Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Illinois’ inland trout opens Saturday; shoreline salmon/trout

Beautiful pumpkinseed caught calumet system thought you would like it

ROCK ISLAND, Illinois – Beginning July 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District is temporarily closing the Dresden Island, Marseilles, Starved Rock, Peoria and LaGrange locks on the Illinois Waterway to facilitate needed repairs and maintenance. The closures, which will be conducted simultaneously to limit impacts to navigation, are scheduled to last through late October. During the closures, no vessels will be able to pass through the closed locks. Navigation on the rest of the river, between the locks, will be able to continue without impact as water levels will be maintained at a normal level throughout the season.

Hi Dale I was out today at a pond in Romeoville and got this nice 14 inch crappie on a jig, keep up the good work and be safe, Rico Cantu from Lockport Il.

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. Area lakes- bass and crappie continue to be good. Work outside weedlines with lipless crankbaits and jigs with a craw trailer. Plastics under a slip float and jerk baits are taking crappie in the same area. . . . TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Long day at the river not to mention rainy and cold, managed a 3 lb Cat today, lost a Carp which i fought for a hour, got my net down to get him in, i got him up one splash and he jumped out out breaking my line,he had to be at the very least close to 30 pounds

A big Northern I caught in Ogden slip on Thursday

Delavan Lake 10/12/20 through 10/19/20 Fishing has been very tough over the last week or so. The water is really dirty and I think the warm weather has confused the fish and they aren’t sure whether they should be in their fall or summer patterns. Walleye pike can be caught trolling deep diving crank baits or jigging in 35 ft of water. You want to be just outside the main lake points when trolling. I troll between 16 and 22 ft of water. The early morning hours are the best. You want a fire tiger or pearl colored crank bait which resembles the crappie. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or by the island. You want to get to the lake about an hour before sunrise. Northern pike have been spotty. The pike I’ve caught were in 10-12 ft of water on the weedline. They can be caught on medium suckers fished on a slip bobber. The best location has been by the Oriental boathouse or by the Yacht Club. I haven’t been fishing suckers on lindy rigs so that might be a possibility. Keep the boat on the outside of the weed edge in 17 ft of water and back troll into the wind. Bluegills remain suspended in the main lake basin. They are 20 ft down in 35 to 40 ft of water. A good fish locator is essential to find the active fish. The best presentation is an ice jig or a single hook with a heavy split shot. You want to fish straight lined right beneath the boat. Look for the fish by the Village or off of Willow Point. Perch are being caught in 12-15 ft of water. The best bait is large leaf worms or small fat head minnows. Look for the fish by the outlet channel or down by the old Boy Scout camp. Fish the worms on a slip bobber rig for the best success. Largemouth bass are in 4-5 ft of water around the boat docks. I’ve been concentrating on south shore piers. They can be caught on Senkos. Green pumpkin or watermelon seed are the best colors. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

Ken Husker O’Malley emailed: Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. . . . Area rivers- smallmouth and largemouth are decent on the Illinois and DesPlaines. Work crankbaits and chatterbaits along discharges, ledges, and rock humps that are holding bait fish. Water temps are in the upper 50’s to low 60’s. . . . TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale, Here is this week’s report (only moving water this week-no lakes or ponds). I practiced casting on the Fox because the rain that is falling right now will likely bring in some fresh salmon to the tributaries on the west side of Lake Michigan-I want to be ready with the Spey rod when they show up. I did catch a few small smallmouths right along the bank in the clear water. I went after smallmouths again on Sunday, this time closer to the mouth on the Fox, Kendall County instead of Kane. I was intent on using topwaters only, so started with a foam hopper (still a lot of grasshoppers around in the long grass when the day warms). I had an aggressive follow from a couple of smallmouths, but they both peeled off right before committing. After a fly change or two and still no bites from the fish, I tried to approach their most likely lie and give them a different look. Unfortunately they weren’t in the most likely lie and I spooked them while moving up on them. I did get a good look at them; they were good-sized. Either would’ve made the day. Consolation came in the form of a lot of nice crappies out of the deepest pools on the creek. Trout season in Wisconsin closes on Thursday, so I may take one last shot at some brook trout before then. Pete

Dale, Smallmouth bite on Geneva is on fire. We bought bait and gas pre Wisconsin border to be covid safe. Caught most on Lindy Rigs with large golden roaches. We wanted to go out on the lakefront but wind and waves changed our mind. Glad we went to Geneva instead a bit windy but you could find sheltered points that produced fish.

