Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Chinook lead, snagging began, inland fall feed builds some

Team Krappie Inc.... and Friends..... Opening night for Salmon Snagging Season....... but I don’t SNAG!!!

Guys start at 3...4pm cooking and stuff... while throwing Lures before 12am strikes

This is biggest kings I saw so far in Chicago 44 inch caught at diversey He caught it on Jason special custom lure Mu boi Anthony [Sokolov] 25lbs and up he said He don’t got scale with him Catch and release

Not much of a report here. Been trying here daily. More and more jumping, but we haven’t hooked up yet. We’ve just been on fishing pier here at Northerly. I’m determined to get a fish here or bust. Hope all is well with you!

. . . Shore - a new group of Kings showed up mid-week. This group seemed to be smaller than the first ones, but take what you can get. Fishing was good through the weekend and the fish were not totally turned yet. For persons not snagging - try to find an area where there are no snaggers for many reasons. Skein is starting to work and I had a buddy that got two nice bass on skein in addition to a couple of kings. I just pulled my boat but I’ll continue to get you good info when I can. Capt. Scott Wolfe School of Fish Charters/Manipulator 630-341-0550 schooloffishcharters.com

Kings and coho in all nwi tributaries spawn sacks, skein and spinners best.

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).

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing. Area lakes-Waiting. The weather hasn’t decided yet if it should be summer or fall. The water temps are slowly going down. Bass are good during evening hours on top water baits. Poppers continue to be the best choice. Overcast evenings have been better. Crappie are still scattered in the main basin. Stay mobile to pick off a few here and there on minnow baits. First light and last hour have been the best times. Here is the nature pic of the week [below]. The seasons are starting to change. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale, . . . I did catch some good-sized bluegills in a forest preserve pond on Sunday afternoon after the rain. It wasn’t fast fishing-I had to keep moving to find the fish and worked hard for them-but they would bite when I found them. Pete

1 hour to get him in

Delavan Lake 10/04/21 through 10/11/21 Fishing has been very tough over the last week or so. The warm weather has confused the fish and they aren’t sure whether they should be in their fall or summer patterns. The best bite on the lake remains the walleye. They can be caught off the weedlines. 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 or All Terrain Stiks. 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

Hey Dale I hope all is great! I had the day off yesterday from work and was able to hit the water! Water temps are getting chilly and the smallie frenzy fall bite has begun!!

Hi Dale, Not much of a change this week, but at least things didn’t get any worse. I got rained on for the first time in a long time. It didn’t do anything to raise river and stream levels, but they didn’t get any lower. I fished a small trib of the Fox and caught a few nice bluegills (and some very small smallmouths) where I usually only find smallmouths. I think the current was so slow due to low water levels that fish usually associated with still water are now able to occupy it. As far as the Fox itself, it didn’t come up much, if at all with the weekend rain. I was going to practice some two-handed casting and had to go to an area not far below a dam to find any current. The water was practically stationary a mile or so above the dam. . . . Pete

Lake Geneva 10/04/21 through 10/11/21 You will never find a warmer October than we have this year. The fish are in a bit of a funk due to the extended heat wave we are having. The lake temperatures have actually been increasing over the past week. Rock bass can be readily caught in the 12-15 ft depth range. They are being caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers or fat head minnows. The best location has been by the Military Academy or by Knollwood. Smallmouth bass are starting to show up on the main lake points. They can be caught by dragging jigs or Carolina rigging Zoom lizards. The best spots have been Conference Point or by Black Point. The jigs I prefer are All Terrain football jigs in the ½ oz green pumpkin. This pattern will be effective for the next few weeks. Northern Pike action has been improving in the weed flats. Look for the fish in Williams Bay or Fontana. As always, the best approach is slip bobber rigging large golden shiners about 1 ft above the weeds. The only way to fish them is to keep the boat anchored. You want to key on the weed points on the flat. Perch fishing has been fantastic. The fish are in 12 ft of water. To catch the bigger fish, you need to use bigger minnows. You want to slip bobber rig about 1-2 ft off bottom. The best locations have been by Rainbow point or by Knollwood. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

