Lake MI, Milwaukee

Decided to change it up a bit yesterday afternoon,taking a break from chasing eyes, and hit the Big Pond for a few hours, hoping to find some smallies and in-harbor browns. Struck out on both counts. Water temps were a balmy 57 to 59 degrees in various parts of the harbor. Saw quite a few crusty chins surfacing or jumping around the harbor, and one of the group had one on for about 5 seconds till it came unleashed. Other than a few decent rips, it ws a pretty quiet afternoon. No other trailers in the lot at McKinley when we arrived at 1 pm…that should have told us something.
But stay tuned….will be back there in the next couple weeks when the water temps drop..things can only get better.

Heck yeah, keep us posted. I may have to make a last minute trip to Milwaukee this fall.

Z-man Keep us up to date might have to try that some time if the walleye’s slow down in New London…There are alot of big Fish there now and expect them there until ice up

Here’s an update on in-harbor bite. Went out on Monday for a couple hours of throwing plastics and couple hours of trolling in open water. Got two quick browns at the start on 5 inch gulp, and that was it except for a couple more smacks and misses.
Went out to troll and got 3 shakers, but no bigger fish….got pretty rough out there, so headed in at 4 pm to pitch for another hour, and nada.
Water temps ranged from 48 to 53 degrees in the harbor….still a bit warm, but bite should be improving soon.

For those of you looking to hit the Big Pond for browns, looks like the bite is on. Played around in Mckinley and South Shore harbors and couple other out-of-the-wind areas from 11 am till 5 pm, and got into a few in most spots. Bad part is, we only boated 4 but lost at least 8. Had two that pushed 12 lbs or so, but camera wasn’t working well. Pretty much stuck to Gulp 4 inch and 5 inch baits. Had a good number of short hits, plus the 8 or so that unbuttoned after a bit of a fight. Stinger hooks didn’t help. Water temps varied a lot, with temps in the upper 30’s near the north gap, and a balmy 48 at South Shore. With west winds gusting above 15, and air temps right at freezing, seeking refuge limited the areas we chose to fish. Hope to make it out there a time or two more, before putting the tub away for the year. Only saw two trollers today, no other boats.

Made it out for the afternoon yesteerday, and stayed tied up to the wall the whole time for some protection from the winds and cold. Immediately got schooled by Eric….the browns definitely had a hankerin’ for spawn, and go figure….I didn’t bring any.
We ended up with 5 browns boated , 3 to 8 lbs or so, and lost a few just before the net, one estimated at over 15 lbs. All came on gulp or spoons….no bites on shiners.
Hopefully sneak another trip or two in before putting the tub away next weekend.

A little early in the season for storing a boat….isn’t it??? LOL Mine’s ready to if you can brave the cold!

Usually don’t take it anywhere, but am told that I have to make room for the daughter’s car in the garage this year.
But am always game to freeze for a few fish if you’re looking for a crazy to join you this winter.

Man, I’ve got to get back over there! When do the harbors start to freeze up for the ice bite?

Perhaps I’m going to have to get the boat over there.

The Milwaukee harbor should be ok for open water for a week or two,or maybe longer.May soon have to use the National Ave. launch in the river, as McKinley should be icing up soon. Was hoping to hit it again once this week before putting the boat away…will see.

I don’t think it made any ice today

http://www.lakefrontcam.com/

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I don’t think it made any ice today

http://www.lakefrontcam.com/

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I guess not. Looks like a puker out there.

The few seconds of vid they ran on the Milwaukee news last night was pretty intense. Water looks like chocolate puke