 |
| Guide Eric Haataja with a Lake Michigan brown. |
February 2, May 3
On many other occasions, you’ve seen me escaping a Minnesota winter to visit fish someplace warm and exotic, which doesn’t exactly describe Milwaukee, Wisconsin in early March.
But one thing I, and every great lakes fisherman in-the-know knows about brown trout, is that the best time to catch them is from the late fall spawning period through spring when water temperatures are cold, cold, cold!
This is when brownies congregate in and around great lakes harbors and virtually every industrial warm water discharge wherever they happen to be found. The three keys to these types of spots are fall spawning migrations…current…and micro areas of warm water that attract baitfish like a magnet during winter and spring.
Then, in late spring, as the whole lake begins to warm, brown trout concentrations dissipate and the fish spread out. When this occurs, rather than fishing from more stationary positions, anglers find greater success covering more water with assorted trolling techniques utilizing faster moving baits.
But again, its early March, here at Milwaukee Harbor, Wisconsin where the clutches of winter are finally subsiding and Lake Michigan ice is not altogether gone, but close.
God I love the flavor of this truly great lake and this time around I’m really excited to meet up with Eric Haataja (Hotia)—an expert lake Michigan and inland fisherman, who’s followed in his father’s footsteps to become a full-time guide.
I kind of hate to cut you off like that before seeing the reason I traveled so far and decided to endure the cold for the thrill of a very special fish. But right after the break, we’ll be back with more extreme, Milwaukee Harbor browns, so be sure to tune in!
