Chicago fishing: Spreading coho, LaSalle reopens and disappearing ice in the Midwest Fishing Report

Spreading coho, LaSalle Lake reopening and the disappearing ice lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

SHARE Chicago fishing: Spreading coho, LaSalle reopens and disappearing ice in the Midwest Fishing Report
Millie Knot with coho from the weekend while powerlining at Montrose Harbor. Provided by Park Bait

Millie Knott with coho from the weekend while powerlining at Montrose Harbor.

Provided by Park Bait

The reopening of LaSalle Lake on Sunday, the spreading of coho on southern Lake Michigan and disappearing ice lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted the photo at the top and I ran the full photo below because I liked the photo and thought it needed to be full size:

This is Millie and her father Will Knott. They come from all the way out in Romeoville to power line in the spring Millie loves to fish so she had her father up bright and early on Saturday morning couldn’t get him out of the shop fast enough to get set up and fishing he was waiting for a little bit of daylight to show up LOL but they caught two in the first 20 minutes they were out there so she’s a happy camper.

Millie Knott with coho caught powerlining at Montrose on Sunday. Provided by Park Bait.

Millie Knott with coho caught powerlining at Montrose on Sunday.

Provided by Park Bait

LaSALLE LAKE

Like others, I plan to be one of those in line Saturday night to get out early to one of our great fisheries. Here is a mini-preview:

The cooling lake south of Seneca reopens to fishing on Sunday, March 15. With the Sunday opener, I expect crowds.

``Blue catfish will remain the glamor fish for 2020,’’ fisheries biologist David Wyffels emailed.

Numbers from the fall at the cooling lake south of Seneca were similar to previous years.

He emailed that later in the year anglers may see signs with info on what to do if they catch a tagged catfish (channel or blue), part of a statewide study.

``Bluegills and hybrids remain good also!,’’ he added.

There are no regulation changes this year. Hours are 6 a.m. to sunset daily.

LAKEFRONT PARKING

Readers suggest SpotHero app downtown. Montrose (free parking); Navy Pier (check in parking office in east lot, be out by 10 a.m. for $8 angler parking); DuSable Harbor (fisherman’s lot); Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor (meters or fisherman’s lot); Steelworkers Park (free street parking at east end of 87th).

CHICAGO FISHING PARKING PASSES

The $10 parking passes (DuSable, Burnham fisherman’s lots) are available at Henry’s Sports and Bait, Park Bait or Northerly Island (10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, credit card only).

AREA LAKES

Southern lakes are open, northern ones will be soon.

Early bass on suburban pond/lake. Provided by Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Early bass on suburban pond/lake.

Provided by Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Ken “Husker” O’Malley emailed:

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. Area lakes- break out the long rods as the open water season has started. Bass were hitting chatterbaits with a larger grub trailer. Best bite was midday slow rolling over the top of weeds. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

BRAIDWOOD LAKE

Fat-bellied hybrid striped bass from Braidwood Lake. Provided by Jim Hartley

Fat-bellied hybrid striped bass from Braidwood Lake.

Provided by Jim Hartley

Jim Hartley got chased off by the winds Saturday, but he did boat a fat-bellied hybrid striped bass. The cooling lake in the southwest corner of Will County is open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.

CHAIN O’LAKES AREA

Brad Irving at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said the ice cover is disappearing rapidly; they are catching a few walleye and lots of catfish below the McHenry dam; there was even a boat working shallow on Loon today. Expect open water most places by the weekend or before.

Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.

DES PLAINES RIVER

Northern Pike from the Lemont area of the Des Plaines River. Provided by Thomas Howard

Northern Pike from the Lemont area of the Des Plaines River.

Provided by Thomas Howard

Thomas Howard emailed the photo above and this report:

Dale My son Steve and myself went shore fishing Sunday afternoon on the Des Plaines river near Lemont. Steve caught 6 northern all between 25 and 30 inches. I caught 1 27 inches and lost a couple . What a great day of fishing.

DOWNSTATE

POWERTON: Shore and bank fishing is open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m. EMIQUON: Go to http://experienceemiquon.com/sites/default/files/LakeAccessRules.pdf. SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing. HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Closed for the season.

