Chicago fishing: The ice, man, cometh and goeth

Hi Dale, took my cousin [Russ Mazur] out to his home waters of Gages Lake for the first time ice fishing.

Got him his personal best Channel Cat! On a jig rod, what fight. Buckshot UV spoon with a minnow head

Monday – North Park Village Nature Center 5801 N Pulaski Rd. Building D 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Thursday – Lincoln Park Cultural Center 2045 North Lincoln Park West 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Friday – Big Marsh Park 11559 S. Stoney Island 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Hey Dale made a few stops around the Palos Forest Preserves. If you publish any kind of update I would say stay off until a refreeze. I didn’t bring my boots or float suit so I only put my weight on the shore and used my heavy spud. good weekend for the fishing show lol

The last two weeks have been awesome for ice fishing. I not sure how much longer we will see the shoreline ice in good shape, especially on smaller ponds. The farther north and west of the Fox River has better ice conditions. As always be safe first. I’m hearing 5-7 inches on some places but not everywhere. Pike and bass on large golden roach minnows. Panfish on wax worms and spikes.

Wonder lake just went to their makeup day for their derby Feb. 18.

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of the weeks fishing.

Today was the final day of 14 straight days on the ice. There was 5 inches of ice but the top inch was soft and honeycomb. The ice was starting to flex in the afternoon hours. As the last minutes of light were approaching I made sure to follow the same path off the ice. Tonights rain will put a dagger in that ice. Fishing was excellent up until the final minutes of light when the bite shut down. Bluegill, crappie, and bass were roaming the main basin throughout the day. A Wiggleyourworm_fishing jig paired with an IJO Plastics slab hammer was the hot combo of the day. All fish this season were caught on Finsfishing ice tamer braided line. It was a true game changer.

A great way to end a way too short season.

Here is the nature pic of the week. Ice art [below].

TTYL

Ken Husker O’Malley

Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale,

Not much of a report, but I did go for a long hike after work on Friday. I finished at a Kane County F. P. lake and to my surprise saw a couple of ice fishermen just leaving. This was after several days of above-freezing weather and occasional rain. The ice was kind of a mess, a lot of slush and standing water on top. Of course I can’t say if these anglers started out with two; maybe they had a few more and lost them out on the ice. At least they had the sense to stay on the side of the lake away from the inlet and outlet where there is some current that will weaken the ice. There was open water already near the outlet. There were some holes cut in the ice not far from there but apparently everyone came out of it unscathed: no sign of anyone having fallen through. They must really love ice fishing.

Hi Dale

The ice was holding as of yesterday and my neighbor Jim and I set tip ups; again with no takers. Anglers were out over the weekend on the. Deeper end of the lake getting good gills and occasional perch near weeds. I hit the Chicagoland outdoor and fishing show Saturday with a couple of my Leyden Bass fishing club members. Sammy And Jakub really enjoyed fly fishing instruction. The line to get into the show snaked through the massive lobby. Hearing Chauncy Nizol say to the crowd as it filtered in ... If you can count how many fishing lures you have you dont have enough was good for the soul. I picked up some Gapen flies and bugs and was sad to hear of the old man having passed away. Bobber Anne was still there. I remember seeing segments on outdoor notebook with Dan and Bobber Anne.

On the music front it was a great show last Saturday with Midnite Mile at Main Street Outfitters in Waucanda. Met owner Paul and talked about getting the conscious rockers in for a show. The studio is booked for recording of a couple original songs on Saturday, Feb. 17 the same day as the Bob Marley bash. Could turn out to be a memorable day and night.

Tight lines and good health!

Rob

Fishing Report – 1/29/2024

Mike Norris

Big Green Lake: Last week, the ice was thick enough in Dartmouth Bay for anglers to drive ATVs out. The bite consisted of perch, many of which were undersized. Bluegills started showing up in Beyer’s Cove, and a few brave souls were walking off Hoerner’s Landing to deeper water, hoping to hook up with lake trout. As of early this week, the ice is rapidly deteriorating due to warm temps and rain. The ice is already soft at all the landings, and offshore ice is turning dark, a sign of weakening.

