Kewaunee County led the state in the number of chinook salmon and rainbow trout caught on Lake Michigan and its tributaries last year.

It was the 20th straight season Algoma and Kewaunee were tops for “kings” and the 14th in a row for steelhead.

It’s not just the fact that the county has two ports, either. Door and Manitowoc counties also have multiple launches and marinas. So what is it, then?

I believe it’s a combination of having a large and highly-skilled charter fleet along with hundreds of knowledgeable private boaters that launch or tie up at Algoma and Kewaunee.

There’s also something in the water: fish, and plenty of them.

Hundreds of thousands of salmon and trout are stocked annually in the county’s rivers, harbors and creeks, and tagging research shows KC waters also attracts salmon and trout stocked all across the lake, including from other states. Perhaps being located at the base of a large Peninsula jutting out into the lake has something to do with it, or that there’s usually a fair amount of baitfish hanging around.

Whatever the case may be, harvest estimates come from charter boat catch reports and creel census surveys of ramp, moored, pier, shore and stream anglers.

Kewaunee County’s chinook catch of more than 35,600 easily surpassed the second-highest take (24,837 off eastern Door County ports) and — incredibly — was only about 2,000 fewer than the entire harvest off Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine counties combined.

The rainbow catch of nearly 18,000 more than doubled any two other counties, and was very close to the combined take off Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine counties.

Brown and lake trout and coho salmon added another 3,000-plus fish to the KC totals, pushing the overall 2015 salmon and trout catch here to nearly 60,000.

Charter boat anglers reeled in more than 21,000 of those, compared to nearly 35,000 on private boats.

Ahnapee and Kewaunee River anglers did well, landing more than 2,200 chinooks and rainbows and more than 100 browns and cohos. The pier and shore estimate was only about 800.

The creel estimate is likely way too low, however, as many of the river browns and cohos (and plenty of chinooks and rainbows, too) are caught in the Ahnapee and Kewaunee after DNR creel census work is already complete in the fall.

License time

The DNR’s new “Go Wild” system had a glitch or two when Zone 1 tags went on sale Monday, but it was resolved fairly quickly, and other than some long waits online the Zone 2 tag sales Tuesday went smoothly.

Phone sales (dialing a number) are no longer allowed, but many hunters used the Internet on their phone, computer or tablet. The wait in queue was long — in the thousands — early on, and many hunters had better luck heading to a license agent for a quick purchase.

I bought my Conservation Patron license on the web at gowild.wi.gov, added the optional Go Wild Conservation Card and made a small donation to the Cherish Wisconsin Outdoor Fund right from the comfort of home, then headed to a license agent to get the leftover permit after seeing how long the “line” was online.

If you don’t buy the Conservation Card, it might be a good idea to put some clear tape over your new paper licenses, or laminate them.

All current fishing and hunting licenses expire March 31, and if this is your year for a boat renewal, that’s an important date for you, too, before you launch. Boat renewals are expected to be available on the new system starting March 29.

Turkey tags

If you forgot to apply for a spring turkey tag or wanted to grab a leftover Tuesday but didn’t, you’ll have another shot Saturday.

All 6,699 period E (May 11-17) leftovers for our zone sold Tuesday, as did nearly 2,500 of the available 7,361 period F tags.

That leaves 4,894 permits left for the 6th and final period, May 18-24. They’ll be available starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the limit is one per day until gone. Cost is $10 per resident, plus license and stamp fee if not already purchased.

Also, for beginners looking for a Learn To Hunt turkey opportunity, there will be a short class April 6 and mentored hunting allowed from April 7-17. E-mail [email protected] for info.

Kevin Naze is a freelance outdoors writer. Email him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press Gazette: Kewaunee County No. 1 in salmon, trout catch