Milwaukee River, Milwaukee

[Justinm]

Welcome to the official thread of the Milwaukee river (west bend)

[Brian Mirek]

Fished 6am - 10:30am. Landed 1 salmon appx 15 lbs (very silver, very fresh, saw 4 others, had another snap my line in some rocks), appx 20 smallies (mostly small w/ a few nice ones to mix in), a 19 in walleye, and a small snake northern. Felt nice to be in the river w/ the cooler temps. Really felt like fall and got the blood flowing. Saw one other fisherman drifting spawn, he landed a few. The salmon are very few and far between, but there are a few in there.

[Justinm]

Brian,

Thanks for the post!! Man I am really going crazy hoping to get out to the river soon. I have never fished there for Salmon but last year I did steal head fishing for the first time and I loved it!

Justin

[Eric Haataja]

You can be sure that this rain will push up the first main push of kings!!!! Thanks for the Report Brian!

[Brian Mirek]

Went out the past few nights to check flows and see if I could see salmon. Tuesday night, water was extremely high and fast from the rains. It's interesting to watch the river when it's so swollen. Also sad to see so much debris floating around. Last night, water was back down to fishable levels, and had rod with me so took a few casts. I did land one king and a 20 inch walleye on spinners. Also had a bite off. The king I caught didn't have much fight in it, which is rare this early in the run. Good looking fish though. I'm not sure how many fish have made their way up the river yet, but there are some in there. My dad's in town tonight, so going to get out for a few hours chasing these bad boys.

[Eric Haataja]

Filmed a show with John Gellispe and we caught steelhead, walleye,browntrout, salmon and lots of lake trout in the river. The home made spinners were the best baits, crazy with the amount of lake trout in the river this fall , and remeber the season closes for them Oct 31st. That's this weekend. The show airs this weekend.

[BigMusky]

hit river yesterday and caught one brown on a spinner and two salmon. One salmon was tail hooked and nasty, but other one was suprisingly clean (still dark) and looked as it he ate the spinner, got off before I could get really good look.

[Eric Haataja]

Fished this morning and the bte was so so, caught some lake Trout, Salmon, and a Steelhead. Made a move in the afternoon and found a nice little pod of steelhead which was fun, the steelies mainly hit spawn under a float.

Eric Haataja

[Theory]

is anyone fishing for walleyes or know where to start?

[Eric Haataja]

Made it once this past week and the fishing was awesome for steelies fished way north of Kletzch where I've never seen another fisherman and found a nice hole full of steelies. I went 9-14 in about 3 hours of fishing, kept a few for the smoker. It did not matter at one point what I was using, spawn, tubes or spinners all worked, I had to pick up my son from school or I would have fished longer!

A few places to try are about 5 miles north ofKletzch and up in Lim kiln Park there are holes in between there but you have to walk a ways.......... There are fish up there and I've never run into a fisherman up there in late fall. Try spinners for covering water, if your not sure where to start or what to use.

Theory as for Walleye's anywhere below eastabrook is a good starting place and work down river.


Eric Haataja

www.wibigfish.com

[BigMusky]

Fishing has been pretty good at Ester before work for the last week...gotten some nice steelies on spawn

[sinkorswim]

Steelhead in the river at various locales. Water temps still not quite frigid, so the fish may be in slow to moderately fast water. Here's an especially large buck with awesome markings...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/noxxer/Fishing/st112006.jpg

[HotHead617]

Walked around estabrook today for a couple hours caught and seen nothing the ice thawed alot you can wade around a ways for now.

[BigMusky]

Fish Esterbrook this morning and did not catch anything either....almost entire river is fishable from Park n Ride side of river...still lots of ice on park side though. Might try root tomorrow.

[HotHead617]

Fished esta for a few hours today water is way to high from the dam to the tv station didnt catch nothing or see nothing... drifted spawn and used spinners spoons ect...but i did find out the hard way on just how deep it is, the sand bottom is very misleading,was up to my ears.Talk about ruining a perfectly good day.

[Eric Haataja]

This is a big male I took out of the Milwaukee river along with a few other nice fish recently. I was not sure if I posted these pics or not. Was a blast catching him and I let him go along with the others!

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Fished for a couple hours today caught 1 small rainbow thats it.

[HotHead617]

Went out for a couple today caught 1 missed 2.

[BigMusky]

FYI Hothead......I am not sure if this matters to you at all, but if you are trying to keep a spot/hole secret, be more conscious of your background when taking a pic. Probably more of an issue if you post on large forums like LL. Nice fish.

[HotHead617]

Thanks for the heads up, but im not really trying to keep any spots a secret.Its going to get cold at some point and most people wont attempt to fish anyway, which leaves more room for us who dont mind the cold.That spot was told to me by someone and if i can help the next person thats great.If it wasnt for other fisherman helping me out i would not know where any good spots are either.I do appreciate the info though ,Thanks.

[BigMusky]

Quick Question - is Lincoln Park on the Milwaukee worth steelhead fishing, never been there.

[Eric Haataja]

I think your refering to Racine on the root Licoln park?? That's a good area..

Fished the river 2 of the last 3 days and did well with clients drifting spawn mostly. I'll post some pics soon!

Eric Haataja

[BigMusky]

looking at some maps they refer to the area between Kletsch and Estabrook park as lincoln. It is the region where the river splits into three branches. It also says it Meaux Park and it is the region where the lincoln creek goes into the Milwaukee.

[HotHead617]

I have fished in that area musky, all i ever catch or have caught there is smallies,suckers,cats.

[HotHead617]

Went out for a few hours today,(NOTHING). but was it windy down there.wasnt prepared for that also noone else was there either.

[Eric Haataja]

Did a lot of trips this past 10 days either on the river or in the harboe for browns and steelies. the steelhead fishing has been pretty consistent with some really good days and some so so days like yesterday where we went 5 for 7 in about 5 hours of fishing on the Milwaukee. Spawn has been working well along with tube or hair jigs, also did well casting spinners a few trips as well. There is a lot of ice starting to form in spots where the river is no longer even fishable. Look for the faster deeper holes that remain open and you'll catch fish while the river is still open.

Eric Haataja

[HotHead617]

Went to check out if it was fishable today and after it getting as cold as it did last night what was open is now locked up again.Watched in front of the dam to see if there was anything swimming and i didnt see anything.The warm up this weekend should help with that ice.

[HotHead617]

Went to fish in esta today water is way to high and un-fishable at least from the dam to the old train bridge.I did not check any where else.

[Eric Haataja]

Was out today and there are fish at both Kletzch and at Eastabrook. Decent bit there but pretty high everywhere else on the river, lots of fish also made it up above kletzch this year. It may be a few days depending on the amount of rain we got????

Eric

[HotHead617]

Stopped by estabrook this morning,water is still muddy and still high.Did not catch anything nor see anything.

[Jon Matz]

Speaking of Estabrook Park, are there any bait shops people would recommend in the area? Contact info appreciated! Thanks.

