Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Summer bluegill, catfish & bass inland; darker kings on L Mich.

Attached is Eli Brown from Southern Ohio with a 25 pound king from this week. You can see how dark they are getting already.

Hi Dale, I had a couple of hours yesterday during my home inspection in Melrose Park , so I hit Woodale Grove for some shore fishing. There were Largemouth Bass feeding on blugill on spawning beds all around the lake. Also topwater feeding in the middle of the lake. It was a beautiful calm afternoon and evening with crepuscular rays popping through the clouds as the goldenrod is trying to turn yellow and the purple Bee Balm and Wild Ratibida in full bloom. A sure sign of the August and late Summer change to come. I was able to get some action on the Black and Blue Senko wacky rigged casting to the weedline edge. The house in Melrose Park sold in two days on the market and hopefully the inspection goes well and I will know by the end of the week if all is good. On the Music front Sunday is the big gig at the Dancing In The Streets Festival for my Reggae band The Conscious Rockers. It will be the first show of performing a full set of my original songs in front of an audience. Something about a reggae band playing at a Grateful Dead festival seems to right to me. Also having to sign w-9 tax forms to be paid is a different deal. Makes me realize it’s come a long long way. Again the long strange trip continues. Tight Lines and Good Health Rob

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing. The cold front that came through slowed a good frog bite. It should return with the hot weather coming back this weekend. Bass have been very good during early morning hours. Pitch a BPS wacky stick-o rigged with a fusion weed less hook in isolated weed clumps. Let the bait fall then twitch it when it is laying on top of the weeds. Then pop the bait to get that reaction strike. Best color for numbers has been watermelon, but junebug has been getting the larger ones. Here is the nature pic of the week. Time to fuel up. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale, . . . Bluegills were still spawning on local ponds and lakes. There were a lot of redds visible. Some had actively spawning fish on or nearby; on others, spawning had been completed and the fish had moved off to do whatever they do the rest of the year. No big bass this week; all were small to medium sized. Night time would be the best option if targeting big fish. Pete

So Carp action is picking back up, this guy was 15 lbs on the dot

Lake Delavan 8/2/21 through 8/09/21 Fishing continues to be very good. Most anglers are having great success pan-fishing. Perch and bluegill fishing has been the most consistent bite. The best depth has been anywhere from 15-22 ft. The only real way to fish them is to anchor and fish approximately 6 inches off bottom, depending on the weed growth. The best bait is hellgrammites, leaf worms and red worms produce fish also, but the size of the fish is typically smaller. The best action has been down by the Island on the west end of the lake, the weed bed off the gray condos and Lake Lawn Lodge. A few days last week, jumbo perch were being caught in front of the Township Park, but by Saturday they weren’t around. Crappies have been biting off the weeds in about 12-14 ft of water. I exclusively use plastics this time of year. With the warm temperatures, dealing with minnows is a hassle. I use small plastic noodles or cubby jigs. The best color has been purple, red or motor oil. The retrieve of the lure is the key to success. I find that you cannot reel them in too slow. The fish have been partial to the slow retrieve. Last week I caught several 12 inch fish. The best locations have been by the Yacht Club or Willow Point. Northern Pike fishing has been slow. The fish are active in the 19-23 ft range. Most of the fish are being caught on lindy rigged suckers. Once the floating weeds subside, spoon plugs or the Stanley Musky Boss spinner bait with start to produced fish. The best location has been by Browns Channel or by the Gray condos. I did try the west end of the lake near the island without success. The fish have been averaging around 29 inches. Walleyes are being caught on the weed lines in 16-21 ft of water. The best approach is either a small lead head jig tipped with ½ of a night crawlers or leech. The smaller the jig the better, so you don’t get snagged in the weeds. The best location has been by the Village Supper Club and by Browns Channel. I’ve also been fishing lindy rigs by Lake Lawn. The fish seem to be slightly deeper in the 21-23 ft. range. I’ve almost exclusively been fishing leeches in this location. Some days it is very hard to keep the northern pike off your line. They seem to like leeches as much as the walleyes do. Dusk seems to be the best time of day for walleyes. Large mouth bass fishing has been very consistent. The best pattern seems to be dock fishing. The easiest time to fish docks is early in the morning before the heavy boat traffic begins. The best docks are around 6-8 feet of water at the ends. Almost all the fish have been caught on the shady sides of the docks. I like using night crawlers just because it’s easiest with guide parties, but jigs or spider grubs are also an effective approach. I prefer smoke colored or pumpkin seeds. 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’m sure you’re going to be hearing this often this week: low, clear and warm water is the story. I didn’t fish the Fox but did take a good look at it above a dam. There is almost no current and a lot of algae; it looks more like a stagnant pond than a river. The creeks were low and clear too, but at least they were a little cooler thanks to spring flow and had some current. Smallmouths were in the pools below the riffles. If I were going to fish the Fox, as much as I avoid the dams in order to get away from the crowds, I would fish below a dam. That’s where the dissolved oxygen will be. . . . Pete

