Chicago fishing: You name it, it's going, even the cicadas

Just like that, walleye, crappie and bass all are done with the spawn. Some male bass are still guarding their fry. Bluegills are spawning now and just outside of their beds is a great place to catch bass. The water warmed fast and its top water time. I like a Pro Pop R or Spook than a BuzzBait.

Hi Dale. It’s been a busy week with school ending and getting things in order for my trip to big Millelacs lake. Lifelong friend Jimmy the chicken wing king of Franks for the memories restaurant came out to island lake and targeted gills with small in line spinners while i threw a unweighted Texas rigged flat tail worm for bass. Jim got some big gills in the shallows as the spawn is going full swing. These are the kind of bluegill that you can lip hold. He took a few home for the table and released a bunch as well. I got some nice largemouth in the same shoreline areas as the bass must be raiding the bluegill beds in their post spawn feed up.

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On the music front its a double bill weekend for me june 7th and 8th at main street outfitters in waucanda with the conscious rockers and midnite mile. The conscious rockers reggae band has 3 dates now confirmed for Montrose beach dock June 22 july 6 August 26. I will be bringing my rods to those shows and will try to fish the horseshoe. On an interesting and humbling note i was contacted by one of the top reggae bands in Chicago baby j and the golden street reggae band about playing some shows. I had helped them out once at the Caribbean jerk festival. Not sure if i can do it with all i already have going on this summer. Gozortenplat is set now with 3 summer shows to play the music of frank Zappa July 9th at reggie’s July 10 in Milwaukee at Nashville north and August 3rd (check my date on this one) in kenosha at the peace tree festival. Also july 19 with midnite mile at lily lake family fest with uncle pigeon on bill. Great times ahead this summer! Tight lines and good health! Rob

That bass from Clark Park looked really healthy. I also got big rock bass from both there and in between Irving Pk. and Montrose off the Horner river trail.

Good morning Dale,

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The Chicago River Walk area has been picking up, lots of different fish to be caught just have to get out and give it a try! Like I say you can’t catch em from your couch!

Delavan Lake 5/27/24 through 6/3/24It’s great to see that the warm water has finally got the fish active. The fish are in various stages of spawning. Largemouth bass are just finishing, and the bluegills are spawning now.Largemouth bass have moved from the shallows and are on the deep weedlines. The best depth is 15-20 ft. I caught a few fish over 19 inches last week. The bass are being caught on medium suckers and on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. Look for the fish west of Willow Point or by the island. Some bass are also being caught on Bandit 300 series crankbaits cast to the 12 ft depth with weeds. Perch pattern has been producing most of the fish.Walleyes have moved deeper in the water column and are also on the deep weedlines in 16-18 ft of water. They can be caught on lindy rigged nightcrawlers or leeches. You want to use a 24 inch leader and a chartreuse painted hook. Assembly Park and the Village Supper club are good areas that have been producing most of the action. Another approach would be casting weed jigs tipped with one half of a nightcrawler and work it through the weeds.Bluegills are in the 3-5 ft range spawning and in the 12-15 ft weedline. For the shallow fish, a small bobber and leaf worms are producing most of the action. For the deeper fish, I’ve been using a split shot rig with a small nightcrawlers or leaf worm. The best location has been by the Yacht Club or the Oriental boat house.Northern Pike are very aggressive right now. They are also on the deep weed lines and can be caught on lindy rigged suckers. It’s nice to see how healthy the fish look, by the end of the summer (after being hooked several times) they get to look pretty beat up. A good location is Browns Channel.Crappies can be caught on small plastics fished on a 1/32 oz jig head. They are in the weeds in 10-12 ft of water. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or by the island. I use a slow stop and go retrieve when bringing the jig back to the boat. That seems to work well.Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063

Hey Dale,Fox River levels in Kane County are still a little high. Clarity is pretty good in most spots. I fished a few days this past week with just a basic ned rig and small crankbait. Found some good size smallmouth in deeper pockets just outside of main currents. Also picked up a couple of channel cats and a carp.

Catfishing on the Fox River continues to be very good. Blood Stink bait or cut bait will catch them.

