The 2021 K/D Salmon tournament is in the books and it looks like the winner is going to be that 35.65 pound fish caught by Cory Boellaard out of Baileys Harbor fishing on his buddy Jeff Jones boat. Second place going to Austin Vance with his 32.79 pounder and third place to Bonnie Maggle with her Salmon weighing in at 32.15 pounds. Check out the official standings on the K/D Salmon tournament Facebook page.
As for the Salmon fishing out on the lake, the bite has slowed a bit compared to the crazy good action we had a couple weeks ago. Our water has become very warm, scattering some of these fish and pushing them down pretty deep. With some south winds predicted here in the very near future, we think the water will set back up nicely and we are going see some good action once again. With that said, most of the fishermen we talked with ended their trip with 7 to 12 fish respectively. So it’s not bad fishing, it’s just not crazy like it was. A mix of flasher and flies, spoons and meat rigs spread throughout the water column including having to run some baits down way deep.
The Walleye fishing reports have been very good for the day and night fishermen that have been trolling with cranks and crawler harnesses along with a very good rip jig bite going on right now. We anticipate that bite will stay hot for some time as it usually does this time of year. The Chaudoirs Dock area has been good along with some of the areas to the north including Henderson’s Point, Larsen’s Reef and some of the reefs and shoals to the north of Sturgeon Bay.
The Perch fishing reports have been excellent as of late and we think it will continue to be good right through summer and into fall. Areas to try include Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay, some of that deeper water to the south by Chaudoir’s Dock and Rite’s Cove, Sawyer Harbor, along with some areas in and around the Sturgeon Bay ship canal have been very good. Fathead minnows, crawler pieces and leaf worms generally the best live baits.
The Smallmouth Bass fishing reports have been pretty good as of late. Best depths still vary a bit, as shallow as 4 feet of water out to that 12 to 15 foot mark. Thereare some fish that have slid out to that 15 to 25 foot mark as they usually do this time of year. Best baits include Howie shorty tubes , ned rigs, paddle tails, a wide variety of drop-shot plastics and a very good spy bait bite going on also.
Thanks again to all the local guides, local fishermen and visiting fishermen that share information with us so we can provide the most accurate and informative report possible. Be safe, have fun and good luck fishing everybody.
*This report is updated on a weekly basis. Audio version on WDOR is updated multiple times per week. Click WDOR logo above to access audio version.