Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report: Ice fishing nearly everywhere; smattering of perch fishing

26 channel from Chain on a tipup yesterday.

Diversey has 5-6 inches solid ice. Kept 10 eaters. Drilled about 20 holes. Also caught about 15 sunfish, all small

Past couple days at Navy have been sporadic with a lot of dinks. Good action for an hour or two right after first light. Fisherman have been thinning every day. This morning I was The only one out there. And limited out in two hours. All 10’s and 11’s. Haven’t had this good a bite with consistent size since early season at the mouth of the Cal. It was really surprising

Brant hrechko and wyatt Pazdro catching a 15 in perch out of a farm pond yesterday...in minooka...big crappie also It was funny wyatt changed holes and brant dropped his line in there and caught it they where so surprised

Hi Dale The Ice is fit on Island lake and the anglers are out in good numbers. Lots of guys fishing the South end of the lake for panfish. On the North end by me we were getting some nice bass on tip ups with large golden roach minnows. Watching the bears last game a couple weeks ago, and playoff games this weekend from inside the house while watching the tip ups for flags was quite nice. A big yellow bass took a minnow as the sun had gone down and Joe landed it and into the bucket she went. On the Music front we have a gig for the reggae band on February 25th at the Art Gallery Kafe (yes with a K) in Wood Dale. Also a guest appearance at the Bob Marley Bash at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aroura on February 5th to sing a couple of my original songs. Tight Lines and Good Health Rob

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing. Area lakes- ice fishing is in full swing. Most lakes have a solid 5-6 inches of clear ice. The recent dusting of snow has helped with traveling on the slick ice and has provided some overhead cover for anglers as not to spook the fish. Bass have been very good during morning hours. Tip ups, tip downs, and jigging spoons worked along the outside weedlines have produced good numbers. Bluegill have been very good during afternoon hours. Crappie have been as well but the bite for crappie really takes off the last hour of light and into dark. Fish have been just off the outside weedlines adjacent to deeper water. Best bait has been a google eye jig tipped with a maki plastic. Here is the nature pic of the week. Nighttime visitors. TTYL — Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Yellow bass and crappie is heaven

Fishing Report – 1/17/2022 Mike Norris Very little ice fishing is taking place on Big Green Lake as 90% of the lake remained open last week. The Horner’s Landing boat launch was free of ice, but with light winds and cold temperatures last weekend Horner’s was starting to freeze over. Single digit temperatures this coming week should solidify the lake. Lake Puckaway continues to be the hot for both northern pike and walleye. With 6 to 10 inches of ice on the lake now, anglers are driving four-wheelers to their favorite spots. Try using tip-ups with medium or large shiners for both pike and walleye.

Good morning. Here is a quick update on the ice fishing here in Door County The Perch fishing reports have been very good up until this point. The best areas as of now have been Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay and Sawyer Harbor as these are the only areas with truly safe ice. 5 to 18 feet of water has been the best depth and steering clear of large groups of fishermen as too much noise is not good for the fishing. Rosy Reds, Shiners suspended under tip-ups and waxworms and spikes on jigs working well. Northern Pike fishing has also been pretty good in all of the shallow bays including some areas in downtown Sturgeon Bay around the marinas. Golden shiners and sucker minnows under tip-ups and automatic fishermen generally the ticket Whitefish action has been ok for the fishermen that are sticking around some near shore areas like in Little Sturgeon and Sturgeon Bay. As of now, venturing out deep is still a bit dangerous as there are still active cracks as the ice breaking continues in the county. Walleye fishermen are also still waiting to get out there off shore hot spots, but that should come soon as we are supposed to get some cold weather here in the very near future Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

No fish in the pic but a good time out at ponderosa today!