Fox Lake: With ice thickness up to 12 inches, anglers invaded Fox Lake in droves last week and had no problems reaching the best spots on the lake. The crappie bite in the basin was excellent. Northern pike was fair, but the bluegill bite was slow in the Jug and the Government Area. A few anglers were driving their trucks out on the ice last week, but the ice is deteriorating quickly, with daily air temps reaching into the 40s this week. Whether ice or open water, the Fox Lake American Legion Fisheree will take place next Saturday, Feb. 6th. Registration at the Fox Lake Legion will begin at 5 a.m., and the Fisheree time is 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Boat House Pub and Eatery launch. Raffles, silent auction, door prizes, and bucket raffles begin at 2 p.m. at the American Legion.

Lake Puckaway: With good ice conditions a week ago, plenty of northern pike and walleye were registered during the Montello Lion’s Club Fisheree last Saturday. Where you can find safe ice, northern pike and walleye fishing are good on shiners rigged on tip-ups.

Very foggy ... I only had the fishing pole in the water 2 minutes and whammmm!!

Beautiful Rainbow Trout bit a hanging worm ... Bobber and jig setup!!

Some perch action going on 87 and 89th street ice is gone.

Navy pier has been slow but can pick up at any time.

Dale, me and Arden Katz were in Madison, lots of ice at 13 in, some nice bluegills, Minona Bay

What a month for mid-winter. Typically, by the end of January, we would see 30-34 of ice and at least a foot or more of snow. This year, as January winds down to its end, we are looking at 7-12 of ice (as little as 4-5 on Trout) and no real snow, just slush (1-4). Fishing, though typically tougher in mid-winter, seems to be holding its own. Sure we’re seeing a drop-off in action, as is the norm, but the lack of snow cover and lack of ice thickness, allowing more light for remaining aquatic plants to produce oxygen, is helping some with activity.

Northern Pike: Fair-Good – Pike action picked up as the week went on. Nothing special here, big shiners and suckers attracting the biggest fish.

Crappie: Fair-Good – May be due to the lack of ice, but there seems to continue to be a two story fishery. Anglers fishing green, tall narrow leaf cabbage in 10-12’ slow dropping Lethal Cecils, Shrimpos and rockers tipped with waxies. At the same time, a large portion of the Crappie population suspending over deeper basins in 22-30’ of water. Clam Pinheads, Tikka Flash as well as #4 glow tungsten jigs tipped with waxies. In both areas, tip-downs with small rosies or regular Crappie minnows doing well.

Yellow Perch: Fair-Good – Perch seem to be concentrating together in deeper water. Gold or glow Kastmasters, Pimples and Halis tipped with wigglers (when available) best over mud of 20-30’. Shallower flats (12-18) seem to have smaller fish in most cases. Anglers finding some Perch in broad leaf cabbage flats of 7-10’ using Bluegill shaped jigs tipped with waxies.

Largemouth Bass: Fair-Good – Liking the warm weather, LMB showing up on tip-ups and jigging spoons in and along weed flats.

Bluegill: Fair-Good – Gill catches vary. Several days last week, Gills (and other species) were present but not biting except for small windows of time, usually just an hour before dusk. Things improving as we seem to be moving away from full moon phase.

Walleye: Poor-Good – With green weeds still present in depths of 8-12’ – good places to set up tip-ups with medium shiners just before dusk. Humps sporting sandgrass or rock bringing fish in the evenings as well.

Overall fishing picking up from the lows of the previous week. Not first ice good, but probably better than most end of January.

Forecast have 14 straight days of temps above freezing (34-45 degrees) with all but two nights with temps below (23-27 degrees). We won’t make ice during this time, but shouldn’t lose either. The tops of most lakes have slush ranging from1-4. On some lakes the water has drained off. Either way, water proof (rubber) boots, cleats, picks and floatation gear should be part of your attire. With some luck and a little cold we can have a full February of ice fishing in the Northwoods.

Only five weekends remain of the inland gamefish season, so make the most of it!

Upcoming Tournaments

Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake

Feb 17th – Lake Tomahawk Family Fisheree – Lake Tomahawk

Feb 24th – 3rd Annual Newbold Fire Dept Ice Fishing Tournament – Muskellunge Lake

Mar 2nd – KISS Annual High School Ice Fishing Tournament – Lake Minocqua

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop

Some perch action going on 87 and 89th street ice is gone.

Navy pier has been slow but can pick up at any time.

Coho haven’t showed up yet but it shouldn’t be long.

Pretty quiet since our ice got wreaked with all the rain

The ice is holding up with the warm weather. I had 10-11 on Partridge Lake Monday. Bluegills, and a few crappie for the panfish, northerns and bass doing well on tip-ups. ATV access is good. The north side of the lot producing the best.