Ice fishing holds, but it’s variable for Chicago fishing: Midwest Fishing Report

HeyDale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing:Area Lakes- the warmup this past week really kicked in the bite. However, the downside is we have slush and water on top of 5 inches of ice. We will loose more ice with tomorrow’s rain and the week’s forecast will not build any new ice.Bass have been very good on tipups, dead sticks, and jigging kastmaster spoons along outside weed lines and shallow flats adjacent to deep water. Mid mornings have been the best time. Bluegill have also been good on tungsten jigs tipped with little atom wedgies. Weed clumps in 5-8 feet of water have been holding the aggressive fish.TTYL—Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterworks fishing team

Nobody out on Lake Marie set several guys out on channel and I just talked to him Usual Suspects for crappies and bluegills good fish on both ends as well as about 10 inches on the south end 8in on the North End they did get quite a bit of snow up here about 3 to 5 in so it’s real sloppy machine traffic even though they had a machine out. There is a dangerous spot where through the first warm up which it has cones that were removed that were marking spot that spot will not be safe with the next warm up so guys do need to use caution to be careful out there I’m not recommending people get out if they can avoid it I need to go to safer places but there is a North American ice fishing circuit tournament out there Super Bowl Sunday that I am going to compete in. So I will be back out there as well more checking on it later this week I’m headed to Delavan now to check that

Chicago River and Lake Michigan Well to say we had some rough weather would be an understatement. There have been guys still getting Perch at Navy Pier on Ice jigs waxes and spikes. This has been a Good season for Perch. Jason a young guy that has been fishing the Chicago River for a few years was out fishing from shore and catching Crappie and Gils. I wanted to get out this past Saturday Prepped the boat made some calls and abandon the mission. There were still floating Ice chucks on the river. Not friendly to transducers, hulls, lower units and props. Going to try to get out this week if time allows. I will be at the show in Schaumburg this weekend in the Lake County Water Sports Boat Display talking fishing G3 boats and others. See you on the water, Capt. Pat — www.patharrisonoutdoors.com Thanks Pat

Okay so I just passed through Geneva and Delavan. Geneva has got his out on the bay off of 50 there I believe we call it Library Bay I know they’re getting them nice bluegills there. I went over to Delavan. I stopped by Lake Lawn and there’s guys getting out in the marina there and out in front off of a road there’s guys getting out there’s some fish they’re crappies and bluegills. I went over to the South Shore the shorelines didn’t look as good but there was permanents houses out there and people out there I saw one spot where I machine when out any bus to the Shoreline of going out I’m sure it would be more of the same coming back but it is cold up there. So I’m sure guys will get out with boards if they want to get out but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it with all of us weather like it is. The snow on top is made up super sloppy and go be cold tonight probably rock it up a little bit. If guys are getting out they’re going to probably want to bring boards. Is anywhere from 8 to 10 in most places same on bangs as well I got to report there with 7 to 10 in there. Mostly small bluegills so far at things. Everything kicked in gear by Friday afternoon and Saturday bite was good. Every time we get a melted dirties up the water and it seems slow the bites down. After a few days of cold and clearing the Bites come back together as the weather stabilizes. Sorry for the voice to text but I’m driving and got to get to work. I have guide trips on Sunday on Delavan and I have a Palatine kids fishing event on Saturday that I’m emceeing and doing the seminar at. The guy over there tells me that he had seven and a half inch till this morning and that they’re going to be good to go for Saturday even if we fish off of docks

