The yo-yoing weather keeps on coming and going, but Braidwood Lake reopened in fine style last week for this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.
Bill Forrest messaged with the photo above about a weekend outing, which showed coho are in on southern Lake Michigan:
Fast limit had to pull out the bragging board
The MFR for Chicago fishing appears in a condensed form Wednesdays on the Sun-Times newspaper outdoors page. The sprawling raw-file report is posted here online on the Sun-Times outdoors page.
LAKEFRONT COHO/TROUT
INDIANA: As Forrest’s photo and note showed, coho arrived, especially in Indiana, and were being caught over the weekend on southern Lake Michigan. Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station, Ind., texted
Coho showed up sunday from whitnig to portage nice chunky fish too. Brads thinfish rapapla j7s flicker shad and dodger flys all taking fish. Shore bite should start being decent using skein squid crawlers and a variety of cleo and ko spoons
CHICAGO:Cory Gecht at Park Bait, which is now open, said powerliners were taking some coho at Montrose, and a few browns. Steve Palmisano at Henry’s said coho were best at Montrose, but some at the Navy Pier point, Shedd and Planetarium, too; some browns deeper on roaches.
WAUKEGAN:Lori Ralph at the Salmon Stop texted that browns were picking up in terms of catching by powerlines or those bait fishing with live or frozen roaches.
MICHIGAN: Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said boaters were taking some coho limits in the warm water near the Cook plant.
LAKEFRONT PERCH
Perch continues to be the top, most consistent, story of the winter (such winter as we’ve had), especially at the South Side slips. Generally, sorting is required for keepers. Steve Palmisano at Henry’s said perch continue to be caught, even with coho starting to show up. Arden Katz said he found good keepers over the weekend at the 87th Street Slip, he also tried 89th, which had lots of perch but mostly small ones. Cory Gecht at Park Bait said some good jumbos were caught inside of Montrose Harbor.
AREA LAKES
Up and down reports on crappie bite beginning. Steve Palmisano at Henry’s said Tampier was one of the places with better crappie reports.
BoRabb Williams messaged Monday:
Just got back …. too windy for coho … wolf slow … powderhorn slow .. saganashkee muddy…. water is 46 degrees in the calumet 3 crappie all in calumet
On bass, Ken “Husker” O’Malley sent this:
Hey Dale, Fishing has been slow on area lakes. The heavy rains and high winds have turned up most lakes. Water clarity is not very good and the water temps dropped a good 5 degrees. Surprisingly the summertime nusence we call the mosquito has made an early appearance already. Good time to get all the reels re-spooled. It’s shaping up to be an interesting spring.TTYLKen Husker O’Malley HuskeroutdoorsWaterworks fishing team
AREA WATER LEVELS
Might be worth going to to http://water.weather.gov//ahps2/index.php?wfo=lot to check area water levels and projection. To get to more specific gauges, even on creeks, in Illinois, go to http://waterdata.usgs.gov/il/nwis/current/?type=flow
BRAIDWOOD
Opening day on March 1, despite wind and weather issues, was wonderful for bass fishing, shore or boat.
The next day Luis Gonzalez and his cousin James Bradley also got on the big blue catfish. Gonzalez messaged:
We ended up landing 4 and losing 5 more Thursday
On Monday, site staff emailed:
March 5th South Ramp 69 degrees North Ramp 57 degrees
Braidwood is open daily 6 a.m.-sunset (6 a.m.-6 p.m. currently, but that will change with time change, I think).
Check with Jon Meder at Jon’s Bait Shop–(815) 237-2822–in South Wilmington.
CALUMET SYSTEM
As noted above, BoRabb Williams picked up three crappie on Monday and water was 46 degrees.
CHAIN O’LAKES AREA
Art Frisell at Triangle Sports and Marine said crappie continue good, mostly in back channels or main lake bays; walleye improve around main lake points as water warms.
For Chain updates, check with Fox Waterway Agency or call (847) 587-8540.
