Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Spring Brown trout tourneys

Almost March! Looking forward to a Brown trout tourney, or 2, this spring out on Lake Michigan, we go out of Sturgeon Bay, WI. Wonder how much the super high lake level will affect it. I have a place between Algoma and Sturgeon Bay right on the lake, and the lake is getting closer and closer! Fished in my first Brown trout tourney last year and had fun with it, even made the board, but nothing winning. Have some Rappalas with a bunch of teeth marks in them, hoping for some more! Retired 2 years ago now, really enjoying getting out on the lake more and more. From trout and salmon, walleye, perch, small mouth bass... even some pretty big pike in the SB shipping channel. Lots of plans, hope they come to fruition!

The Baileys Harbor Brown Trout Tournament is April 23 - 26 if anyone is in the area and interested. Find out more at infobailysharbor.com or call 920.839.2366. It's for Door and Kewaunee County waters, lake or bay. I know I enjoyed last years tourney and am looking forward to the one this year.

That brown trout is leaned out some just like the salmon over that way from back in the days when we used to chase them. I remember breaking ice out of Baileys Harbor to get after them early. You probably weren't up there before they started netting out the alewifes, but everything was half again larger with all that forage base. We would hit the nuclear plant warm water discharge areas with our little boats after work and bring home five 30 plus pounders. The browns out of Baileys looked more like footballs. Good memories.

Yeah, this Brown is a little lean, it was just the first one that day. And unfortunately, one of the bigger ones I caught during the tourney last year. I remember the alewives, I remember them being over ankle deep on our beach! We have a place just north of Algoma, been in our family since 1916. They've decommissioned the nuke plant south of Kewaunee, so no more warm water discharge. If I could figure out how to post a pic from my phone, site won't let me as the file is too large, I'd post a pic of a very nice Brown caught through the ice yesterday on Milwaukee Harbor. But, as you said, the forage base has changed. But, I'll be out on the open water soon and looking forward to it.

Blue Door's tourney was canceled this year out of Kewaunee. Water's so high the boat launch has been closed since last 4th of July.

Yep, high water is definitely an issue.