Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Summer lake/pond fishing, wading rivers and bullhead nugget

Here you go. My son got this at our local pond. The fish weighed 4.25 lbs!

A sport fishing license is required to harvest bullfrogs. Bullfrogs may be taken by hook and line, gig, pitchfork, spear, bow and arrow, hand, or landing net. No person shall harvest bullfrogs or any other reptile or amphibian by commercial fishing devices, including, hoop nets, traps or seines or by the use of firearms, air guns or gas guns or during bowfishing tournaments.

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.

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing. Area lakes-The extended heat wave has water levels low at many lakes. Focus on lakes with deep water. Borrow pits are a good choice. Work flick shake senkos along outside weedlines along steep drop offs for good bass action during the last hour and a half of light. Many of these lakes have clear water, so fluorocarbon is a good choice for leader material tied to braided line with a barrel swivel to prevent line twist. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Great top water evening bite with Ryan Whitacre on the Cal Sag! The first Bass came on a hand painted Japanese Balsa wood Top water Water snake walk the dog bait. I bought this Gem from Steve New 10 years ago when he was managing Anglers International Resources in Palatine! Classic Big Fish Bait! I know you are a huge fan of the old school Rapala Skitter Pop too. The Jumbo sized Discontinued Clown 🤡 color has brought me a Walleye Largemouth Bass Smallmouth Bass Northern Pike and a Musky over the years! I told Whitacre it would bring the biggest Bass in our boat that night and 18.5 inches later at 8:50pm it sure did!

So far so good Last catch of the day Over all a good day, ill back back with my brother tomorrow 1st Cat was 4 lbs Bass was 2 lbs 2nd Cat was hitting 5 lbs Feels good to be back at the riverwalk,

Delavan Lake 7/13/20 through 7/20/20 Fishing continues to be excellent. Northern Pike can be caught on the deep weed lines. The best approach is lindy rigging small suckers or chubs, in a depth range of 20-24 feet. Other approaches that have had success, include trolling large deep diving crank baits or spoon plugs on the outside of the weed lines. The best trolling speed has been about 2 ½ to 3 mph. I have the best success with Fire Tiger or a Perch pattern. The best locations are the drop offs outside the weed flats, such as, the Yacht Club Bay and the west end near the island. Walleye fishing has been consistent. Fish are being caught in the low light periods, either dusk or dawn. I have been using mostly live bait. The best bet seems to be night crawlers either fished on a lindy rig or on a single hook with a large round split shot. Most of the fish seem to be in 20-22 feet of water on the break lines. The best locations have been Delmar Subdivision, the Yacht Club Point and by Lake Lawn Lodge. The secondary pattern has been trolling deep diving crank baits for suspended fish. You must choose a crank bait that can effectively dive to where the fish are located. Largemouth bass fishing continues to be excellent. On bright sunny days the slop bite seems to be the best presentation. The other alternative is casting shoreline structure with top water lures, like a chug bug or a Pop/R. The best color has been chrome and black or chrome and blue. Last week, I caught several nice large mouths on the outside of the weed lines drifting live night crawlers. The best depth was 15-16 feet of water; the bass were associating with weeds on the break. Perch fishing has been excellent this last week, with both numbers and large fish being caught. Most of the good catches have been coming from the west end. The depth has varied from 15-23 ft.; you need to move around to find an aggressive school of fish. Like always, the best bait is hellgrammites with leaf worms being a close second. Bluegill fishing has been good overall. The big bluegills have moved into the 18-19 ft. depth range. Most of the fish are outside the weed line now on hard bottom. The best location has been the Township Park, Lake Lawn Lodge or by the Delmar subdivision. I’ve almost exclusively been using leaf worms. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Paddling and Fishing at the Dixon Refuge Hennepin & Hopper Lakes are now open for summer paddling and fishing! The opening was delayed this year because of COVID-19 but you still have plenty of time to enjoy the lakes before the season ends on September 7. As usual, the lakes are closed on Mondays during the summer season except for Labor Day. For all other paddling and fishing rules, please click here. And many thanks to everyone who has been following the special health guidelines while using the Refuge trails during the COVID-19 epidemic. We want all our visitors and restoration staff to stay healthy!

Dupage on Fire

Catching 1 or 2 backyard Fox River carp on the fly most days.

