Mid-summer Chicago fishing: Midwest Fishing Report

Perch action has started 25ft outside of muddline at burns ditch and around dune state park 25 to35ft baby roaches best baits

I fish the ponds early and the creeks or river late to avoid holiday and derby crows and the heat . Basic set up for panfish is a slipfloat with an ice fishing jig , enough split shot to stand the float up and bee moths on the jig . I have been getting a bunch of hand sized sunnies but more dinks as is usual in these ponds . I have been fishing for largemouth with shadow raps, rattlebaits , crankbaits and spinnerbaits . The two biggest largemouth both over 20 inches came on the shadow rap . The rest of the bass have been in the 10 to 16 inch range on the other lures . Just about all the bass have been from 2/3 down in the water column to the upper 1/3 of the water column , along weed edges, wood or open water . peacenorm

Hi Dale, Happy Fourth. I’ve been out a few times over the weekend. Fishing has improved. Some largemouths after sunset in the Kane County F.P., as well as a bullfrog that hit a popper that wasn’t much smaller than he. Pete

Hey Dale, Bass have been decent on area lakes. Best baits have been a Texas rigged power worm and flick shaked senkos. Working these baits along the outside weedlines have been getting numbers of smaller bass.TTYL—Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterworks fishing team

The Stratton Lock will open for the 2017 season on Wednesday, May 3. IDNR lock tenders will operate the Stratton Lock on Wednesdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., and on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. until midnight through October 29. The lock will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (with the exception of holidays) for the 2017 season. The Stratton Lock is also closed for the winter season each year from Nov. 1 through April 30. https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/WaterResources/Pages/StrattonLockandDam.aspx

Chicago River and Lake Michigan Fishing Report. Out a few times last week still a little work finding Bass, I am going to concentrate on some deeper water this week. Pan fish are still doing well, We have caught Crappie, Gills and White Bass in wood again White Jig and twister tail seems to do the trick. Some smaller ones but that god for the future of the river but we are still finding some nice slabs. We did get a hand full of Bass 1 to 18. It was a fun week a couple Father son groups and they wanted the sons to catch fish the Pan Fish did their job. I teach the younger anglers to jig or cast and swim the jig and twister tale so they feel the bite not see a bobber go down. They are having a blast. One last little thing boating safety on the river as it becomes more popular the boat traffic is increasing and so are the number of folks that don’t know the rules. Please if you’re a boater take a minute to learn the basics stay to the right just like driving a car no power boats have the right away and No Wake means 5 mph or less we all want a safe and happy day on the water. Till next week tight lines and big fish. — www.patharrisonoutdoors.com Thanks Pat

Lake Geneva Fishing Report 6/25/17 through 7/3/17 Lake Geneva Fishing Report 7/3/17 through 7/10/17 Fishing has been very steady on Lake Geneva over the last week. I’ve consistently caught both largemouth and smallmouth in the same water depth, plus there is an ample supply of pan fish and rock bass to be caught. Largemouth bass have been very active. They can be caught using two different methods. The first is a drop shot rig with a four inch finesse worm or a split shot rigged nightcrawler. The best depth for consistency is 13-14 ft of water. Due to the wind, I’ve been fishing mostly on the south shore. The best location has been by the Yacht Club through South Shore club. When the wind allows, I’ve also been finding fish by the buoy line in Williams Bay in 14 ft of water. Most days the drop shot rig will out produce the nightcrawler. Smallmouth bass have been in the shallow weeds in 13-14 ft of water. They have been intermixed with the largemouth from the Yacht Club to South Shore Club. Unlike the largemouth, the smallmouth have been preferring a live nightcrawler instead of a plastic worm. As the water warms, the smallmouth bass fishing will become more difficult as the fish will be suspended throughout the water column. Northern Pike fishing has been slow due to the cooler water temperatures. The thermocline is starting to form but it is very weak. As the summer moves on the thermocline moves from 23 ft of water down to the mid 30’s. The best location for the pike have been in Fontana just outside the moored boats. The best presentation has been medium suckers fished on a lindy rig. With the lindy rig, you want to have constant contact with the bottom. Bluegills have been sliding out to the deeper edge of the weedline. They are being caught is 17-19 ft of water. They are being caught by Elgin Club or Gage marine. The best bait has been giant reds or leaf worms. You want to fish the leaf worms directly beneath the boat about 1 foot off bottom. Rock bass fishing has been very good. I’ve been catching them intermixed with the largemouth and smallmouth bass on the south shore. They’ve been biting on white hair jigs or split shot rigged nightcrawlers. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063