Fishing Report – 10/03/2021 Mike Norris Big Green Lake – Surface temps remain in the upper 60’s and the smallmouth bass bite continues to be good along the weed edge and rocky shoals. Swimbaits and tubes are accounting for my catches, with numerous fish going three pounds or better. Muskie fishing has picked up also. Try outside weed edges in 13 -17 feet of water for both species. Bluegills remain scattered but should regroup with falling water temps. I am getting a few reports of walleye action in 30 -40 feet of water on jigging raps. The smallie bite should continue through the month of October. Rick Wendlandt – Largemouth bass on Fox Lake are shallow and can be found in two feet of water and under piers along rocky shorelines. A Senko is my go-to lure. Walleye fishing has improved with anglers trolling Flickr Shad and Salmo crankbaits out over the basin of the lake. Northern pike are active so try using wire leaders when trolling. I am getting reports of several anglers catching crappies while trolling for walleye. To book a guide trip reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

Hi Dale - Back to some spots on the river Saturday morning for the slow start to fall bite. I believe the fisherman in the area will appreciate the cooler rain coming in this week paired with shorter days. Summer is trying to stick around. Fall is on the way? The river is in good shape with clear water and temps at 69 to 70. Water level is low. Joel Wilson and myself caught a mixed bag of Smallmouth, largemouth and a good size river pike. Northern was caught on rapala crainkbait and Bass were hitting on surface baits and finesse baits sticking to dark colors. Had success in 3 to 7’ depths and around lay downs.

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). d) Disposition of Snagged Salmon and Paddlefish. All snagged salmon and paddlefish must be removed from the area from which they are taken and disposed of properly, in accordance with Article 5, Section 5-5 of the Fish and Aquatic Life Code.

Good morning Dale. With this crazy warm weather and warm water it’s so hard to predict what the fishing should be, could be, will be. From what I have seen and heard there are still plenty of Kings being caught up and down the lakefront some are dark some are still pretty clean. I think there’s a few trout starting to mingle in the mix. There’s also a few Northern starting to be caught while casting for the salmon. There’s still some guys catching some Smallmouth in a few of the areas. Some big carp and drum around the area also. As of Monday October 4th our hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. 7 days a week. Thank you Dale have a great week!

Offshore - the fish have adjusted to the warmer water in the area and fishing was again great this week. Limits of trout are being taken on the reefs and hills offshore and there are some 2 and 3 year old kings in the same area. Spoons can take both. Presentations run 120 to the bottom down. There is little above that depth. Glow and white spoons seemed to be best. Warrior UV Wonderbread and Arctic Ice Spoons were good. Fish were very speed sensitive, sometimes wanting fast and sometimes slow. To target the biggest Trout use the dodger and Mo rigs from Jimmy fly or Lake Michigan Angler. Again White glo and blue/Aqua worked well. Shore - a new group of Kings showed up mid-week. This group seemed to be smaller than the first ones, but take what you can get. Fishing was good through the weekend and the fish were not totally turned yet. For persons not snagging - try to find an area where there are no snaggers for many reasons. Skein is starting to work and I had a buddy that got two nice bass on skein in addition to a couple of kings. I just pulled my boat but I’ll continue to get you good info when I can. Capt. Scott Wolfe School of Fish Charters/Manipulator 630-341-0550 schooloffishcharters.com

The fishing has been on Fire the last 2 weeks of September including 10 smallmouth over 20-inches. The Menominee River is at normal fall levels and smallmouth bass are stacking up even though the water temp is still warm at 60 degrees. October sould be excellent!!! Walleye fishing on High Falls Flowage has also been good so now is the time to book a fall walleye trip. On October 2 I caught a huge 30-inch walleye which was easily over 10-pounds. I released the walleye back into the flowage.

