Lake Michigan Fishing Report – Week of Feb 24th, 2020

Ice Safety

There is no such thing as safe ice. You cannot judge the strength of ice by one factor like its appearance, age, thickness, temperature, or whether the ice is covered with snow. Ice seldom freezes uniformly and can vary greatly in different areas of the same waterbody. It is important to know before you go. The DNR does not monitor local ice conditions or the thickness of the ice. Local bait shops, fishing clubs, and resorts serve winter anglers every day and often have the most up to date information. If you’re heading out onto a frozen lake for the first time, check the ice yourself and check it often.

Ice Safety Tips:

  • Carry some basic safety gear: ice claws or picks, a cellphone in a waterproof case, a life jacket, and a length of rope.
  • Dress warm in layers
  • Don’t go alone. Head out with friends or family. Carry a cell phone with you and make sure someone knows where you are and when you are expected to return.
  • Know before you go. Don’t travel in areas you are not familiar with and don’t travel at night during reduced visibility.
  • Avoid inlets, outlets, or narrows that may have current that can cause thin ice.

In general, fishing reports will be updated once per week, usually on Tuesdays. This may change based on availability of reports and work schedules of field staff.

REMINDER – Anglers must carry a paper copy of their license/stamps while fishing on the waters of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and the WI/MI, WI/MN and WI/IA boundary waters.

West Shore Green Bay Ice Creel Report: February 24, 2020

Brown County

  • Hook Rd: Many anglers could be seen out this week fishing for perch. Perch were being caught but many fish were too small to keep. On average 1 out of 5 were said to be of desirable keeper size.
  • Sunset Beach Rd: Anglers fishing near the mouth of the Suamico River were catching whitefish. Many schools of whitefish were reported seen on cameras but not interested in lures. Anglers reported catching most of their fish close together as a short period of high activity seemed to be the case.
  • Long Tail Pt: Low fishing pressure was seen this week with a few anglers chasing perch and pike with no luck.
  • Fox River: Heavy fishing pressure was seen at the end of the week with anglers fishing from Voyageurs Park down river to the 172 bridge. Walleyes were being caught in good numbers throughout the week on jigs and jigging raps with whole minnows or just the head. Numerous whitefish were also present over the weekend with reports from anglers seeing many schools on their cameras. Incidental catches of sturgeon and muskies were also reported.

Oconto County

  • Oconto Parks: Anglers were scattered along the bay from shore out a couple miles searching for perch, pike, walleyes, and whitefish. Deeper waters were yielding some whitefish while perch were seen close to shore along the weeds.
  • Oconto Harbor: Steady fishing pressure was seen this week with anglers targeting whitefish, pike, and walleyes. Whitefish along with a few walleyes were seen on underwater cameras but were not very active. The best whitefish bite was happening in the first couple hours of the day.
  • Geano’s Beach: Some perch and whitefish were caught this week with earlier in the week being better for perch. Tip downs with minnows were working for perch.

Marinette County

  • Menominee River: Fishing pressure increased over the weekend with warmer temps. Anglers could be seen below the dam fishing for brown trout and fishing the backwaters by Mystery Ship boat launch for panfish. A few bluegills were being caught.
  • Red Arrow: Perch and northern pike anglers were out in low numbers this week. Perch were less active than previous weeks but were still being seen. Northern pike fishing was best south of Red Arrow in the bay on the “flats”.
  • Peshtigo River: A few anglers were out trying for northern pike, perch, and whitefish with no luck.

East Shore Green Bay Ice Creel Report: February 24, 2020

With the spring-like weather over the weekend heavy fishing pressure was seen at most stops. Anglers report good ice conditions but challenging travel with 6”-8” of snow on top of the ice. With the warm weather and heavy traffic some access points were starting to get soft by the end of the day, with some atvs having trouble getting off the ice in a few locations. Overall slow fishing was reported for every stop, with the most fish reported for one angler to be 7 whitefish for a sun-up to sun-down sit.

Bayshore Area: 2/22

  • Sugar Creek and Rites Cove- Whitefish anglers report slow fishing out of Sugar Creek and Rites Cove with most anglers coming back with 1 or 2 fish.
  • Volk’s Landing- Anglers report a mixed bag with Walleyes, Whitefish and Perch being caught in low numbers. Standard slider rigs taking all three species, but over all fishing has been slow.
  • Bayshore Park- Slow fishing was reported out of Bayshore Park with most anglers coming in with 0-2 whitefish for an all day’s sit.
  • Redriver and Dyckesville- Slow fishing was also reported out of these locations on Saturday with a few whitefish caught in both locations.

Sherwood Area: 2/21 and 2/23

  • Bullhead Point- Pike anglers report slow fishing off of Bullhead Point with a few fish being caught on tip-ups with shiners.
  • Pot Park- Anglers report slow fishing for perch and pike. A few keeper perch were caught using minnows on jig heads but the majority of anglers report a tough bite with only a few nibbles for a days fishing. Pike anglers report getting a few flags but no fish on their tip-ups.
  • High Cliff- Anglers report slow fishing for whitefish, but with a few larger fish being caught. Standard slider rigs tipped with minnow heads or tails catching the larger fish.
  • Oak Ave- Heavy fishing pressure out of Oak Ave both days. Anglers report okay fishing for whitefish with most anglers coming in with between 2 and 5 fish for a days effort. Fish are being caught in 20’-60’ of water. Standard sliding rigs catching most of the fish.
  • Cabots Point- Anglers fishing out of Cabots Point report slow fishing for whitefish with only a few fish caught for a day’s effort.
  • Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club- Heavy fishing pressure was seen over the weekend for such a small area. Angler reports of a few northern being caught on tip-ups but most of the fish have been smaller.

READ MORE at dnr.wi.gov