[HotHead617]

The closest bait store i know of from there is the Sportsmans Den on 53rd and Villard.There is another way down on center st called AC's.If your going for spawn i would make the extra trip to Bob's on Hwy 100 and greenfeild because you dont get the best sacs you could get from sportmans but you will find everything you need there.

[luv2fish]

Fishin Hole on layton has some nice spawn also..... works for me.

[HotHead617]

Went down to check the water levels today and both seem to be coming down but both are still high and dirty.Both still have big numbers of suckers at the dams.Going down in the morning hopefully i can pull a steelie.

[HotHead617]

Went down this morning i threw spawn,spinners,and fly's and caught nothing.I did not see the huge number of suckers at the dam any longer,there were a few but not as many as in the past few weeks.Still no steelies:mad: Look again i fished some where other than Jones.;)

[BigMusky]

fished Milwaukee near Cedarburg today...got one 3lb catfish on the fly for my efforts. No bass?

[HotHead617]

Went down checked it out today just to see if i could see anything and the water was really low.Must not have gotten to much rain in milwaukee yesterday.Thought for sure i would have seen a push of fish in.Went and checked the dam as well and water there was dirty so i could not tell if there was anything sitting there.Pray for some rain!!!!

[HotHead617]

Went and checked out the river today water still very low and did not see any fish.Still waiting for that big rain to push some fish in.

[HotHead617]

Went down for a few hours today at Estabrook and seen 3 fish caught all by same guy and did not catch anything myself seen a better number of fish in there but there not very agressive on the feeding part just yet.Think we need a couple cooler days to help with that.I tried drifting skein and tried fly's for a couple minutes but where i was fishing was not ideal for that.Cross your fingers for cold weather and some rain.

[BigMusky]

time change means it is time to start steelheading.....typhoon wind conditions made it very difficult to fish. It was gusting probably 25-30mph right down the river. Mending line was a pain because wind just blew line right back into a bow. Decided to get to work on time and not fight weather today.

[JohnnyMac]

I had the opportunity to fish the Milwaukee River this past week. The water levels are low and the water clear. I saw a very few fish moving up. I did see a few coho and browns on redds. I went 1/2 for the three hours scouting the river. This "football" put up a nice fight. It would be nice to see some rain and water levels rise before things decide to freeze up.

[Eric Haataja]

Well it looks like the river is all but locked up for the year! Our rain and snow came too late We could have used this snow a month ago along with rain but the river was really low and clear this fall! Made it out his past week and caught some browns and steelies in just a couple of spots float fishing. This one on the lowest (lack of rain) years I've seen in a while. Looks like it's time to bust out the ice fishing gear!

Eric Haataja

[romepond]

fished 11:00-2:00 had 12 browns on, took home five. all fish 3-5 pounds.

[romepond]

fished 10:00-12:00 lost one slow day.

[HotHead617]

Fished the river today from 7am-2pm tried cranks,spawn sacs,shiners,spoons,plastics and only managed 2 small browns had a few follow ups and a few bumps otherwise.Seen about 5-6 other fish caught all browns.Try again maybe monday.

[Eric Haataja]

Checked out te river a few days ago and there is some open water to fish but the river was a bit dirty...there was also still plenty of ice in other spots on the river where you could not fish as well. It should be in good shap this weekend.

Eric

[HotHead617]

Went out today for..... well lets just say alot of hours..... managed 2 bows and 1 brown missed a couple seen a few other fish caught and missed as well.All fish came casting fire tiger feeding frenzy's and on shiners nothing on spawn at all.Might try again on tuesday.

[HotHead617]

Went out this morning to catch some browns and bows and did i catch any?!?!?Nope but i did catch this big ol carp on a shiner.Tried sacs,shiners,cranks,cleo's and anything else i could think of and thats what i got.I think the run-off that is dumping into the river is killing the water clarity.Did see about 10 or so fish caught though.Think its time to try jones again!

[trophy taker]

Well im new here so hi everyone,my name is Ralph.
Went down to the south side yesterday before the evening and got a nice limit of walleyes,the sizes weren't very impressive but the time frame i got them in i think was. 10 minutes later i was done. There were a few ppl down there but only 2 people i seen with any fish at all. My biggest was only 23,and the rest between 15 and 17. Just using a 3 way rig with size 8 hook and 1 oz. bell weight, using leeches and fatheads.

[trophy taker]

Been down to the river for the past couple days , kinda slow for me,but there was a few guys across the way catching few steelies. Yesterday i noticed on my way out from the spot that there were 3 steelies laying in the snow,left behind. Upset me because it's not the first time i seen people waste fish. I understand if people wanna just go for fun you know,catch and release. But to waste such a beautiful fish, and any fish at that matter. I just feel certain people that come from other places and people that live near here also need to respect our fisheries. So many people have contributed soo much time and effort and also money to make the fishing the way it is today. Now me being the younger angler I look forward to taking my kids fishing here in the future. And i feel it's up to us to help try making it stay the way it is.

thank you for all your time if you read this

[watrfwlnut]

Well said Trophy there is no excuse for it...

[trophy taker]

well water is starting to get pretty clear,can see about 2 feet down. Went out this morning at 10 o'clock and got 3 nice size walleyes. 2 males and one really nice female,real fat. Overall it was decent day:)

[Eric Haataja]

Fished the river for steelies today with some clients and we ended up with 4 or 5 steelies and missed another 5 fish or so. Nothing fantastic but considering the river was still pretty high I'm not complaining. All our fish were caught on floats with spawn.

Eric Haataja

[trophy taker]

Excellent day! 2 northerns over 40", 1 brown, 1 steely, and a nice limit of walleyes. And almost 30 suckers snagged,there fun too though.:)

[trophy taker]

Heading out towards jefferson,hopefully i do alright,otherwise im heading towards my home waters at day light. From what i heard from sources,jefferson is poppin' right by the falls ! My brother caught a nice female,27 inches,no weight on it,but still a nice fish. Was caught and released,with pic of course.

[trophy taker]

Not a bad morning, Only one nice walleye, couple small northerns, and a brown

[chihook]

fished estabrook park yesterday with no luck. walked up past the dam and back down through the park. the river was high and fast. in some places the water was very quick yet we did manage to find a calm spot. we floated spawn with no luck. did see fish jumping in slower areas but could have been carp.

[sruege]

fished estabrook today also with no luck. floated spawn and casted rattle trap did manage to find a nice smallmouth in the slower pools along with a small northern water is way to fast and dark maybe a couple days but we have some rain on the way pray for open lakes soon.. cheers shane

[trophy taker]

Went down by my home waters and did well,alot of other people were also catching alot of fish. There was these 2 younger kids down the way from us and were catching a nice amount of walleyes,but when i walk past on my way to a different spot, i say "i see your killing the walleyes". The one kid looks at me and doesn't say anything and the other says,we haven't caught anything but suckers. So i laugh to myself and say wow i didn't know suckers had a white tail and teeth as i look down at there stringer. Then they tried to hide eveything they caught after that.