Delavan Lake Fishing Report 7/3/17 through 7/10/17 Delavan Lake continues to be a go-to lake in SE Wisconsin. Fishing has been fantastic. With the 4th of July holiday, the lake saw an extreme amount of fishing pressure. The best suggestion is to fish early in the morning as the boat ramp gets really busy by about 6:30 a.m. and fishing is almost by 11:00 a.m. with the activity on the water. Crappies have been biting in 12-13 ft of water in the mid depth weeds. They can be caught on mini-mites or twister tails. The best colors have been purple and chartreuse. You can catch them in two patterns. One is slow trolling at .6 mph, this allows you to cover a lot of water. The second presentation is the simple cast and retrieve. Northern Pike fishing has been steady. The best location has been by the old Boy Scout Camp on the west end or by the gray condos. The best depth has been 17-19 ft of water just on the outside of the weed edge. It seems that the larger suckers have been producing the larger fish. I’ve been presenting the bait using a lindy rig. I use a 1/0 hook and a ¾ oz to a 1 oz walking sinker with a 2 ft leader length. Position the bait about 1 ft off bottom or just above the weed growth. Largemouth bass fishing has been good. There is still the issue that there are excessive amounts of 10-11 inch fish. The best location has been the main lake points such as Willow Point, the Yacht Club and Browns Channel. I’ve been catching them on split shot rigged nightcrawlers or 4 inch finesse worms. Green pumpkin with purple and red flake have been the best colors on the finesse worms. Bluegills have been pretty consistent on most days. They are positioned on the weed line in 13-15 ft of water. The best presentation is trout worms or giant reds. I’ve been fishing straight beneath the boat with a split shot and a small hook. The best location has been to the east of Browns channel and just to the west of Willow Point. With the warming water, Walleye fishing has slowed down a bit. I’m catching one or two per trip in the weeds in about 13-14 ft of water. All of these fish are coming right at first light. The best success I’ve had has been while bluegill fishing. The best spot I’ve found has been by DelMar. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063

Evergreen Lake BAIT SHOP and BOAT RENTAL Hours: 6:00 am to 6:00 pm Daily NOTE – During the weekdays staff is not present, please press buzzer on the front of the building for assistance or call the Visitor Center at (309) 434-6770.

Hi Dale, Happy Fourth. As far as moving water, the Des Plaines and Fox were up and discolored, with the Fox being in slightly better condition. It was fishable-much clearer-right along the banks, which is where the fish will be in higher and faster flows. I opted to fish tributaries both north and southwest of Aurora where there was more room to cast than near shore on the Fox. They were both clear and normal levels. Smallmouth, rock bass and even a good-sized channel cat were brought to hand. There were also some mayflies hatching on one of the creeks. Not a blizzard-like hatch as on a SW Wisconsin trout stream, but there were enough around to draw the attention of the local dragonflies and swallows. Pete

A Fox River long weekend river update for you and anyone here that reads this. The river is running a bit high at 2750 cfs, that’s real close to shore wading. Typical summer pea soup look to it too. Fish can be caught though. BUT, happened to wander along a few creeks this morning. They are in perfect shape and running crystal clear. Everyone fishes the mouths, so some research should be done to find inland parks and forest preserves to fish. Go light and small to catch anything of any size and don’t be picky. This should be a fly guys paradise, they know how to go light and small already.

