justnorth posted on July 24, 2007 14:25 :: 1288 Views
With the seasonal summer weather of the past week, boating and water recreation has been at its peak with most lakes bustling with activity. Boaters should be especially cautious around swim areas and beaches as many people are swimming during the warm weather. Although much of the state received some rain in the past week, many lakes and rivers are extremely low for this time of year. Water levels on some Northwoods lakes are a foot or more below normal, making a lot of the boat landings too shallow for some larger boats. Paddle sport enthusiasts are floating rivers but some have had a tough time navigating the shallow rapids on the bigger rivers because of low water levels. The Mississippi River is very low, which creates numerous navigation hazards. Wing and closing dams, dead heads, logs, mud flats and sand bars are now either exposed or very close to the surface of the water. The Wisconsin River is also low, which is also creating navigation problems; however, numerous sandbars are exposed creating ideal camping and relaxing areas.
With all the recreational boating activity, anglers have focused efforts in early morning and evening hours. Largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing has been good to excellent statewide. Largemouth are settling into their typical summer pattern of relating to firm overhead cover such as logs, stumps or bog edges. Smallmouth have also gotten into their regular summer pattern and have been relating very close to woody structure near deep water areas. Musky anglers have been reporting some consistent action along weed edges and in the less dense weed beds. Walleye fishing has been slower, with the best success on leeches suspended just off the bottom in deeper water. Panfish are in summer patterns, suspending near the thermocline over deeper water.
Along Green Bay, high winds and thunderstorms over the week made getting on the water difficult. Water temperatures underwent some massive fluctuations due to high winds and currents moving in cold water from Lake Michigan. Yellow perch action slowed, but walleye action remained fairly steady. Anglers fishing Lake Michigan had a great week, landing large catches of rainbow trout and chinook salmon, along with a few lake trout and coho salmon. In Milwaukee, shore anglers have been catching perch in the mornings off piers.
Wild turkey broods are becoming more and more visible as they forage in fields and grassy openings. These areas provide the most insects for the poults/juveniles which need large quantities of insects that provides protein for the fast growing bodies. The young may spend over 75 percent of the day just feeding or foraging. Most if not all of the young are able to fly now and roost in trees at night to protect themselves from predators.
Cedar waxwings, eastern wood pewees, nighthawks, whip-poor-wills, and bats have been very active feeding heavily on flying insects. The breeding season for many species is beginning to wind down as early nests and even some second nesting attempts have fledged young. Bobolinks and other long-distance migrants are already leaving Wisconsin or staging and moulting in preparation for the long flight to South America. Scarlet tanager, eastern wood pewee, red-eyed vireo and other neotropical migrants are still singing but this should be winding down by the first of August. Shorebird migration has picked up with many adult shorebirds already back in Wisconsin after a brief nesting season in the tundra.
Meadowsweet, black-eyed-Susans, touch-me-not, large-leaved aster, and wild bergamot are blooming. Raspberries, blueberries and thimbleberries are ripening to the delight of wildlife and berry pickers.
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