Opening water, LaSalle opener, coho: Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report

More LaSalle lake today Jeff ayeski 19 inch hybrid stripes mike Berman 18 3/4 stripes Bert Saxon please verify our 19 inch fish

First time ever going to Lasalle on opener week and first time ever getting hybrids

100 stripers…..30 bass…… Biggest largemouth 5lbs Every cast on the stripers.. around 5 pounders

Larry Jennings I got one!! 18 inches of fun😱🎣🐳Got a couple of nice Blue Cats to go with the Big guy

Yes there’s been Coho and Browns Saturday was real good Sunday nothing in the morning but the wind changed around in the afternoon and they slammed them after 2 p.m. yesterday was slow this morning there was some fish so it’s been back and forth but not bad. Power lines as well as a few caught on rod and reel.

Coho on lake from cal park to new buffalo trolling good on thinfish j9 rapalas and flicker shad in a variety of colors fishing top 10 ft of water Sunday was tough for most but still fish caughtShore guys it’s skein on bottom crawlers squid and shrimp on bobbers few caught casting ko wobblers and lil Cleo’s again variety of colorsMichigan city for shore guys has been best but some being caught everywhere port of Indiana portage riverwalk east Chicago marina and Hammond marina

While it is not specified in the release, most early-stocked trout fishing sites are open to catch-and-release fishing, including fly fishing, for trout beginning March 23. IDNR Fisheries encourages early-season catch-and-release fishing for trout at these open sites, including fly fishing, as we try to provide more fishing opportunities for anglers, including fly fishing enthusiasts. The early-stocked sites are mainly IDNR sites (same as last spring): Apple River at Apple River Canyon State Park Rock Creek at Kankakee River SP Pine Creek at White Pines Forest SP Siloam Springs SP Gridley Lake at Jim Edgar Panther Creek SFWA Horton Lake at Nauvoo SP Morgan Lake at Nichols Park in Jacksonville IDOT Lake in Springfield Willow Lake at Peabody River King SFWA And as an additional reminder – catch-and-release means just that; no trout may be kept (harvested) until the opening of the Spring Trout Fishing Season on April 6.

Last Saturday I was fishing hard water out south here. By Thursday, open water fishing. Go figure. Plan on hitting Braidwood Sunday. I’ll send you that report Sunday night. Hope to get to hit some local waters inbetween that. —Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Chicago River and Lake Michigan Report, So this week was the first week in a long time that I had the whole week to get things done. The boat is clean prepped and ready (It’s For Sale) if anyone is looking for a Great Boat. With the G3 Certified Guide Program they want you to upgrade every two years so when this one sells I will be going into an Angler 21 same layout with 2 feet more floor space. Talked to a few folks that have been out fishing open water where they can find it. As everyone saw over the weekend the Chicago River is open surface temperature is 34 degrees and water is slow moving. I was a follow boat for ROW Recovery On Water a group of woman recovering from Breast Cancer that use rowing as therapy. I follow them in case there are any issues. I really don’t fish the river until the surface temperature hits 38 to 42 degrees that’s when they start to turn on. Small baits fished slow near bottom work to start the season my go to is a white JIG AND twister tail tipped with a waxie or minnow. On the Lake side I have heard of some Trout and salmon being taken. This time of year if you want to get out a bit deeper and move you bait if there aren’t a lot of people out try a YellowBird planner board. You can get your bait out as far as you want by walking slow down the shore. Make sure you put a hair pin swivel on the eye on the lower rear of the board and hook around the line so your board doesn’t float away. This can add to your catch rate. We pull boards on my boat to cover more water you can do the same from shore. If you get out to fish Please send me some pictures I want to start posting pictures of Chicago Fishing on my Website and Facebook page. www.PatHarrisonOutdoors.com FB:Pat Harrison Outdoors – Fishing Adventures PatHarrisonOutdoors@gmail.com Till next week , Thanks Capt.Pat

Steelhead action good in trail creek lately on voodoo jigs tipped with beemoth and spawn saks all under floats few fish had on inline spinners

