Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2015 | Page 19

There are thousands of lakes to bowfish in the United States, but there are far fewer lakes that can almost guarantee success like the Bay of Green Bay in Wis-consin.

The Bay of Green Bay is an off-shoot of Lake Michigan to the northwest of the main lake. It is surrounded by Wisconsin’s Door, Brown, Oconto and Marinette counties, as well as Menominee and Delta counties in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is 120 miles long and varies from 10-20 miles wide, covering 1,626 square miles.

The deeper water of the upper bay contrasts greatly to the shallower, warmer waters of the lower bay, making the lower bay a fantastic destination for a variety of fish species.

The Fox River on the far south end of the Bay has a major in-fluence on the water clarity in the lower bay and water clarity is a key to success here. If the water is muddy, or even cloudy, the chances of finding fish dwindle, but the farther north you travel the better the chances of seeing fish.

The Metro launch on Bay Beach Road located near the mouth of the Fox River will put you within easy reach of the man-made islands visible to the northwest, as well as Peats Lake and Duck Creek which can still be fished if the wind/waves are harsh.

Additional launches can be found right near Hwy 41 on the west side of the Bay. The first is a small launch that puts your boat right into Duck Creek. This launch is accessed from W. Deerfield Ave.

The second, larger launch is off of Sunset Beach Road in Suamico. This launch will give you access to the western shore where hot-spots exist near the peninsulas that jut out to the north and south.

On the east shore, the Bayshore launch can be found just south of Dyckesville, WI.

When clean water is located it’s usually not long before you find fish. Common carp are the main quarry with fish averaging 15 to 35 lbs., but there are also good populations of freshwater drum (sheepshead), suckers, bowfin, quillback, shad, longnose and shortnose gar.

Along with the bountiful rough fish, it’s common to see large walleyes and monster muskies which the bay is very well known for.

The shooting can be fast and

furious and 100 fish nights are not uncommon, but be wary of this body of water and know your boat’s limitations. A wind shift can kick up 5-foot waves in an instant and 100 carp can easily weigh over 1,500 lbs.

Play the wind and weather right and this gem of the upper Mid-west may offer you one of the best nights of bowfishing you’ve ever experienced.

On May 31, 2014, the Wisconsin Bowfishing Association hosted a 10-hour night tournament and anglers brought in over 30,000 lbs. of rough fish.

Topping the Total Numbers category, team Wet Dreams Bowfishing landed an astounding 410 fish (mostly carp). Mean-while, team Obscure Adventures (my team) topped the Big 30

category with 20 carp, 8 quillback and 2 suckers that weighed 582 lbs. Our carp averaged 26.5 lbs.

and we had 4 carp over 30 lbs. including the biggest carp of the

tournament at 33.3 lbs.

(continued on Page 18)

Lake Profile:

Bay of Green Bay Lower Bay

Exploring one of Wisconsin's Rough Fish Jewels

by Pete Gregoire

17

Obscure Adventures Magazine

Obscure Adventures Pro-Staff member and tournament shooter Jared Shaw with a 33.3 lb common carp from the

2014 Bay of Green Bay tournament hosted by the

Wisconsin Bowfishing Association.