[Army-Retired]

Would like to do some walleye and perch fishing tomorrow in the river. Could anyone give me some idea spot's in the river. fishing from a boat. Message me if you prefer....thanks

P.S. Moved around the area (summerfest, mckinley) today looking for perch from shore..no luck this time!

[irishqone]

Army
This time of year I would try to Perch fish the gaps (Main and South). Someone was in the South Gap (of the Break Wall) this A.M. for a long time. Don't know if they got any.
Swedish Pimples have worked well in the past for me.

Good luck and Good fishin'

Jim (Prior Navy Sea Bee EO)

[trophy taker]

It's been real slow for the walleyes in the river,by me. Im pretty sure there right dead smack in the spawn. So hopefully a couple weeks they'll pick back up. Alot of little walleyes are biting(fingerlings), few crappies and smallies. Nothing really worth getting all excited about. And i see there's 2 trophy takers in the site now,,,,,there can only be 1!(jp) Good luck everyone.

[BigMusky]

If you insist on there being only one....it would be you getting the new name because he joined first :D

[trophy taker]

not trying to step on anyones toes,just kidding,im only here to spread the good fishing word nothing else.

[sruege]

hey guys waded milwaukee river at or around silverspring dr. headed south water levels are great. caught 5 nice smallies and a nice northern used a #1 mepps silver and silver rattle trap. look for deeper pools and rock piles off shore fished only for an hour 1/2 .......cheers shane

[trophy taker]

well this morning was the first time me getting out a couple hours before sunrise, 3 nice walleyes! 1 was 26" female,all spawned out. The rest were little males around 16-17". Few smallies,good size too,both were around 3-4 lbs. Using nothing but xraps,perch pattern,and baby blue and white,the 5 inchers.

[trophy taker]

I don't know if any of you on here go minnow dipping often ,but i ran into a minnow that i never seen before. It might be just a simple answer for most probably,but i have no clue,the best way to describe it is a red and silver body,the head mostly red though. Is this a kind of river shiner or smelt,im clueless,never caught smelt so no clue what those look like either,lol. I seen alot at kletzch and caught alot,but didn't keep them cause im unaware what species they are. Any info would be excellent guys!

[Eric Haataja]

I've seen them but not sure of what they are, be careful about removing any minnows from the rivers now, there are new laws in place that require testing etc... same goes with transporting minnows or warmouths over the state border, it's now illegal. The laws are always changing and I'm not 100 percent sure on what has or has not changed but I would ask a warden.

Eric

[trophy taker]

Oh yeah,i know. From what i was told(not from dnr) you can dip minnows,but they must be used on the same river. I never been questioned honestly though,and i've been checked dipping quite a few times,all they ask is for license and what we got for minnows. Never any problems.

[Eric Haataja]

Yep that makes sense! I thought those were a red horse chub or some other chub/ I know what your talking about.

Good fishing!

Eric

[BigMusky]

did a little smallmouth fishing with the flyrod today...got one and missed another in 2 1/2 hours of fishing. Both fish hit black weighted bass diver patterns with extra split shot to drift bottom of hole.

[trophy taker]

The eyes are definately in there still,but gotta find the holes. Fished this one hole thats 13 ft. I found it one day trolling the riv between north ave and locust street. Got 3 nice eyes bout 25 or so,and quite a conciderable amount of 13-17 in. Good day!

[Eric Haataja]

Fished both the river and the harbor this past week and we landed about 15 bass largies and smallies, a nice crappie, walleyes, and rock bass. Fun day, totally unpressured fishery which was a blast. Gulp worked best for us in and around weeds and rock. Gus are geeting nice eyes out at the end of the light house with leeches on the bottom, under the hoan bridge.

[trophy taker]

Well just got home right now,it's 6:20 been out since 3 o'clock. There definately hitting alot more between those times. Landed at least 15 walleyes, all within 17-25. First cast of the early morning i had a really nice eye,not exactly sure on the size didn't get it in all the way but it looked and felt like a really nice one. Using the trend everyone else is, gulp 5" and my other secret weapon,lol. To be honest I got more on the gulp minnow.

p.s. hey Eric are the drop shottin leeches or 3 way rigs? I went there by the light house after you told me bout it, but i was tossing a harness and a slow drag back. Didn't get anything.

[BigMusky]

dad was in town and took him down to the river for hour and half this morning casting mepps....we caught two fresh salmon, both good size.

[BigMusky]

went back to river this afternoon and caught a big pike and another salmon. That salmon was very fresh and put up a huge fight, I thought it might have been a steelhead at first because he made lots of long runs and kept rolling on line.

[joey13]

Fished the river on Monday morning and did fairly well casting Haataja"s home made spinners. In two hours, i went 4 for 6. Landed four and was busted off twice due to Kings full of piss and vineger taking me all over the place and wrapping me up in some rocks. The water is colder in the river and these fish really put up a nice fight on spinning tackle. Fish the deeper holes and you'll be surprised what you can come up with. One of the fish I landed was a 39 inch hen which was in the solid 20 lb class. The rest were your average salmon.

[trophy taker]

the big walleyes are moving back up the river,caught 4 back to back,2 were 23", 1 was 26" 1 nice eater around 16 or so,didn't measure that one,and a lil jack. All cpr'd, good morning for only being out for a half hour

[fishinislife]

Fishing is getting a little better here. Seems like the cold weather made the fish a little more active. Went 2-4. A 27inch 5 3/4 lb walleye, my biggest ever and first ever on the fly rod. Was pretty exciting but the thing hardly fought, it only had one good run. Wasn't what I was trying to catch but definetly acceptable and well worth it! And also, a nice 25inch 5lb steelhead. Lost another steelhead and a king. The two fish were cpr'ed.

[trophy taker]

Quite chilly this morning with the wind blowing,but not to bad. Fished the stretch down by the old damn and got only a few, 1 walleye and a coho,,now,,i think it was(all on swimming minnow/w-1/8 oz jig). Im not to knowledgable with the coho and chin's,had a black mouth,and the side was really red. I know it wasn't a steelie. Is it still to early for floating spawn sacks?

[fishinislife]

Nope perfect time to use spawn sacks. A lot of the kings are spawning now. I've been getting a lot more fish on glo bugs than any other flies now. On saturday morning landed a nice 31inch brown hen 14 +Lbs (Scale only went to 14lbs) on a glo bug. So eggs are working and I bet the real stuff would even work better. Good luck and keep the posts coming!

[blitzfish]

N E steel or browns pushed up from this rain? N E info would be great because it is a bit of a drive for me. This time of the year it normally does, but it is sometimes easier just to ask. THANKS A TON!!! either way I might head here or to the menomonee sometime this weekend.

[live_2_fish]

blitzfish,the answer is yes.Today was one of my best day for the steel yet.I actually lost count between my boy and my self.Spawn and small cranks did alot of the damage today....

[.Pan Handler]

The flow bumped to maybe 250 with that rain. Not really enough of a trigger to draw more fish in. I fished the Mil today too and thought it was tough. Fished Estabrook and up, and only managed to hook 3 steelhead in a hard 6 hours of fishing. A lot of walking. River was a tad cloudier today than Thursday, so that rain did have some effect I guess.

