Wisconsin Outdoor Report July 6, 2006

[379 Peterbilt]

Although most of Wisconsin received some rain in the past week, conditions remain very dry in north central, northwestern and central Wisconsin. Fire danger levels are now at high level across much of the state. Water levels on streams and rivers in the north is quite low, with many paddlers having to pull boats through riffles and many rapids too low to navigate. However, the pleasant weather over the holiday still brought out many outdoor enthusiasts and boating activity was high on many lakes and rivers. Water temperatures were reaching the low 80s on some northern lakes. Many lakes are seeing some dense weed growth in the shallows and blooms of filamentous algae are also showing up on top of these weeds.

Fishing success has been generally good, but many anglers have switched to artificial baits because of the difficulty of keeping live bait alive in the warm water. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have been providing the most consistent action. Bass are settling into their typical summer patterns. Largemouth have been holding fairly tight to thick woody cover and smallmouth having also been moving to the mid-depth woody cover. Musky action has been slowly improving, with some 40-plus-inch fish reported in the last week. Bucktails and top water baits have been some favorite baits. Walleye success has been erratic. Panfish action has been generally good, with some nice catches of crappie and bluegill coming from suspended fish near mid-depth cover.

Boating activity on southern lakes increased dramatically with the warm weather over the Fourth of July holiday. Anglers were fishing mostly just early or late. Anglers continued to catch bluegills in approximately 15 feet of water. The best success has been on leeches and small jigs with a wax worm. Anglers continued to have success with largemouth and smallmouth bass. The best success has been on the out side of weed beds.

Walleye activity has still been good on Lake Winnebago reefs, Lake Poygan, and on the Wolf and Fox rivers. Some good white bass activity was being reported on Lake Winneconne. Anglers fishing the River were hooking walleyes on leeches, while panfish were still being found in the bayous.

Salmon and trout anglers trolling Lake Michigan had another good week with nice catches of chinook salmon, brown trout, and rainbow trout. Fishing from piers continued to be slow. Water levels on Green Bay are very low, but have come up in recent weeks and there have been reports of some algae outbreaks along Green Bay shorelines.

Anyone outdoors last Friday evening on and along the Mississippi River certainly noticed a huge swarm of mayflies, but the hatch that actually large enough to be captured on the National Weather Service's Doppler radar in La Crosse, which tracked the swarm drifting north with time. Along the length of the river channel.

Whitetail antler development is progressing and bucks sporting some nice racks have been reported. Resident Canada geese are nearing the end of their molt and are beginning to fly after a few weeks of being flightless. Ospreys young are still being seen in the nest but they are getting ready to fledge. Frogs still being hear include green frogs, bull frogs, still some eastern gray-tree frogs and mink frogs. The most often frog heard at this time of year is the green frog with its banjo call strumming away.

Jack pine budworm damage is beginning to show up in the north. What looked like healthy trees a couple of months ago now look orange from the budworm chewing through the needles causing them to dry out. The budworm is a native insect that experiences cyclical outbreaks every 10 to 12 years.

Raspberry development continues and some good picking should be found when the berries ripen. Blueberries are ripening in Vilas County, and the first reports sound very promising with very large fruit. Timely rains have given the plants the much needed boost. A wide range of prairie plants are blooming including yellow coneflower, compass plant, purple prairie clover, ox-eye sunflower, butterfly weed, cup plant, leadplant, rosinweed, rattlesnake master, spiderwort and prairie blazing star.



More here

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/or/