Category: Chamber News

MADISON – As fall colors near peak in northern Wisconsin, state officials want the public to know that state park, trail, forest, wildlife and other properties all remain open for public recreation and enjoyment.

With many hunting seasons open, inland fishing pressure was a bit reduced across the Northwoods. Musky have been receiving the most attention lately and the action has continued to be good. The musky have been active at nearly all times of the day and most anglers were reporting some sort of action including short hits, follows, swirls, and a good number of catches as well. In the south, walleye were being caught on the ler Wisconsin and Rock rivers. Trout fishers are reminded the inland trout season closes September 30.

Anglers at the mouth of the Oconto River caught a few small perch and freshwater drum using crawlers. Walleye and perch anglers from Pensaukee to Oconto Park II reported a few fish being caught. Anglers fishing below the Stiles Dam were catching crappie, blue gill, and small mouth using slip bobbers and minnow or plastics, fishing along the pilings. Salmon and trout fishing has been slow. Perch action on the Bay has slowed due to windy conditions. – Kevin King, creel clerk

The leaves are beginning to change in Oconto County with lowlands being the first to go. Some great reds and yellows can be seen. The northern waterfowl opener had mixed results with wood ducks being the most seen bird in hunters bags. Some hunters are already reporting scrapes and bucks chasing does. Grouse hunters not reporting much success but still a good number of leaves need to fall. – Mike Stahl, conservation warden, Oconto Falls.

The first day of fall officially arrives this Sunday with the autumnal equinox, and outdoor conditions are pretty much in line, with some areas of the north starting to report good fall colors arriving, migrant Canada geese are moving into the state, and white-tail bucks have begun rubbing trees.

Conservation wardens and wildlife staff from around the state reported an unusually high number of bucks brought in on the opening weekend of the archery deer season with antlers still in velvet and they are reminding hunters that they must get a permit from a warden to keep velvet antlers. Archers reported seeing good numbers of deer with some very good success harvesting deer opening weekend.

Oak tree have produced a heavy acorn crop this year so turkeys, deer, and bear have been feeding heavily on the fall crop. Some bear hunters report it has been difficult to attract bear to baits due to the heavy mast crop this year.

The recent cold spell has pushed down some Canada geese and more and more agricultural fields are being harvested offering some good hunting opportunities. This past weekend’s youth waterfowl hunt proved successful for many youths with wood ducks prevalent this year in many areas.

This coming weekend’s duck opener should provide large water fowl numbers for the hunters. Many of the birds will still be in eclipse plumage so hunters will have to brush up on their identification skills. Several concentrations and morning flights of wood ducks and teal have been seen along the Mississippi River, with a few scattered mallards also observed. Water levels remain very low, and for the opening weekend, Mississippi River duck hunters will find large expanses of water lilies and other emergent plants that harbor ducks and hinder their retrieval.

Ample late summer rains have extended the paddling season on some popular rivers, including the lower Flambeau, Pine and Brule, providing opportunity for lovely and rare autumn river runs. However, the lower Wisconsin River continues to be very low with many exposed sandbars.

Musky continue to provide the most consistent action in the Northwoods and most musky anglers have been reporting a lot of follows and sightings, with quite a few hook-ups and catches as well. Walleye fishing continues to improve and more anglers are starting to target this species.

Lake Michigan tributary fall salmon and trout runs have still not kicked into high gear. Some fish were seen in the Manitowoc, Twin, Sheboygan, Milwaukee and Root rivers but not in high numbers. Strong winds and high waves have kept many trollers off the lake and most who did venture out stayed near harbors, with some success. Shore and pier angler numbers have been high with some success for chinook salmon and brown trout.

While many think that spring time is when you see newly hatched turtles some species, such wood turtle, are making their appearance now. It takes these Wisconsin threatened turtles 10 to 12 years to reproduce so please “give them a break” if you see these youngsters crossing the roads.