CHICAGO RIVER
Capt. Pat Harrison (click here for his site) sent this first update:
Well week 2 of the season I was out twice. Water temps are about the same 52 to 54 degrees. The up and down weather doesn’t seem to have affected the fish still getting some nice Gils and Crappie the Bass are starting to get a bit more aggressive 2 to 2 1/2 pounders right now but as the water warms up the Big boys will be out. I did do a couple hours shore fishing too on the Desplaines river near my house in Park Ridge caught a couple gils and one Bass about 12″. I am still throwing White jig and twister tail and a White Tight Rope Jig with a 4 in. silver Blue Worm trailer slow and easy. Till next week tight lines to all. I am headed up to Milwaukee this week for the Milwaukee outdoors Show so there won’t be much fishing unless i take a couple rods with just in case. www.patharrisonoutdoors.com Thanks Pat
Nice to have a Chicago River report in early March.
DELAVAN/LAKE GENEVA AREA, WISCONSIN
No update this week.
DES PLAINES RIVER
No update.
DOWNSTATE NOTES
POWERTON:Boat and shore fishing is open. Hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. LAKE OF EGYPT/REND: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing. SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Ken Wilson Guide Service.EVERGREEN: Bait shop and boat rental are closed for the season. HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Closed for season.
FOX RIVER: WESTERN SUBURBS
No update.
FOX RIVER: WISCONSIN
No update.
GREEN BAY/STURGEON BAY
No update from Lance LaVine at Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay.
The Wisconsin DNR report is usually posted Tuesdays and includes reports from both the bay and lake sides.
HEIDECKE LAKE
Reopens to fishing April 1.
ILLINOIS RIVER
Have bait before you go. Live bait is tough to get. B & B Live Bait–(815) 433-0432–is open in Ottawa, 7 a.m.-noon until weather breaks, then it will be open the usual 6-6 or so.
INDIANA STREAMS (LAKE MICHIGAN TRIBUTARIES)
Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station, Ind., texted on Tuesday:
On the steelhead quite a lot of steelhead are active moving around but are in full spawn mode and are not really into feeding cause of that once they spawn they’ll start to drop back towards the lake and starting feeding good again
Ben Dickinson, assistant Lake Michigan fisheries biologist for Lake Michigan, posted this on the St. Joseph River on Friday, March 3:
From the mid-morning of 2/24 through the mid-morning of 3/3, 1,790 steelhead passed thru South Bend for a total of 3,525 since January 1st. Water temp was 40 F. LOTS of fish moving!!
Access points for Trail Creek can be found on the Trail Creek Access Map. Access points for Little Cal and Salt Creek, which are closer to Chicago than Trail Creek, may be found at littlecal_saltcreek_access.
KANKAKEE RIVER
Norm Minas sent his:
The river is a bit below normal flow but not really safe for wading . water is muddy and temps in the high 40’s . it has been strictly a plastics bite for me lately , jig/swimbait or jig/twister tail grub . Hardbaits of all types have been ignored . Smallmouth, walleye and the occasional channel cat at creekmouths, point pools, current seams and eddies. For the most part slowly swimming the lure just above bottom with occasional bottom contact has done the job. Swimming the lure a bit higher off the bottom with no bottom contact worked occasionally. There has been too much algae to allow constant bottom contact .PeaceNorm
LAKE ERIE
The Ohio DNR has general Lake Erie info and a fishing report.
LAKEFRONT
See coho/trout and perch reports at top. NAVY PIER NOTE: The fisherman’s parking special is $6, if out by 10 a.m. Find an parking attendant after you pull in to get the special. PIER PASSES: The pier passes for legal access to fish select piers at Jackson, Burnham, DuSable, Diversey, Belmont and Montrose harbors in Chicago are available at Henry’s ($6 cash, one per valid fishing license).
LAKE VERMILION, MINNESOTA
Check Jarek Wujkowski of Rodsbent Guide Service.
LaSALLE LAKE
Reopens March 15. Will be open daily. Prospects are in my column for tomorrow.
MADISON CHAIN, WISCONSIN
Check the latest from D & S Bait on Facebook.
