning? We boated somewhere between 7-10 fish, and lost quite few too. I honestly stopped counting, maybe Eric remembers the stats better... we were having too much fun!

Should be able to post a pic or two in the near future.

D.

[Eric Haataja]

Sorry for sand bagging on the reports but I've been doing a lot of double trips and I've been feeling a bit under the weather with a possible Hernia. Anyways, the fishing is crazy right now, each trip out I can say for sure in the past 4 days clients landed at least 20 kings. On Saturday morning we kept 14 females and 1 big male because he died in less than 4 hours and clients released twice as many fish as we kept maybe 40 fish total in about 4 hours...... I had one rule that morning and it was once we had 2 fish on at the same time the third angler had to reel up, just to make it easier for the 2 guys fighting fish, well at times we had several triples.

Casting cranks, stick baits or spawn/ skein under a float has been the ticket for me.

They are also getting nice chromer fishing in about 60-80 feet of water.

Eric Haataja

[Eric Haataja]

A few more pics

[Big_D]

There's some pics... That's me in the right pic, and Chris in the pic next to that.

40 Salmon???? I'm going to need to work out more before scheduling a "fast" trip!

Thanks Eric! Hope your feeling better!

D.

[Eric Haataja]

salmon pics

[Justinm]

I had the chance to go out last week with Eric and then again on Sunday with a good friend of mine. On Sunday even though Eric was doing another trip he still managed to put me right on the fish LOL! Caught about 20 fish early in the morning got bored fishing with Skein so we started throwing random lures and we caught them pretty much on everything we threw out there. Super awesome experience!

Justin

[MLoppnow]

Nice shots Eric. Thanks again!! When ya get a chance, could you e-mail me mine? Like to see them LARGE!! Hope your doing well. Mike

[Finseeker]

We landed 20 plus fish on Sunday and hooked up that many others that never made it to the boat. All of our fish were caught on skein.

[luv2fish]

Nice posts eric... is that the mckinley area??? Was fishin from the pier last weekend and got skunked saturday and sunday morning:mad: Might have to get the boat out. Good luck everyone!!!

[Eric Haataja]

Yes Mckinely Marina in just about anywhere in the harbor. Good Luck!

[Eric Haataja]

Fished with a client and John Gellispe this afternoon for kings with skein down in the harbor and caught all they could handle in 2-3 hours. A couple of big fish as well. Lots of fun and non stop action!!!!!!!!!!

Eric Haataja

[BigMusky]

never fished with skein, do you use an egg/tear drop sinker and weight it to bottom, or do you use a float? I really wanted to go musky fishing this weekend, but I might have to hit McKinley harbor the way your reports are coming in.

[esoxangler]

A friend and I went out with Eric today and did the spinning tackle thing for king salmon and it was a blast. No idea how many fish landed but we both guesstimated somewhere in the 40-50 range. In all honesty we never had more than a 3-4 minute span between bites and/or fish on!! Anyone who enjoys fighting big fish has got to try this as it is almost to good to believe.

EA

[luv2fish]

Fished underneath the hoan today. Caught 4 Brown Trout and missed just as many. All but one fish came on spawn and the other came on a ko wobbler. Also caught a sturgeon?!?!? Very surprised to say the least. Fun day to be out.
GOOD LUCK ALL

[Finseeker]

More of the same here. After a while the pictures all start to look the same. This is a real treat for someone who hasn't experienced it. Call Eric and see if he has any dates left.

[Finseeker]

Some recent pics of spinning gear fish

[BigMusky]

can you get Skein at Bob's bait, or do they only sell spawn sacs? I am heading out Saturday. Never tried using Skein before, so we will see how it goes.

[Finseeker]

It is illegal to sell skein (not sure why). You can buy spawn sacs though. I believe Bob's does sell them. If you want skein, go out and catch some females and keep them. If the eggs are not loose and spilling out, you should be in good shape.

Steve

[BigMusky]

bummer....I have already thrown plenty back this year. Do the spawn sacs work just as well, or should I plan another attack this weekend.

[Finseeker]

I have found that the skein works way better than the spawn sacs but that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying.

[Eric Haataja]

Been doing 2 trips a day down here since last Thursday and I had yesterday and today off to film a T.V. show else where but camera problems so got to relax today!

King fishing is nuts absolutely insane! Bascially as many fish as you want to catch in 5 hours of fishing. Skein has still been the ticket under a float.

If you need Skein hang out around the fish cleaning station there should be some available there........

The show I filmed with John G will be on this weekend.

Eric

[luv2fish]

Fished under the hoan again today, went two for three with a brown and a nice rainbow. Spawn.

[luv2fish]

Fished again today 10/15 under da bridge. 4for 5 all browns. One of the browns i caught was a little 12 incher and a BIG King came up chasing it while i was realing the fish in. Interesting. Fun day to be out all fish came on spawn.

GOOD LUCK

[Eric Haataja]

Same deal, as many fish as a guy or gal could want in 5 hours hours in Mckinnely, moved out into the harbor and also caught some steelies and browns which was nice. Spawn and skein under a float was best.

Lots of fun!

Eric Haataja

[Justinm]

Today was my very fist day ever pulling a boat or launching a boat! So I drove from Beaver Dam to lake Michigan with my new (used) boat. I prayed to God the whole way there that my trailer held together with duct tape would not fall apart LOL! And that my 50 year old antique motor would start!

Anyways had one of the best fishing days of my life and put the smack down on the salmon. Finseeker I am pretty sure I saw you - I was in the slip next to you but I really didnt recognize it was you until you where pulling away.

Caught fish on Skein, spoons and husky jerks. Also saw a guy on the wall try to net a fish and then his net fell in the water. ooops!

Justin

[Justinm]

Here is some pictures from this weekend.

[luv2fish]

Hey Eric or anyone for that matter, do you think it is still worth launching the boat this late in the run for some salmon? Would like to get into some but have been doing well on trout also.

[Big_D]

Skipped out of work today and hit the harbor for some salmon. Fished 6:30 AM to ~5:30 PM, boated 21 kings and probably lost a dozen more. I don't think I can lift my arm any more. :)

Fished with skein under a float all day. Did see another boat out in the AM that looked to be doing pretty well casting cranks/spoons, but I never had a reason to switch. :)

Most of the females were pouring out eggs, so I we maybe we're nearing the end of the run??? Get 'em while you can!

D.

[luv2fish]

Did da bridge thang again. Went 3-6 some on spawn, some on spoons.

[AllEyes]

luv2fish,

seems like you're having some pretty consistant action. i haven't fished the milwaukee area much, but i am in the area often enough that i think i'll start carrying a rod or two in the trunk. will i be in the game if i'm just throwing 3-way rigs out on the bottom right under the bridge? also, can i get away with spawn sacs or do i need to bring skein? thanks in advance for your help...it's greatly appreciated.

[luv2fish]

yeah ive been down there at least once a week and been getting two at the least. I don't know if you've ever fished by jones island before but that is where ive been catching them (Try and get just to the right of the big pier or just to the left of the fence). I don't use three ways i just use an egg sinker and a two-way but it should work. Have yourself at least a 2-3 ft leader. Umm nothin much else but i did use a slip bobber about 4 ft down and picked one up that way also. Oh yeah and as far as skein goes i haven't been lucky enough to get some. Orange spawn sacs have been the best for me. Good luck and post back and tell me how ya do!!

[brewcityfishr]

great reports, maybe ill see you down there one of these days. im gonna give her a shot on wednesday. i really need some brown spawn for the winter!!! good fishin'

[AllEyes]

thanks for the info. i'll be sure to let you know how i do...spawn sacs are easy for me as i seem to always have them and a few rods in my trunk.

as for the skein...i'm wondering why don't you have any? i pulled a few trout out of the sheboygan river last week and the female browns had skein...is this a different strain you're getting or are you cursed with males. i'm not to knowledgeable about all the different strains and spawning times so any info would be appreciated.

[luv2fish]

Yeah i don't know, im beginning to think i must be cursed because i never seem to get any...oh well, good luck!!

[AllEyes]

thanks again for the reports luv2fish, i had an enjoyable couple of hours freezing my butt off in milwaukee today. caught and released 3 browns in about 2.5 hours of fishing. caught 2 (missed 2 others) on spawn sacs off the bottom, and the third fish (about 12-15lbs) came casting a deep diving jr. thunderstick (firetiger). i ended up fishing off the wall by the national ave. launch.

