Species at Sturgeon Bay Canal
Chinook salmon
staging kings stack at the river mouth ahead of the fall spawning run
Coho salmon
cohos follow the kings into the current seams ahead of the spawn
Lake trout
cold-water structure fish, shallow enough to reach the channel in spring and fall
Steelhead
the fall and spring runs stack steelhead in the current below the first barrier
What's biting at Sturgeon Bay Canal, month by month
| January | Off-season — nothing on the roster is in its window. |
|---|---|
| February | Off-season — nothing on the roster is in its window. |
| March | Steelhead |
| April | Lake trout, Steelhead |
| May | Lake trout, Steelhead |
| June | Off-season — nothing on the roster is in its window. |
| July | Off-season — nothing on the roster is in its window. |
| August | Chinook salmon, Coho salmon |
| September | Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Steelhead |
| October | Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Lake trout, Steelhead |
| November | Lake trout, Steelhead |
| December | Steelhead |
Typical seasons for this stretch of coast — a warm or late year shifts them by a few weeks. The live forecast scores today's actual conditions.
How Sturgeon Bay Canal fishes
Open water lies to the east of Sturgeon Bay Canal. A wind out of the east is onshore here — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes stirred-up water inshore, while a west wind flattens the surface and tends to clean it up.
Tide is the clock: moving water pulls bait through the mouth, and the turns around slack are when most of the roster feeds hardest.
Tides here are read from NOAA station 9087072 at 44.7950, -87.3140 — see it on NOAA CO-OPS.
Shops & partners near Sturgeon Bay Canal
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Common questions about Sturgeon Bay Canal
- What fish can you catch at Sturgeon Bay Canal?
- Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Lake trout, Steelhead. Each has its own season, preferred tide and water-temperature window at Sturgeon Bay Canal.
- When is the best time to fish Sturgeon Bay Canal?
- October has the most species in season (4 of 4) — Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, Lake trout, Steelhead. Seasons shift by a few weeks in a warm or late year.
- Is there anything biting at Sturgeon Bay Canal in winter?
- January, February, June, July are the quiet stretch — none of the species we track are in their window then. The bite picks back up in March.
- What tide is best for fishing Sturgeon Bay Canal?
- 4 of the 4 species here feed best on moving water. Moving water is what pulls bait through the mouth, so the hours either side of a tide change usually beat dead slack.
- Which wind is bad for Sturgeon Bay Canal?
- Open water lies to the east, so an east wind is onshore — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes dirty water inshore. A west wind flattens and cleans it up.
- Where are the tides for Sturgeon Bay Canal measured?
- NOAA CO-OPS station 9087072, at 44.7950, -87.3140. What Inlet? scores the live tide, current, solunar and weather for that station.
Inlets near Sturgeon Bay Canal
Fishing a different inlet today? Every one has its own species roster and bite pattern.
See Sturgeon Bay Canal on the map
The national heat map opens centred here, every inlet coloured by today's score. Zoom in for satellite imagery and the NOAA chart — depth soundings, the channel and the bars.
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