MAZONIA
Both units are open for fishing. Hours are 6 a.m.-sunset daily. Check with Jon Meder at Jon’s Bait Shop–(815) 237-2822–in South Wilmington.
MENOMINEE RIVER, WISCONSIN
Check with Mike Mladeik at Mike Mladenik Guide Service.
MILWAUKEE HARBOR
Check the Wisconsin DNR Lake Michigan Report, which generally comes out Tuesdays for updates.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN
Remember that gamefish season is over, as in closed.
MINOCQUA: Kurt Justice of Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua, Wis. sent this:
It seems almost every first week of March our gamefish season ends with a yawn, this past one was no exception. Overall, fishing got tougher as the weekend progressed. There were a few bright spots and a few big fish, but overall a drop-off from mid-week as cold temps Friday morning (down to -6 degrees) and high skies along with SE-E winds put a kabosh on the end of the gamefish. Bluegills: Good – Surprisingly good reports as despite lots of small fish, anglers reported nice catches of 7-9 gills. Teardrop and small Rockers (#12 : #10) as well as 2.5 and 3 Fiskas, tipped with Moussees, Waxies or black, red, purple or Motoroil Skimpies and Duppies as well as ISG Leechettes working best. Depths of 6-12’ with the bigger gills of the weekend being found holding tighter to the bottom. Crappies: Very good-Fair – What had been a hot week of crappie fishing slowed as we got to the weekend. Tip-downs baited with rosies were hottest, but as bite got tougher it was the slow drop technique using #10 Rockers that pried the best bites. Tipping Rockers with pink, bubblegum, white and yellow seemed to do best. Silver and green reportedly working for some anglers. Lots of smaller fish mid-day with the best bites coming just before dark with the larger fish. Yellow Perch: Very good-Fair – Like crappies, what had been good mid-week bites died down to little fish for the most part. While deeper water providing better average on Pimples, Kastmasters and Hali jigs tipped with wigglers or red spikes it was the shallow water that gave up a few bigger perch – though the shallows seem flooded with little perch also. Northern Pike: Season ended Sunday, not much to report, but one angler reportedly caught and released a 40 pike on 4# test and a jig pole. Walleyes: Season Over. Some good reports from Sunday night, anglers fishing after dark. Ice conditions improved for the most part over the weekend. The lakes were making lots of noise as the cold temps had ice forming and hardening. Sunday’s 40 degrees plus wind ate off the remaining snow cover. Tall boots and cleats will be necessary. Still can’t recommend truck travel, but ATV, snowmobile and foot good. A few reports on well-traveled fishing areas have up to 20 of ice, though 15-16 is average. This coming weekend should see good travel conditions as temps cool into the teens and single digits at night followed by highs in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com
NORTHWEST INDIANA
Coho and perch at the top. Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station, Ind., texted Tuesday:
Crappie still decent at cedar lake at the harbors on pinky jigs tipped with waxworms and minnows under slip bobbers move pier to pier best way to get a bunch. Willow slough still giving up good gills for those in boats moving around.
ROCK RIVER, WISCONSINNo update.
ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN
The Wisconsin DNR Lake Michigan Report is generally posted on Tuesday and includes a Root river section. Click here for the stream flow update, which can be really important for how good the fishing is.
ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN
Coho/trout reports at top. Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said steelhead are going at Berrien Springs.
ST. JOSEPH RIVER, INDIANA
Click herefor reports from the Indiana DNR.
SHABBONA LAKE
Lake hours are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. during March. Lakeside is closed until April 1 or another round of warm weather, although there will be appointment boat rentals (shabbonalake.com or (815) 824-2581). The restaurant is closed for the season. For more information and reports from Lakeside, go to shabbonalake.com or call (815) 824-2581.
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT
The Wisconsin DNR posts a report during open water at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/lakemichigan/OutdoorReport.html. It is usually posted by Tuesday afternoon. Stream flow info is at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wi/nwis/current?type=flow.
WISCONSIN RIVER
No update.
WOLF LAKE
No update.
WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN
No update.