[AllEyes]

was in milwaukee again today, unfortunetly it wasn't for fishing. did check a couple spots and saw very little action. saw one small trout and a couple perch. with the amount of people fish it must have been a SLOW morning...at least to those i talked to. good fishing.

[luv2fish]

Late Report....

Headed down to Bender friday and decided to brave the southeasters. Went two for four with one big hen and one big male. The two I missed were do to line breaks.(Should probably stop using mono). Oh well, fun time to say the least.

Oh yeah, spawn under a bobber!!!!

[AllEyes]

Hope I'm not starting a multiple thread, but I couldn't find one designated for Lake Mich. out of Milwaukee. Anyhow, we had a great trip to Milwaukee on Saturday for brown trout action. Fished in and around the harbor for about 6hrs doing a little bit of everything...and everything worked. Found the browns to be thick in multiple areas, and we lost count of numbers (easily 30+ fish boated, but we had 3 guys). Trolled first. Fish on any stick bait that was bright colored off the boards. Then fished lake shiners till we ran out (only had 3 dozen for 3 guys). After that we tossed cranks, verticle jigged spoons and blade baits, and jigged plastics. All caught fish, but this was probably our least successful pattern, but still could have pulled a limit doing this which is nice when the hands don't like to be dipped in the minnow bucket!!! I'm always amazed at the number of trout in the Milwaukee harbor area. I haven't fished Bender in years! Fished the river for a quick two hours Sunday morning and went 2 for 4 on steelies. Neither the steelies or the browns were anything close to trophy size, but lots of doubles/triples with the browns.

[Z-man]

Thanks for the report. Been thinking about heading over there for a change of pace, and it sounds like the bite is on. Mixing it up on the techniques like you guys did, adds to the fun.

[AllEyes]

just heard from a buddy that was out and had very similar results. he just trolled, but they had their 4 man limit in less than 2 hours. obviously there's nothing tricky about the bite!!!

haven't heard much or seen much from the shore anglers fishing around the bridge, but i would think that bite has to be picking up too? will give that a shot soon.

[luv2fish]

Hey All Eyes, i hate to ask but where are you launching from?? I want to get the boat out for one last voyage before i put it away for the winter.
Thanks in advance!!

[AllEyes]

ask away...i owe ya. we'll launch all winter out of the national ave. launch if the ice/snow isn't too much. if the launch gets bad, but the river is fishable we'll even carry a 14' aluminum boat down and throw a little 9.9 on it. last winter we landed a brown just over 29lbs doing this on a noodle rod, 6lb test, and three way rig. had to pull up the anchor and let her pull the boat around for 45min before we got her in.

this trip i was personally pulling a boat out of the water for a friend who owns a condo on the river (luckily i put my old rod holders on her boat this summer:D ) so i figured we'd make a fishing trip out of it. needless to say the boats still in the water!!! with the temps were supposed to have over a holiday weekend we should get in a couple more trips before i take it out and store it for her.

[slob sticker]

Curious how far you have to run before you get to some good fishing areas if you launch out of National ave launch. I have very limited knowledge of Lake Michigan fishing so any help appreciated.

[AllEyes]

the launch is basically right under the hoan bridge...can't get much closer to the lake than that! well protected, but i have heard some bad stories about trucks being broken into while parked there, etc... not a bad spot to fish from shore either.

[luv2fish]

Thanks a ton for the info, but i have one last question for ya and i promise its my last one.... First of all, what size minnows were you using because i have been hearing anything from small crappie minnows up to medium shiners, also do you have any starting points that you could recommend, i don't want anyones hotspots, but i usually just fish from shore or hit up the power plant so im kinda new to the game. If you feel more comfortable emailing me my address is rkaplodik@yahoo.com. I will actually be out tom. morning giving it a try and will definitely post some feedback for everyone.
Thanks again All Eyes for the help.
Good Luck Everyone!!!

[AllEyes]

i almost exclusively use lake shiners for browns. i tend to use a jig and minnow a lot (because that's how i like to fish) so i dead hook a medium or large lake shiner on an 1/8oz jig. dead and frozen work as well as fresh for this method as dead hooking them obviously kills them instantly.

on three way rigs i like to use the smallest golden shiners i can get. they stay alive best for me. spawn sacs and skein also works for this.

we usually troll to locate the fish and then anchor or sit on top of them with the bow mount. while trolling watch for fish on the locator, differences in water temps, and of course remember where the fish came from. there's been many of days when we've anchored within casting distance of the national ave. launch and had 30+ fish days.

there's some other "popular" spots that i usually stay away from as they attract too many boats for my taste.

god i wish i could get out of work early today!!!

[luv2fish]

Thanks again, very very helpful to say the least. Took a drive down to the launch a couple of minutes ago and by national you mean the launch on water street correct?? If so were in the world to you park? I was also meaning to ask you if you had a chance to get down to jones isl? Thanks again your help is more than appreciated.

[AllEyes]

that's the one...everyone calls it the national ave. launch. can't say i even know if it's on water and east national or not...never really paid attention.

i've seen people park all over down there. like i said i've heard problems with smashed windows, etc... so i park in my friends condo lot. i know there was a time or two we didn't park at the condo and i thought we parked down the road once and then in the little lot just steps to the north of the launch.

it's amazing fishing. i've only been doing it sporadically for about 4 years now, but a "bad" day seems to mean that you have to troll to get a limit. i'm sure eric will have some reports/suggestions on this soon. i believe i remember him sharing reports on this in the past, and i think he even did a show with gillespie too.

fished jones island one afternoon for about 2 hours and caught one, missed about 2-3 more. probably should have thrown some skein out, but i was stubborn with my walleye rod and jig and frozen/salted lake shiner. one other guy who had been there a while had 3.

time to plant my butt infront of the tv and see if marquette can't take duke out! go warriors!!!

[msolberg621]

fished from 7 to 11 this morning. only one other boat out there. ended up with over 20 fish that all came trolling. cranks and spoons both worked equally. biggest being 13lbs. 1 nice male steelhead as a bonus fish. couple of guys casting the steel wall while i was there and doing very well. seemed like alot of small fish but the action looked great. heres a pic of one of many from this morning. fish alone so its a timed camera, but u get the idea

[luv2fish]

Didn't manage to get the boat out, so did the next best thing and hit up jones island again. Got 6 yesterday and 4 today also missing a bunch. All browns with two bows mixed in. Nothin tricky, spawn or medium shiners.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL

[AllEyes]

same report as the last one i gave for us. managed to raise about $70 for the great lakes salmon/trout because of family members home for thanksgiving wanting to get out. mostly trolled as we had many inexperienced anglers, and letting out 80 ft of line snapping on a board and eventually reeling it in is as easy as it gets. not really my thing, but everyone had a blast, and they took home some great fish to have smoked. today we did slide out of the harbor for a while with the calm winds and we picked up more of a mixed bag with kings, lakers, and bows...only browns in the harbor. no trophies yet...nothing much over 10lbs for us, but we're giving them one more shot tomorrow if it doesn't rain. plenty of other boats around, and most were doing well. saw one fish netted by jones island, and plenty near the red lighthouse. good luck. tomorrow will be my last trip for a while...seems like it may be a long wait for ice!

[AllEyes]

another beautiful day...i remember a fall like this a few years back when everyone was hammering the 2-3 year old kings over thanksgiving break.

we did well again today. fished minnows and spawn in the early morning with good success and then headed out to 25-40' area and trolled lead and spoons picking up a little of everything. overall, i'm sure we put well over 100 fish in the boat this weekend. nothing huge, but the action was great. it was a great year for us on lake michigan, and for all those that i know who fish the lake. what a great fishery to have in our back yard...over the last few years i've met a lot of guys who go through a lot of $$$ to enjoy this fishing having to drive from states west of here! all boats are stored away, so i'm on shore or ice unless i get real desperate and have to get the 14' out with the 9.9 kicker. looks like some cold temps coming around mid-week!!!

[luv2fish]

Gave jones a shot on sunday and there was quite a few people down there. Nobody was really doin anything though... My brother and i landed 1 and lost 1....(shiners and spawn)


************************************************** *******


PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN LEANING OVER THE RAILING TO NET FISH DOWN HERE....THE GROUND BY THE RAILING IS VERY ICY......ALMOST HAD A VERY "BAD EXPERIENCE"....

