Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report

Warm, dry weather has returned for the Labor Day weekend, and along with that, fire danger levels have once again climbed to high and very high throughout much of the state. Burning permits have once again been suspended in many counties, and people heading out over the holiday weekend should be extremely cautious with fires and any possible sources of ignition, such as smoking materials or hot exhausts on vehicles.

Water levels continue to be low on many rivers and in marshes. The lower Wisconsin River continues to run extremely low. The St. Croix River is at very low levels for canoeing and fishing trips. The Wolf River is getting lower by the day making navigation dicey. The South Fork of the Flambeau River is low but the North Fork appears to be fine for paddling.

The early Canada goose and dove hunting seasons open Saturday, Sept. 1, and with many marshes like Horicon and Theresa mostly dry hunters are being urged to check traditional hunting area ahead of time to see if birds are even in the area. Many waterfowl hunters are looking to hunt along rivers due to the lack of water in many marshes. Wildlife crews have been busy mowing fields around sunflower fields to provide access for the dove season. Check the dove hunting pages of the DNR website for dove fields planted on state wildlife areas.

Fishing was slower in many areas during the dog days of August. In the north, variable and changing weather made for erratic fishing success. The most consistent action has been with musky, with anglers having quite a few catches of fish in the 32- to 42-inch size. Bass fishing has been a bit inconsistent in the last week. Walleye fishing has been fair, with many anglers using leeches and crawlers. In the south, warm water temperatures slowed game fish action on the Madison area lakes. Anglers were searching out deep holes and undercut banks where fish could escape the heat on Jefferson county waters, with some bluegills biting in deep water suspended 2 to 5 feet off the bottom.

Walleyes continued to draw considerable fishing pressure on Green Bay. The bite on the east shore was a bit inconsistent but walleyes were still being caught. Action on the west shore seemed to be moving north of Oconto. There was good news for perch anglers along Door County as the cooler water improved the perch bite with some larger perch being caught.

Lake Michigan summer fishing patterns are starting to change, with there not being a tight thermocline anymore. Trollers have been catching mostly chinook, along with some coho and a few rainbow and lake trout. Fishing was also starting to pick up at piers, with action reported at Manitowoc, Two Rivers and Sheboygan.

There were more reports of white-tail bucks beginning to shed velvet this week and spots are fading on fawns. Cold fronts earlier this week brought the first large push of warblers into northern and central Wisconsin, with blackburian, Nashville, golden-winged, magnolia, and Tennessee among those reported.
Apples, acorns and hickory nuts are already heavily dropping off of trees. Sunflowers, asters and goldenrod are blooming. Bright red clusters of jack-in-the-pulpit berries are easily spotted on the forest floor. Sumac and some maple leaves are beginning to turn red. Wild rice is starting to ripen, but ricers will have to search for good beds, as the unusual spring and summer weather was apparently not favorable for beds this year.

Related articles

• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Report summary (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Emergency burning restrictions for 11 counties in southern Wisconsin (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Michigan Fishing Reports, Reserved Waterfowl Hunt Registration, and a Success Story for the Kirtland's Warbler (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Lake Oahe Fishing Exceptional This Summer (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Wisconsin: More information available on chinook reduction proposal (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

Wisconsin Hunters: Outdoor Report as of September 8, 2011

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The pleasant late summer weather that prevailed across the northern part of the state made for some very good fishing conditions. Musky continued to provide very consistent action and most musky anglers are reporting a lot of sightings and follows. Bass fishing -- for both largemouth and smallmouth -- is just starting to become erratic, with smallmouth fishing showing the most consistency on the rivers and flowages. Walleye fishing continues to be fair, with a few more anglers starting to target walleye. Panfish action continued to be good with bluegill, crappie and rock bass all providing success.

In the south, walleye fishing has been excellent below dams on the Rock River. Limits of catfish were also being reported on various sections of the Rock. Smallmouth bass fishing has been good on the Lower Wisconsin River and on some Rock and Jefferson county lakes. Water levels continue to drop on the Mississippi River and are nearing normal low water levels for September. The level at Cassville was 7.8 feet this week. Bluegills were biting throughout both Mississippi River pools 10 and 11. Bass anglers noted good numbers of smaller 10- to 12-inch fish with few over 14 inches. Walleye and sauger anglers were trolling wing dams with some success.

The sturgeon season opened this weekend and good numbers of sturgeon were caught below the Prairie du Sac dam, including a 63-inch sturgeon that was kept and several 50-plus-inch sturgeon released. Initial success on northern rivers was fair, with good numbers of sub-legal fish caught, but legal-size 60-inch sturgeon hard to come by.

On Green Bay, anglers off Oconto continue to report good catches of perch and walleye. Perch fishing was good off Door County at Little Sturgeon Bay and Chaudoir’s dock. Along Lake Michigan, most tributaries are running low and fall salmon and trout runs have not begun. Many trollers were working closer to harbors, with chinook salmon making up most of the catch, but also brown and rainbow trout and some coho.

Early Canada goose and mourning dove hunters were greeted with very warm conditions for the opener last week, but conditions have improved after the recent cool down. Some hunters had early success, but are now finding it difficult to locate geese due to standing crops and geese taking refuge in towns and in the federal refuges Dove hunters have had good success over sunflower fields on the public hunting grounds in the south.

There have been increasing reports of whitetail bucks rubbing velvet from their antlers from archery hunters out scouting before their opener Sept. 17. Many fawns are losing their spots and getting adult coats.

The slow but steady southward raptor migration has begun, with numerous red-tailed hawks, broad-winged hawks, and kestrels being seen moving along the Mississippi River. A variety of ducks have been gathering on Horicon Marsh, with thousands of mallards, blue-winged teal and wood ducks feeding on the north end of Horicon Marsh. Several hundred great egrets were also seen on the marsh last week.

Just a few maple and birch leaves have begun to turn in the north. Walnut and oak trees have begun dropping nuts, and the white oak family that also includes bur and swamp oaks are producing a tremendous acorn crop this year.