Hey Dale I fish a few of the lakes around lake geneva and caught a nice largemouth in the late afternoon this week. Water temps were cool, high 50s and only got bites on moving baits. Booyah 1/2oz spinner with a kalins paddle tail trailer, white/blue pattern was what I landed this guy on

Fishing Report 10/12/2020 Mike Norris Big Green Lake – Fishing really picked up last week with the return of good weather to south central Wisconsin. Smallmouth bass fishing improved on Big Green Lake as water temps dropped down to the mid to upper 50’s. My clients and I are catching smallies up to 4 lbs. on live bait rigs and this pattern will continue to improve over the next two weeks. I am finding more bass relating to scattered weed patches right now but should see them transition to rock areas soon. Northern pike are also active. Little Green Lake – Most anglers are targeting muskies on Little Green, but the action was inconsistent this past week. The muskie bite should improve with the onset of cooler weather late this week. It will be wise to bring up your own suckers if you plan to fish for muskie. Suckers are hard to get throughout Wisconsin and the price has gone up. Small suckers are going for $4 each locally, with medium suckers at $8 each and large suckers $12.50 each. I am hearing reports of large suckers going for $20 each in northern Wisconsin. Beaver Dam Lake –Anglers are still catching perch and crappies from shore in first and last hours of the day. Hwy G on the west side of the lake has been the most consistent spot for catching crappies, though on some days any of the bridge areas are good. The better crappies are measuring 13.5 to 14 inches. Fox Lake – Walleyes action is picking up. Try trolling crankbaits in 15 feet of water off Kuno Trail. Anglers are also starting to target muskies on Fox Lake with bucktails worked over and around weedbeds. The next four weeks or so should produce the best muskie fishing of the year. I will be speaking to the Lake Geneva Fishing Club about catching huge smallmouth bass during the fall this Wednesday, October 14 starting at 6 p.m. at the Poplar Creek Bowl, 2354 W. Higgins Rd, Hoffman Estates. Guests are welcome for a small fee. Phone me at 630-842-8199 to book a guided fishing trip or contact me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. . . . Area rivers- smallmouth and largemouth are decent on the Illinois and DesPlaines. Work crankbaits and chatterbaits along discharges, ledges, and rock humps that are holding bait fish. Water temps are in the upper 50’s to low 60’s. . . . TTYL . . . — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

4) Snagging for chinook and coho salmon only is permitted from the following Lake Michigan shoreline areas from October 1 through December 31; however, no snagging is allowed at any time within 200 feet of a moored watercraft or as posted: A) Lincoln Park Lagoon from the Fullerton Avenue Bridge to the southern end of the Lagoon. B) Waukegan Harbor (in North Harbor basin only). C) Winnetka Power Plant discharge area. D) Jackson Harbor (Inner and Outer Harbors).

There’s been some trout around mostly on medium roaches with a slip bobber setup. Few guys casting, that is hit-or-miss with a fish here and there. Guys are still hitting Northerns and Smallmouth while casting for salmon. As far as the shop goes through the month of October our hours will stay 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Access to the shop is through the Montrose entrance only.

Seeing some nice steelhead caught on my nightcrawlers, very nice looking fish very clean. Still action on jigging some of our t-traps custom colors and our flicker shads also custom painted colors for just us. Snagging of course is snagging :-) they’re seeing fish. And guys also using spawn sacks and shrimp on the bottom are seeing some trout.

Hi Dale I hate to start a report with a big negative but since snagging season started on October 1, there have been lots of issues. There have been fish guts and eggs left all over government pier. I took a walk down the pier this week and you literally could not step anywhere and not step in dried, caked guts, eggs and blood on the first 1/3 of the pier near shore. This is totally inexcusable since there is a free, fish cleaning station open 24/7 within feet of where this is happening. In addition some shore guys took carts for the use of slip holders and left them with dried blood, eggs and guts. The cleaning station has been misused and overstuffed, clogging it several times this week. People also continue to cast into the South Harbor, which is not allowed. The harbor management company and many slip holders have had enough. If the behavior of the shore fishermen does not change soon the entire harbor will be no shore fishing. Access to the East rocks, half of the South Rocks and banning of casting into the South Harbor has already come from behavior like this. The next step will be closing the harbor to fishing entirely. Perhaps another solution is to eliminate snagging. The problems don’t seem to arise until snagging season starts. There are always a few problems during snagging season, but this year things are terrible. As for fishing in the harbor, there seem to be few salmon left. A few late-spawning kings and coho are there. Browns and Steelhead are also in the harbor now. I have seen those trout in the water but I have not seen any caught yet. Windy weather again limited boat trips. The lake trout are right on the reefs now about to spawn. As of my last trip this weekend, the females still had their eggs and males had their milt. The spawn has not occurred yet, but will soon. Every trip was a limit catch with fish up to 23#. Jimmy Fly Mo rigs in gold were best near the bottom. The bigger lake trout seemed to come up a little higher and hit spoons with Gold and Purple being best run about 20 to 30 feet off the bottom. Warrior Forrest Gump and Purple Alewife were best. I am done running charters for 2020. It ended up being a great year, surprisingly strong given the fact the stocking is way down to help the alewife population rebound. If any readers need recommendations for trips up to November 10, I have a few friends staying in late this year. I will continue to report as I can with information from my friends. My company’s reservations calendar is open for 2021 and we are taking reservations for up to July 4 right now for single boat trips and the whole year is open for big multi-boat outings. Capt. Scott Wolfe schooloffishcharters.com 630-341-0550