[luv2fish]

Gave it a whirl today.... Only managed two bites and some how missed them both?!?!:mad: Nobody really catching anything, one guy next to us landed one on a shiner. Overall very very slow.....

Bites were on spawn for me.

[HotHead617]

These are from yesterday thought i posted them, but there gone for some reason.

[HotHead617]

went out for a few hours today caught 1 small bow seen about 10 threw everything i had at em' but they were not biting.

[Wolffy]

We fished on Sun and went way up the menomonee a ways and veered to a place down by the steam plant. The water was just pouring out of a discharge by the coal tug and lake express ferry. The fish were jumping everywhere. Looked like browns, but some carp mixed in. Graph was stacked all the way until the deadend. Water temp 60. Didn't get a single bite. Tried fatheads, jigs, spinners, cranks, spoons and plastics. Only thing we didn't have was spawn. Any thoughts?:(
Wolffy

[HotHead617]

Went out for a few hours today got 1 small brown thats it, lots of fish but their not biting.

[HotHead617]

Was out today for a few went 5 for 9 was a good day..

[Eric Haataja]

Made it down to the harbor a few times this past week. Fished with In-Fisherman and we did well on numbers in the Milwaukee harbor but no big fish, we had a few good shots at some giant browns but it was not to be that day. Racine was much better for consistent action on some bigger browns, nothing huge but a few in the 12-15 lb class. Caught most of our fish on spawn in Milwaukee and a few casting. I'm going to check out the harbor shortly to see if it's still dirty from all the run off.

Eric

[HotHead617]

Went out for about 5 hours today......SKUNKED......not even a bite seen one brown caught thats it.

[Eric Haataja]

Well the fast and furious action in the harbor has slowed up a bit as far as fishing goes. The past 2 days have been good and bad. Good for decent sized fish but bad for numbers of fish. Casting spoons and cranks were the best baits today, rattle traps also work pretty well. I may be back down there tomorrow, the harbor is still pretty dirty and is just starting to clear up a bit, I hope we do not get anymore rain!

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Went out yet again today nothing Skunked again...two trips in a row didnt even see anything jump.

[HotHead617]

Went out today for about 8 hours only managed 2 small bow's, fishing is still slow down there.

[Eric Haataja]

fished yesterday with my buddy from chitown and put the hurt on some of the trout mouths! Caught lots of fish on spawn and casting cranks it was a blast! Corey also caught his biggest steelie which was cool! Good to see the action was picking up!

Eric Haataja

[MrWalleye73]

Looks great Eric! I fished the Racine area Saturday, and Waukegan on Monday, not much of anything going on there. I was about a day late for 'Kegan. Steelies were rather good there before Monday! Probably should have taken the boat out instead. Thanks for the reports and pictures. Now, here comes the cold and some ice hopefully!

Was it IN-Fisherman you did some footage for? If so, let us know when it may go on air??
Thanks

Chris

[HotHead617]

Fished for a couple hours this morning.....nothing.

[luv2fish]

Late report but was down by jones Friday, action seemed a little better as i went 3 for 5. Majority of the bites came around 9:00. Fishin spawn and minnows.


PS

I love the new lake trout videos on the video thread Eric.....keep um comin!!!!!

[luv2fish]

Here is a pic from friday

[Rempump]

I had posted a report a few days ago and I pretty sure I posted on this thread...I was fishing in the Mil Harbor. Did it get pulled or did I put it in the wrong thread? I can't seem to find it on any other lake michigan thread?

[BigMusky]

the last fishing report that you gave was in late december for the Fox River, Depere. Did you leave it on LL and not here?

[Rempump]

I put one on LL and then one on here. I always put a little better report on here because I think the people are better and there are not as many grumpys :)

I posted it yestarday or sunday.

[BigMusky]

well, there must be an evil mod out there deleting fishing reports.

[Justinm]

Rempump,

I am very sorry but I am pretty sure that a new mod accidently deleted your post. He thought he deleted an entire thread but thankfully it was just a post or 2. I cant say for sure this happened but I am pretty sure your post was deleted by accident. Sorry about that and I hope you will understand that the site is in its growing process and we are still learning how to work all of the moderator functions

sorry!

Justin

[Rempump]

Not a problem. I thought i was going crazy!

Also one more questions..

Is the Milwaukee Harbor thread coming back? We have one for Lake Michigan, Milwaukee and then we have one for the milwaukee river but the one for the harbor is gone.

[Eric Haataja]

Fishing is still pretty darn good out there, been smacking some nice fish. Lots of fish comming on cranks and stick baits up high or on floats up high which is a bit different but give the fish what they want!

Yea I'd also like to see the Milwaukee harbor thread come back but I have no idea how to do that?? Justin? Casey?

Or we can just start a new thread....

Thanks for the help guys.

Eric

[Justinm]

Not a report but it looks like a mod accidently deleted that thread. Its unfortunate but I can make a new one right now.

Justin

[Justinm]

Here is the new thread for the Milwaukee Harbor.

[Rempump]

Ahh good to see this thread is back!

With the colder temps coming in next week, I am guessing that the Marina launch will freeze in and hopefully national will stay open. Hoping to Ice fish the marina for the first time this year.

Any tips on Ice fishing here? I am guessing jigging spoons, jigs and tip ups with spawn and minnows?

Good luck out there and be safe!

[Eric Haataja]

Well the fishing has been excellent this past week with some bigger fish moving in which is nice to see. Also not much pressure either having a few spots to ourselves all day made it nice. Spawn worked really well but we also caught some fish casting sponns and cranks up higher in the water colum.

Get out there before this major cold snap!


Rempump I hope to see more of your reports again.... Lots of my posts also got deleted by accidentl but no biggy accidents happen.

Eric Haataja

www.wibigfish.co

[Eric Haataja]

Opps those walleye pics are supposed to go under lake Geneva...I do not know how to delete one pic sorry.

[Rempump]

Here is a brown from the harbor a few weeks ago. Caught several nice fish that day. With a few over 12 pounds. They hit just about anything you tossed at them. During the week is a nice bonus, the weekends get a little crowded. We worked the wall, the rip rap and did a little trolling. We even forgot the spawn so everything was on artificial baits.

I imagine the cold weather will have us locked out for awhile. hopefully the ice fishing picks up!

[HotHead617]

Went out for a few hours today......Nothing.......didnt see anything, water was pretty rough waves were coming up over the break wall.

[HotHead617]

Went out again today and again....nothing....this is really getting a little discouraging 3 of 4 trips skunked.

[Eric Haataja]

I've been out everyday this past week and also filmed with john Gellispe this past week and fishing has been nuts!!!! 50-80 fish in each 5 hour charter for my clients. Biggest fish we had was about 16 lbs. Some nicer fish showing up which is nice, we've been getting them casting and with jigging spoons. Spawn has also still been working along with skein and I also did well on marsh mellows. It does not seem to matter they are biting really well watch out for the ice in the mornings it's bad! Heading back out right now!

Eric Haataja

[Eric Haataja]

here's a few pics

[msolberg621]

late report, but got out with eric and a few of his buddies last week. ended up with around 80 fish or so! biggest being around 15lbs. fantastic fishing!! if you haven't tried it, you should defiently give eric a call, its worth the trip.....

[HotHead617]

Went down for yet again a few hours and again....nothing.... 4 staight trips with not a fish in site,think it's time to give it a break for a while.

[Eric Haataja]

I've been out a few time this week for trips and fishing has been crazy still, just about asmany fish as you want to catch. 40-60 fish each trip out easily. Getting cold but heading back out there now!

[HotHead617]

OK went out again today and i didnt get skunked,Caught a couple of huge perch(NOT) and i wasnt even trying,had a few hits on a spoon but nothing stuck,going to try again tomorrow,someone pray for me would ya i need all the help i can get lately,I would put this pic on the best of 2006 but i dont wanna show anyone up.LOL!

[live_2_fish]

Well have been out the last couple days.Wednesday C&R a nice Walleye right around 25'' 6lbs a 3or4lb rainbow and nice 8or9lb brown...Today I was out being hotheads personal guide(not a very good one today) only managed one 4or5lb Brown.

