April fishing is very good. Most of our charter trips are catching limits on Lake Trout with a few Browns. Clear skies with the wind out of the west at 15-25 mph have been the norm. The water flowing into Milwaukee harbor is 58 degrees. We have been fishing the temp breaks in front of the river mouth and harbor gaps and north of Milwaukee in 35 to 50 feet of water. Lots of bait fish around. Our best presentations are 3,4,5,and 6 color Cortland lead core and downriggers 20 to 35 feet down. The fish have been mostly been on magnum spoons. The Reaper Magnum Peacock Silver spoon by Badger Tackle have caught most of our fish sold athttp://www.badgertackle.com Michigan Stinger Jawbreaker and most of their silver orange spoons are also working for browns. Depending on wind direction the north and south gaps are producing fish. Our bigger Chinooks have been caught at the north gap. The fish at the north gap came on small Vulcan spoons. Silver blue spoons worked best for us running 60 feet behind the ball on downriggers 8-15 feet down. Our best boat speed was 2.4 mph. Slide Divers are producing very well set to #1 with 20 feet of line out. Have a great fishing season. Let’s go fishing!! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Resources
In previous articles we covered basic leadcore. I would recommend trying a leadcore line set up. This presentation will work when all others are dead. In this article I would like to explain where to start if you have not been out for awhile. I find Internet fish reports invaluable for up to date information look for the most recent reports. If you do not have that option, ask at the local sporting goods stores or the other fisherman at the launch ramps. Marine radio is also helpful if you have one.
Tools
What if none of these options are available? Then follow the steps I recommend. The tools you will need are depth gauge, temp gauge and fish locator. I key on temp and food. In most cases when you find them you will catch fish. Start with a temp check on the surface. If it is too warm for your target species, you must take a temperature check from the top to the bottom in the water you are in to see if it is cold enough for your target.
How To
East wind will bring warm water into Milwaukee. The result may be water that is too warm for your target. When you find this scenario move out to deeper water and check again. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the temp. Look for a sharp break in temp from the warm surface to the colder water. I work tackle both slightly above and below the break. Having said that, there are exceptions to every rule. I would also run one line well above and below the temp break. This may be out of the temp you expect to catch fish, but at certain times of the day they will be there.
Lures
Run your most aggressive lures with the most action on the warm side of the break. In contrast, use slower less aggressive tackle on the extreme cold side. Baitfish are a very important ingredient to this mix. Always fish schools of baitfish when you see them. When you are under power on the way out and see baitfish on the locator get the lines in. Good Luck Captain Jim. Let’s go fishing!! Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414-828-1094 or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com Copyright© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Your primary tool, and one you cannot do with out, is a surface temp gauge. I use the one built into my fish locator. It also has a graph to show the temp history over the last hour. This may not be necessary but it can help when mapping temp over a given area. The big pond is very cold in April and May also some years even into June. Your ability to monitor temp and stay in as close to the target species preferred temp will make or break your day on the lake. Let us assume most of the lake is in the forty-degree range and your target species is Coho, browns or Chinooks. All of these fish are looking for two things, temperature as close to their preferred range and food. I will go into food and or forage in another article for now let’s focus on temperature. Out of Milwaukee we are fortunate to have several rivers flowing into a large harbor. The rivers warm earlier than the lake and the mouth of a river is a place to start with a temp check. In addition, you should be checking each of the three gaps in the break wall that creates the harbor. A south wind will push the warm water out the north gap. This will turn the fish on in this area while the south gap is too cold for productive fishing. The way I start any day is to work the warmest water or water nearest to preferred temp I can find. After working this water, I move to cooler water. Sharp temp breaks are usually better at holding fish then gradual changes. Always consider the wind direction, not only when you are fishing but what it has been doing over the last several days. A light east wind on our western shore moves warmer surface water on shore and contributes to a rise in temp and a good bite close to the shoreline. All harbors with rivers have some current flow and the wind determines the direction that warmer water will flow when leaving the harbor. Fish that warmer water and into the cooler lake water keeping an eye on your temp gauge. When you get action note your location by land sightings and temp. Stay with that temperature to find active fish. If you have worked the harbor and gaps with no or slow action, look for temp breaks on the lake created by shifts in wind direction. Another option is to check tight along the shoreline in protected bays. At times I will run my lures in the shallow warmer water on side planners keeping the boat out in the deeper cooler water. Another area to check out is any warm water discharged from power plants. We have this opportunity south of Milwaukee by twelve miles at Oak Creek. I will go into details of spring lure selection and presentation in the next article good luck Copyright© 2010, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved.
Fishing report | captjim | 
April 20, 2010 8:52 am | 
Comments Off on Fish Report 4/19/2010 Milwaukee Fishing Lake Michigan 
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