Fish of the Week: Hand-tied tinsel jig and the joy of a surprise laker at Navy Pier

Dave Dempsey caught and released a lake trout while perch fishing with a hand-tied tinsel jig.

By Dale Bowman

Dave Dempsey caught a lake trout while perch fishing at Navy Pier.

Stephen Wardynski nominated his buddy Dave Dempsey for a lake trout caught while perch fishing.

“Caught and released on a hand-tied tinsel jig on [6-pound line test] at Navy Pier,” Wardynski messaged on Instagram.

It’s been an active winter for lakers and steelhead caught by perch anglers, both at Navy Pier and the South Side slips.

FOTW, the celebration of big fish and their stories (the stories matter, as this one shows) around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays in the paper Sun-Times. The online posting here at chicago.suntimes.com/outdoorsgoes up at varied days of the week, depending on what is going on in the wide world of the outdoors.

To make submissions, email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

Next Up In Outdoors

Go & Show: RFC's swap meet and NADCA's decoy & sporting collectibles show

First woman chairs Chicago fishing advisory committee

Cicadas' mass arrival is just a few weeks away in northern Illinois, experts say

Chicago fishing: Lakefront spurts of salmon and trout while inland fishing heats up

Finding early morel mushrooms is underway

Sometimes you have to swim to get a turkey