Now thats a biggin Hothead!!!

[Eric Haataja]

Did well again yesterday client and I had 40 browns in about 3 1/2 hours spoons, spawn, skein all worked. Careful some ice is starting to form in the harbor and river.

Eric

[HotHead617]

Went out again today Caught 2 browns 5 perch 1 bluegill and 1 shad.I would have had another pic of a brown but my camera man had a brain fart and told me he had the pic but he didnt and i didnt realize it till after i released the fish.

[live_2_fish]

Late report from sunday.......Went out in the mouring with hothead I only stayed to about 11.I got bite off and had rubber hooks other than a shad I snagged.Went back out in the pm to a different spot caught 5 walleyes and a nothern in a matter of a hour before sun down.The walleyes were between 13 and 23.3 of them had no fin clipped thing are getting good in the river keep up the C&R..........The northern was around 30''

[Eric Haataja]

Well it looks like the harbor bite may be done for a short while since we are getting blasted with cold snaps but that's o.k. because the ice fishing for trout in other spots is still very good now.

Clients did well yesterday landing many fish we had to break threw about 1/2 inch of ice to get out into the harbor and find open water.

A few tips when the water is cold and ramp is ice...bring a shovel, ice spud, salt, long rope, and always lower your motor all the way down and drain all the water out. Start up the motor after while out of the water for a few seconds.

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Here's a couple from a few weeks ago. Just got the film done.Thank god for digitals.

[HotHead617]

Went out today for the first time in 3 weeks and caught 1 small bow 1 small brown 2 perch and a shad, Had a lot of strikes it was hit and spit all morning.I did see a couple of big browns and a nice walleye.Guess the day wasnt to bad,just wish the fish would have been a bit BIGGER.

[HotHead617]

Went out to Jones today caught nothing seen nothing....water was very dirty. Lost a Kastmaster on the second cast what a way to start off the morning.I went out to another spot and did manage 3 browns there in about 30 mins or so.All on Kastmasters.Think im going back tomorrow.

[Eric Haataja]

Fished the harbor today and it was pretty slow clients caught a few browns but slower than normal! This rain will make it worse followed by the east winds.

Eric

[HotHead617]

Went back out again today to the same spot as yesterday and the results where alot different.For starters the water there was very dirty compared to yesterday and it kept shifting directions and there were alot more people.
I did have what looked like about a 6-8 pound rainbow to the wall and lost it before i got to my net,and by the way this was about 3 hours after i started.Then right before i left i ended up with a small winter.Thought i was getting skunked for a while there,and i told eric yesterday i have never been skunked down there before,almost stuck my foot in my mouth.
I would imagine its going to be a while with all the run-off to clear things up but we'll see.

[Eric Haataja]

Fished Mckinnely Marina yesterday and it sucked for us we had 2 trips on the automatic fisherman and missed one fish. That was it really slow...Plenty of ice but the water is pretty dirty compared to normal and will only get worse with this rain and run off! I'm pretty much done ice fishing for this year!

Eric Haataja

[Eric Haataja]

Fished the harbor yesterday afternoon and it was very slow....caught a couple browns but the water is still too dirty, The weather looks bad for the next few days as well. Hopefully it will be good come this weekend. there were 4 boats in the harbor that we chatted with and slow for everyone!

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Went out and tried my normal spot for a little bit this morning had a couple hits and misses on spawn.Seen 2 jump that were decent sized but the current kept switching directions and that made casting a pain.Going back tomorrow though.

[HotHead617]

Went back out again today seen more fish than i caught all year but could not get any to bite.Was a thin layer of ice on the water this morning waited about a hour and it cleared up.Did see one caught by MSD but none otherwise.

[HotHead617]

Went out again today caught one winter, one perch,2 shad and a set of tires for my car.Was hard to fish lots of debris floating back and forth.Had alot of fish on but lost them,couple peeling line.Bait fish everywhere browns were picking them off the top of the water.Should be crowded down there this weekend i'll go back on monday.

[Fireman58]

Where and when is the time to hit these fish from racine and kenosha. what lures do you use the most or get the most fish action

Fireman58/Dave

[BigMusky]

these are not fish you typically catch from shore in the rivers or harbors. I have no experience catching them in the deep water, but I you use the same gear as salmon

[msolberg621]

typically you will find the lakers starting to show up off the hills of racine and kenosha around mid to late may. if you are not familiar with the hills they are a series of underwater hills that start in around 40ft of water and work out to 110ft of water where the last one finally drops off. they stretch from north of wind point all the way down to kenosha. what i normally do when specificly targeting lakers is troll until i've located a school of fish. once you have located a pod of fish slow down to no faster then 1.0-1.5mph. the 2 most effective ways that i have found to target lakers are downriggers and wire rods rigged with 6 oz-12oz lead balls depending on current and depth of water. whatever method you use ensure you are no more then 8-10ft off the bottom. as for baits: dodgers and flies, dodgers and spin n' glows and sometimes even spoons have worked the work the best.. put out a combination of colors and vary your depths until you form a pattern. this all may sound complicated but once you get out and play around with this stuff you'll find that its a pretty easy way to fish....

[Fireman58]

Thanks guys I plan on getting my son onto hopefully a nice one this spring. I have a boat and did some charterboat first maiting out of millwaukee harbour in the mid 80s. I am really lookin forward to some great salmon fishing soon.


Fireman58/Dave

[HotHead617]

Went out today.....nothing.....did manage to lose yet anther Kastmaster though.Did see 3 browns caught right next to me though.Two of them were really nice fish.Was very windy and the water is still very dirty.Think im going to check Estabrook tomorrow,Anyone know if it's still locked up?.

[Fireman58]

Doors, thanks I will be staying from poret washington south. Those methods should work there as well.

Fireman58/Dave

[Eric Haataja]

Well this past weeks fishing has been good, the harbor is clearing up and the fish have been biting. I made it out this past week with Babe Winkleman to film for brown trout here in the Milwaukee Harbor. Babe had a lot of fun catching many nice brown trout and I had a good time as well. The spawn and minnow bite has been good along with casting jigging spoons. Last week we had to battle ice while filming and at times we had to stop fishing because of the ice flows. This week the ice flows are gone and the bite continues to be consistent we have averaged about 40 browns with a few steelies each trip out.

I will be posting some pics soon, but working charter trips in the morning and working the Milwaukee sport show in the afternoon leaves little time left in the day.

Eric Haataja

[Reel Addiction]

Well I took advantage of yesterdays warm weather and decided to try casting for browns after work. I went down by the river inlet and gave it a try for and hour and a half to no avail. I saw at least 5 other guys trying everything from casting to soaking spawn with no luck.

[HotHead617]

Went out again today....and yet again NOTHING the water by MSD is awful 0% clarity i couldnt see a glow in the dark 2 feet from the wall.Went down to Jones i could see my lure a block away water cleared up nicley with the west wind but no fish for me.Did see 1 guy with an 10 pounder brown that is and one other guy made 2-3 casts and got him one as well.2 days in a row being skunked.Think i might just stay home tomorrow but we will see.

[Eric Haataja]

Did a trip today before the sports show and we crushed the browns, and my customers caught as many browns as you wanted to catch in 5 hours...my guess is around 80 browns but I was not counting. All on spinning tackle and most on skein or spawn.

Eric Haataja

[Eric Haataja]

Here's several of about 200 browns Babe caught while we filmed and fished this past week in a day and a half of fishing.

[Big Bri]

Those are some awesome Browns, In-Fisherman and now Babe congrates buddy. Did he give you any idea when the show would air? I met Babe a few times, my company did some work for him, he is a pretty nice guy!

[Fireman58]

Eric,Where did you launch from and where did you fish in the harbor? was troling doing any good?

Fireman58/Dave

[NOBADDAYS]

well fished the other day 4am-7ish then let Eric have the hole to himself. We counted 47fish total. Had a few nice Rainbows in the teens nice brown in teens and rest mixed 3-8lbs. Still a hoot on 6lb test!! Spawn and spoons have been best for producing. Have to figure out how to put pics on here.
great day out on water.

TOYMAN2K
NOBADDAYS

[HotHead617]

Went out yet again today and ....did manage to get one,35minutes before it was time for me to leave. Thought i was going to be skunked 3 straight days. Did have one on right before i caught the one that snapped me off.Seen about 5- 6 others caught.Then the front moved in and everything slowed way down.Must be nice to catch 80 fish i would be happy with 8.