Lake Geneva 7/13/20 through 7/20/20 Lake Trout fishing has been good. They are being caught ½ hour before first light until 6:30 a.m. and again at dusk. They can be caught on nickel/silver or nickel/green spoons. Most of the fish are being caught between 75 and 80 ft of water in a total depth of 108-135 ft. With good electronics, you will be able to see the suspended fish and you will be able to adjust your down rigger presentation. Smallmouth bass have moved off of the weedline. They are chasing the pods of minnows. They can be caught by the Elgin Club or by Linn Pier near pier 600. They are readily being caught while drop shotting live nightcrawlers or small 4 inch worms. With an active school of minnows, you can catch the fish while casting top waters or small pinfish. Chrome/blue and chrome/black are the best colors. Largemouth bass are either being caught on top water or Carolina rigging. The best presentation for largemouth bass has been the Chug Bug or the Pop-r. The best location has been by Trinkes or Williams Bay. You want to work a depth of 8-10 water. For Carolina rigging, you want to concentrate on the deep weedline. Look for the fish in Trinkes Bay, the narrows or Knollwood. Look for the deep weeds with hard bottom. You either want to use a Arkie root beer Crawlin’ Grub or a green pumpkin 6 inch lizard. Bluegills are in the 16-20 ft depth range. The best location is by Elgin Club. They are being caught on either leaf worms or nightcrawler pieces straight beneath the boat. Due to the depth, you have to pick a day that is not too windy. Some of the bluegills are in excess of 9 inches. Walleye Pike are biting at night on the nights where the wind is blowing. If the wind isn’t blowing, fishing has been very slow. The weed flats have still been the key. You want to use large Rapalas or the Walleye Bandits. Chrome/blue and chrome/black have been my favorite colors. Look for the fish by Abbey Springs or by Fontana Beach. Rock bass can be caught in the 10-12 ft depth range. They can be readily caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. My best success has come by Linn Pier or by Elgin Club. They have been getting very soft, so if you want to keep them make sure you get them on ice. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

Fishing Report 07/13/2020 Mike Norris Big Green Lake – Smallmouth bass action improved late last week when the weather cooled and the wind blew. Smallies are biting well on tubes worked along the bottom in rocky areas and on leeches slow trolled just outside weedlines. Largemouth bass fishing is good right now. Try Sara Spooks or Pop-R’s early and late in the day. Midday try skipping a texas-rigged Senko under and around the outside edges of docks. The thermocline is well established now and northern pike are very active. Troll with chubs and sucker minnows anywhere from 12 – 30 ft. down. Walleyes are active on windy days. Try trolling with leeches or crawlers over weeds located in 15 feet of water. White bass are being caught out over open water anywhere from surface to 20 ft down on spinners and minnows. Little Green Lake – Last week’s hot weather drove the crappies into deep water. Bluegill fishing slowed. Crappies are still the best bet right now. Drift in 12 -15 ft of water with split shot and minnow. Look for crappies suspended 10 ft. down. Phone me at 630-842-8199 to book a guided fishing trip or contact me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

Fishing Derby is a go!Thanks to biologist Seth Love and the IDNR Fisheries, IDNR shock boats will be here on September 2nd to facilitate tagging fish for the Derby. The Derby will begin on Friday, September 4th and end on Sunday, September 13th. Details to come.

Hi Dale This past week was an absolute repeat of the prior two. Stable weather caused the fish to stay put. The result of that was excellent catches for both charter and private boaters because we didn’t have to spend time hunting to figure out where the fish moved. We had limits of fish for all the smaller crews of 4 or less and excellent catches for the larger crews too. Coho, chinook, lake trout and steelhead were all taken in 80 - 110 all last week. The key to success was figuring out the currents and working the currents in the correct direction and speed. The fish were moving deeper in the water column as the water warmed. Leadcores of 5 to 10 colors and 100 to 200 coppers were good with Warrior XL and Warrior standard size spoons in UV Wonderbread, Green Menace, Green Dragon Slayer, and Fighting Irish. These are mostly Green/Black combo Warrior spoons with UV tape. Slide divers with 0 red dodgers and Jimmy fly Green Pearl and Jimmy Fly or Stanley Stinger Fly Maniac. Wire divers with 0 white dodgers and large aqua Jimmy Flys took coho, lakers and kings. Downriggers 40 to the bottom with 0 white dodgers and Aqua or green chinook size Jimmy flies and Jimmy Fly Green Pearl and Slider Scotty patterns also worked. This week appears to have lots of North and East winds in the forecast. I expect trollers will have better success this week in waters over 120 feet. For harbor and shore fishermen, there have been some summer run steelhead in Waukegan harbor. I haven’t heard of any being caught but I’ve seen them every night from the boat in the slip. Floating a cooked shrimp about 6 feet under a bobber is a good way to catch these typically. Bass fishermen fishing from boats and kayaks at the East and South rocks have been taking largemouth, smallmouth and of course Rockies. Ned rigs and drop shots right in the rocks have been the go to. Capt. Scott Wolfe School Of Fish Charters schooloffishcharters.com 630-341-0550

We are catching smallmouth on topwater baits during the heatwave. Big smallmouth are shallow and feeding on crayfish but busting topwater. Great summer pattern is on!