No two days the same as of late. Wind direction, wind speed, temperature jumps and plunges, clouds, sun…yet lots of lake surface temps hovering around 55 degrees. It’s definitely October and anglers have been busy targeting their favorite fish of the fall, Musky, Walleye and Crappies. Musky: Good-Very Good – It’s really varying from day to day and lake to lake. While suckers are the typical fare for October, glide baits (Smity Jerks:Phantoms), jerk baits (Suicks) and twitch baits (Cranes, Shallow Raiders) are out boating the live bait on some days. High wind makes boat control tough. Most fish coming off weed lines of 6-10’. Some days of actions (3, 5, 6 or more fish per boat reported) or 1 large fish in the upper 40’s. Looks like a couple more weeks of good action in store! Walleye: Good-Fair – Wind and boat control being the largest hindrance. Vertical jigging Shiver Minnows and jigging Raps along deep rocks and transition areas of 24-34’. Jig or Lindy rig live chubs or suckers if fish are not aggressive enough for lures. Be careful bringing fish out of deep – SLOW ascent is key and responsible for safe release. Smallmouth Bass: Fair – Few reports, but a few anglers finding Smallies along transition zones of hard to soft bottoms in 18-28’. Northern Pike: Fair – Most caught by Musky anglers. Smaller twitch baits and glide baits best. Crappie: Good-Fair – Wind making drifts hard on some days. Deep wood best, but possible to score on suspended fish if you watch your locator closely. Schools suspending at 7-9’ down over 14-18’. Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Perch – No reports. Water temps holding fairly steady at 52-56 degrees due to fluctuating air temps (50-75 degrees past several days for highs). While some bait is tough to find (redtails, Walleye suckers), Musky suckers and farm raised Brook Trout have been available as of late for the Musky anglers. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook

Fall weather coming mid week crappie fishing will get better and better Some coho and few dark kings still in the upper stretches of area tributaries. Slezs bait shop is on fall and winter hours now 5 to 5 everyday 2 sizes of musky suckers in stock

Hi, Dale. I hope you’re doing well; here’s what I have for this week: Fishing on the lakefront, local ponds/lakes, up to St. Joseph has slowed down a lot. ~Perch: anglers are still catching perch in 45 FOW north of the harbor when conditions are good. ~Salmon/Steelhead: moving into the river; anglers are using Maglips & Flatfish. Try drifting spawn under a bobber: seems to be working like a charm. ~Lake trout: still being caught in 100-120 FOW on spin-n-glows, but the fish have been on the smaller side. ~Bluegills/Crappie: doing very well in most inland lakes using jumbo reds & beemoths. ~Bass: have become very active on the river & most inland lakes.

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. . . . Shabbona Lake-water temps have dropped into the upper 50’s with clarity being about a foot. Work double 10’s along drop offs for muskie. A few follows but no takers. Be sure to finish every cast with a figure eight. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale The nimrods were out early and the calls and shotgun blasts were echoing in the morning breeze. I was back on the water on the Wisconsin River/Alexander Flowage over the holiday weekend. This is my favorite time of the year to be on the river. The foliage was peaking all along the way and the fall bite is going on the river. Smallmouth bass were hitting a Sexy Shad KVD squarebill in Sexy Shad, a Black n Blue Senko wacky rigged, and a white chatterbait with a white Kalins grub trailer. The bass were caught near rocks and green weeds.. The Northern Pike were active and hitting the Senko and the chatterbait in weedy areas. I even had a couple hits from fish under docks that were still in the water. I caught another Hybrid Tiger Muskie on a white Thunder Cricket with a Kalins grub. Other anglers were casting big baits for Big Esox species as well as floating suckers. Some of these anglers reported seeing some but no catches. With a couple nights of temperatures predicted for this week the next couple weeks should be prime Muskie time. Again over the two days I had a couple of big bite offs on both the Senko and the crankbait; reminding me I need some leader material. On the Music front I have started the home recordings and will be doing more in the coming weeks. Also trying to schedule a session with some heavy hitting musicians to work on my original music. But still the unfinished business of that Muskie on the Senko. Tight Lines and Good Health, Rob

Crappie are slowing down, best bite is north of Gill’s landing. Walleye action has been good in the Fremont area. Night crawlers and minnows on jigs working best