Kewaunee, WI Fishing Report & Live Conditions

Kewaunee, WI fishing report

Kewaunee Harbor and the adjacent Lake Michigan waters draw a diverse crowd of species through the year. Spring brings brown trout and steelhead staging near the harbor mouth before pushing into the Kewaunee River, while summer transitions to coho and chinook salmon running offshore. The harbor itself holds smallmouth bass along its rock riprap and pier pilings from late spring through fall, and walleye move through the harbor channel during low-light periods especially in spring and autumn. Panfish like yellow perch and crappie congregate around structure year-round, catfish work the deeper harbor mud in summer, and chain pickerel and largemouth bass favor the weedy shallows upriver where the Kewaunee River slows and widens.

For smallmouth, work the pier pilings and riprap edges with drop-shot rigs, tube jigs, or crawfish-colored crankbaits, especially when lake temperatures reach the mid-50s and above. Walleye respond well to jigging with twister-tail grubs or live minnows drifted near the harbor channel edges at dawn and dusk, particularly when river flow is moderate and water clarity improves after rain runoff settles. Perch and crappie stack near submerged dock structure and the pier base — small jigging spoons and wax worms on a drop rig produce consistently. When lake temps push into the upper 50s, trout and salmon move closer to shore, making spoons and stick-baits cast from the pier a legitimate option before they scatter to cooler deeper water.