Lake Geneva 8/2/21 through 8/9/21 Fishing has improved quite a bit over the last few weeks. The only factor is the boat traffic which has also picked up. Northern Pike fishing is still above average. Most of the fish are in 30-38 ft of water. The best approach remains lindy rigging medium suckers. This summer more than most, you need to fish multiple spots to have success. There are not the large schools of pike as previous years. You are picking one here and one there. A good trip is between 7-8 fish in a 4 hour trip. The key is don’t get disappointed if your first few spots don’t pan out, keep moving. Smallmouth bass are starting to school up on the deep breaks. The best depth is 22-27 ft of water. Look for the fish by the Military Academy, Elgin Club or over by Fontana Beach. The best approach is either lindy rigging nightcrawlers or drop shotting 4 inch worms, green pumpkin or watermelon seed are good color choices. This bite should be improving as late summer turns to fall. Pan-fishing remains excellent. The best depth is 20 ft of water. Look for the fish by Elgin Club or by Linn Pier. Leaf worms fished on a split shot rig or a drop shot rig are very effective. Lake Trout are again biting in the main lake basin. Most of my success has come at first light or right before dark. The fish I’ve been fishing for are suspended of the bottom anywhere from 50-95 ft down in 100-120 ft of water. Nickel and blue spoons were the best color last week. Walleyes are biting at night. The best success has come trolling large stick baits like the Bandit Walleye minnow or large Rapalas. Look for the fish in 15-17 ft of water, by Trinkes or in Williams Bay. The best success on largemouth bass is coming while flipping piers or fishing top water lures in 8-10 ft of water. Fishing top water has been the best bite in the early morning. Either chug bugs or Pop-R’s are producing most of the action. Chrome/Blue or Chrome/Black 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

Fishing Report 7/30/2021 Mike Norris Big Green Lake - Both largemouth and smallmouth bass are in their summer pattern. They can be found just inside of and along the weed edges. Bass can also be caught in deep water along rock strewn drop-offs. When fishing at or just outside the weed edge I am favoring tubes and drop shot rigs. I am casting with jig and plastic combos when fishing scattered weed beds. Also try flat billed crankbaits over the tops of the weeds. Fox Lake - Water temperature hit 89 degrees last week and the bass have slowed down. It is difficult to get them to hit a fast-moving reaction lure and I literally must throw something right in their face to get them to bite. My choice has been the Senko because it sinks slowly. 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

Here is my bid for fish of the week. This 20 1/2Smallmouth near 5 pounds, hit a crawdad crank bait below the dam on the Kankakee river in Wilmington. I have only caught 2 bigger in 40 years on the river. George Peters, Plainfield.

Yeah a big one More come in

Dale I think this is a rare carp Caught at Montrose Harbor

I caught this 14 inch crappie in the harbor yesterday

Just sheep head when the wind is out of the North

Boats are between 90 and 100 feet, still spotty,, Aug says the fish are slapping the lures.Perch and bluegills off the pier along with Rick bass.Sterling Blake good, desplains river canoe launch good, really no bad reports from anywhere.

Waukegan fishing stayed steady this past week with good, but not great fishing. Kings can be taken in the early morning at sunrise and occasionally throughout the day near the bottom. Most boats had better success with flasher/fly combos, but we continue to do better on spoons. The Warrior Spoiler patterns continued to out-fish any other rig by a sizable margin. During the day lakers with an occasional coho and steelhead make up the catch. Again, due to lots of warm water in the area, the bottom 40 feet of water have almost all the fish. Gold Goby Jimmy Fly Mo rigs took most of the trout with other species coming on them as well. 110 to 140 feet either North of the Stacks or South of the Harbor was best. More staging kings and a good number of coho showed this week. I think these coho must be the Illinois and Indiana plants starting to stage. I continue to think this will be an early run based on where the fish are staging and the fact some of the kings are starting to darken already. I didn’t see anyone fishing the harbor. The water is really warm. Hopefully predicted West winds help the shore guys. . . . Capt. Scott Wolfe School of Fish Charters/Manipulator 630-341-0550 schooloffishcharters.com

A monster smallmouth 21 5.8lbsJustin Lederer checking in from McQuoids Inn Lake Mille Lacs. Fishing is staying steady as we are getting into the dog days of summer. The smallmouth was caught last night on my most recent guide trip. This tank was in 27 feet of water taken on a slip bobber and leech. Drop shots with tubes is also working well In the deeper water around big boulders and reefs. Walleye are starting to scatter stay on the move and work 20-30 feet around reefs and gravel bars. Slip bobber and leech is still out producing anything.

Fishing on the lake out of burns ditch has slowed some but some big fish have been caught magnum spoons seem best. Perch fishing is non existent very few groups even trying last year mid august they late august was decent let’s hope we have a repeat. Willow slough good for those in boats lots of gills being caught on jumbo redworms Lots of fisherman doing well on catfish fishing deep river and burns ditch using triple s dip bait.

Hi, Dale. We’ve got the scorchers coming up again this week…hope you’re ready! Fishing on Lake Michigan remains very strong with a good number of Coho being the main target; trollers are also picking up some really nice Kings. Walleye fishing on the river is still really good. Leeches and nightcrawlers are working best. Wolf Lake doing well on both Walleye & Pike catches recently. Catfish doing excellently. Dowling Park, Pine & Stone Lakes, & Oak Ridge Prairie all having success as of late.

Walleye bite remains good up river. Bluegills are doing very well, fishing near trees in the water, and running 7 1/2- 9 1/2. Picking up a few crappie mixed in