Dale, Here are the Winter Lake Closures I have from IDNR for Central IL (& couple extra). ANDERSON LAKE –– – THIS AREA Will CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING in Main Lake on Oct. 21st with Last Day to Fishing being Oct. 20th during waterfowl season with bank fishing Only allowed. BANNER MARSH – ** THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING Oct. 18th (last day to boat fish will be Oct. 17th) — AND BANK FISHING ONLY ALLOWED AFTER 1PM but NO FISHING ALLOWED in EAST POINT ACCESS AREA, which is CLOSED TO ALL FISHING to provide a GOOSE REFUGE AREA during season till Feb. 1st – –CLINTON LAKE -REMEMBER an easterly area of Clinton Lake between the DeWitt (CH14) and the 48 bridges willCLOSE to protect fish and wildlife FROM OCT. 10th through – typically March 31st – but with weekend, could be March 30th, 2018..? DOUBLE T S.F.&W.A. ** THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING Oct. 1st with LAST DAY to Fish being Sept. 30th and will remain CLOSED till Feb 1st..EVERGREEN LAKE – –– – A SOUTHERN PART OF EVERGREEN LAKE – AROUND DEER ISLAND and ALL OF SIX-MILE CREEK BAY IS CLOSED TO GAS MOTORS from Oct. 15th through JAN. 1st to allow resting areas for migratory waterfowl. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STILL RUN A TROLLING MOTOR IN THESE AREAS ONLY.-McMASTER LAKE at SNAKEDEN HOLLOW –* THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING for the Season on Oct. 16th (last day to fish is Oct. 15th) till Feb. 1st —NEWTON LAKE –As written in the fishing regs booklet : ** The cold arm of Newton Lake shall be Closed daily from one-half hour before sunrise until 1:00 pm to all fishing and boat traffic except for legal waterfowl hunters during waterfowl season commencing with regular duck season through the close of the Canada goose and regular duck season. * For here – Regular South Waterfowl Season: Nov. 23 – Jan. 31PRAIRIE LAKE in Jim Edgar/ Panther Creek State F&W Area – Lake access is CLOSED to Fishing from Nov. 1st – Jan. 15th until After 12:01 PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays.RICE LAKE –* THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING on OCT. 21st with Last Day of Fishing being OCT. 20th and Will Re-Open at end of Duck & Goose Season..SPRING LAKE (South & North) –* THIS AREA WILL BE CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING in Hunting Area ON OCT. 21st with Last Day to Boat Fish being Oct. 20th –with BANK FISHING ALLOWED ONLY AFTER 1pm–AREAS THAT REMAIN OPEN TO BOATS ARE NORTH OF MAPLE ISLAND with ramp at north end at the Sky Ranch Road launch and IN PIKE HOLE with carry in boats –AND Shore Fishing is allowed in entire Lake after 1pm in Hunting areas or at boat ramps all day..SANGCHRIS LAKE –* THE WEST and EAST ARMS OF LAKE and Small AREA NEAR DAM ARE CLOSED DURING WATERFOWL SEASON to boat traffic effective Oct. 18th (last day to boat fish will be Oct. 17th) through Jan. 31, 2018 (during this time fishing boat traffic is permitted in the center hot arm only). Keep up the Good Work,Enjoy the Fall & GOOD FISHINGlarrysfishinghole.comLarry

Good morning guys. Here is what I have as far as the ice fishing is concerned The Whitefish action is hot and heavy right now as we have very good and relatively safe ice cover throughout the county. The good ice cover allows people to do a little more venturing and get away from those big groups making the fishing that much better. There are endless areas to fish Whitefish as they are pretty much all over along the Door County peninsula from the Chaudoirs Dock area all the way up to the tip of the peninsula. The best depths also vary pending on ice traffic…pretty much from 10 feet of water all the way out past 90 feet, it all just depends how far you want to travel. Some of the most popular jigs include…Rapala jigs, Sweedish Pimples, Buckshot spoons and forage minnows just to name a few, but the options are endless. And most fishermen run some sort of a slider hook above their main jig like a fly, small dot jig, plain single or treble hook. Perch fishing continues to provide some very nice action as of late. The better areas have been the Little Sturgeon area, Riley’s Bay, some pretty nice catches now coming from the deep water from Riley’s Bay south to Chaudoirs and some OK action in the Sturgeon Bay area depending on the traffic on the ice. Here again, staying away from the groups of people and high traffic areas is key. An assortment of jigs tipped with minnows, minnow heads, waxies and spikes work well along with tip up fishing with shiners and Rosy Reds. Walleye fishing has been like normal Walleye fishing for this time of year. Some days you get your bites and some days your just going through the motions. But there are some fish getting caught and a few big brutes too. The biggest we have seen so far this year was 12 ¾ pound slob. Rapala jigs and Oddball jigs still the most popular, but Puppet minnows, Moonshine shiver minnows and Fuzzy Grubs are always a good bet. Tip your jigs with shiners or minnow heads Pike action is going quite well as the weather is a bit more tolerable for avid Pike fishermen to run their wide spreads in search for the toothy critter. Some areas to try would be Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay, Sturgeon Bay ship canal edges and the Sturgeon Bay Flats. Large Golden shiners and sucker minnows the main bait Brown Trout fishermen are having some success in bays from Sturgeon Bay north to Sister Bay both jigging and running tip up or auto fishermen spreads. Suspending golden shiners or large lake shiners number one method Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

