Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Shoreline salmon and inland the fall bite builds

Dale, Sondi and I are currently in northern Wisconsin on our first of two fall trips. Just wanted to share a picture. Hope you are well. Dave Derk

30+ fish night, lots of fish over 40 inches. Had to move around a lot to stay on fish but got it done.

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.

.....crappie are almost Ready... the water is changing to Fall season at Wolf lake.... still lots of vegetation in the way for trolling.... but they’re coming in. The Forrest Preserves are doing better for crappie..... the Calumet system is about the same with the water temperature at 64 degrees.

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. Area lakes- bass have been slow with the drastic drop in water temps. Best bait has been a flick shake rig worked along the outside of deep weedlines. Things should stabilize with normal temps this week.

Nature pic of the week. We have been getting some beautiful sunsets. Unfortunately, it has been at very high cost because of the fires out West. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

crappie are almost Ready . . . the Calumet system is about the same with the water temperature at 64 degrees.

Sorry so late but I finally broke my slump Monday and got my first one since last June! Fox chain 36 + 1/2 but pretty sick absolutely made my day

thought i give u a small river update, crappie action slowing up at least for us shore anglers but did get this big boy in, 2nd biggest i ever caught, 6 pounds even. Been hitting my local CPD lagoon and boy small bass and crappie are biting like crazy

Catfish at the river, usually bite good around this time ive noticed that the past 3 years

This Saturday, we’re hosting the 4th Annual Rise Up For Grant Big Bass Tournament on Lake Delavan in southeast Wisconsin. If you’re local and want to join us, please meet us at Delavan Community Park boat launch prior to 730A. More information, including electronic raffle prizes can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/Rise-Up-For-Grant-Big-Bass-Tournament-114623310330709.

Delavan Lake 9/21/20 through 9/28/20 Fishing on Delavan has become a bit spotty. Some days the action is better than others. Fishing pressures remains light. Walleyes are in the 12-15 ft depth range. They can be caught on Rapala husky jerks or on a ½ oz chrome and blue Rattle trap. The best locations have been the main lake points. Try fishing on the low light periods at dawn and dusk for the most action. Over the next few weeks, fishing should improve I am starting to catch Walleyes almost every trip out now. Crappies are in the shallow weeds in 10-12 ft of water. Use a small 1/32 oz jig with a purple or chartreuse plastic. I put a small sinker about 1 ft above the jig to cast it further. The best locations have been west of Browns Channel or just west of Willow Point. Largemouth bass have moved off the deep weedline and now are in 10-12 ft of water. I’ve been fishing either slip bobber rigged suckers or split shot rigged worms. The key to finding the right location is large holes in the thick weed mat. Once you find these sandy spots, you basically just cast your bait out and let it sit and the bass will come and find it. Northern Pike are in the 10-12 ft depth range. They can be caught on slip bobber rigged suckers or on ½ oz chrome and blue Rattle Traps. The best spots I’ve found were by Belvidere Park and by the gray condos. The fish are starting to put the feed bag on for winter and some of the fish have been extremely big. Bluegill fishing has been hit or miss on the deep weedlines in 18-20 ft of water. You can fish them on a Thill slip bobber with leaf worms 1 ft off bottom or straight lining split shot rigged red worms. The best location has been by Assembly park or by Willow Point. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

Hi Dale, . . . I live in Kane County now and the river has been explosive from St. Charles area to Montgomery. Lots of mixed bags of fish every outing. Smallies, walleyes and even the fall muskie have kicked in with the rain we had last week. Here’s one decent one 37 inches. On a 3 inch white paddletail grub on 1/4th mooneye jighead.

