DNR Weekly Report of July 17

By The Wisconsin State Journal

Jul. 18–Scattered but strong storms this week continued to dump substantial amounts of water in some parts of Wisconsin, with more than 3 inches reported in areas of the south this past week. The northern part of the state received much less, but a couple of half-inch rainfalls were reported.

The rain in the south caused some rivers, like the Kickapoo, to rise considerably. It is expected to fall drastically this week, according to the Department of Natural Resources’ weekly report.

The Wisconsin River rose somewhat but has been slowly dropping and sand bars returned and are usable again. The rain in the north did little to increase river and streams and most are still experiencing fairly low water levels, with canoeists on many rivers starting to bump more rock and scrape gravel in the shallow rapids and riffle areas.

Dane County reinstated the slow, no wake order for all of the Yahara Lakes, including Kegonsa, Waubesa, Mendota and Monona. The floods this summer have washed a lot of nutrients into lakes, and some significant blue-green algae blooms are being reported. People should avoiding contact with bloom material and follow posted beach and lake advisories. Keep dogs away from blue-green algae blooms, too, as it can be toxic if they drink it. Information about blue-green algae and how to protect yourself against it is available on the DNR Web site.

Despite several days of very windy conditions, fishing success has been generally good. Largemouth and smallmouth bass have provided the most consistent action, with largemouth bass settling into their typical summer patterns.

Musky action has been slowly improving, but walleye success continues to be erratic. Panfish action has been generally good, with some nice catches of crappie and bluegill coming from suspended fish near mid-depth cover.

Anglers were hauling in limits of walleyes off the shallow ends of the reefs in Lake Winnebago. Lake Michigan anglers had a mixed week of fishing. Pier anglers had success throughout the week landing some nice chinook salmon and brown trout. Trollers have been catching a mixed bag of chinooks, coho, browns, rainbows, and lake trout.

The Mississippi River was down close to 8 feet earlier in the week but rose after the rain and was at 9 feet at Prairie du Chien mid week. Bluegills and other fish have moved to summer areas often in light current, on wing dams and rocky areas. Many of the bass and walleye have also moved to areas with more flow due to warmer waters. Night fishing for flathead catfish is heating up.

Cedar waxwings, pewees, nighthawks, and whip-poor-wills have been very active lately, feeding heavily on flying insects. Several hundred white pelicans have again spent the summer near La Crosse. They can often be seen herding schools of fish, their usual feeding strategy, or soaring gracefully along the bluffs. Many bird species are onto the second broods but many other long-distance migrants are now done nesting. Shorebird migration has begun to pick up with reports of yellowlegs and even some rarities like piping plover and American avocet seen.

Summer berry picking is just beginning in the north, and blueberries and raspberries are looking plentiful. This should also help alleviate the nuisance bear reports as the bears should have enough to feed on now. Juneberries and hazelnut should be ripe shortly also.

St. Johns-wort, black-eyed Susan, fireweed, Turks-cap lily, figwort, partridge berry, winterberry, spreading dogbane, and honeysuckle are just some of the flowers now blooming.

Mosquito numbers appear to be going down some, but they have continued to be terrible in the river bottoms as well as and some upland areas.

The turtle harvest season opened July 15 in Wisconsin, and state officials are emphasizing that populations of turtles in Wisconsin are continuing to decline, so people need to follow harvest rules strictly. Wisconsin has 11 different species of turtles, two of which — the wood turtle and Blanding’s turtles — are threatened species and one — the ornate box turtle — that is endangered. Information on amphibian and reptile regulations including turtles is available on the DNR Web site.

A 3-minute audio version of this report can be heard by calling 608-266 2277.

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