[Slobosoarous]

Might go out this weekend looking for something to tug on the end of my line, any tips of location? This is our first time going out this early so any tips are appreciated.

Thanks

Slobo

[Eric Haataja]

Made it out this week with Scott and Marty Glorivan PWT Pro's from Minnesota we caught about 60 browns and went out again yesterday with Steve and Darin from lake-Link and we caught at least 50 fish all on spinning tackle with either spawn, minnows, or casting spoons.

Not sure what these winds are doing along with all the chocolate milk that is dumping in the harbor hopefully the fish will still bite.

Eric

[HotHead617]

Went out again this morning dont know why but i did. Managed to somehow get one small winter that i did not even know was there because of the current and the waves.There were two other small ones caught.East wind blew lots of debris in shore water is also turning into choco milk again and the waves were actually coming up over the wall made the day very interesting.

[Honky Donkytits]

Took the second shift after Eric got off the water Weds.28 in the boat .All released . Some prereleased and then released..Donk

[luv2fish]

Finally got out today. Little windy, and the water was a little muddy but still managed to get a couple. Spawn seemed to be the ticket.

[FIRSTMATE4LIFE]

hey guys just wondering where you guys have been giong out of with your boats would like to have a brownie tug on my line tomorrow. info would be great

[Eric Haataja]

Going out of the National Ave launch which is also River Side park is where I've been going out of, south shore should be wide open as well.

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Went out to jones after estabrook and had a really good day down there.Went 7 for 9.Was best day ive had fishing since probably in January.Now if only i could catch some steelie's like that.

;) (hint-hint)

[HotHead617]

Went out to jones again today,with the wind and the waves i did manage 1 small one.Didnt see anyone around me get anything.Lots of debris pushed in with the wind.

[cmontiho]

The fish are biting out there. I trolled for about 2 hours and caught my limit of german browns. They were all about the same size (6lbs or so). I was using Dipseys set at 3, with 40 feet of line out which put my spoons about 20 feet down. I like to try and keep my boat speed right around 2.5 mph. I had my best luck just south of the river along the wall by MMSD. Lots of fish surfacing which was nice to see. There is a decent amount of mucky water flowing into the harbor from all of the rain. Most of the fish seemed to be caught near where the "muck line" where the brown water meets the cleaner water. Clown colored magnum spoons worked well.

I saw you out there Eric and waved but you were headed to the main gap with some clients so I kept on trolling. Hope you guys did well!

[HotHead617]

Went back out to Jones today I caught 2 the guy next to me caught 3 and the guys next to him caught 4 one of the fish he had was about 11 pounds didnt see anyone else catch any.Still some debris along the wall but it's clearing up for now.There was about 15 or so cars down there this morning thats the most ive seen down there in a while so if your planing on going down there this weekend better get there early. Now the guy next to me is about 75 years old and hasnt caught a fish all year so far until today.I've been giving him spawn sacs so i tied up some new ones last night and i guess that was the ticket he got 3 was really cool to see him get excited to finally catch some fish.

[luv2fish]

Might be a stupid question but what the heck....

Do you need special rods / reels to troll with, or would spinning gear do the trick. Not really familiar with trolling but would lilke to start. Any info would be amazing!!

P.S.

Will be out tom. A.M. , will let you all know how i did :)

[cmontiho]

You really don't. I use my musky rod and a heavy action spinning rod. Get some line counters though so you can tell how much line you have out for the Dipseys. Good luck.

[Eric Haataja]

Corey glad to see you caught some browns job well done! Sorry i did not see ya!

Here's a few from this weekends trips. Trolling and casting worked although on Saturday afternoon we got a few on spawn, The key was to stay out of the dirty water and find the clear water where fish can see the baits better. Trolling boards with cranks and sticj baits worked well along with dipsey's.

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Went out again today caught 2 missed 3.Didnt see anyone else catch any.Was really slow getting boring catching these small ones need to find some a bit bigger.Think im going to try esta tomorrow weather permiting.

[Big_D]

Hit the Milwaukee harbor on Saturday, fished from ~7:30 AM till ~2:00 PM. Was cool and pretty foggy in the morning and then again in the afternoon. This was my first time fishing the harbor area... was hoping to figure out the Brown trout fishing, but didn't have any luck. We spent most of our time trying different depth presentations with Medium Shiners and small spawn sacs (3-5 eggs sacs). Also tried trolling for a little while with spoons/stickbaits, but I don't have much trolling experience and don't really know what I'm doing on that front.

I did see Eric out with a boat full of clients on Saturday, not sure if you recognized me or not. I'm sure you go through a lot of faces in your line of work. :)

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share any tips/suggestions on their best/favorite live-bait presentations for browns in the harbor. What kind of rigs do you use, what depth ranges do you target... stuff like that. We tried working slip-bobbers down to the bottom/lower-depth ranges, fixed bobbers down from ~5-8', working a split shot rig on the bottom and verticle jigging various depths as well. Didn't really gain any confidence in any one presentation... but we did spend probably too much time working in muddy-water areas. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks & Take Care!

D.

[HotHead617]

Tried both spots as well this morning got down to summerfest it was 75 and warm.Took my stuff out the car got half way to the lagoon and it dropped 20 degrees and had 25 mile an hour winds all in about 3 mins.Tossed some spoons aound for a few minutes and called it on that spot.Went to Jones tossed out some spawn for about an hour and i could not tell if i had a fish or if it was the waves.So skunked today.

[cmontiho]

BigD,
Glad to see that you hit the harbor, it can be a lot of fun. I have not tried live bait or spawn from the boat in the harbor but I have trolled a lot and have tried spawn from shore quite a bit.
From what I hear people do well with spwan and shiners up against the wall just south of the area where the river meets the harbor. Try tying up to that wall and do the same thing you were doing. If there is murky water coming out of the river try the just south of that murky water. I saw some guys out there on Thursday do pretty well. When they pulled out I trolled the area and got five nice fish.
Trolling is easy. Just get some Dipsy Divers, a snubber for each, and then a cheap line counter. Snubbers are like a shock absorber, which helps you not loose fish. The Dipsys come with a chart that says if you put a certain amount of line out, and set the Dipsy at a certain # (it goes from 0 to 3) your spoon will be at a certain depth. So when people say I fished a Monkey Puke or Clown (that's the type of spoon), at a 3 set, with 40 loc you know what they are talking about. The "3 set" is the setting on the dipsy, and the "40loc" is the line out on the counter (loc). The type of spoons are all labeled at Gander and wherever, so it is easy to buy the ones people are catching fish on. I use a handheld GPS and keep my speed right at or around 2.5mph.
I use braided line to my Dipsy, then 20lb cloro for my leader, and have about a three and a half foot leader. Use a swivel hook to attach your spoon to the leader.
The line goes from your reel, to the dipsy, then you attach the snubber, then the leader, then the swivel hook, then your spoon. Here's a pic of a rig. They have a fly on there, but you can get the idea. http://janz.dreamhost.com/twkrig1.jpg

Good luck.

[Eric Haataja]

Great tips and info Corey! I also use down riggers with spoons, cranks and stick baits and planner boards with cranks and stick baits. I usually try to avoid fishing in the dirty water down there but at times you can still catch fish in the dirty water. Sorry if I do not recognize you guys out there, usually lots of traffic out there.

I fished the past 2 days and we caught some perch in the main gap mostly small one but there are a few bigger ones showing up now. We did better trolling out in the clear water in the lake, but the storm blew us off quickly amd WOW did it get nasty very very quickly out there!!!

I will be heading to Green bay in the morning for about a month chasing some big eyes so best of luck out on the water and be safe!

Eric

[Big_D]

That's quite all right Eric... we'll keep waving anyway. :)

Thanks for the tips Corey! We did spend a couple hours tied up to that breakwall on Saturday, but the water there was like chocolate milk. Had to scrub a mud line off the boat when I got home... it was pretty nasty. So maybe that was part of the problem for us. You do make the trolling sound simple too... I might have to see if theres room in the fishing budget for a couple of dipsey divers. We were just long-line trolling with in-line wieghts to try to get a little depth to them, but that was probably only getting them down ~8' deep.

