Sheboygan Wisconsin Charter Fishing Reports
Provided by Captain James Schlegel of Sea Dog Sportfishing Charters of Sheboygan, with contributing reports from other area anglers.

2010 Fishing Reports

SHEBOYGAN CHARTER FISHING REPORT - by Captain James Schlegel, April 11, 2010

After another successful fishing season in 2009, we are looking forward to more of the same this year. I consider myself fortunate, as last year we had one of our better seasons, with an increase in bookings and a good all-around fishery. Sheboygan had an unusual amount of west winds last year which kept the cold water along our shoreline for the majority of the summer. This made fishing productive for both the pier fishermen, as well as for the charter captains, by not having to travel as far to find fish. The water clarity was also a factor, as we had extremely clear water throughout the summer resulting in anglers having to modify their fishing tactics to produce fish. The economy also had its impact on the sport fishing industry here in Sheboygan, with area charter fishing trips down by almost 18% overall. This is the largest decline in fishing trips I've witnessed in our area since I began charter fishing in 1984.  Although some of the charter trips were down last season, recreational fishing was on the increase and some larger fish were recorded. There have also been reports of an increase in the amount of alewives in Lake Michigan, which are the preferred forage fish for trout and salmon. For many years I've provided a detailed report of the area's charter harvest to the local fishing club for review. Although the number of fishing trips are down from the record setting seasons of the past, I am pleased to be able to submit a report that verifies a healthy and productive sport fishery. The Lake Michigan salmon fishing here in Sheboygan is still a Great Lakes success story and the envy of most sport fisheries in the world. Over the past years as a Sheboygan fishing guide, it's been my pleasure to meet and visit with the thousands of fishing visitors to our area and wish all a successful fishing season.

MAY 16, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Well the boats are in the water and 2010 fishing season is underway. Fished offshore today on a Sunny Sunday afternoon fishing from 120 to 220 feet of water. Went 3 for 6 catching a good sized chinook salmon and a couple of rainbow trout. Our best luck was trolling with a variety of dodger fly combinations run deep on downriggers, wire divers and spoons behind planner boards. The water is still cold as expected for this time of year with surface temperatures between 42 and 44 degrees. More and more boats are now on the water and fishing should continue to improve as the water warms up.

View a short video of our fishing trip

MAY 20, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished offshore this morning in 120 to 240 feet of water. Went 6 for 7 catching three rainbows, two chinook salmon and a coho. The water was flat calm today and warmed up from the last time out to 47 to 50 degrees. We caught our rainbows on the surface on JB spoons trolled behind planner boards in 130 to 170 feet of water. Best color was the green and silver JB spoon. Our salmon were caught in deeper water using fly and dodger combos on downriggers set 80 to 110 feet down. I would like to thank everyone who participated and volunteered in the 6th annual "Ride a Charter Boat Day" held on Tuesday and sponsored by the Sheboygan Area Great Lakes Sport Fishermen's club. The weather was great, we had a good turnout, and it was fun to visit with all the fishermen for the free boats rides and the special salmon recipes.

View a short video of our fishing trip

MAY 25, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished offshore this morning in 100 to 160 feet of water. Went 5 for 9 catching all salmon. The water was again flat calm and surface water temperatures are warming up fast. Our best luck today was using a variety of dodger and flies running 70 to 100 feet deep. We had several fish hooked on the surface trolling spoons behind planner boards, but they jumped a few times and spit the hook.

View a short video of our fishing trip

MAY 31, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Couldn't have asked for a better Memorial Day weekend on the water. The weather was great and the fishing was good. Fished all weekend with a number of groups offshore in 100 to 160 feet of water south of the harbor. We had good consistent action catching mainly cohos, rainbows and kings. Had our best luck this weekend trolling spoons behind planner boards. It seemed most of our rainbows and cohos were taken on the surface with some kings down deeper on the downriggers. Pictured below was Sunday Mornings catch.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JUNE 6, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished the same area the past few days just south of the commercial fishermen's nets in 100 feet of water. Caught a good mix of fish every trip in this area. Our best luck this weekend was using a variety of dodgers and flies trolled on downriggers and on the side poles. Also had some success trolling spoons behind planner boards. The fish seemed to turn on and off as the weather systems moved through our area. Good consistent fishing has been the norm just in time for the Sheboygan Salmon Cup fishing tournament scheduled for this upcoming weekend.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JUNE 8, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Still fishing in around 100 feet of water south of the commercial fishermen's nets. Had plenty of action with the same group Monday evening and Tuesday morning. Started the morning losing the first three fish hooked and ended our trip going 9 for way to many. Had some luck today using both spoons as well as some dodger fly combinations. Marked fish all day long in the area fished.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JUNE 10, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

We fished just outside the harbor mouth on Wednesday afternoon during the gusty west winds. Colder water moved in and the fish were active. Had consistent fishing all afternoon working back and forth across the river water pumping out into the lake. Went 9 for 12 that afternoon catching 7 kings a rainbow and a lake trout. The largest fished weighed in at 18 pounds. Today the lake was just about flat calm and we moved back out to 100 feet of water south of the commercial fishermen's nets. Fishing was a bit slower today after the front moved through, but still hooked some nice sized fish for a family group from Iowa. Fished the same area in the afternoon. Had some good hookups on downriggers using spoons and some dodger fly setups on the side poles. Pictured is our morning groups catch.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JUNE 16, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

