Midwest Fishing Report: Lakes and rivers around Chicago fishing

Musky Ed got some real slabs today! He wanted to shout out to Denny Duck and The Crappie Professor for showing him how to catch fish like this atShabbona Lake State Park!

I had to stay close to home this weekend due to my mother being in the hospital. Good news is that she is going to be fine. So I hit one of my favorite ponds out here in the southern suburbs for a few hours. I can easily say we have great ice even out south. Nine inches and counting. It’s been a while since we had that much ice. On to fishing. My goal was to go after big bass. The bass did not disappoint. Jigging blade baits along deep weed lines and staying mobile were key to this pattern. If I didn’t mark any fish within 10 minutes, on to the next hole. I attached the best bass of the day. Husker Outdoors Water Werks Fishing Team

– ANDERSON LAKE is CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING for the season– BANNER MARSH IS CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING AND AS OF OCT. 31st, BANK FISHING ONLY ALLOWED AFTER 1PM but NO FISHING ALLOWED in EAST POINT ACCESS AREA , which is CLOSED TO ALL FISHING to provide a GOOSE REFUGE AREA during season till Feb. 1st– DOUBLE T STATE FISH and WILDLIFE AREA IS CLOSED TO FISHING for the season and remains Closed till APRIL 1st, 2014– EMIQUON PRESERVE during waterfowl hunting season fishing is allowed only between Noon and sunset.– EVERGREEN LAKE – A SOUTHERN PART OF Lake AROUND DEER ISLAND and ALL OF SIX-MILE CREEK BAY IS CLOSED TO GAS MOTORS from Oct. 15th through JAN. 1st to allow for resting areas for migratory waterfowl. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STILL RUN A TROLLING MOTOR IN THESE AREAS ONLY.– SNAKEDEN HOLLOW including McMASTER LAKE IS CLOSED TO FISHING for the Season till Feb. 1st– SPRING LAKE (South & North) IS CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING in Waterfowl Hunting Area with BANK FISHING ALLOWED ONLY AFTER 1pm– And Closed to shore fishing in hunting areas on Oct. 26th.. AREAS THAT REMAIN OPEN TO BOATS ARE NORTH OF MAPLE ISLAND with ramp at north end at the Sky Ranch Road launch and IN PIKE HOLE with carry in boats -On December 25th boat fishing and shore fishing in the waterfowl hunting area will be allowed after 1:00 p.m. through the end of Canada Goose season.– CLINTON LAKE the easterly area of Clinton Lake between the DeWitt (CH14) and the 48 bridges is CLOSED FROM OCT. 10th through MARCH 31st to protect fish and wildlife. It will Re-OPEN April 1st..– POWERTON LAKE IS CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING (reopening for boats on Feb. 15), but reopened to shore fishing.– SANGCHRIS LAKE THE WEST and EAST ARMS OF LAKE and Small AREA NEAR DAM Are CLOSED DURING WATERFOWL SEASONto boat traffic through Jan. 31, 2014 (during this time fishing boat traffic is permitted in the center hot arm only). For more info, contact site office at 217/498-9208 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Monday was a beautiful day to be outdoors, weather wise, wildlife wise and fishing wise. The river gauge shows to be about triple the normal flow rate, a lot of ice covered areas, other areas with too much shoreline ice to make approaching the open water safe and some places to fish. About afoot of visibility in slower areas. I started out the day walking the dog out by the river. as we approached about 60 to 80 whistler ducks took off with their distinctive sound echoing thru the area. The geese honked a bit but otherwise ignored us. There were eagles working the river, took some time to watch them. While I was doing that, the lab was playing tag with a field mouse in the snow and grasses. After that, I grabbed the rod, the rest of the gear was already packed and headed out for some fishing. I saw several types of ducks, a handful of turkeys and watched as a flight of geese circled over head. First the scouts landed and then they came in by squadrons until the entire flight was down. Noisy bit of business. Crankbaits, rattlebaits, jerkbaits and jigs were ignored . A slow rolled 3/8 oz singlespin spinnerbait tipped with a 5 inch twister tail was the lure of the day. 2 pike, 2 smallmouth and a walleye, not a bad day for this time of year. The bass were at an inflow, the pike on the shallow, shoreline edge of a slower moving area. The walleye was on the back outside corner of an eddy. Happy 80th birthday to Tom Baker, the best of the Doctors. Norm

More cold, so what’s new? Actually, the weekend warmed up, to 10-12 degrees Saturday and anglers took advantage. Those willing to get out before dawn or fish after dark did best. Perch: Fair-Good. Flowages producing sporadic (1 to 1 ½ fish per hour average) catches on the plus side, typical of flowage perch they were quality fish (9-12 ½). Best on large rosie reds on tip-ups, tip-downs or under floats when warm enough. For better action Gapen Flicker jigs, VMC Flash champs and #25 Hali’s tipped with wigglers or red spikes producing good catches of 8-10 fish over 18-30’ mud flats. Pike: Fair-Good. Besides perch, this seemed to be the only other species that bit with some regularity this weekend. Bid shiners, chubs and suckers on wire tip-up rigs in 8-12’ weeds best. Walleyes: Fair. Had to stay out till dusk for the most part (flowage anglers reported small fish duing day). Best bites on walleye suckers (3-5) below tip-ups over off shore humps covered with sandgrass. While warm enough (Saturday and Sunday nights) or inside shacks, angler jigging #7 and #9 jig raps catching some larger eyes in mid 20 range. Crappies: Poor. Few decent reports. Best from the anglers probind deep water breaks at dusk for a 45 minute-1 hour window of activity. Minnows under slip floats in 18-24’ also VMC Larva jigs (glow) tipped with waxies. Bluegills: Poor. Fish very finicky with the best action on small, dark tungsten jigs held inches off the bottom tipped with waxies or spikes. Gills reportedly not willing to move much for bait under these high skies. Below zero temps again this week, though nice warm up for Friday, then slowly dipping back down to teens Saturday and single digits on Sunday. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com

(Head) : Northern bite is good to excellent, with walleye and panfish good; all in the Eagle River, Wisconsin area. Ice conditions in the Eagle River area are good and improving. Lakes generally have 18 inches or more of ice. Travel conditions remain fair, as there is snow and slush in some areas. Trucks are going out in select areas (caution is still strongly advised), with one of our guide sources reiterating the absolute need to know the water before you venture out. Our best suggestion remains: Hire one of Eagle River’s excellent, licensed guides. You’ll catch fish, have a lot of fun and do so in safety. Northern: Northern in the Eagle River area are in 10 feet of water or less in and around any remaining weeds you can find. Use a medium to large shiner or northern sucker under a tip up. All day action. Bite is good to excellent. Walleye: Walleye in the Eagle River area are in 25 feet of water or less off of break edges. The walleye are tight to bottom. Use a medium shiner or walleye sucker under a tip up, or try a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head. All day action, with peaks in the evening. The bite is good. Panfish: Crappies, bluegills and perch in the Eagle River area are on mud flats in 20 feet of water or less. The perch are tight to bottom. The crappies and gills while suspending have changed their pattern a bit. Drop your line in the upper half of the water column (some days the crappies and gills are in the upper quarter of the water column). Depth is lake and day dependent. Use a flasher to locate the depth, as this will save you drilling a lot of holes that simply won’t produce. Use a waxie, spike, wiggler or crappier minnow either on a small jig, or under a slip bobber. All day action. Bite is good.

Been finding some good panfish and multispecies action on inland lakes by keeping mobile and moving. Steelhead action on the river is slow, but some are being caught.