[blitzfish]

sounds good, will be heading down for a while tomorrow sometime around 10 something for awhile.

[fishinislife]

Pan, you're doing a hell lot better than I am. 6+ hours for one fish a day for me! But if its a trout I'm happy!

[.Pan Handler]

Yeah, but I expected to do better than that. The leaves certainly weren't helping my cause though. I must have caught 300 of those throughout the day. All kinds, shapes, and sizes. But you're right. Anytime I catch a steelhead in the rivers I'm happy.

[fishinislife]

LoL, that's the same problem I encountered ALL the time. Leaves and leaves. Especially when swinging the fly at the end of the current and a big o leaf hits. Feels like a good strike too. Oh well. Hope this cold weather brings more steelheads and less people :D I posted a few pics on steelheadsite.com (sidt87) but heres a few anyways.

[brookiereleaser]

wow laker on the fly, thats pretty cool, im jealous

[blitzfish]

The next few days will be the ones to get out there and find fish. This rain and melt is pushing A LOT of water downstream and fresh steel will be up there. Its time to get your fish on. I'm heading out tomorrow. I will post tomorrow night.

For up to date stream flows, use http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/?m=real&r=wi&w=map . many of the sites have ice problems so they can't tell what the discharge is, but take a look at the water levels, it will give you a rough estimate at the flow. This seems to be the biggest push of water we have had since september.

[BigMusky]

yikes - I do not steelhead fish when it is 4 degrees out :) Not unless I am in a shanty with heater. If the rivers have not frozen, I will maybe try tomorrow. Let me know if you find open fishable water anywhere. PM if you like.

[blitzfish]

I decided to push my trip off a day with these cold blasts I can hear hitting my house right now. Will let everyone know how it works out tomorrow. Should still be good I I don't slip and fall on my butt every other step from this WATER that is now freezing. Blitz

[blitzfish]

Tried my luck here today, I went 2/2. One post spawn buck brown and one real dark steelie. Estabrook was where I went and only fished for about 2 hours. Both of these were caught on spinners.

[trophy taker]

Does anyone else ice fish the river just north of north ave.? I've went last year and actually caught a few northerns and one steelie. But the question is,does anyone know EXACTLY what the condition of the ice is. Im literally right off of north ave. fishing,,you could see me if i was out there off the bridge. Last year when i went there were snowmobile tracks on the river,and the ice was like 7-8 inches. Just wanted to know if im crazy for going on it too,or just someone that might of stumbled on something good?
any info greatly appreciated.

[trophy taker]

Well went down to the riv. for bout and hour and a half,notta hit. But the ice is like 7-8 inches. One thing that had me sketched out was there was solid ice from shore to about 10 feet out and then it got reall slushy,like 4 inches of slush,but still solid ice,is that normal?

[Eric Haataja]

I've fished up there with mixed results but be careful things can be hairy on the river with the snow and slush, I always go with a buddy when I fish the rivers unless there's tons of ice. Best of Luck!

Below the old dam can also be very good but again it's very dangerous and for me those days are over.

Eric

[Fishing Dude]

Eric,

I was wondering how the fishing is below the falls in Kletch this time of year. I work off of 76th and Good Hope and need to find an outlet of stress reliefe at lunch. Drove past there today and water was open and flowing from the falls to the bridge that passes over the river.

Is it worth it to try and fish here say March and April.

Thanks in advance. Any chance you are doing anything at the Sports show this year ?

[sruege]

Hello I live down the road from kletch. Kletch can be a good spot for steelies in March. Not a lot of fish but you can get a few at the dam.Pink yarn flies at the far west side is good. Also you can find some deeper pockets down stream and under the bender road bridge! If you google earth the river you will see a bend in the river just south of bender fish that bend sometimes they stack up in march. Spawn under a float works for me! I drove by yesterday and the water is kickin because of rain i would give it a week. Good luck names shane I'll see you fishing I'm sure.

[Eric Haataja]

Fishing can be great in that area but it's all timing, need rain and then for the river. Float fishing spinner fishing and fly fishing can be good there!! They typically spawn up there the 1st week of April.

[Shoover]

Can you wade that area of the river for fly fishing?

Thanks

[Eric Haataja]

Yes the entire river you can wade.

Eric

[Eric Haataja]

There should be a pile of fish at the dams at both Eastabrook and Kletzch now and the bite should be on!!!!!!!!!!!

[flunker24]

Is the dam closed? I was at Estabrook on Monday and it was open im pretty sure? It was crazy fast by the falls... Didn't go up that way, headed the other way to some places that I know of.... I'll check it out tomorrow probably...and post....

[flunker24]

The dam is in fact open at Estabrook....!

[sruege]

was at estabrook this afternoon and flow is great dam is great lots of suckers! and lost one nice steel in 2 hours of fishing. Used spawn at dam for steel!

also live down from kletch .lots of fly fishing going on no fish reported yet but go south of the dam to the bend and they should be stacked. If you hit silver spring too far. good luck

need to save a trip on these dams or areas let me know i live near and get you conditions!

[samthemaster]

heres a steelie i got!

[Eric Haataja]

Nice fish Sam thanks a bunch for the report with the picture Awesome!:)

[samthemaster]

i went 1/2 today within 2 hours.

[sruege]

fished from kletch all the way down to silver spring bridge today went 4/4 all on floating spawn. Lots of fish jumping the dam but unless you have waiters or the fly rod with you don't bother some of the guys will give you crap for getting in the way even after sharing spawn i didn't know kletch was a fly rod only private dam!:rolleyes: but went down stream and caught more than they did so it turned out to be a good day! :D

[samthemaster]

they're hittin on em scuds

[Gerry]

With all this East wind the lake is not very fishable in a kayak, so I was going to try the Milwaukee river Fri / Sat.

I have never tried that before -- would love a little advice.

1) what stretch do people recommend? Launch at Kletzsch park, drift to Estabrook, paddle back upstream?

2) I have a 2 hr drive - do I really have to be fishing at daybreak or is the later in the day fishing OK?

3) I assume I want to drift spawn under a bobber or cast gulp jigs.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

Gerry

[eyecatcher84]

Hit up some spots on the milwaukee river with a friend yesterday, since we both had a rain day. Turned out to be more fun than i expected. We both caught two walleyes, a northern, i caught a brown trout (my first ever) and he nailed a really cool looking steelie. Used jig and gulp almost exclusively. Blue jigheads rock! Here are pics of my two walleyes and the brown. All fish CPR. I definately gotta try this again soon! GOOD LUCK and TIGHT LINES!

[Fishing Dude]

How is the summer fishing at Estabrook and Kletch Parks ? What is the best target fish at these spots in the summer ?

[BP1357]

Have hit my favorite spots 3x in last 3 weeks during early hours. Water ranged from high and muddy to last Saturdays fishable flow but was still pretty murky. Threw cranks w/no luck...Algea bloom seems late but starting..and water seemed very warm...