Lake Geneva 9/21/20 through 9/28/20 The William Bay boat launch is open, I miss spoke two weeks ago my apologizes to all affected. Walleye fishing remains constant at night. Trolling crawler harnesses or lindy rigging jumbo leeches have been producing most of the success. The best location has been by Abbey Springs or Trinke Bay. With fewer boats out on the lake, this bite will be getting better as fall and fall turnover approaches. Largemouth bass fishing has been up and down. There are some days that you can get them really good and then the next day in the same spot, they vanish. It appears that the key to the bite is some wind. When the lake is dead calm, they have a tendency not to bite. The best location has been by Trinkes or by Linn Pier. A lot of success has been coming on split shot rigged nightcrawlers or casting medium diving crankbaits in chrome/blue color. Perch fishing has been improving by the day. There is some sorting that needs to be done, however the average size has increased quite a bit in recent years. This bite will be improving as the water cools even more. Look for the fish by Rainbow Point or by Belvidere Park. The best depth is 10-12 ft of water. Slip bobbers with small fathead minnows are producing most of the action. Position the minnow about 1 ft off bottom. Rock bass fishing has been excellent. The bigger fish seem to be in 15-20 ft of water. However, for better action, the 12 ft range seems to always produce. No need to get fancy, the old split shot rig and a single hook works fine. Smallmouth bass are just off the weedline in 18-22 ft of water. They can be caught on a lindy rigged nightcrawler or a lindy rigged yellow perch. The best location is by the Military Academy or off of Black Point. With cooling water temperatures, the smallmouth bass are starting to school up and within the next couple of weeks with start moving to the main lake points. Bluegills are being caught in 12-15 ft of water by Chapin Road. They can be caught on slip bobber rigged leaf worms positioned 6 inches to 1 ft off bottom. Some of the bluegills last week were in excess of 9 inches. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

Fishing Report 09/19/2020 Mike Norris Big Green Lake – Lake trout fishing is good along the north shore of Big Green right now. Look for the telltale lake trout fish arches with your electronics along the bottom in around 90 feet of water. Once found, try rip jigging for them with Rapala Jigging Raps. My clients and I are locating active smallies along weed edges in 14 – 18 feet of water. We were catching them this past weekend with live bait setups. Set up outside the weed edge and cast 4 to 5-inch chubs back towards the weed edge, then slow work the chub back to the boat. I am also finding large schools of 9 – 10-inch perch on the outside edges of the weeds. I am catching the perch on drop shot rigs tipped with red worms and with jigs tipped with red worms hung from a float. Little Green Lake – Muskie fishing is picking up. Try trolling with large crankbaits just outside the weed edge. Crappies up to nine and a half inches can still be found suspended over the deep-water basin. Drift with a hook and minnow weighted with a split shot. Bluegill fishing is slow right now. Beaver Dam Lake – A few anglers are running into crappies and perch from shore. Numbers are getting better each week. Try bridge areas where neckdowns increase the current flow. Fish the shorelines where the wind is blowing in with a jig and minnow hung beneath a float. Phone me at 630-842-8199 to book a guided fishing trip or contact me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

Hi there. Here is a quick update on the fishing in DC The 4 year old King salmon are taking their final swims of the year and getting ready for their spawn. This is a very good opportunity for shore fishermen along with small boat fishermen to get in on some very exciting action. Most of the northern Door County harbors both on the lakeside and the bayside of the peninsula will have fish in them along with the Lake Michigan tributaries and the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. Casting and trolling with crank baits and spoons along with soaking spawn sacs will all work for the fall run Kings The Perch fishing has been absolutely fantastic and will continue right through fall as it has the past 5 years or so. Downtown Sturgeon Bay, Sawyer Harbor, Little Sturgeon and Riley’s Bay have all been good. Crawlers, leaf worms and fathead minnows have been the best Pike fishing has also been good and will also continue right through fall and into ice season. Pretty much the same areas as the Perch Bass and Walleye fishing has slowed, but will ramp back up as it usually does in the fall as those fish start to put on their feed bag for the fall. Steep shoreline breaks along with the many reefs and shoals that we have throughout the county will hold both the bass and the Walleye. A mix of live bait like sucker minnows along with an array of artificial baits both very popular methods for both the Walleyes and the Smallies Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