Steelhead on shrimp and spawn in trail creek good lots of fish means lots of fisherman pier fishing in portage and Michigan city day to day if u hit it just right it is fast and furious action shrimp under a float and all orange ok wobblers

What a day , start at 0 dark 30 , take a break after 9AM , get a couple waffles in me, check the net whilst eating and head back out . just got back , over 11 hours on the water . fished from area 7 up to city parks in bourbonnais . river finally at normal flow , could not quite wade every where I wanted but got to most of it . spot of rain mid afternoon but otherwise just wind to contend with . When i was at shocking day , I noticed yea many craws in the boat’s livewells . That was the only clue i needed for today . I fished bandit 200’s and 300’s all day on cobblestone flats , around islands , humps and bridges and riffle areas . It was just a matter of fancast, move and repeat . No algae issues , caught some emergent veggies but no big deal with that . I broke the century mark for the first time in a long time . The pattern held all day, still could be out there catching fish . But a guy has to eat and that’s the longest trip in a while. My legs are screaming, I’m going to pay for this but when you are on trip like this you fish until your old bones say enough . Well, my legs hurt no matter what I did my legs still hurt , so I went fishing . Flow didn’t change but I was way east of where I fished yesterday . I got in three hours of wading before I had to quit . I started with crankbaits but only had a couple takers . I ended up fishing a weighted keeper hook with a powerpulse worm , got 5 more . After that I went to an out of the way pond , sat on the cooler in the shade with a cold drink . I rigged up two rods with floats , ice fishing jigs and bee moths and caught a bunch of sunfish . with all the rain in the IQ basin the river jumped up downstream of there , making it unwadeable . So I stalked the shoreline with buzzbaits, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits working the waterwillow pattern . Buzzbaits over the tops of the willows and out on the edge produced the biggest smallmouth . Chatterbaits produced better over the beds while spinnerbaits produced better along the points and cuts on the bed edges . river was chocolate milk .creek reportAs part of my strategy for avoiding the holiday and derby crowds and heat I have been fishing early and late . I hit the ponds early and the creeks later . The creeks have been low , not too much of an affect from the rain . The smallmouth and rockbass have been concentrated in the pools making for long wades in between them . A Bass Magnet crankbait on a medium lite 7ft spin coupled with a 200 size reel and 8 lb Cortland camo line . The biggest bass have been in the 17 inch range , most are in the 10 to 14 inch range . The rockbass are primarily in the 6 to 7 inch range with a few running twixt 9 and 11 inches . peacenorm

Well on this trip even with studying the Delorme Atlas and Gazetter and Google maps I did more driving than fish but it was worth it . I fished both branches and the main stem of two different creeks as well as two tributary creeks to each of the creeks . Gear ranged from a 5 ft ultra lite spin with a 100 reel and 6 lb test to a medium lite 7 ft spin with a 200 reel and 8 lb test depending on the size of the water . Some of these waters were a step and a half to three steps wide . A tiny split shot with a size 10 hook and a bee moth produced creek chubs, sunnies and rockies as well as two 4 inch smallies . An 1/8 oz jig with 2 inch twister tail produced smallmouth , rockies, sunnies and a few chubs in the 9 to 11 inch range . A crankbait or spinnerbait produced smallmouth and rock bass . Biggest smallmouth of the day was 15 inches, biggest rockie was 9 inches, the sunnies were all small . I caught fish every where I fished although a couple of the real small tribs took a bit of wading to find water with enough depth to hold fish. This is something I long wanted to do in one trip not in various segments over many trips . It really left me feeling like I am more connected to the entire watershed . peacenorm

Early a.m., green can buy straight out of harbor, nice coho, flies, spoons, dodgers with dipsy divers. Happy 4th!

Hello and good evening Dale.Happy of 4 July for you and your family. Waukegan coho fishing is still hot early morning in 60 feet of water.For mixed bag of fish, if you are after big game, 180-240 is the best .This picture is good example of this. We comes back with many big rainbows, mixed with kings and lakers and coho.Thanks Ted (diehard angler )Boska

Coho a few steelhead and kings from the ditch to east Chicago 60 to 80ft real decent fishing dodger flys and regular size spoons Perch action has started 25ft outside of muddline at burns ditch and around dune state park 25 to35ft baby roaches best baits Steelhead on shrimp and spawn in trail creek good lots of fish means lots of fisherman pier fishing in portage and Michigan city day to day if u hit it just right it is fast and furious action shrimp under a float and all orange ok wobblers Catfish in ditch really good now in portage river walk on sonnys stinkbait in evening

Shabbona Lakeside is now OPEN for the SEASON Lakeside will be open everyday, 7 days a week, April 11th to September 5th 6 AM to 7 PM September 6th to September 30th 6 AM to 6:30 PM October 1st to October 10th 6:30 AM to 6 PM October 11th to October 31st 7 AM to 5PM