Dude - normally smallies are the target this time of year for me.

[avid1010]

Thought some of you might find this interesting. I wonder how it will effect the fishing for all fish. http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/49613272.html

[kayak architect]

I have been fishing the Milwaukee River around Silver Spring the past few weeks. It has been slow for this time of year. A few smallies and northern. I ran into a guy shore fishing and watched him land a 34" northern. He suggested spinner (green, yellow or blue & white). I hadn't had much luck on spinners earlier, but figured i'd try again given his luck. i caught a couple smallies with the blue & white. Then landed this 12# steelhead. Anyone see a problem with eating it? Not sure why it was still in the river at this time of year.

[BigMusky]

there is a strain of summer run steelhead...can not remember the exact strain name though. It should be fine to eat if it was still silver because it probably just came in from lake.

[blitzfish]

Skamania is the strain

[Doors]

Nice skamania!
It's quite rare but not unheard of for the summer.

[BigMusky]

hit the river and had a blast. Had the whole stretch to myself until the very end of day. Hit river with waders, 6'6" ML spinning rod with a bunch of river tackle and gulp in my vest. Ended up with a dozen smallmouths and catfish and one pike. Drifting gulp did some serious damage on the catfish and caught some smallies as well. Eventually ran out, so switched to the rebel wee-r and started catching smallies. Then caught a sucker. So I cut him up and went back after cats (they were all about 4-5 lbs and horses on the rod i was using). Caught one cat and biggest smallie. Who knew they liked square chunks of belly fat...new pattern to try at sturgeon bay. Did lose a big fish on line spinner. It was stuck on rock and got pounded when I shook it loose. Sucker meat did no further damage so I took off as a group of fly fishermen moved in.

could get nothing going on top water to my dismay.

[kayak architect]

had a couple hours free on wednesday, so i ran down the river just north of downtown. was only out for three hours and caught 4 smallies, a walleye (14-15") and a big cat. The cat was a crazy fight and a ton of fun. trashed the neck on my crappy collapsable net. time for a new normal one. only had my phone, so the pics stink.

[Eric Haataja]

Cool thanks for the report!!

[Eric Haataja]

There's some fish up in the river, mainly kings this rain should push up a big pile of fish! With the dam open for fish to pass through it will make for an interesting fall up at kletzch, fishing should be great but if we get a lot of rain there will be more fish way up river this year, more than ever before because the Hampton Dam is staying open. In a typical year they open the gates at the dam in Mid Ocotober so that when the fish would swim up, but by that point many of the kings are exusted and very few make it too far.

[HxCforever]

i'm new to the salmon fishing scene. what is your guys setup for the milwaukee river?

[Eric Haataja]

Drifting spawn and skein, casting cranks, stick baits and spinners and spoons all work.

[HxCforever]

thanks eric. a buddy and me went down to the river yesterday with salmon eggs & spinners. only there for an hour. we didnt catch anything but saw a bunch. also saw a guy walk away with 3 nice salmon & a big trout.

[Eric Haataja]

Lots of fish up in the river now and cranks and spinners would be my suggestion. Fish are past Eastabrook and up by Kletzch

[samthemaster]

had some luck in the past few days with spinner. but had most of the luck on fly rod. they're in there.

[.Pan Handler]

Hooked a bunch of fish in lower Estabrook region today on spinners and cranks. Water running pretty stained, but the fish are most definitely in. Saw them porpoising and jumping everywhere! Everyone was hooking fish today, great fishing!!!!! :)

[RedBullFisherman]

Hey guys, I was out at estabrook today. Tried spinners, spoons, spawn, nothing hooked up, but fish were jumpin all over the place below the falls. Some guys got two on marshmallows.

Alrite, I am never going back to estabrook. This was my third time there, and 2/3 times, something messed up happened. The first time I was there, while on my way back to the parking lot, a guy was walking down the path as I was walking up, i moved to the side and thought i had plenty of room to get by, but for some reason, i still bumped into him. I stopped and said, "Oh Im sorry" and he just stared at me with some wierd looks, and again I said "sorry." He just kept staring at me, so I just turned around and kept walking. Well within a few steps, I noticed he turned around and started following me instead of continuing down the path. As he got closer to me I sped up my pace, luckily, we were close to the parking lot and there were people around, otherwise I would've ran as he got too close for comfort. I was parked in the parking lot, but I decided to pretend to walk across the parking lot to see what he would do. Sure enough, he crossed the parking lot behind me, I then turned and walked across the other way, and to my car. As I pulled out, I noticed him walking across the lot again to where my car was, and look at my car. I just left thinking, WTF?

So today, I fished from 3-6. On my way to the parking lot, I was probably within 300 yards or so of the lot, and the path split, into one that went along the shore, and one that was slightly thru the forest. I took the one thru the forest because it was more direct and there were branches on the other trail. I walked a bit, and up ahead of me, I see a man, with his pants down. Naturally i thought he was peeing. A second later, I notice his back is against the tree, and there is another man leaning down in front of this man, and, there are two more men around these two. Here I'm thinking, W.T.F???!!!!! You put the pieces together. I immediately stopped, turned, and headed back. As I did so I noticed, as they noticed me, the guy pull up his pants, and all four of them disappear into the forest. I walked back the way I came on the trail, but I had to get to the parking lot somehow, so i took the trail by the shoreline. With my pole in one hand and my net in the other, I was ready to smack the shit out of anyone I needed to. I was very cautious as i continued on the trail to the parking lot. I got into my car and drove away, never saw those guys again.

I am not against whatever lifestyle people want to live and I am not trying to discourage anyone from fishing there to keep the fish for myself or anything, but seriously, that's f'ed up. I love fishing and I want to help everyone become better fishermen while still learning myself, but geeze. What. The. $%#&???!! (sorry for the language Eric)


Oh, and upon my suspicion I did a search on estabrook parkway on craigslist and heres what I found:

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cas/1373268134.html

Has anyone ever encountered this there? Does this surprise anyone?

[.Pan Handler]

Yeah had a similar situation to your first one a couple years ago in the summer at Estabrook there. Was wade fishing for smallies on a hot August day (seriously 95 degrees, high humidity), and it was probably 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I was walking through the woods to the next area (not by any main path mind you, complete woods), and came upon a man dressed in full business garb (jacket, pants, the whole suit). It was stifling outside, the guy must have been dying. Middle of the day on a weekday. Strange. Anyways, like any normal person would do with it being so hot, I had my shirt off and a pair of shorts on (yes, I now know it is not a good idea to wet wade in that part of the river). Well, this random guy spotted me, and made a beeline right for me. I thought he looked suspicious, so I veered off towards the river, cutting through some nasty branches. I looked back behind me, and there was the guy following me, probably 50 yards behind. I quickened my pace, yelled for him to back off, and made it in to the river and started to cross to the other side. He finally stopped at the edge of the river, stared at me for at least 10 seconds, and turned around. Never said a word. Very weird. That's my freakshow Estabrook story. A place to avoid for sure most of the time Sorry to hear about your bad experiences Redbull. There has been a lot of stories of weirdos in that park.