Once water goes down game on for creek steelhead this will light them up

Warm weather plus a free fishing weekend put lots of anglers on the ice! Popular areas got covered with anglers taking advantage of the conditions. Even some less frequented areas had visitors as travel was (get back to that later) excellent! Yellow Perch: Good-Very Good – Best over mud flats in water of 18-28’. Fast dropping spoons (Pimple, Halis, Flash Champs) tipped with wigglers, red spikes. Nice temps of 20+ degrees allowing for good tip-down use baiting with #14 or #16 trebles and small rosies. Crappie: Good-Very Good – Overall deep mud and transition degrees in 14-30’ best using tip-downs with rosies or Clam Caviar Drops tipped with waxies. In shallower water, with good cabbage in 7-12’ anglers picking up Crappies slow dropping #8 rockers of white or gold tipped with white or sliver plastic. Euro Tackles Z-Vibe also been a hit in water less than 14’. Northern Pike: Good-Very Good – Nice catches with anglers scoring well on tip-ups baited with shiners. Suckers also doing well in some areas, but reports of preference in shiners of late. Tip-up rigs with wire and small blade above hook getting best results. Bluegill: Good – Fiskas and Dudes tipped with moussies, spikes, waxies and dark plastics picking up good action. A few anglers fishing out of the way lakes finding some big Gills, up to 10+! Walleye: Fair – Action overall has slowed. But some anglers finding pockets of success using jigging Raps (#5, #7) along transition zones of gravel to mud between 4-5:30 pm. Suckers have been preferred tip-up bait. Largemouth Bass: Fair-Poor – Despite warm temps, not a lot of Bass reports. Some action on tip-ups with medium shiners, others on small to medium slender spoons targeting Perch in 8-12. Following a great weekend, 8+ of snow fell on the area Monday (1/22). This new snow will probably have anglers leaving their ATV’s at home, requiring travel from trucks and snowmobiles. It’s too early to get a report on the ice conditions. Check our website and/or Facebook page by Thursday for update on travel. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com Like us on FaceBook

ICE FISHING REPORT Ice fishing season is here. For a full report on fishing trends and ice conditions, be sure to visithttp://eagleriver.org/fish/. View the complete fishing report below. Temperatures have returned to average, leaving perfect conditions for ice fishing. Reminder: some area lakes are also marked with barrels for snowmobiles, so be sure to punch your holes away from the trail areas. Northern Pike: We are finding fish on the weed edges and in the deeper weeds. On the edges, the set up should be tip ups set a foot or so off the bottom. When fishing the deep weeds, set your tip ups so that your bait is just above the tops of the weeds. Walleye: These fish are being caught in and around weeds. Setting tip ups on the weed edges baited with walleye suckers or medium golden shiners in low light conditions seem to be best. Also, jigging in the same areas with baits (like the buckshot rattle spoon) are producing fish. The other good option is on the tops of rock humps for good spots in the early evening. Panfish: Bluegills are being found in the weeds using small jigs tipped with waxies, spikes or tipped with plastic. Perch are being caught on the deep weed edge where the mud meets.

Some brown trout and a couple coho taken at portage river walk tooFew boats out got a few fish water dirty with ice and snow meltTons of people out over weekend valpo derby and Griffith izzak walton derby great turnout and some decent fish caught Potato creek gave up some decent gills and crappie too fishing near the stick upsOnce water goes down game on for creek steelhead this will light them upIce starting to fade be careful slit have stopped going already weekend warm up coming will ruin for sure most everywhere