October Door County Fishing
October can be a very hit or miss month for fishing in Door County. Weather can change drastically in a day and turn them completely off, but you may also get 3 or 4 nice days in a row, which will get fish feeding heavily again. If you plan a trip in October and you time it correctly, you may experience some excellent fishing. There still may be some salmon and trout in the harbors and/or close to the shorelines at the beginning of the month. Most of the trollers turn to the brown trout fishing, which can be very good in October.
The northern pike, walleye, perch and smallmouth bass are all available and there are many local anglers that prefer the middle to end of October for catching some of their biggest smallmouth bass and northern pike of the year. I’ve had pictures sent to me from friends, although, they told me that I couldn’t post them, but I’ve seen many pictures of 4 to 5.5 pound smallmouth bass and double digit northern pike that were caught in October.
If you can get out there and you have the time to learn the lake, this can be a great time to catch a trophy smallmouth bass or northern pike. Many of the fishing guides and charters are already shutting down, so make sure to see what their schedule is like before you book your lodging if you plan a trip up here. You may come up here and get skunked day one and two and it may be a smart move to hire a guide for day 3. It’s going to be tough to hire a guide if they aren’t working anymore, so plan your trip accordingly. One side note…It can also be very easy to have a miserable day of fishing in October with cold temperatures, heavy winds and no fish, but I guess that’s why they call it fishing and not catching.
For more information on visiting Door County, take a look at our tourism links.
- Door County, Wisconsin
- Door County Fishing Charters
- Door County Lodging
- Door County Bait Shops
- Door County Marinas
- Door County Boat Rentals