Anyway, it's looking like I'll be able to give it another try this coming Saturday... I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. :)

Thanks!

D.

[cmontiho]

Sounds good BigD, try and get your spoons down 20 feet, that has been my best depth. I met you once out on Oconomowoc and you gave me some tips on smoke colored tubes out there, thanks. Good luck.

[brewcityfishr]

what spoons have been good for you guys? here a few that have been working for me.

1. r+r spoon- gold and orange

2. raider- chicken pox

3.raider- lemon ice

4. pro king- cracked ice

all in the standerd size. ive also ran a plain silver 00 size dodger with 24-26 inch leader with a fly hook with a med. golden shinner and that rig took alot of browns also. hope this helps. good fishin'

[HotHead617]

Went out today and fished from 7:30 till about 11:30 with nothing except about a dozen hits and misses taking about a dozen much needed spawn sacs.I think the wind might have blown in some goby's cause everytime i reeled in my spawn sac was empty.Then from 11:30 till about 12:10 when i had to leave to pick up the "OL" lady from work i had about 10 fish i lost count after the second time i had a triple.It was crazy fast trying to reel all these in plus release them and the netting. Of all days to be down there and noone else is around.There was one other guy down buy the concrete block who was there probably about a half hour and he had 3.I could not even take pictures of all of them so i could get them back in the water.I used about 2-2 and a half dozen sacs today,running me down to about 7 sacs left.Looks like BOB's is going to make some money from me tonight.:mad:

[Reel Addiction]

Went fishing down at Jones yesterday, and ended up 3 for 5 in about 2.5 hours time until I was pushed off my the thunderstorms. The three browns I caught were on orange spawn sacs and the two I lost were on a small blue/silver longcast rapala. The biggest was around 9lbs. Pretty good day all and all.
Hothead thanks for the tips.

[HotHead617]

No problem,Glad i could help.Good to see you went down and caught some fish.I'll be heading down there probably in the morning think i might hit estabrook on the way.

[Big_D]

Hit the harbor again on Saturday ~8AM till ~2PM. Was cloudy most of they day, w/medium winds out of the N/NE. We got about an hour of rain and heavier winds starting ~11 AM, then it calmed down a bit and was quit nice. Water temps ranging from 48F to 51F depending on location, and the water was still pretty muddy, from the mouth of the river, on southward.

I raided my tube-jig restocking fund to pick up a couple of dipsey divers and spoons, so I started out trolling. I was by myself so it took me a while to figure things out, but after an hour or so I was gettin' the hang of it, so I decided to keep trolling all day. Went 3 for 4 on browns and had another 6 or so hits that tripped the dipseys but didn't hook up. Pics attached. I didn't weigh anything but I would estimate the bigger one was about 7-8 lbs. I kept the two smaller ones.

I experimented a bit with depths and speeds... action started when I got my spoons down past 20' or so... and at slower speeds 2.2 to 2.5 mph on the GPS. Blue/Green/Silver spoon got most of the action but I did get one on a pink/yellow spoon w/black dots.

Thanks all for the tips & suggestions!

Take Care,

D.

[HotHead617]

Went out this morning only managed to land one and had one snap me off 3 other bites but didnt stick all within the first half hour i was there then nothing after.The early morning bite was better than the late morning today.

[cmontiho]

That is great news BigD, nice job on the fish. I was in the same boat; I researched it a bit, then took a bufddy of mine down there last summer for my first time fishing the harbor. When we finally hooked up it was awesome. We went nuts. Great job.

-Corey

[HotHead617]

Went out to jones this morningish we caught 6 lost a few almost lost a couple poles missed a few fish as well,a little windy but not bad.Water is a little dirty again but still very fishable seen lots of fish taken today.All mine were C+R.

[Honky Donkytits]

Finally got a dock at the National launch.Managed 15-20 brns.Ruff as a cobb today..Donk

[yatch]

Well the weather eased up for a couple of days so I was able to hit the harbor on Monday and tues morning. Light south east wind both days. On Monday we trolled the main with spoons and cranks and boated 7 browns to about 12# and one chin about 4#. Deepest bite was about 17' down. We then spent some time looking for those perch and took a limit home with the biggest at a little over 13".
Tuesday I only trolled about an hour and boated one 8-10# brown. We then worked the perch for a limit up to 14". Now back to winter. :D

[HotHead617]

Went down today for the first late afternoon-evening fishing trip and i must say i did pretty well.I caught 11 and lost 1 at the wall,and i have pics of all of them.I'm still looking for the first 1 to be 10 or more pounds but the smaller ones are fun to catch too.

[HotHead617]

Went down again this morning caught 2 lost 1 at the wall and missed a couple.There is a barge by the piers so they have the gates closed to the area by the piers.They said it will be there until midnight.

[brewcityfishr]

set up today at 3pm and went 12 for 16 by 6:30. all browns in the 3-5 pound range and 1 at 19.1 pounds!! that fish was cpr'd. standerd size spoons off the riggers and slidedivers were on fire. the boards with cranks also took 1 and missed 2. water temp at the ball was 40-44 deg. great day out!! good fishin'

[Big_D]

Out again on Saturday (4/14) ~7:30 AM till ~2:30 PM... Cool with occasional light winds out of the E/SE. Mostly cloudy in the morning with the sun coming out more around Noon. Surface temps ~40-41F in most places. Water was fairly murkey all over, but not that nasty chocolate brown.

Trolled a couple spoons in the harbor all day and went 5 for 8 on browns, the bigger fish were probably in the 5-6 lb range everything CPRed. Yellow/Pink w/Blk spots spoon was hot in the morning until the sun popped out. Then the preference shifted to my blue/green/silver spoon.

Several boats tied off to the breakwall all day working live bait (I assume)... they looked to be getting some good action by mid-day, but I'm not much for playing bumper-boats, so I kept on trolling. :)

Take Care,

D.

[Honky Donkytits]

Fished yesterday and went 11 for 15,8 jiggin 3trolling ...Donk

[HotHead617]

Went out again this morning,the barge that was supposed to be gone at midnight and was keeping the gates closed was still there so was forced to fish down by the concrete block again and only managed 1.

[HotHead617]

Went down again this morning and through the wind,rain,and cold,i managed to get 4 and seen one nice one caught.A couple were little bows what's with that?Little early for them aint it.I'll be back tomorrow hopefully i can get there parents.

[HotHead617]

Went out again today caught 6 lost 2.One was over 10 pounds i got it to the wall and the guy netting it for me was more worried about my sinker getting caught in the net than netting the fish so i lost it but it was a fun fight and i did appreciate the help.I did see several other fish caught.Was a nice day to be out.Hopefully i will be able to get in there in the morning,i have a funny feeling its going to be crowded.

[yatch]

Got out this morning in front of the filter and boated a 32" King and a smaller brown. One on a spoon bill and board, the brown on a spoon 12' down on a rigger. Went to the main and jigged a castmaster for perch, boated three browns one at 24" and a big lake trout at 32". all on 6# in 30ft. plus. Great morning. ( perch are gone with this east wind.):D

[ctheisen]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the Milwaukee area and I don't have a boat. I have a few questions and I would really appreciate any kind of answers. Is there anyway I can get in on this action in the harbor from shore? Also, what are the best baits to use? Are there other species of fish besides trout and salmon to pursue? I could keep going but I'll stop there for now. Thanks to everyone who replies and sorry again for the barrage of questions. Looking forward to contributing info and pics.

[HotHead617]

There are several areas you can fish from shore,Mckinley,Jones island,Summerfest,South Shore,If you need more specific directions let me know and i'll help you out.Those are places i do all my fishing i have no boat as well.Spawn sacs,Little cleo's green and silver,blue and silver, Kastmasters in same colors all catch trout along with shiners as well.They are catching some perch in the boats right now but i have not heard of any being caught from shore just yet.If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[HotHead617]

Went out again this morning and it was VERY slow only managed 3 on what should have been an ideal day.Was crowded this morning but the crowds did not last long as i seen 5 caught all day and 3 were mine.Did have a few misses and follow ups but thats it.With the warm weather dont see the shore fishing getting all that better but we'll see.

[ctheisen]

Directions would be great!!!! Might make it out this weekend. I noticed you are from Sussex. I just bought a house there myself. I was going to ask if you catch trout all through the summer, but from your last post, sounds like it slows down.