We've been fishing just north of the Selah Chamberlain ship wreck the past few days. We caught a variety of fish with consistent catches of good sized king salmon. Fished again in the same area this morning working in 80 to 100 feet of water. Water temperature is the same all over and fish have been taken from the surface to the bottom. We caught fish on everything from dodger and flies, spoons and a J-plug, with no real pattern. This year is really shaping up to be a good one and well ahead of last season. The "Sheboygan Big Fish Contest" sponsored by the Sheboygan Area Great Lakes Sport Fishermen's club is well underway and open to all area anglers. This years entries have already surpassed last years fish and it's only mid June. The standing board is located at the Wharf as well as posted on my web site.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JUNE 21, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Still fishing the area just north of the Selah Chamberlain ship wreck. This area has been good for us for days which seems to be holding large schools of baitfish. We had group after group of children onboard this week, and it's been a real pleasure introducing them to our great fishery. This weekend is the Junior Coho Derby sponsored by the Wharf. If you own a boat and would like to volunteer to take some kids fishing on Saturday morning please give the Wharf a call. This event is also sponsored by the Sheboygan Area Great Lakes Sport Fishermen's club for the food and prizes.

JUNE 27, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished the Harbor area today in and out of the river water. None stop action all morning long. The cooler was full!

JUNE 29, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished the Harbor the past few days because we didn't want to over shoot 'em. The combination of colder water, bait fish, and river water pumping into the lake has put the fish right at our doorstep. Double digit catches have been the norm every day. Basic old school harbor fishing is all that's needed using spoons and a few J-plugs.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JULY 3, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

The harbor fishing is still hot. Cold water and abundant bait fish is the right combination to load up on chinook salmon. Caught this bunch in less than three hours right before the Sheboygan fire works display.

JULY 6, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished the harbor area this afternoon from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm with non-stop constant action. Bait fish were jumping all over the harbor. Went 12 for 20 plus using spoons and plugs. Our best action was on the side poles using all-glow and green plugs.  Ice cold water and hot humid air had the fog moving in and out of the harbor reducing the visibility at times. No boat traffic at all during mid day and plenty of good fishing action. I think we had the whole harbor to ourselves. When conditions are like this it doesn't seem to matter what time of day you fish.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JULY 9, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished the harbor area this morning and tied into some big ones. Also fished the same area this evening and caught another 14 fish. Some of the best fishing in years is happening right now.

View a short video of our fishing trip

JULY 12, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Still fishing the harbor area. Just when you thought fishing couldn't get any better, it picks up another notch. This morning we were all done with our limit catch by 8:15 this morning. Non-stop action all morning long and a bunch of big Chinook salmon of all year classes. Plugs seemed to work best for us this morning. The shoreline water is still ice cold and plenty of bait fish around our harbor.

View a short video of our fishing trip

AUGUST 2, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished in 100 feet of water around the Selah Chamberlain ship wreck this morning with some past guests. Had some good luck right from the start hooking a double. Caught 2 rainbows and 9 chinook salmon. No consistent fishing pattern this morning. We caught fish from the surface to the bottom using spoons, plugs and some dodger fly combinations. Surface water temperature was around 65 degrees.

View a short video of our fishing trip

AUGUST 9, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished in 100 to 120 feet of water north of the harbor. Had steady fishing action all morning long using a variety of spoons and plugs. Went 10 for 15 catching all kings and one big coho weighing in at 10.5 pounds. Fish were caught at all depths from 15 to 90 feet down, and seemed to be scattered from top to bottom. The 40th annual Sheboygan Coho Derby is scheduled for this weekend and the lake will be busy with anglers from all over competing for prizes.

AUGUST 23, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished in 100 to 160 feet of water this morning south of town and caught our 15 fish limit. Boated all the Great Lakes sport fish except the brown trout. Had good steady action all over the water column hooking fish from the surface to the bottom. Huge schools of baitfish were marked all morning long. Surface water temperature was around 66 degrees.

AUGUST 30, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished this afternoon in 120 feet of water straight out of the harbor. Good steady fishing action all afternoon long with some first timers to Lake Michigan. Had our best luck using small spoons on downriggers and lead core lines run in the 20 to 50 foot range. Caught 6 rainbows, 5 kings and a coho salmon.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished this morning around the gap as we have the past few days. Cold water has moved to our shoreline and the salmon have moved in with it. Went 8 for 15 catching 5 cohos and 3 kings using plugs trolled behind planner boards. Some of the cohos were almost 10 pounds each.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished the harbor area this morning after some good west winds blew colder water back to shore. Had some good luck catching some nice sized cohos and a few chinook salmon. Most of our cohos were caught early just out side the light house using old school J-plugs trolled behind planner boards and diver rods. We also had luck trolling inside the harbor and along the marina rock piles. We had to check our baits regularly due to the algae stirred up by the prior days wave action, but it paid off with plenty of good fishing action. Went 10 for 16, catching 7 cohos and 3 big kings.

View a short video of our fishing trip

OCTOBER 16, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Fished offshore in 120 to 170 foot of water this morning just south of the harbor. We had some good action right from the start catching both salmon and rainbows on another beautiful fall morning. With water temperatures around 56 degrees we had luck catching fish from the surface to 90 feet deep. We ran dodgers and flies on downriggers and a variety of spoons on our boards and side poles. We even caught 2 fish on one pole using a slider on a downrigger.

View a short video of our fishing trip

OCTOBER 24, 2010 - Captain James Schlegel

Had some of the fastest fishing action of the season this weekend. Caught our 5 person limit of 25 fish in just 2 hours this morning. All chinook salmon and one rainbow trout. Fished offshore all weekend in 120 to 130 foot of water. All the rods took fish, but the downriggers really were the ticket. We ran mainly a variety of small spoons and one dodger fly on the middle rigger. Surface water temperature was 54 degrees.  I think we had the whole lake to ourselves this morning.

View a short video of our fishing trip

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