Best time to fish Sturgeon Bay vs Wisconsin River?

[badgerboyng]

I live in Wisconsin, and want to get into smallmouth fishing. From what I've heard Sturgeon Bay and the Wisconsin River are both great for smallmouth. From what I understand, the best time to fish for smallmouth in the bay is during May, right before the spawn. After that, fishing for smallmouth gets tough out there. The thing is, I have school until mid June, and I'm afraid that by the time I get up to the bay, it'll be too late to catch them in abundance. I would appreciate any knowledge about when smallmouth typically spawn in the bay, and how/where to catch them in the bay after the spawn. Does it really become significantly more difficult to catch them after the spawn? 

 

I can also fish the Wisconsin River, if the smallmouth are more active / easier to catch there in the summer. Again, I would appreciate any knowledge about how smallmouth behavior changes from month to month from May-September in the river. I'm wondering if smallmouth scatter after the spawn. If that's the case, then I imagine it would be difficult to catch them in the bay (because they could move into the depths of Lake Michigan), but it might be easier to catch them in the river, since they are confined to a smaller area. 

 

Any knowledge, insight, or tips would be greatly appreciated! 

[Dwight Hottle]

Welcome to BR.

To answer your question smallmouth fishing on the great lakes is best pre spawn during the months of April & May. Smallies are mostly shallow during the pre spawn period gorging before the actual spawn. After wintering they migrate shallower and are easier to locate and catch. After spawning they start to disperse and head deeper which makes locating & catching them more problematic. Your idea to fish the river might be easier than the bay come later June. Good luck out there. 

[Further North]

I can't give much advice about Sturgeon Bay...my only opportunity to fish there came in late August and it was...challenging...at best.  Bordering on frustrating...

 

I did manage a high 30s musky though...so that didn't suck.

 

On the Wisconsin River - great fishery, but...I'd branch out from there.  While I suspect that fishing the big river would work, my experience is that the smaller rivers are much less pressured, much easier to fish (especially for boatless anglers) and will provide more aggressive smallies...likely in higher densities

 

One potential downside: The fish may be smaller...but you might not know that until you get them in the net - they'll fight like they are much bigger.

 

[badgerboyng]

3 hours ago, Further North said:

On the Wisconsin River - great fishery, but...I'd branch out from there.  While I suspect that fishing the big river would work, my experience is that the smaller rivers are much less pressured, much easier to fish (especially for boatless anglers) and will provide more aggressive smallies...likely in higher densities

 

One potential downside: The fish may be smaller...but you might not know that until you get them in the net - they'll fight like they are much bigger.

 

Thank you both for the responses. I think I'll avoid Sturgeon Bay in the summer and focus on rivers instead. Further North, do you have any recommendations for smaller rivers or streams that are good for smallies? Preferably in Central Wisconsin, because I have a cabin just north of the Dells. 

[Scott F]

The Wisconsin is where I plan to spend a great deal of my time this summer, depending on what stretch you fish pressure is pretty light especially compared to lakes. Your shot at a big smallmouth is pretty good there.

[TnRiver46]

Not sure if it applies in the north country but september is the best month for big smallmouth (for me) down here in Tennessee, and a lot of times it is also the hottest month. Days start getting short and bass feed heavy, but the water is still hot enough for their metabolism to be cranking wide open 

[Further North]

5 hours ago, badgerboyng said:

Thank you both for the responses. I think I'll avoid Sturgeon Bay in the summer and focus on rivers instead. Further North, do you have any recommendations for smaller rivers or streams that are good for smallies? Preferably in Central Wisconsin, because I have a cabin just north of the Dells. 

Can do.  PM me, I'll point you at some ideas.  Happy to meet you on at least one if we can work it out.

[badgerboyng]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Not sure if it applies in the north country but september is the best month for big smallmouth (for me) down here in Tennessee, and a lot of times it is also the hottest month. Days start getting short and bass feed heavy, but the water is still hot enough for their metabolism to be cranking wide open 

That makes sense to me. I suppose if the days are getting shorter, then they have a smaller window of feeding time. And with it being the hottest month, they have to eat even more than before. I haven't fished for smallies during the peak heat of summer yet, but I'll have to try it out! Up here the hottest month is July. 

[tkunk]

I fish Sturgeon Bay all the time.  The best time is May through early June, but there's tons of fishing pressure.  At some point, usually August, the smallies become pelagic, which means "practically impossible to find", because they stop relating to structure and there's so much water to cover.  In late Fall, though, they get bigger and easier to catch.

[badgerboyng]

2 hours ago, portiabrat said:

I fish Sturgeon Bay all the time.  The best time is May through early June, but there's tons of fishing pressure.  At some point, usually August, the smallies become pelagic, which means "practically impossible to find", because they stop relating to structure and there's so much water to cover.  In late Fall, though, they get bigger and easier to catch.

I know that smallmouth come into the bays during May/June, but where do you find them in July (before they become pelagic)? 

 

Also, where do you find them in late fall? Back in the bays? What month in fall do they become easy to catch again? 

[tkunk]

3 hours ago, badgerboyng said:

I know that smallmouth come into the bays during May/June, but where do you find them in July (before they become pelagic)? 

 

Also, where do you find them in late fall? Back in the bays? What month in fall do they become easy to catch again? 

 

In my experience, in July, they can be anywhere, but they'll still relate to structure. If you get the wind blowing the same direction for a couple of days, they'll often be sitting on the wind blown side of any kind of nice-looking smallie structure. Wind's your friend, because it makes them easier to find, and you can burn spinnerbaits and cover tons of water.  If it's a calm day, I seldom bother going out.

 

Late fall is pretty textbook.  They're often near steep breaks that have quick access to the main basin. But with the insane fall winds, it's often impossible to fish the bay, unless you're willing to beat the crap out of your boat.  I mostly fish for muskies in the fall, but I've had some awesome days fishing for smallies in November.

[slonezp]

I fish both places. Sturgeon Bay has fish around all season but quality fish are much more difficult to find after June. They will return to the shallow flats towards the end of September and stick around thru Halloween or so. As earlier stated Sturgeon  Bay gets a ton of pressure with multiple tournaments being held every weekend thru out the season.

 

I fish the Wisconsin River quite a bit for walleye, and the summertime smallmouth bite can be off the charts with 100 fish days while I'm walleye fishing BUT the average size is much smaller than Sturgeon Bay. I have never targeted smallmouth on purpose here but sometimes that's all that bites during the summer months. I rarely catch bass early or late season. 

 

Door County

 

Door County LARGEMOUTH....Yes there are largemouth to be found

 

Wisconsin River