[HotHead617]

It could just be one of those days i cant say for sure.What part of sussex you in?I will keep going for them until i know for a fact there done.

[ctheisen]

Corner of Silver Spring and Lynwood. Also right across from Tombstone. Attaching Picture of a Brown I caught last weekend on the Menominee River Fishing for Walleyes. 22in 7lbs.

[HotHead617]

Your about a block from me im on silver spring as well Sterling manufacturing is in my back yard.Im the white house on Silver Spring getting the new roof.Where did you want to go there all pretty much in the same area so i can tell you directions.

[Honky Donkytits]

Trolled 45-60fow ended up with 3 Lakers and two browns.Raider chicken pox was on fire with 3 fish and 3 rips...Donk

[BigMusky]

Fished Harbor today and had constant action (except hour I wasted chasing perch). A lot of cookie cutter fish on stick baits and dipsey/spoon combos, but did lose one pig due to planer board retardation. I do believe I spotted Big D this morning cruising the harbor.

[brewcityfishr]

fished the harbor today from 6-11am. managed to go 13 for 18. all browns in the 3-8 pound range and 1 bonus king at 15 pouds. downriggers,slidedivers and boards all took fish. ran a mix of standard size spoons from 7 to 24 feet down. great day on the water!!

[Big_D]

Out on Saturday (4/21) ~7:00 till ~1:30. Weather seemed really nice in the AM, but once those icy SE winds picked up, it was kinda chilly. Surface temps ranging from 48F to 58F depending on where you were. Winds started picking up around 9:30 AM and by 10:30 there were whitecaps in the harbor.

Drug my spoons all over the harbor all day until futility set in. I was 1 for 3 by 8 AM and then not so much as false dipsy trip after that. I even added a couple more spoons in my arsenal this week. Changed spoons and depths and speeds several times throughout the day, but couldn't get anything to hit.

There were several charter boats out all day too and they seemed to be getting pretty consistant action all day... so it just must have been me that the fish didn't like. C'est la Vie, I guess. At least I put one in the boat. :)

BM, I was in the blue Mr. Pike w/Black Opti on Back. I waved back to a couple boats during the day... was wondering if one of them was you? :) Hope I didn't cut you off... lots of boats trolling in the harbor on Saturday.

Take Care,

D.

[HotHead617]

Went out this morning missed about 5 and caught 2 around 11 and both were within 5 mins of each other both were C+R.I think this run of browns is coming to and end for shore fisherman anyone have any opinions about that?

[HotHead617]

Went again this morning,Caught 3 browns within the first 30 mins i was there all of them were in the 16-17 inch range so i only took a pic of 1 of them all were C+R. Then caught nothing but gobies after that.Did not see anyone else catch anything.

[Big_D]

Hit the Milwaukee harbor again on Saturday (4/28) with a friend... ~6:30 AM till ~Noon. Cool temps with light wind out of the SW in the AM, picking up considerably by mid-day. Water temps around 50F - 52F. Water was fairly murky in the harbor, but not the nasty chocolote brown.

Started dragging a couple spoons on dipseys and went 1 for 5 by 8 AM, then nothing. All action was on a Monkey Puke glow spoon, they wouldn't touch anything else. My friend brought a couple planer boards, but neither of use really know how to use them... but by mid-morning we were running 2 planers with cranks outside the dipseys and we did get one hit on a perch colorerd jointed rapala. Lost that one too. :( No action what-so-ever past 9:30 AM.

All in all, it was a beautiful day to be on the water... will have to work on that hooking percentage though. I'll add a pic of the one we did boat tomorrow... was a 2-3 lber.

Take Care,

D.

[BigMusky]

I saw you out there again...we got four browns with most hits on long lines early. We fishing from 5-9am. Dipseys and planer boards were not producing. I did drag one planer board around for who knows how long without a lure. So either a BIG fish took it clean off, or a dink hung on there for a long time and sawed it off.....I tend to think there is a 60 inch musky swimming around with a DD huskyjerk in its mouth.

[Big_D]

I'd vote for the musky theory too, but it was probably a big ole pikasaurus rex.

Still undecided if I should stick it out in the harbor one more Saturday, or if I should head inland. Opening day has got to be THE worst day to get on your favorite inland lakes. But I've got a pocket full of tube jigs just achin' to get out on the OC. Decsions decisions. :(

[BigMusky]

do you feel like getting up at 2:30am to make it to the launch on time? that is the question. Pine, Okauchee and Oconowoc are always nuts opening day.

I know your feeling though, I really want to do some bass fishing, but I dont want to fight the crowds.

[Big_D]

Yep, thats exactly what I mean. I did have this theory though... that maybe if I showed up to the OC at say 10 AM... some of those people that got on at 2 AM would probably be getting off... might not have to wait too long to get a spot in the lot. Or maybe I'm crazy too. :)

I suppose we just hijacked this thread... should probably delete these posts.

[HotHead617]

Hey whats going on? You guys are supposed to be setting an example as moderators these are not fish reports!No im only kidding:D.What am i the only one on here that does'nt have a boat?Man i am wayyyy behind,but i am looking for one so if anyone see's a deal let me know.So anyone know if browns from SHORE is done yet?I have not gone down and don't want to if it is.

[Big_D]

I spent a fair amount of time trolling right in front of the river on Saturday, did see one brown caught from the breakwall over there, but that was it. Would have to imagine the shore fishing is drying up a bit. Quite a few people out in the early morning but most were gone by 10 Am or so... was actually able to make a couple trolls into the river right along the north wall... with noone to throw spoons at my head. :)

[HotHead617]

Thats pretty much sucks but what ya gonna do.Thank god for opening day Saturday.I'll be back at freiss looking for them crappie's!Thanks for the info.

[Honky Donkytits]

Hothead I,m selling my 1974 star craft fer 2grand .I,d gladly take you fishing in it,if need be..Donk

[HotHead617]

Went and fished for a couple hours this morning out by me the wind isnt so bad but it's pretty nasty down thereDid have a couple of quick bites but otherwise you could not keep a tight line.I picked the wrong day this week to go down.

[HotHead617]

Went out this morning at 5:30 with a friend and his girl and we limited out and back in around 7:30. We were in 160-185fow we went 15 for 20 all coho's.All caught on dodgers and fly's.

[MU Fish]

Just a quick update on fishing out of Milwaukee. Fished this past Friday/Saturday/Sunday with great action. On Friday/Saturday found some active Steelhead up to 12# and on Sunday caught a really nice King. Caught fish from 55' to 110' deep. Fish hit all baits but small orange dodgers with green flies were very hot-on Birds/Dipseys. Lost many fish on Saturday-many nice Steelhead but that is often how it goes. Set Dipseys at 25' to 35' on the line counter and had action all weekend long on both coho's and steelhead. 16# King came down deep 100' down over 105' of water on green glow spindoctor dodger and green horsefly. Biggest coho of the weekend was 7# 8#--very nice fish. Fishing is great right now get out and enjoy it.

[Reel Addiction]

Made it out yesterday afternoon for around 3 hours. And managed to go 5 for 5. 4 Coho's and 1 12lb King. The Coho's were very nice sized with all 4 in the 5-6lb range. Caught 3 Coho's off the boards 2 on a 2 color leadcore with an orange 00 dodger and white peanut fly, and the other on a 5 color with a Green Dolphin Silver Streak. The King and another Coho hit a Green Dolphin Silver streak on a rigger at 42ft. We spent most of the time in 120-140fow and all fish came from 42ft to the surface.

[irishqone]

Has anyone else been on the big pond lately? I've been but things seem to be getting slower for the past couple of weeks. Picked up a few Coho but very few hits. Marking a lot of fish from 75-110 fow, Green Can North and off of Cudahy.