A reprieve from the heat helped cool the lakes a little, lake surface temps dropped from low to mid 80’s to the mid 70’s. Climbing again at this writing, but looks like it will cool again before a warm up this weekend. Largemouth Bass: Very Good – Actively feeding in 8-12’ cabbage flats, anglers doing very well casting jig and creature, Wacky worms and Tokyo rigs into weeds. Morning and evening top-water action hot using Whopper Ploppers, Jitterbugs and Frogs. Nice sized Bass, up to 5#, being C&R this past weekend. Smallmouth Bass: Very Good – Drop shotting 3 Gulp Alive Minnows and 3 Senkos best along outside cabbage and coontail edges along adjacent sandgrass flats (though today 7/13, found Smallies tucked into cabbage beds of 7-8’). Bluegill: Very Good – Cast a small Mepps 00 to draw attention, then fish small leeches below floats in 6-8’ weeds. Poppers in the evenings, either on fly rods or using clear plastic floats on spinning equipment. Crappie: Good – Setting up in mid-summer pattern of holding in upper portion of tall, narrow leaf cabbage in 8-14’. Cast small 2 twisters, beetle spins or jigs with tinsel quivered through tops of plants. Yellow Perch: Good – Best around cribs and drowned wood. Use ½ crawlers or soft shell (frozen) crayfish. Some very nice fish in the 9-11 range being caught. Walleye: Good – Very dependent on conditions, but on cloudy/windy days or early mornings fish weeds of 8-14’ using crawlers or the largest leeches you can find. Evenings good for a return to weeds. Anglers fishing deep humps using jigging Raps finding to harmful with high water temps, can’t safely release these fish. Best to stop this technique until waters cool. Northern Pike: Good – Tickling the tops of weeds using chatter baits and spinner baits best. Cast weedless Jaw Breakers or Johnson Silver Minnows with a 4 Twister tails to try and stay weedless. Musky: Good/Fair – Many anglers opting to forego Musky fishing due to high surface water temps and stress on these big fish. Be careful, quick and think about the safety of these fish. SUPER SPECIAL BONUS REPORT: Last week it was Dogfish (Bowfin) that was hot! They are fun to catch, eat mostly crayfish and deserve to be released! This week - Bullheads. Flowages ae giving up dandy bullheads on crawlers or minnows. Nothing wrong with these bottom dwellers, good fried and great smoked. The high water temps throughout the upper Midwest has caused a shortage of leeches. Trappers report leeches stopped coming to traps, supplies limited and prices rising rapidly. This is about a full month earlier than usual. If you find some, grab ‘em and take care to keep cool and wash regularly. Despite the rumors, it’s NOT illegal to use leeches, just hard to get. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook

Today Tuesday groups just started going perch fishing again after the few day blow we had look for the perch in same spots probably just a little deeper Outside burns ditch outside the muddling in 25 to 35 ft of water then just east of the donut and East towards Michigan city in same 25 to 35 maybe a little deeper is places to try Off portage river walk before the blow early morning and before dark some decent perch catches did happen a few steelhead still also same in Michigan city off the lighthouse peir Willow slough giving up lots of gills for boat fisherman crickets and red wrigglers best baits Before blow 70 to 100 ft straight out of the ditch and East still giving up decent mix bag of salmon and trout fishing 25 ft down to the bottom spoons and spin doctors and flys best

Hi Dale I am on my mid-season break in Melrose Park enjoying the birds and blooms. Roy Coackley and Bob Roybal from Melrose park rented my place for a couple days of fishing On the Wisconsin River in Merrill. They had good action for Smallmouth Bass and Walleye on The river in town and on The Alexander Flowage. Roy said the best bait was a senko in White. Bob was getting Walleye on a spinner harness with a nightcrawler. Here in Melrose Park the garden seems to be as spectacular as ever with birds and butterflies in abundance. Baby Robins in a garage light nest and cardinals nesting in the white dogwood must be close to flying. I have had Robins before but never a Cardinal nest. Looking out the kitchen window the Cardinals are two feet away. On the music front I have a session planned for August 15th with Guitar player extraordinaire Jon Leidke of Milwaukee and his friend an accomplished steel drum player and a host of other reggae musicians to continue work on my original songs. Really the stuff of dreams coming true. I can’t help but glean inspiration from the New Bob Dylan album release at the age of 79. At 54 I may just be getting started. But I am still chasing that Musky on a senko too! Tight lines and Good Health!!! Rob