FOX RIVER, WISCONSIN

Nick Schneidewent from Appleton, Wi with a 27-inch Fox River walleye caught vertical jigging below the De Pere Dam. Provided by Mike Norris

Nick Schneidewent, from Appleton, Wis.. with a 27-inch Fox River walleye caught vertical jigging below the De Pere Dam.

Provided by Mike Norris

Guide Mike Norris texted the photo above and emailed the report below:

Fishing Report – 03/09/2020 Mike Norris . . . Fox River De Pere – Anglers are catching walleyes below the dam at De Pere with jigs tipped with minnows. From the De Pere Dam to the mouth of Green Bay holds trophy pre spawn walleyes at this time of the year, but you can only keep one walleye over 28 inches. All other walleyes must be immediately released. . . . Contact Mike Norris, Wacky Worm Guide Service, at 630-842-8199 for Big Green Lake and other south-central Wisconsin guided fishing trips.

GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN

Guide Mike Norris emailed this report:

Fishing Report – 03/09/2020 Mike Norris The ice is quickly deteriorating on most, if not all the lakes in my area, but anglers can still walk out on or drive four wheelers on the ice on several of the lakes. Other anglers are pulling their boats out of storage and heading to many of the rivers in my area. Fox Lake – With last week’s game fish closure, anglers are now concentrating on panfish. I’m getting reports of decent crappies up to 14 inches. Try tip downs baited with rosy red minnows in 12 ft of water. Dead Island and the area out in front of the Boat Club seem best. Bluegill fishing is excellent right now in the Government area and in the Jug. Try small tungsten jigs tipped with plastic wedges for the bluegills. Little Green Lake – Fishing has slowed for bluegills, but the crappie bite remains decent. Try fishing the middle of the lake with a bobber, split shot and minnow suspended halfway down to the lake bottom. A few decent sized perch up to 12 inches are being caught. Lake Puckaway. Fishing for northern pike and walleye remains open here because Lake Puckaway is part of the Fox River system. Walleye have slowed but northern pike fishing with tip ups baited with shiner minnows remain good. . . . Contact Mike Norris, Wacky Worm Guide Service, at 630-842-8199 for Big Green Lake and other south-central Wisconsin guided fishing trips.

GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.

Lance LaVine at Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay emailed this:

Good morning….here is a quick update on the fishing around the Door We have a bit of a warming trend going on and the ice is starting to dwindle. With that said, there is still ice to fish on and there are fish being caught, but fishermen do have to use extreme caution before heading out especially this time of year As for the fishing… Whitefish fishing continues to really be rocking and rolling as it has all year long. Along with the quantities of Whitefish, the size has been exceptional. There are many areas to fish, but a few of the more popular areas include…Sherwood point and Larsen’s Reef, Riley’s Point, Henderson’s Point and the Sugar Creek area. This year the best baits hands down have been Howie’s Whitefish jig heads tipped with 2 to 3 plastics like Keitech’s and Z-man. Other baits that still work for the Whitefish are Rapala jigs, Jiggin Shad raps and an assortment of spoons tipped with waxies, spikes, minnow pieces and plastics Perch fishing is set to close on March 15th. Overall, I would have to say the Perch fishing was exceptional once again and I think we are going to have some really good years ahead of us especially with the high water levels which seem to have really helped the spawning. We are seeing good numbers of all year classed now including some giant 2 pounders. Pike fishing has also been really good and will continue to be good once the ice is gone and into the open water season. Again, the Pike numbers also seem to be on the rise probably due to the high waters which seems to help the spawn also. Areas that have been good include….Downtown Sturgeon Bay including the Flats and Potawatomi Park shoreline, Sawyer Harbor, Riley’s Bay and Little Sturgeon. Best baits have been Large Sucker minnows under tip-ups and Auto fishermen The Walleye fishing is starting to heat up as it usually does this time of year and as those fish stage for their spawn. Areas to fish include…Henderson’s Point, Riley’s Bay, Sherwood Point and the Sawyer Harbor area just to name a few. Oddball jigs, Rapala jigs and Shiver minnows tipped with minnows always a good bet along with Rippin Raps and Slab raps rip jigged near the bottom There are some folks starting to troll the lake side of the peninsula now that we have some relatively mild temperatures and as the launches start to open up. Look for warm water pockets and dirty to clean water transitions and troll or cast those areas with spoons, floating and suspending stick baits and or rip style baits like Rippin Raps and Slab Raps. The rivers are also starting to blow open and we anticipate another really good Steelhead run once again starting very soon. Drifting spawn sacs and casting spinner baits generally the most effective ways to catch the spring run Steelies Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

HEIDECKE LAKE

Reopens April 1.

