Door County Fishing Report

This is your Howie’s Tackle fishing report for Door County for the week of May 21st.

Bass fishing in Door County is absolutely fantastic to say the least and will just continue to stay good all summer long. Fishermen have been reporting in daily with huge numbers of fish and lots of giant fish. We tell fishermen early in the spring that if you can find the Smally’s, plan on catching a bunch of 5 and 6 pounders with an occasional 7 pounder…they look at us like we’re nuts. But it’s true. Just look up the results of the 2013 Sturgeon Bay Open Bass Tournament. We now even have to include 8 pounders. On the first day of the 2013 SBOBT an 8.45 pound giant of a Smallmouth was brought to the scale. And that wasn’t the only 8 pounder we heard of caught that week. Door County is truly an amazing fishery! Let’s start with the bass action…

The best areas for the Smally’s as of late has been from the Sturgeon Bay Flats south to Little Sturgeon where the water is a bit warmer. With that said the water is starting to warm to the north now and we have had some good reports come in from Egg Harbor, Ephraim and Chambers Island. So don’t be afraid to venture north for some of those big Smally’s. The baits of choice the past week or so have been Tubes, grubs, Senko’s, hair jigs, Persuader Tails and suspending jerk baits like Lucky Crafts, Spro MC Sticks, Rogue’s and Husky Jerks. 3 to 9 ft. of water has been the depth and is holding most of the fish. Concentrate on bottom transition areas like rock to sand transitions or cuts in the rocky shoreline where channels were previously dredged.

The day time Walleye bite is really, really good right now in the southern part of Door County. If you want to experience what we call “Silly Good” fishing than you better plan a trip very soon. Or, if you’re a local reading this report and have never fished Walleye’s south of Sturgeon Bay, you should really try it. Many fishermen have reported in this week with limit plus catches of nice Walleye’s just south of Henderson’s Point and south past Chaudoir’s Dock. 12 to 26 ft. has been the best depths. Flicker Shads, Smash Shads, Deep Husky Jerks, Deep Rogue’s, Thundersticks and Shad Raps are all working well now. The night bite has been pretty good also for the trollers and the shore fishermen. Areas to try would be the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Potawatomi Park shoreline, the Stone Quarry and shoreline to the north, Sherwood Point and Henderson’s Point. Concentrate along the primary shoreline drop off, trolling or casting suspending jerk baits like Rapala Husky Jerks, Smithwick Rogues and soft plastic swim baits like Mimic Minnow, Storm Wild Eyes and Northland Forage Minnows.

Pike action is still going very good. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, the Potawatomi Park shoreline, Sawyer Harbor, Riley’s Bay and Little Sturgeon all have been very good areas. Trolling and casting with large crank baits, spinner baits and spoons in, around and over the newly formed weed beds is always a very good bet.

Brown Trout and Lake Trout continue to give anglers good action on the Lakeside of Door County. The shallow water shoreline from the Stony Creek all the way up to Bailey’s Harbor has been good as of late. Rapalas, Thundersticks, smaller Husky Jerks and Mauler Spoons all have taken their fair share of fish. On the bayside, fishermen have had their best success trolling the shorelines from the Old Stone Quarry north to Sister bay. 3 to 15 ft of water is always a good starting point. But don’t be afraid to venture out to that 30 to 50 foot depth range. Brown Trout will suspend out in the deeper water if there are bait fish around.

Perch fishing just re-opened for the season and we have not had any reports in as of yet. In the past, the best areas to start looking for the Perch have been in the Sturgeon Bay ship canal, the deeper water off of Sherwood Point and the Stone Quarry and the deeper water off of Henderson’s Point south to Chaudoir’s Dock. The best baits year in and year out have been night crawler pieces, red worms and small and medium fathead minnows

Just another reminder to all the fishermen out there. We have a free monthly fish contest going on each and every month. So if you catch a fish you would like to enter, or if you would just like to weigh your fish, stop on in.

A big thanks goes out to all of Door Counties local guides, local fishermen and visitors to the area for sharing information with us so we can put together an honest, informative and hopefully helpful fishing report for everyone to enjoy. For up to date fishing information or if you would like to book a trip aboard the Salmon Depot with Captain Nick Nault, give us a call at 920-746-9916.

Thanks, be safe and have fun fishing in Door County