[avid1010]

Oh, Milwaukee:D Anyone spot Larry Craig.

On a serious note...I don't fish that area by myself. What people do when they need a fix is scary.

[TJPike]

After reading these two spooky and wierd reports i would suggest anyone going there to fish exercise your right in the state of Wisconsin to openly carry (on outside of clothing) a handgun.The law is clear,it can be checked out on the Attorney Generals J.B.VanHollen's website.I carry one of mine in public sometimes,depends what i am doing without any problem..Remember its your right use it but dont abuse it.Member WGO...Ok better yet find a different place to fish..But it doesnt change your right to protect yourself.

[BigMusky]

that is why you fish here after leaves fall!

[avid1010]

If you're in an area where you need to carry a gun, you're in the wrong place. Growing up in Milwaukee, I'm pretty sure a gun is a given for most people looking to do you serious harm that you would want a gun to protect yourself from.

The law is clear, according to Van Hollen; however, once you pull the gun out the law is very murky. I would never suggest such a thing, let alone promote it on a public forum.

[Eric Haataja]

Alright guys thanks for the heads up (no pun intended):eek:

Lets get back to fishing reports.

A quick note, I fish down there a bunch including just about every inch of that river and have never had any problems the past 15 years. I would also call the cops report this issue and explain to them they need to do something. Next time call 911. Just bad timing I guess.

However that does seem to be the place where Gay men do "hang out":eek:

Eric

[pbr1844]

Just moved to the area and I'm stoked about the salmon and trout fishing. Did most of my research on this site, so many thanks!! Went out to Kletsch Park this past weekend and chucked crankbaits, spoons, mepps and spawn sac. Caught (fairly) a beautiful steelhead on a Mepps 2. Only action for the kings was on spoons - Little Cleo, 2/5 oz, gold or silver/chartruese, which the guy at the baitshop recommended. Hooked into lots of the kings, but the problem is that the majority of them were foul hooked (usually in the dorsal fin). I'm releasing the fish to begin with, but I don't want to foul hook them in the first place. I am new to salmon fishing, so perhaps I am doing something wrong. Any advice would be appreciated!

Here's what I did: I was about 30ft. below the dam on that little island, and I was casting the spoons at a 45 degree angle upstream with a slow-medium retrieve (at least that's what I would consider it from a largemouth bass fishing background). By the time I finished the retrieve the spoon would be downriver. Sometimes the "bite" would be a bump and sometimes the fish would just nail it; either way, more times than not the fish would be foul hooked.

Thanks in advance for the help. Cheers, pbr1844

[Eric Haataja]

I would not cast up stream, cast down stream, or across the river and slowly swing you spoons across the current, spinners, spawn and cranks tend to catch more fish for me. 95 percent of the time I cast down river or across the river.

Thanks for the report.

Eric

[Jon]

I went up to Kletsch this morning. I caught one king hat was about 30 inches. I released it though because it was nasty and dying. I also had another fish on my line, but it got away. Then towards the end of the morning, I was fighting another fish, and it broke my jointed crank bait, so I have half of a crank bait now.
All in all decent fishing if you can stand the cold weather.

[Fishing Dude]

Planning on trying by Kletch tomorrow with my fly rod, anyone who wants to give me tips as to the hot fly or color this year I would greatly appreciate it. Also what size tippet would you reccomend so as to not loose a fly every hook up ?

[TJPike]

1X Tapped tippet,egg sucking leech or clouser,green-butt skunk and maybe a small nymph trailer close to fly. Have seen sum people with the trailer way to far behind fly.I am no expert but these are some good common things to do... Hope this is helpful. Have a good one. ;) Even try crappie tube jigs in various colors mainly for sight fishing..

[brookiereleaser]

egg sucking stone patterns and mix up the egg colors inside of it , pink , chart, orange. i would say smaller sizes the better , a conservative size of a wooley or ESL would basically be the same deal.

i always run two flys and one is always an egg pattern.

I got a bunch of hookups this year running and egg sucking stone with an egg tied to the bend of the hook about 1-2 feet from the stone. Egg was orange with white synthetic dubbing to represent a little milt or w/e

fluoro is essential i would say as well, find the deeper water if you can and dead drift that presentation through there and tick bottom with just enough weight and you have a great chance to hook into steel.

egg sucking stone pattern is a great great great pattern for steel/salmon and i have to thank MP for getting me on this , its his pattern and he does operate , or at least use to operate a guide service for fly fishing.

www.ramblingreports.com

you can find the pattern and picture here
anything close to that will do very well but for some reason this one works awesome.

[Jon]

Im just curious if anyone knows if the browns and cohos are up the river yet? All I've seen is a ton of kings and 2 or 3 steelheads.

Last weeks catch. 36" 20~ pounds.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj291/OCAutoDude1992/IMG_7563copy.jpg

[BigMusky]

I went and screwed around down by Estabrook for a couple of hours yesterday but did not hook up. Only fished two holes and tried a couple different techniques to no avail. Water conditions were not quite ideal, but was surprised I did not get at least one. Work is really killing my fall steelhead fishing for the second year in a row... :(

[Eric Haataja]

Had a few hours to kill today so I stopped down by the river and put a nice little smack down on some steelies and 1 king and 2 lakers all in about 3 hours of fishing. Small cranks, spinners, and jigs are what worked for me. Never saw another sole on the river very peacefull fishing!

Eric

[Steelheader]

A friend and I were thinking of fishing the Milwaukee river with jigs, etc. Are there any areas you can recommend? Don't mind a long drive and walk. I am sick of the crowds on the root river and would love some peaceful fishing where theres a chance of a rainbow or two....

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Had a few hours to kill today so I stopped down by the river and put a nice little smack down on some steelies and 1 king and 2 lakers all in about 3 hours of fishing. Small cranks, spinners, and jigs are what worked for me. Never saw another sole on the river very peacefull fishing!

Eric

[Eric Haataja]

If you don't like crowds this is the river or sheyboygan, I recently fished up river, a ways....up river what I mean by that is above Kletzch Park fish can easily make it above there and I have fished as far as grafton many times, it all depends on flows etc... This rain will push a bunch of fish way up!

[BigMusky]

after back to back 15 hour days...it was time to go fishing this morning and tell work to "piss off". Perfect flow rates also made that decision easy with nice warm morning :)

In an hour and half I went 7 for 10. 6 steelhead and 1 lake trout. I missed a monster steelhead in the 15lb class. It went airborn completely out of water and made about 5 huge runs...that was not problem....I had her whooped and was bringing the fish in against current and hook just tore loose! I guess all that running around was a problem. Oh well, awesome fight and got to see fish, so it was cool anyway.

[BigMusky]

I am so glad we have rain this year! So much better then last two fall seasons. Went out again today for 3 hours (yes my hell project is over so time to catch up!). Went to new spot I was tipped off to (thanks buddy) and caught 10 steelies and 1 brown. Had probably five others hooked that got off. I can not wait to get back out again!