Hard to believe the extreme cold from the weekend before last did not improve our travel conditions. Temps in the sup teens did not build ice as expected on many area lakes, in fact slush has become present on a lot of our frozen waters. Odd, some lakes see truck traffic with 14-15 of ice and good travel. Others, smaller lakes report only 10-12 with slush. Does not seem like too much snow on the lakes. It was dry and windy. But too much for these lakes to take? Springs? Pressure Cracks? One thing for sure, caution still advisable if you’re thinking of taking full sized trucks on the ice, do some scouting first. Northern Pike: Good – Windows during very early morning and again early afternoon had anglers chasing flags once things warmed up mid-week (1/12). As always, weed related, though some reports of anglers starting to push out into deeper weed lines for larger (28-34) Pike. Big shiners and suckers best. Yellow Perch: Good – The mid-winter mud flat bite is improving. Anglers venturing out to mud just outside weed flats in 18-26’ finding active Perch taking waxies, spikes and wigglers depending on their daily mood. Lots of sorting, but enough eaters (8+) to make effort worth while. Bluegill: Good-Fair – On weedy flats of 6-10’ schools pass through at intervals making it worth the wait. Waxies and mousses on #10 teardrops and 3mm Fiskas in reds, purples, black. Also anglers finding Gills relating to deeper mud, usually larger average Gills. Halis, Pinheads and tungsten with hair tipped with spikes best. Crappie: Fair – Unless you choose the warmest day to fish, head out to deeper water for early and late bites using glow jigs tipped with waxies or tip-downs with minnows (if not too cold). Keep moving until you locate Crappies hanging 3-10’ off bottom in 20-30’ of water. Walleye: Fair – Best at low light, pre-dawn or hour preceding and just after dusk. High barometer and full moon probably did not help, but better action than previous weekend. Deeper sandgrass with chubs or suckers best. Largemouth Bass: Poor – Not many reports, though warmer days best. Target using small to medium shiners on tip-ups if small Perch not a nuisance. Forecast looks to remain cold next seven days with lows below zero degrees and only two days over teens for highs. As much as we all want truck travel everywhere, still can’t advise, be cautious! Mid-winter typically sees slow down and sup-zero cold won’t help. Work deeper to find fish if your favorite spot isn’t producing. Punch a lot of holes (weather permitting) and search before you hunker down. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop - Like us on Facebook

I caught my personal best. A 21 1/2 long, 16 girth, 6 1/2 pound largemouth bass at Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife this past weekend.

Lots of groups fishing super bizy with ice fisherman. The evening bite on the valpo chain of lakes producing some crappie and gills. Fishing 8 to 15ft of water. Lake county fairgrounds giving up a few gills and some trout. Willow slough giving up some bass and a few northern pike using tip-ups and golden roaches. The bluegill bite is best at sunup and sundown. Fresh batch of steelhead came into our nwi tributaries recently voodoo jigs tipped with waxworms and spawn sacks doing the best. Slez’s Bait is fully stocked with all ice gear and fresh bait in daily.

Hi, Dale! I hope you’re staying warm with this sudden downward dip in temperatures! It may not be great for my hands & nose, but it is certainly wonderful for sledding & ice fishing… Ice fishing is in full swing on most inland lakes, ponds, channels, with most places at 3-5 inches of ice thickness; Bluegill & Crappie are being caught in nice numbers. Willow Slough has been reported to have up to 7 inches in some spots. Spikes & beemoths for Bluegills; minnows & spikes for Crappie. Rosy reds seem to be working better in many places. Golden Roaches working well for Pike & Walleye. Steelhead are performing moderately well on Lake Michigan & local tributaries. MAINTAIN CAUTION ON THE ICE! Be very careful while going out ice fishing. Some places have greater amounts of snow on the ice than others, & will thus have significantly thinner ice; BE SAFE ALWAYS!

Hi Dale this is Nikki Dykes [of Palos Heights], she caught this nice Pike [above]and Largemouth on Crooked lake in Delton Michigan.. Both fish returned safely to the water. Last bit of info just told to me by her dad.. Bass was 23 3/4 6 lbs Pike was 38 21lbs

Not much Dale. Everyone I’ve talked to said the fish shut down. People moving around easy with very little snow and good ice, but having trouble finding active fish