Walleye are the talk of the river again this week. Water is finally falling and clearing. Its been holding above 40° at night and getting up around 44° during the day. There is some rain that will be coming in tomorrow. All we can do is hope that its light. Any substantial rain and we will be back to fishing high water. Im still confident that some fish will start spawing this weekdend so look for a very stong bite the next 3 days especially with the full moon tomorrow night. Some walleye have been caught from what im hearing. All males and no big feamles reported yet. Fish are coming on or very near slack water areas or current seams. Jig and twister tail or paddle tail swimbait have outfished live bait. If the flow continues to slow fish will start moving and seeking out food and the live bait bite should heat up. Also seeing some smallies and catfish being caught by guys targeting walleye. Saw the fish crawdad of the year 3 days ago. Positive sign of things to come. If you are new to walleye fishing in small rivers i did a class and it was recored and posted on the Kankakee River Rats Facebook page. We had around 35 or so people come check it out. Made some new friends and shared some good informantion. Sharing the fun of fishing turns strangers into friends in a few hours -Eugene Clark

Yes there’s been Coho and Browns Saturday was real good Sunday nothing in the morning but the wind changed around in the afternoon and they slammed them after 2 p.m. yesterday was slow this morning there was some fish so it’s been back and forth but not bad. Power lines as well as a few caught on rod and reel.

Finally, first decent ice fishing opportunity in weeks! Last weeks warm up knocked snow cover down to a level that made access doable. The cold nights since firmed up the top of the snow to a crust solid enough to walk on. Snowmobile, tracked ATV/UTV’s, walking, and even in some areas untracked UTV’s, are making it out there. Ice thickness ranging from 24-28 on average with some areas as low as 20 while others over 30. Bluegill: Very Good – With better accessibility and more anglers out, catch rates have improved. Standard teardrops, VMC Waxy jigs, Demons and Spitzfires tipped with wax worms, beaver tail or plastics (red, maroon, purple) best. Depth of 8-10’ best. Crappies: Good – While most of the best bites are deeper (12-20’), where getting there is the battle, some migration up into 12-14’ standing weeds. Come dusk and early AM for bonus bites for Gill anglers. Slow dropping Lethal Cecils, Rockers tipped with white, yellow and pink plastics as well as strips of beavertail very good. Don’t be shy about fishing 3-4’ off bottom. Tip-downs using Crappie minnows or rosies good and only going to get better. As Crappies get more active with warm up small slender spoons, Vinglas and Z-vibes will also work tipped with a waxie or minnow head for flavor. Yellow Perch: Good – Same as Crappies, best fishing still relatively deep, but migration should pull fish in as weather warms. Best in 16-24’ using wigglers for bait. Hang a lively one on a Hali, Flash Champ, pimple (#2) or Kastmaster. Bang the bottom a few times to stir up the mud, then raise 2-3’ off bottom. Aggressive Perch will rise, sometimes 4-6’ off bottom to eat. Forecast looks nice, should give us two weeks of great pan fishing weather. Warm days to take snow down, cool to cold nights to firm things back up. Despite 2’ of ice, in some areas that ice is not great. Good for now, but as snow melt seeps through it will become porous (honeycombed), by the end of next week, start checking ahead for travel conditions. As of now fair, but getting better. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook —

Coho on lake from cal park to new buffalo trolling good on thinfish j9 rapalas and flicker shad in a variety of colors fishing top 10 ft of water Sunday was tough for most but still fish caughtShore guys it’s skein on bottom crawlers squid and shrimp on bobbers few caught casting ko wobblers and lil Cleo’s again variety of colorsMichigan city for shore guys has been best but some being caught everywhere port of Indiana portage riverwalk east Chicago marina and Hammond marinaCrappie starting good at cedar lake at the marinas along the docks Rufas jr jigs tipped with beemoth and white tube jigs fished under bobberSteelhead action good in trail creek lately on voodoo jigs tipped with beemoth and spawn saks all under floats few fish had on inline spinnersLots of stuff going on will be better by end of week with steady weather we are having