[trophy taker]

Nice male steelie from this morning,my biggest ever and first one on a yarn fly.

[Eric Haataja]

Way to go congrats on a nice fish!

[BigMusky]

River is still pumping fish out fast...when 7 for 10 in two hours of fishing this morning. Cool when you catch fish out of new holes...

[deadeternity]

TROPHY TAKER, beautiful steelhead. I caught my biggest steelie this year as well, in fact our catch this year was 50% chinooks, 30% steelhead, 10% browns, and 10% cohos this past summer and fall. Great fish....

[blitzfish]

I would compare with you deadeternity, my catch percentages were similar, maybe a few more browns percentage wise though. I also caught my biggest Steelie this year. It weighed just over 15lbs!!!! caught it this spring in Port. I think I may have even lost a few that were bigger than that though. Great fish Trophy Taker!!1

[bud kohn]

Has anyone seen or caught Brown's or Steelhead as far north as brown deer road? I wade/canoe from Thiensville to Brown Deer road in the summer. I was just wondering how far up stream these fish get? There are some good access points along there for fishing. With the amount of rain we had in Ocotber it pushed a lot more fish than normal way up river, they need rain to make it easy to push up!

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!

[Eric Haataja]

Yes they make it above there I have caught them in good number above that area.

[blitzfish]

Eric fishes upstream of Kletsch a lot and does quite well (refer to Eric's posts). They can technically make it up to Grafton when conditions are right. It all depends on if they can get through Theinsville or not.

(lol, Eric beat me to the punch... ha ha)

[pmjasper]

I'll have to check when I get home but are there public access points above Kletch Park or is it basically parking on side streets and entering the river from there???

I'm thinking of getting out tomorrow and instead of fishing my usual haunts was toying with the idea of trying the Pike or the Milwaukee. Not looking to steal anyone's spots but since I haven't been to either of them with any regularity I was just curious on what access they offer.

Feel free to PM me if you feel that is the best way to go. Thanks all.

[blitzfish]

There are a few parks along the river, but most of it would be parking on a road and walking. As Eric puts it, it can be a hike!!! but you almost never see anyone.

[bud kohn]

Thanks for the Info guys.

If you see a guy looking like he dosen't know what is going on, fishing up stream of Brown Deer Road Next week it might be me! I'm gonna try fall wading/fishing for the first time.

[pmjasper]

I may try to do some scouting up there tomorrow. I always figure I'll make the trip up that way but usually end up stopping and fishing the Root instead. I love the Sheboygan as well but it's a heck of a hike for me so yet again i rarely get up there.

The thing that makes me a little hesitent is the fact the I fished Estabrook once but have since heard of many bad incidents happening there and would rather aviod places like that. I never fished lower than Estabrook but see there are some parks that dot the river downstream as well. we'll see what happens. Good luck to all who make it out.

[samthemaster]

was out today down river from 2-4. fishing was tough for me as usual. not really sure where all the "good" spots are but did manage to pull in a small 15" brown cpr on a spinner. tried spawn and skein but nothing. hopefully i can get into some steels on the spinning rod or else i'll have to pull out the fly..

[trophy taker]

Oh yeah,,the one male steelie,my biggest,,37 and half inches 17 lbs.,,,that my wall hanger!!!

[.Pan Handler]

You're giving away your spot bro, that's a pretty easily recognizable background. I think I talked to you down in that area of the river this past Thursday. Nice fish.

[Eric Haataja]

The rivers should be just about perfect come this weekend and fully reloaded with fresh steelies....stand by! I guess there were fish jumping the falls today heading up river.... See ya on the water!

Thanks for the reports trophy taker nice fish!

[BigMusky]

hit milwaukee for a couple of hours on black friday... went 6 for 6 on steelies. Father in law hooked up with this first two ever on float rod, still has a little to learn about landing them though!

[bud kohn]

Went Saturday 11/28 Fished behind channel 4. Hooked up 3 times and never got one to the shore. I think I have a lot to learn about fish and current. I straightened a hook on a Rapala when the fish rolled and I put too much pressure on it.
Good day to be out, just wish I got to release the fish when I wanted not when I did!:mad:

How long does Rainbow and Brown fishing go on?

[Eric Haataja]

In the river right up until ice up!!

[trophy taker]

Well,not a bad morning,i landed 2.One really nice female brown and a female steelie. But the one steelie had me concerned,i cut her open and the skein looked funky. Half the skein was like orange and brown(and they were crushed) the rest looked like normal skein would usually look. To get to the point,it didn't look right,something was wrong,maybe someone can shed sum light on the situation

[samthemaster]

i've had the same problem with a female brown that i caught before. her eggs were not perfectly round like how they should be. they were discolored and didn't feel firm at all. just thought i'd share with you since we both experience the same problem.

[trophy taker]

and it wasn't just the eggs either,,the fillets looked terrible. i felt bad cause i obviously threw the fish away. im not trying to take the chance of getting sick or anything,i just wish i woulda known,i would have let her go.

[E.Mich Iceman]

Sounds like the eggs were starting to re-absorb. It's a pretty common occurence where fish are stressed or hold their eggs for too long, such as skamania when the fish enter the river in the heat of the summer. The eggs usually turn clear with and orange "eye". They're very soft and worthless to use as bait.

[Eric Haataja]

E. Mich hit the nail on the head, it's a lot more common with browns than with steelies or salmon ecspecially German browns where the eggs will be bad.

If you get a loose fish and see the eggs coming out and they are yellow or goldish then they are perfect! If they are clear or goldish with a small orange dot in them there starting to reabsorb and turn more into a water base than oil which is not good.

There was a time when I would kill a lot of browns for eggs, looking for skein but sometimes 50-60 percent of the fish the eggs were bad. Now I actually can feel and look at the fish and tell if the eggs are good or bad. What I have seen is when you get a brown and the fish is exceptionally fat almost and has a soft tummy the eggs are bad. It's hard to explain but

Now I encourage people to "milk" there eggs out (about half) of a brown and then release the fish to return again. I know a few guys that kill ridiculas amounts of big browns just for the eggs, then they throw the fish in the garbage. Been there done that myself back in the day... so I can't be a hypocrit but now a days for me, I just don't kill those big fish anymore for the eggs. Just can't justify killing such a big cool fish for there eggs.

As for a fishing report...the river bite has been the best I have seen in a few years! Not just the Milwaukee most of the rivers just got a bunch of fish, the Root, and Milwaukee ecspecially Good returns of fish this year! Spawn spinners and jigs all working.

Eric

[trophy taker]

Nice morning for fishing,wish the fishing would lasted longer but i can't complain. Went 2 for 5,the 2 i landed were nice males and 1 of the 3 that i lost at shore i know was real nice female. Had to leave early due to a dumb college kid that stays in one of our units,apparently he doesn't know how to open his mail box,lol. All fish caught on frenzy's,gave the spawn a rest today,depending on the weather tomorrow im gonna get out again.