Offshore fishing continued to be outstanding in the few chances to get out. Lake trout limits were taken every trip. The fish moved slightly deeper to 125 to 150 feet of water. The water continued to be warm which kept the trout from 110 feet to the bottom. Jimmy Fly Mo Rigs in Orange Guy, Yellow Guy and Gold Goby patterns. A few came on Magnum Warrior Spoons trolled below 90 feet. Fishing in Waukegan Harbor continued to be poor. Fixing skein at least 5 feet below a float took a few chinook. Anglers casting caught almost nothing. The harbor is loaded with fish but the warm and stained water kept them inactive. Lake trout limits should continue an predicted West winds this week should bring in cooler water, bait fish and hopefully the 3 year old king will follow in the bait. We took the biggest trout of the year on our boat at 26#, attached. Capt. Scott Wolfe School Of Fish Charters schooloffishcharters.com 630-341-0550

Was on lasalle today, got fish dragging. Cooler weather is turning on the fall bite.

Colder than usual morning temps (lows of 30-38 degrees) the past week and more wind, but offset by sun (through the haze) have lake surface temps hovering in the 58-62 degree range. Musky: Good-Very Good – With many lakes at pre-turn over, top-water action has ben hot. Pick your time and weather, early-late-cloud (haze) and work shallow weeds (3-8’) with Flap tails, Hawg Wobblers, Creepers. Faster moving top-water tail baits also effective such as Whopper Ploppers and Top Raiders. Working jerks and glider above weeds also effective. With water temps averaging around 60 degrees, suckers producing very well also. Northern Pike: Good – Twitch baits, buck tails (#4:#5 MEPPS Comets, Wizards) and spinner baits. Pike like this cool weather. Jig or float and a chub a nice, relaxing way to spend a fall afternoon. Walleye: Good – Seems to be a lot of movement from day to day. Deep transitions of hard to mud using vertical jigging techniques (Shiver Minnows, Jigging Raps, 1/4-3/8 oz jigs and 1/2 crawler or large fats). On flowages, river channel edges using chubs or 3-4 suckers. Crappie: Good-Fair – Reports of Crappies not as bunched up yet, but big slabs in the 12-14 range being caught. Fish suspending 2-6’ off bottom along coontail edges or near sunken wood/cribs. Vertical jig a 1/16 oz jig with yellow, white or mylar body. Largemouth Bass: Good-Fair – Outside weed edges using jig and creature and Tokyo rigs. Wacky worms also working. Where Musky not as much as issue, work inside weeds with pre-rigged worms, spinner baits. Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – Deep humps, drop-shotting minnow imitations best. A few BIG Smallies hitting shallow top-water meant for Musky. Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Few anglers targeting in wind, best fishing has been for larger Perch in heavy cabbage on jig/minnow combo. Bluegill: Good-Fair – Few anglers due to wind. Big Gills coming from deep wood of cribs, pilings on 1/2 crawlers or beaver tails under slip-floats. Colors of fall coming in, cold mornings, but late morning through afternoons are beautiful. Fishing overall good, wind has been biggest drawback. Early sucker bite for Musky bodes well for the rest of this month and the next. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook

Few more coho came up in the local tributaries spinners and spawn sacks baits to try. Some lake perch last couple days east of Michigan city near the condos 30 to 35 ft on xl crappie minnows Lots of groups still fishing here and there and everywhere they see water. Slezs got in a batch of musky suckers and scored a few more pounds of late season leeches.

Hi Dale The foliage continues to turn as the first frosts hit in Merrill on the Wisconsin River. With morning temps in the low 30s and frost on the ground the bite was expectedly a bit slow. I was able to get some nice smallmouth on slow a moving bitsy bug with a craw trailer and also the wacky rigged Senko. Pike were short striking at spinnerbaits and not very active. The weather is supposed to be stable the next week and a good bite should be coming as the water continues to cool. Saturday water temp was 59 degrees on the Alexander Flowage. Still after that Musky on a Senko! Tight Lines and Good Health Rob

Water temp is going the wrong way, back in the low 60’s and rising. Not good for white bass, but the crappie are still biting. Walleye action has been good from Gills Landing north