In Marinette County, some panfish were being caught up by the dam ...

With that being said, any hunters need to be very careful when venturing out onto the water. The
water levels are very low, nearing the record low depths. Many reefs, shoals and sand bars are
exposed or just under the surface.
Archery hunters have been seeing deer and seem pleased with the amount of bucks observed.
Hunters expect the deer to begin moving more as the weather turns colder.
In Manitowoc County, windy conditions have limited the number of boats making it to deeper
water to catch the 2- and 3- year old chinook, lake trout, rainbow trout, and occasional coho still
out there. Some charter captains are still making trips and having success fishing deep. The
action has slowed near shore, though some boats are picking up salmon with some browns mixed
in trolling in less than 40 feet of water. Productive lures for these near shore fish have been Jplugs,
husky jerks, jointed rebels, and other noisy bright-colored lures. Angler pressure from the
piers has been low with success being limited. Some Coho and brown and rainbow trout have
been caught on spoons on both harbor and lake sides of the piers in Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
A mix of species was also being caught on spawn sack as well cured skein fished near the bottom
with floats or sliding sinkers. Angler pressure is moderate to high on weekends for area harbors.
Brown and rainbow trout and king and coho salmon were being caught. Brown trout have been
the species most prone to hit a lure. Browns have been cruising the shorelines in high numbers
and schools can be seen swimming in the marinas on certain days. Manitowoc harbor has been
more productive than Two Rivers Harbor of late. Anglers were also catching some brown trout
on the outside of Manitowoc harbor along the rocks, though this area is dangerous to walk on.
Productive artificial lures have been small spoons, rattletraps, in-line spinners, and other minnow
imitating lures. Most king salmon are now in area rivers. The Manitowoc and West Twin Rivers
have been the most productive. Anglers are also catching fish in the East Twin River near
Mishicot and the in deeper holes on the Branch River, though both have very low water levels.
Shoto dam and areas directly downstream have given up a lot of chinook as well as some brown
trout. Angler pressure is very high here. The most productive setups have been various colored
yarn flies still fished on the bottom, spawn sacks fished very close to the dam, and crank baits. In
all area rivers the deeper sections are still holding fish and crank baits in bright-colored patterns
or lighter weight spoons can work. There is a mix of fish that appear to have been in the river for
a while and some that look as if they came up from the lake the night before. Many fish in the
Manitowoc River were still east of Rapids Road, though quite a few are now making it upriver
into shallower stretches.- Thomas Gerbyshak, fisheries technician, Mishicot
Salmon fishing on the Lake Michigan tributaries in Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties is still
going. However, low water levels are negatively affecting fishing in many areas. Fishing on the
East Twin River downstream from Mishicot has been very poor. Decent numbers of fish are
being caught on the West Twin River in Shoto and the Manitowoc River in Manitowoc Rapids.
The Kewaunee River and upper stretches of the Ahnapee River are fairly slow in comparison to
previous years. The Ahnapee River at Olson Park and Blahnik Park were seeing decent numbers
of fish caught. Anglers are reminded to review the laws regarding snagging and keeping foul
hooked fish as well as prohibitions of fishing at night and fishing with hooks with a gap size
greater than half an inch.