[collinfishes]

when milking fish the key to success is to make it FAST have a bag ready and dont overally handle the fish. ive seen quite a few people attempt to milk fish only to do more harm than good. it makes no sense to milk it and let i go if its just gonna sink to the bottom regardless because it was mis-handle. maybe i or someone else will get a video er something for the guys that are new to milkin these ladies :)

[pmjasper]

Just check the rules on this....a few people told me that if a DNR officer sees you milking fish, and then releasing the fish, you will get fined. I rarely keep any fish and don't use bait thus am not sure of the rule but just be careful when attempting to milk a fish and then release it.

[dedfisher]

Just can't justify killing such a big cool fish for there eggs.


Eric

Last saturday in Kenosha there was a beautiful 10 pound brown laying dead in the launch with its stomach cut open. YOU CAN SQUEEZE THE EGGS OUT whoever did this. It made me sick seeing how some people just dont give a crap about these beautiful fish.

[Needtofishmore]

I'm of the understanding that it's legal to milk the eggs, but you have to include the fish you took the eggs from as part of your bag limit. Don't hold me to that, though!

[snelled_again]

That is the way I read it too. "Any fish you take into possession which you do not release immediately is part of your daily bag limit even if it is released later." There for, if you take the time to milk the fish it becomes part of your daily limit. Either way this is done take care of the fish first off. Might be better to at least offer the fish, less the eggs to another person who may want to eat or smoke the fish. Just my thoughts.

[BigMusky]

the reason Skein is illegal in bait shops is you have to kill fish to harvest....spawn sacks are legal because you can milk the fish...now this does not really happen in practice from what I understand.

[trophy taker]

Was a great afternoon,,fish were everywhere,i landed 4 real nice females and one male,and my buddy did the same with an extra male brown. Hopefully the weekend will produce weather permitting.

[Eric Haataja]

"I'm of the understanding that it's legal to milk the eggs, but you have to include the fish you took the eggs from as part of your bag limit."

I asked a warden and was told it was legal but would be part of my bag limit so in my opinion it is legal. If I got a ticket I would fight it in court, I'd prefer not to kill a loose 12-15 lb hen just for her eggs unless I have no eggs. I milk a few here and there as I go.

Fished today and this past week and the fishing continues to be very good with some good catches of browns and steelies. The river bite seems to be the most consistent, but the harbors should get good now with this cold snap!

[brookiereleaser]

went down to the river and the harbor for a bit today.

Walked a good stretch of the river. It appears the fish have moved into the deeper holes because I did not spot a single fish for the brief while i was out today. Talked to a few other guys on the river and they said the same.

The harbor was also a ghost town from shore compared to a week or more ago.
Where there were dozens of browns readily spotted from shore last week I saw only 1 here and there on my walk.

I don't really know too many of the holes that hold fish on the river aside from the usual overpopulated spots but the fish definately are not easily spotted right now even with gin clear water.

Hopefully the discharge will soon be productive, id like to try it once or twice before it ices over this year.

good luck.

[trophy taker]

Me and a buddy of mine went down this morning till around 11 o'clock and went 7 for 10 on steelies and one lil brownie. Fish are everywhere but was tough cause of slush patches floating. But still seemed to find em with no prob,even with the clear water. Hopefully this snow we're supposed to get holds off, i would like to get back down there tomorrow,or possibly go cast downtown.

[trophy taker]

Took the lady out fishing today for her first steelhead experience and she got her first one,28 in. then i got a nice male germ. Didn't stay long cause she got cold but was still nice we each go a fish. Seen alot rolling around too!

[bud kohn]

Fished from Brown Deer Road South to the bend eastward.

Fished holes and eddies.

Nothing going on, I did not see anything longer than 2"

Nice day except for the "Ice Bergs" floating down river.

Anyone got some tips for a Novice????

[pmjasper]

Bud...are you fly fishing or spin fishing?

[trophy taker]

Well since it was a beautiful day,decided to go to my stretch of river and do sum winter river steelies,did pretty good i thought. Went 5 for 8,,3 real nice females and 2 males,all real nice size. Gotta love it!!!

[pmjasper]

Great day TT. I wish I had made the trip to the Milwaukee, but in looking at the USGS site and talking to a few people, I opted to fish another trib instead. Fishing for me has been tough all winter with low water levels and icing conditions. Maybe I'll have to make the trek to the Milwaukee soon, although with this colder weather I'm not sure if more icing will occur. Great report. Thanks for sharing.

[blitzfish]

Great looking Looper TT. I might have to get out and do some fishing next weekend when I head back home!!! GL and TL Blitz

[BP1357]

Saw Trophy Takers pic and got the itch to get on the river. First cast got this brown (cpr'd). No takers afterward...Great to be out.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/bp1357/th_IMG00051.jpg (http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/bp1357/?action=view&current=IMG00051.jpg)

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/bp1357/th_IMG00052.jpg (http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h166/bp1357/?action=view&current=IMG00052.jpg)

[trophy taker]

Past few days been pretty slow actually,landed a few bows,but nothing really to big. None the less still fun,but the numbers are down.Got a video of one steelie I landed,not really sure how to post it on here tho. I ran outta netting too,and thanks to that hood ass bait shop on center,i can't get none. Gonna try getting out today tho,just gonna have to kick it old school and chunk it on the hook i suppose. Can't wait for this ice to melt,i need open water walleyes!

[trophy taker]

How bout this for a nice northern!!!!

[trophy taker]

well damn,it didn't show up,lol

[Eric Haataja]

Awesome fish! Did you let her spawn and swim away?

[trophy taker]

Oh yeah,,of course,,I could never keep a northern that big,especially full of spawn. I would love to see more in the future that size!!!

[Eric Haataja]

That's fantastic, to be honest I don't even know if the season is open or not ???? But congrats that's a fantastic fish they all natrually reproduce so it's critical to let the bigger females go! Nice job!

Eric

[trophy taker]

From what I know,the laker's and bass are the only thing closed(in the river),but I know stuff changes every year so I am not sure,I could be wrong. But yeah, I never kept a northern in my entire life,I was always brought up to release those and also muskies. Even though that was the biggest northern I have ever caught,,she'll be bigger next year if she makes it!!!! She was 46 1/2 and well over 20 lbs.,didn't have a weight scale but I did had my tape measure with me.

[pmjasper]

Anyone plan on heading out tomorrow? I'm looking to hit up the Milwaukee and search for those steelies I've been missing the past few weeks. Just curious if anyone else plans to head out that way.

[jason miller]

:D:DHad my 7 year old son out today, he got his first laker went 13#'s and his first brown that went 15#'s at 31 1/2". He had a great time, fished for 4 hours.:D:D

[Eric Haataja]

Some pics from recent trips.....

Opps wrong thread...........................

[the pig]

Fished kletzch today..caught one and had two more on that got off. Seen about 4 other fish caught as well. One guy was throwing yarn and I was using a single rubber egg.

[brookiereleaser]

Bring on the rain!!!!!!!!