Recent cold fronts and northwest winds have migration humming across most of the state. In the north observers have noted good flights of broad-winged and sharp-shinned hawks along with turkey vulture flights. Warblers and other Neotropical migrants are now past peak, but orange-crowned, palm and yellow-rumped warblers are still being seen.

Last week northern Wisconsin was very wet with heavy rain on multiple days and some areas also experienced winds of 50 mph or more with the rain. Water levels in some area are very high. Meanwhile, the west central part of the state remains very dry and fire danger remains high in many counties, with burning permits suspended in some areas.

The Lower Wisconsin River continues to be at fairly low levels for the fall. However, there have been some big fluctuations in the past week, caused by discharges at the Prairie du Sac dam. The river has come up or dropped down as much as one foot in 36 hours, so paddlers are urged to take that into account when choosing sandbars for camping.

Musky have been the highlight of the past week in Northwoods fishing and action was very good. Nearly all anglers were reporting sightings, follows and strikes. Artificial baits have provided most of the action. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have also provided some very good action, northern pike fishing remains excellent and panfish activity has been sporadic with some decent crappie and bluegill found suspended around deeper water cover.

Lake Michigan trollers have been reporting decent catches with a mixed bag of large rainbows, coho, and chinook. Fishing pressure has remained steady on harbor piers with some chinook reported at Sheboygan, Port Washington, Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha. A few chinook were caught near the mouth of the Pike River, but there were no reports this week of salmon moving up rivers.

The early goose and dove hunting seasons opened last weekend and some hunters did very well on doves during opening weekend, especially in the Columbia County area. Some goose hunters reported success, while others reported that it was pretty hard to locate geese due to the late farming season. Few fields have been cut so the birds are still spending time in retention ponds and elsewhere.

Whitetail bucks are starting to shed their antler velvet and the red coats on deer are starting to turn to the darker winter color. Fawns are also changing, their coats are starting to turn dark and they are beginning to lose their spots. Cooler weather is increasing deer movement, especially during the day, so drivers should beware.
Coyotes have been very vocal over the last several weeks, enlivening quiet nights with their barking, howling and yipping. Family groups have established rendezvous sites where family groups will meet to socialize and prepare for hunts. Coyote pups are especially vocal this time of year and will readily respond when howled at by a human.

Some of the late summer-early fall flowers that can be seen now are large-leaved aster, native sunflowers, evening primrose, goldenrod, and jewelweed. Wild rice on northern lakes is ripe and will be harvestable for the next few weeks. Numerous regulated wild rice lakes have opened in the last week. Search the DNR website for wild rice for information on what lakes are open and harvest rules.
Wildfire Report

Oconto County – Geano Beach fishing pressure was slow by the end of the week, but it picked up by the weekend. Fishermen were targeting perch, walleye and musky. Walleye numbers were low with fishermen using cranks (all colors), spinners with worms, and plugs in about 30 feet of water. Only a handful of sheepshead were caught and all were released. The fishermen looking for perch did well, but did not keep their limit due to them being very small. They used minnows and night crawlers for bait in about 11-12 feet of water.

More fishermen are targeting musky with having no luck. Fishermen were using mainly bucktails (black and gold junior cowgirl) for bait in about 8-15 of water and no other species were caught while targeting the musky.

Some nice catches of smallmouth bass were coming below the Stiles Dam down to the mouth on live bait, tubes and crank baits.

Some nice catches of perch were caught off the mouth of the Pensaukee River to Oconto Park II in 8 to 14 feet of water using minnows and crawler pieces.

Some nice catches of walleye are coming in 10 to 24 feet of water off the Oconto breakwater on zip lures and on crawler harnesses. Geano Beach, fishing activity had a slight increase with fishermen targeting walleye and musky.No musky were caught and fishermen used buck tails (black/orange) for bait in about 15 feet of water.

Walleye numbers were low with fishermen using crawler harnesses (gold/red) in about 21 feet of water. The sizes of the walleye ranged from 17 inches to 22 inches. A few perch were also caught while targeting walleye. The average size was around 6-8 inches. Other species caught were sheepshead.