[MU Fish]

Irishgone, I have had some good luck fishing in the same depth as you reported and a little deeper say 100' to 150' straight out of southshore. Fished last Saturday 3:30 PM to 7:00PM and boated 3 kings 5-7#, and 5 steehead up to 10#. The best depth was 120'-150' with bright sunshine. Riggers were set at 45' and 35' with the 35' rigger taking 3 hits- leads on riggers will vary daily but 10-40' is a good place to start. Fireline dipseys with white dodger and green crinkle fly's(Large size) dipsey set at 1.5--were on fire for the steelhead--out 150' to 180' on the line counter. I have also run a little leadcore but have not seen many fish on it this year. Try the large Jensen dodger's not the small ones. Fly color varies from day to day but green krinkle always does well and if fishing in low light conditions try flies with glow on them. I also put out a spoon or two on a daily basis and let the fish tell me what they want. Fish location will change daily if not hourly based on wind and water temp. With the east winds that we have had for the past 2 days I would start fishing around 100' and go deeper. If the wind goes to the west the fish will move in with cold water and you may even find them in less than 50' of water. Hope this helps-I would expect some great King fishing in the next month.

[irishqone]

July 4the weekend.

Things are good. I've limited out on 12"+ Perch most days. Some times it takes time, but I also have Perch fished for 13 minutes and 17 minutes on
back-to-back days. Salmon fishing is good too, they've been out deep (100 fow+), but West wind should bring them in closer.
Good Luck, and Good Fishin'

[BeerTownFyreman]

Did a wind-shortened trip yesterday AM with the wife. Left southshore at 0430 and the wind had us back by 0830.

1st line in was my goto 1/2 core with Raider magnum bloody nose. Fish on while I was holding the line to get the board on. I swear it was the same little punk I let go the day earlier!! Let him go again.

We went 6 for 6, kept 4 kings in the cooler, and also released a smaller laker. No jumbo's, 3 in the 6-7lb range, and 1 bigger around 10.

Best was a 2 color SWR with regular size glow rotten banana. Brought 3 in including the laker. Dodger/Fly brought in 1 on dipsey, and Purple/Black Diamond King on dipsey as well brought 1.

Similar pattern the last couple days, with 80-90 feet the best. Depths varied, but start each day in the middle of the column. I let my 1/2 cores test high water, and my SWR on a deeper rigger test deep, and let the fish tell me where they are. 2.7-3.0 MPH on GPS.

Surface temps had cooled thanks to the west winds, with below 60 temps just outside the gap.

Quite a chop out there in my 16'. By the time we got to 80', the 1-2's had grown into 2-3's. Pretty quiet on the radio as well.

Good luck

[Jason Woda]

2033Fishing the past couple days has been nothing short of amazing. The great fishing was punctuated by Saturday morning by going 30 for 48, with mostly big kings. Flashers and flies are the usual suspects in the crime. Green and white Coyotes are the color of choice followed an aqua Howie. Everything has been working....riggers, dipseys, and the 7 and 10 color lead core have all been producers. Flashers and flies will dominate my spread for the rest of the season. Water depth has not varied much in the last week. 60 to 90 fow has been best. Mornings and evenings bites are coming higher in the water column, but as the sun gets higher we have been sliding everything down. Fishing should be great from here on out so get out there and get in the game. Good luck and see you on the water.

Jason Woda
Reel Sensation Charters
414-384-8096
www.reelsensation.com

[Eric Haataja]

Maaan I need to get out there big time!!!!!!!!!!

Great reports!

Eric

[brewcityfishr]

fished off shore tonight from 11:30pm to around 1am. i woulda had a limit but my 4th fish spooled me clean. all nice kings at 4# 12# 12# and the one that spooled me was around 15#'s. well im off to get another spool of line! i'll be back out tomorrow night. if anyone want's more info just give me a mesage. good fishin'

[irishqone]

Brewcityfisher and others,
I went out last night too. I got on the water at 7 and went Perchin' at the O.C, Powerplant, caught 20-25, kept 4 over 13 inches. Just before sundown I went out to 50 fow and trolled with spoons. At one point just after dark all three rod had fish on, I was alone. Over the next 40 minutes I caught 9 and lost 4 others. I was also spooled. All salomon were between 4 and 17 pounds. It was a blast.
Good Luck and Good Fishin'

[cmontiho]

Is anyone getting salmon in the harbor. I see the west winds are here, so hopefully they are biting.

[irishqone]

Nothing of consequence inside so far. But fish are moving into shallower water. Last week 90-150+ fow, this week as shallow as 38 fow during the evening bite.

Good Luck and Good Fishin'

[BigMusky]

I tried off the break wall this morning...but for some reason my brain forgot that the sun actually rises about 45 minutes before the offical rise...so I got there too late (line in water at 5:00am). I think this summer shore fishing thing is a myth, I will wait for fall :cool:

[irishqone]

No such problem this morning on the big pond. Got out about 4:45. Coho in the boat by 5:00, 37 fow. Five more, all Kings over the next 45 minutes. I kept one, released three, and gave 2 to a guy at the launch to smoke. Five kings 5-12#'s, all on dipsys and spoons 50 fow, it got pretty rough from the NNE so I pulled things in and went Perchin'. Caught 40-50, kept 5 all but one about 12" on spinner and tails.
Good Luck and Good Fishin'

[Big_D]

Fished out of McKinnely this morning. Waves were a bit more than advertized, but still managable... 1'-3' in the am, then it calmed down a bit for a couple hours, and then it whipped back up again before noon. Medium winds out of the N/NE all morning.

Set lines ~5:30 am in ~50 fow straight out the north gap and headed NE. 2 dipseys in the morning and then I added a 3rd dipsey when it calmed down later. All action came on spoons, but I did spend a little time trolling dodger/fly and flasher/fly combos. Was 2 for 3 till ~8:00, then nothing for a couple hours, working back and forth from 50 fow out as deep as 85 fow. Decided to come in shallow and worked 35-40 fow in front of the radio towers and went 4 for 7 in my last hour, limiting out ~12:30 with a 15-lb screamer.

All kings, tossed back a shaker, brought home a 4, 6, 9, 10 & 15 lber. Just about every spoon I own at least got hit once today, but monkey-puke glow spoon was hot for a while, and so was my bloody-nose spoon.

Just wanted to shout out a big thank you to those of you who've sent me advice on tips/techniques and etc... I won't claim to know what I'm doing yet by any means, but sure had some fun today!

Take Care,

D.

[HotHead617]

Went out this evening to try for some salmon and i got nothing tried Kastmasters,glow in the darks,after it got dark of course and soaking alewifes had 1 fish pick up the Kastmaster on the first cast as it was dropping and by the time i closed the bail and reeled up some line to set the hook he was spiting it so we caught 8 small perch only 1 was a keeper 3 gobies and about 7 alewifes dont know if the wind change and the warm water changed the fishing but i didnt see anything else caught either.Looks like the boats were doing pretty well the fish cleaning station was crowded when i left.

[MU Fish]

Just a quick update on the big pond action. Non-stop action 7/14/07 last 45 minutes of light. Most bites on spoons--glow worked the best on SWR 2 color 20 feet down on the rigger. Some action out 75-90 on dipseys with same spoons. Some action on 2 and 5 color lead behind yellow birds. Funny thing- only took 1 fish on dodger/fly and all the others-11 came on spoons but at the cleaning station I talked to some guys who caught all their fish on dodger and flys-must be a speed thing.

Fished just a touch North of North Gap in 45-55 FOW. Surface temps. got as cold as 45 degree's (That made me put on a coat). Most of our action came in a pocket of 57 degree water.

Here are a few photo's from the past 2 weeks. My best fish this year- 19# 8 oz.

My advice---Go fishing today it will be great.

[brewcityfishr]

awesome night on the water!! fished from 11:30 to midnight , took around 20 casts and had my limit and missed 3. all kings between 7-18 pounds. the fishing is nuts right now!!! glow in the dark krocs did the damage again. get out there now!!

[BigMusky]

I was on the Breakwall last night at the same time and did not get a single bump....where are you fishing?

[irishqone]

Monday, July 16th, 4:30A.M.

I launched out of Bender because South Shore is still closed. As I rounded the break wall it looked like an Army was approching from the South. Appearantly Salmon-a-Rama or whatever it is called is alive and well. I counted over 200 boats at one point, all within view. I did really good just before sunrise for about 25 minutes, went 5 for 5, all catch and release. Then it slowed down until about 7 when I picked up two more. Here are some pics from the weekend and Monday. Fish seem to have scattered in closer, I never left 50-60 fow. Dipsys on 10 color and spoons worked well, got 3 on Dipsys on mono. The other night just after dark things really picked up for awhile too.
Good luck and Good Fishin'