LAKE ERIE

Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.

LAKEFRONT

Coho reports begin.

Steve Palmisano at Henry’s Sports and Bait in Bridgeport texted:

Mix ed coho reports From calumet park to Montrose. Reports are changing from day to day. Coho are definitely biting in most open water locations. Crappie interest building w no solid reports yet.

Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:

We are up and running for the season hours as of right now are 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. 7 days a week.Fishing seems to be off to a good start the weekend produced quite a few Coho and a few nice Browns, mostly on power lines but there’s guys with rods and reels scattered around the harbors that are catching some also. Larger fat head minnows and nightcrawlers seem to be the bait of choice but there are guys using some wax worms or shrimp. Few guys casting some lures and crankbaits don’t think that was producing much I think it’s a little early.

LaSALLE LAKE

The cooling lake, south of Seneca, reopens Sunday, March 15. It is open daily 6 a.m. to sunset.

MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN

Click here for the update from D&S Bait.

MAZONIA

Lakes are open daily, 6 a.m. to sunset.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Gamefish season is closed.

Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop emailed:

Nice, warm weather with plenty of ice to go around greeted anglers this past weekend. Unfortunately, so did some stiff wind! Following a very good weekend prior, fishing slowed during mid-week but picked up somewhat by the weekend. While Crappies are usually the favorite target in March, it was Perch that seemed to provide the most consistent action. Yellow Perch: Poor-Good – After a slow mid-week, action over the mud picked up for those in 16-24’ using wigglers or red spikes on Kastmasters, Halis or Pimples. Tip-downs with rosies also popped some nice Perch. Crappies: Poor-Good – Following a frustratingly terrible mid-week, anglers started finding active fish very early (dawn) and again just an hour or so before and after sundown. K-rips, #2 jigging Raps and #2 Pimples for anglers targeting deep water Crappies (17-28’). While anglers finding Crappies in weeds of 10-14’ used Lethal Cecils, #8 Rockers or Bullflys to present pink, white or silver plastics or waxies. Reports of nice slabs to 14. Tip-downs doing well, but not hot yet, using rosie reds. Bluegills: Poor-Good – Action improved by weekend with anglers scoring using waxies, mousses or beaver tail on Kenders, jig flys and #3 Fiskas. Wind made slow dropping tough so while plastics normally do well, the live bait out performed due to conditions. The warm temps and wind have taken the snow cover off the lakes, holes are staying open, saw a few signs of water running down holes. Access is still good, 21-24 of ice on average. There has been truck travel but don’t advise. With cool temps overnights and a cool down on Fri/Sat we should see good, fishable ice for another 10 days to 2 weeks. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook

NORTHWEST INDIANA

Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:

Boat fishing was lil tougher over weekend because of dirty water but still a lot of fish caught thinfish and a variety of crankbaits best most boats fishing around Gary light area Fishing still good for most at portage riverwalk area up river to bass pro section area of river jigs tipped with beemoth squid and skein still best baits Michigan city gave up some fish too even with the water being dirty fish mostly caught behind fish camp restaurant and up around the draw bridge skein squid and shrimp just off the bottom best A lot of groups out trying for crappie with the warmer weather over the weekend and some were caught here and there it will pick up big time in next couple weeks

ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said coho are good around the pierheads when the weather allows; there’s steelhead in the river up to the Berrien Springs dam; suckers are coming in the river.

SHABBONA LAKE

Staff at Lakeside said the ice went off this morning, no boats were out as of midday.

Lakeside is closed until re-opening on April 1, though Clint Sands said sometimes you can catch them in the shop, as I did Tuesday midday. Park hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT

Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.

WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN

Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:

Got the boat wet yesterday and today. Not much happening. Water temp was 34, still some ice coming down. Catching a few small walleye down river from Fremont. The river is open from the train bridge to Lake Poygan. There was 30 trucks on Partridge Saturday, not one today, ice going fast.

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