Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Ice fishing and when sprawling raw-file means something more

Cold water smallies were snappin on the dupage today

Fish anywhere in Wisconsin without a license or trout stamp. This includes all inland waters and Wisconsin’s side of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River, except for spring trout ponds. Other fishing rules apply, such as limits on the number and size of fish you can keep and any seasons when you must release certain fish species.

. . . Perch good for boaters leaving cal park 100th street and up using extra large fatheads. Move around u will get perch The bite for shore guys kinda all over the place last couple days slips and up to 95th street. Some days good some days few dinks and that’s it.

Neighborhood ponds seem to be everyone’s favorite place to go this season. This one hit a minnow on an ice jig.

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past week’s fishing. Area lakes-bass have been very good on tip-ups and jigging spoons along the outside weed lines adjacent to deeper water in the main basin. Bluegill are scattered in the main basin so stay mobile to find active fish. Tungsten jigs tipped with a Maki poli have been the best presentation. A few smaller bass can be taken as well on this presentation. Ice is holding at 4 inches with another half inch of frozen slush. Stay clear of areas with current or were kept open by waterfowl. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Fished lake Marie today and walleye fishing was very very slowwwww didn’t get a bite and managed about ten marks fish have moved and are very skiddish channel lake has been pretty good for panfish

NOTE: Trevor James messaged Oak Park Lounge. the best ice fishing parking in the chain! And they also have rental shacks from www.wetnwildoutfitters.com available

Fishing Report 1/11/2021 Mike Norris Eight consecutive days without a front moving through and with dark cloudy days appeared to affect the fishing in my area last week. I had received numerous reports poor fishing from many of my cohorts. Then last Saturday the clouds opened to sunshine and the fish reacted favorably. My go-to spot turned out to be the deep basin on Lake Waubesa. When the sun peeked out beyond the clouds last Saturday afternoon the panfish bit immediately and we caught limits of perch from 9 to 12 inches fishing with green glow Rat Finkies tipped with red spikes in 33 feet of water. I heard a similar report from friends that the bite turned on when the sun came out while fishing for bluegills on Beyer’s Cove on Big Green lake. The ticket there was a small tungsten jig tipped with just one red spike. Speaking of big Green Lake, with the exception of the backwater areas of Beyer’s Cove and the T-Channels, Big Green remains wide open. Lake trout fishing reopened on the first Saturday in January and I getting reports from friends who are catching trout while trolling with live bait from their boats. Lake Puckaway is still producing pike on tip-ups though the pike are small. Walleye anglers are fishing early and late into the day with Northland Rattle Spoons tipped with minnow heads. For information on guide trips reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

Good morning fellas….here is an update on our ice fishing up to this point Unfortunately, at the time of this report we are still experiencing lack of ice out on the big bay of Green Bay (The so called Whitefish Grounds) With that said, there are some folks tip toeing their way around out in some deeper water. If we can get a week of cold weather, we should be good, fingers crossed. When that does happen, Riley’s Bay, the mouth of Little Sturgeon, Henderson’s Point and Sherwood Point will be all go-to spots with Larsons Reef to follow shortly after. Howie’s Whitefish jigs tipped with plastics will most like lead the way once again as far as the most productive bait, with Rapala jigs, jigging shad raps and random spoons working also The Perch fishing continues to be a bright spot so far in this early ice season. Little Sturgeon and Sawyer Harbor are really the only 2 spots with safe, walkable ice right now. Shiners and Rosy Reds under tip-ups or hand lines have been good along with jigging with an assortment of jigs tipped with minnows, minnow heads, waxies and spikes all working right now. And as soon as the ice thickens, the fishermen will be able to spread out and venture out to some different spots. Pike fishing has also been going quite well as of late. Best areas have been Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay, Sawyer Harbor and downtown Sturgeon Bay around the marinas. Large Golden Shiners and sucker minnows under tip-ups and Auto-Fishermen definitely the method of choice And very few Walleyes getting caught right now just due to the lack of ice and the inability to get out the Hot-Spots. When we do get some safe ice the better spots would include…Henderson’s point, the Rileys Bay area along with Sherwood Point and Larsens Reef Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