Weather continues to be too nice! Cool nights can’t seem to combat the sunny, warm afternoons and get these water temps dropping. This traditionally has been a very good weekend to be fishing, last year at this time the weather was cold and the fishing hot! Forecast doesn’t show much of a change for the coming week. Algae blooms popping up like its August for crying out loud! Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – The bright spot for this week’s reports as Smallies seem to be gathering on rock piles and drowned wood. Drop-shotting 3 minnow replicas, slip-floating minnows and jigging crawlers helped save several trips this past week with #’s and large Smallies to 20+. A few anglers still scoring big Smallies shallow on top-water and swim baits in water as shallow as 2-3’. Largemouth Bass: Good – Finding green weeds has been key, swimming 3-5 swim baits, spinner baits and lipless cranks have been effective to finding action for those still targeting Largemouth. Northern Pike: Fair – Even this typically easy to find fish have had their moments. With days of no clouds and little, to no, wind, even Pike became tough at times. Swim baits (4-5) spinner baits and jig and 4-6 suckers have been best. Crappie: Fair – Big slabs (Crappies of 13-14+) but numbers off. Fish still scattered, on bright, flat days work deeper to 16-19’ to find fish. Eaters (10-12) coming on medium fats under floats. Walleye: Fair – Bites best at dawn and again after 5 PM, as Walleyes not happy with high pressure, sunny skies and little wind. Chubs and crawlers best choice, these fish also very scattered and light biting. Musky: Fair-Poor – Action not what’s expected! Still some shallow weed fish, but top-water not up to snuff. Bucktails with Marabou and swimming rubber baits best. Haven’t had many reports of size, mostly low-mid 30ers. Yellow Perch: Fair – Not being targeted much. A few nice fish in drowned wood being caught by anglers targeting Walleye or Crappie. Bluegill: Fair-Poor – Not being targeted. Some big Gills (9+) in and around deep (14-18’) wood on ½ crawlers. What to think! Water temps dropping into low 60’s overnight, but shooting up to 68-70 degrees by afternoons. As stated earlier, algae blooms off setting, looks like the typical fall sucker season may be a couple weeks away. All we can do is keep casting away, waiting for the bite to get hot once the weather gets cold. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop Like us on Facebook

Kings and coho in all nwi tributaries spawn sacks, skein and spinners best. Crappie better and better at lake George in Hobart use crappie minnows and fish around the bridges at evening time Rosser lake still giving up channel catfish on triple s stinkbait. Slezs bait went to fall and winter hours now 5am to 5pm daily.

Hey there, Dale. The cooler temperatures may be welcome as far as people go, but some of the fish are going through an adjustment process at the moment. Here’s what’s been heard as of late: Perch fishing has been very slow from the Hammond area, to Michigan City all the way up to South Haven. A few perch have been caught in local, inland lakes. Trolling for big fish has been steady, with Lake Trout & a few salmon; the best depths have been in 135-175 FOW, using small spoons, spin doctors, & flies. Anglers have been doing OKAY jigging for Salmon in the mouths of the Little Calumet & Paw Paw rivers. Smallmouth and Walleye are still being caught on the rivers & Wolf Lake on nightcrawlers & spinners. Catfish are still being caught in nice numbers; Dowling Park, Oak Ridge Prairie, & Powderhorn have been hot spots lately. Cutbait (suckers, shad, & skipjack), nightcrawlers, & beemoths performing nicely. As for panfishing, Bluegill & Crappie are doing moderately well in the inland lakes. Beetle spins, beemoths, & red worms are items of choice.

Hi Dale With the reggae gig done and a big success it was up to the Wisconsin river for some fall foliage and fishing. The Smallmouth were starting to put on the fall feed bag. Water still in the low 60s and bass hitting wacky rigged senko in 2 to 6 feet of water. Joe The Grasseater Schatz got his personal best Smallmouth Bass. It truly was one of those big fish that you see in the net and take note. We took no measurement or weight but it was one of the biggest I’ve seen for this section of the river. Some small northern were also caught on spinner bait and chatter baits. The foliage was near peak in Merrill and the fall feedbag is on. Tight lines and good health

Water conditions still the same. Temp 64 degrees. Crappie and white bass are the best bet to fill a cooler. In the wood for crappie, sand bars for white bass.