Fishing Report 1/11/2021 Mike Norris Eight consecutive days without a front moving through and with dark cloudy days appeared to affect the fishing in my area last week. I had received numerous reports poor fishing from many of my cohorts. Then last Saturday the clouds opened to sunshine and the fish reacted favorably. My go-to spot turned out to be the deep basin on Lake Waubesa. . . . For information on guide trips reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

Justin Lederer checking in from McQuoids Inn Millie Lacs lake. Roads are being plowed further out now as of right now most of the roads you can get a half ton pickups out on. For walleye work the 20-30 foot range in the daytime buckshot, 360’s and forage minnow jigs have been producing with just the minnows head. Some are still being picked up on dead sticks with medium suckers. Closer to sunset push into 15-20 foot range and go with the same jigs and use a whole fathead or crappie minnows. Northern and perch fishing has slowed down still a few being caught if you can find areas that have not had as much fishing pressure. Stay safe on lakes everyone.

Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:Maybe it’s based on how great things have been, lots of anglers on the ice, lower than normal barometer or just an ice fishing hangover! Fishing slowed some this past weekend. Anglers reporting having to work a little harder for the fish they did catch, but catching has continued! With ice thickness on average of 11-13and only a couple inches of snow on ice, travel by foot, sno-mo or ATV excellent. Can’t recommend truck travel yet, even though it’s being done. Walleye: Good – Anglers working off shore humps jigging 13 Fishing Majic Mans, Hyper Rattles, Slab Raps and jigging Raps. Scoring fish during the early morning hours and dusk to just after period. Suckers on tip-downs best on these areas while those working 6-12’ weeds at dusk reporting better success on shiners. Crappies: Good – Weed anglers still finding Crappies in 10-12’ narrow leaf cabbage using Lethal Cecils and Rockers to present plastics and beavertail to fish. Crappie minnows on tip-downs still producing well both there and on mud basin fish in 14-22’ while working Venom Inferno jigs and sling blade jigs tipped with waxies. Bluegill: Good – Ice anglers getting good results using Clam Dingle Drop and Swirl Drop jigs tipped with mousees in 6-10’ cabbage pockets. Tungsten jig flys offered in a slow drop also a good way to tempt reluctant biters. Northern Pike: Good – Some very good-sized Pike reported this past weekend, fish to 39 on big shiners over weed tops of 6’ in 12-16’ of water. Smaller Pike active in flats of 6-10’, river shiners and goldens best. Yellow Perch: Good – Have to search to find active fish. In weeds K-Rips and T-Rips tipped with waxies. Work bait aggressively to attract attention, then hold bait still once an audience arrives. Over mud flats Hali jigs, Kastmasters D-Chain tipped with wigglers or red spikes doing the trick. Tip-downs baited with small rosies or a large wiggler on a #16 treble upping the odds. Largemouth Bass: Good – Most anglers picking up Bass on tip-ups using medium shiners. Jigging a #3 pimple tipped with a minnow head also producing. Forecasted temps seem to be holding steady this week, the dreaded Polar Vortex to arrive on Sunday with lows in the low teens to highs in low 20’s (it is winter here) shouldn’t be as drastic as predicted. Some more cold to build another 2-3 of ice would make truck travel better. Overall, it’s been an incredible ice season so far. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on FaceBook

Steelhead fisherman out daily but the bite is on the slow side for most. Voodoo jigs tipped with waxworms still best bait spawn sacks come in second. Lots of groups on ice some places good some not ready yet Perch good for boaters leaving cal park 100th street and up using extra large fatheads. Move around u will get perch The bite for shore guys kinda all over the place last couple days slips and up to 95th street. Some days good some days few dinks and that’s it. Few fish from portage river walk and Michigan city peir. Lakers, whitefish and a coho here and there.