Lake Geneva 5/27/24 through 6/3/24Finally, the fish are starting to bite on Lake Geneva. The panfish are just incredible right now, so if you have kids, now is a great time to get them out fishing with you. The action is almost non-stop. This past week I caught an 11-inch sunfish and bluegill so it’s not all about action, there are also some quality fish to be had.Smallmouth bass, as of Sunday the 26^th, most of the fish are still on their beds spawning. It was hard to get live bait past all the panfish to catch the smallmouth bass. I saw most of the beds in 10-12 ft of water. Belvidere Park and the Military Academy had most of the fish. I was using a split shot rigged nightcrawlers and small plastics. Green pumpkin grubs seemed to work the best.Largemouth bass are in the shallows also spawning at this time. Look for the fish in Geneva Bay or by Trinkes. I caught some on split shot rigged nightcrawlers and a split shot rigged with a 4 inch Zoom lizard. The best depth seemed to be 3-5 ft with scattered weeds and a hard sand bottom.Rock Bass can be caught just about anywhere on the lake. You can catch as many as you have nightcrawlers for. The best depth seems to be the 8-10 ft range. The highest concentration of them that I found was in Fontana. You don’t need anything special to catch them, just a hook and some live bait.Perch can be found by the Military Academy and by Colemans Point. I’ve been catching them on nightcrawler pieces fished on a single hook with a very light weight. Again, the problem is catching some fish that are over 6 inches long. I think you can catch bigger ones if you use minnows. When fishing with minnows, I will always fish them on a slip bobber rig.Bluegills are in the 4-5 ft depth range. They can be caught on leaf worms fished beneath a bobber. The best location is by Trinkes and in Geneva Bay. A lot of the bluegills were in the 8-9 inch range, like I said earler, I did catch several over 10 inches this week as well.Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063

Fishing Report – 5/27/2024By Mike NorrisBig Green Lake: Both large and smallmouth bass were in shallow water last week, and fishing for them was excellent until the storms moved in on Tuesday evening. This week, warm and stable weather is predicted, and the bass fishing will heat up again. Try Senko’s and Chatterbaits along shorelines and beneath docks for bass. Bluegill fishing should also improve as this popular fish begins bedding under and around docks. Lake trout fishing is outstanding right now as storms don’t affect them as much due to their proximity to deeper water. Try jigging Rapalas and blade baits in 80 to 115 feet of water.Fox Lake: Largemouth bass fishing took off last week as weeds developed in the “Jug” and out by the golf course. Chatterbaits and swim baits are the best choices for catching them, and since northern pike are active, leaders should be used when possible. The crappie and walleye bite is also good around the rocky islands. Try minnows suspended beneath floats over 3 to 12 feet of water.

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap from this weeks fishing.

For those who fish Heidecke Lake, yesterday’s conditions were not ideal for that lake. The lake was like glass, an algae bloom starting, and extremely hot conditions. Water temps started out in the low 70’s and rose into the mid 70’s by afternoon. What’s that old saying about making lemons into lemonade? The morning started by throwing swim baits with zero fish. I was getting bit, but they were just hitting the tail. That was a sign to change tactics to slow down and go to finesse presentations. Ned and Damaki rigs brought fish to the boat in good numbers. FINS Braids windtamer braid allowed for those much needed long casts and sensitivity to work these rigs effectively. The smallmouth were excellent with good numbers along with a few walleye and even a nice hybrid. Working humps away from the riprap was key as carp were up in the shallows spawning. The Clam Outdoors fortis net certainly got a workout.

TTYL

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors

Waterwerks fishing team

Hickory Creek was perfect for Ricardo and me. 52 fish between us. He did high quantity and I got quality. Best fish measured 17.5 inches. Bookends were 2 fish 16-18 inches that came unbuttoned from my custom painted cicada lures.They’re gorging on cicadas and midge flies. The crowning jewel half way through 8 hour wade was the mature bald eagle fly over..close too

Hi Dale, got out Saturday before the rain. Some post spawn smallmouth in faster water, but fished slow backwaters for Largemouth and got some nice fish on jig and plastic up to 18". See photo. C&R. G. Peters

Good morning Dale,Change of season and weather has had fishing along the lakefront hit or miss. Now that the water is warming up a little the Smallmouth are more active. There have been some really nice ones caught in and around the harbors. Northerns were active at Diversey last week on anything Fire Tiger color. Sheephead have started hitting out on the Horseshoe on Soft Shells. Some big Carp in the harbors so be prepared for a fight if you hook into one! Perch season is closed and will open Sunday June 16th.Salmon are well away from our shoreline now. No Trout reports from shore lately. Boats are still doing fantastic just a little ways out!

TOPWATER!Fishing for smallmouth and walleye remains excellent on the Menominee River. The smallmouth bass, having finished spawning, are holding tight to wood. Despite the fluctuating weather, the topwater action is good. For post-spawn fish wood, prop baits are my preferred choice. Cast close to the wood and twitch the bait. Allow it to rest for a few seconds before twitching it again. It’s crucial to avoid moving the prop bait too swiftly out of the strike zone. The most effective prop baits are those that sink vertically during the pause. The most productive colors include Bone, Fire Tiger, and Shad patterns. As the weather becomes more consistent, the topwater activity is expected to increase in June, making it a prime month for fishing on the Menominee River. Another effective tactic in early June is using a Neko rig with either a Case Jacks worm, a Case LIL Pintail worm, and a Spearpoint 1/0 Finesse Hook, or opting for a wacky worm. If the smallmouth bass are dispersed, consider using a swimbait or a swim jig.

Hi Dale

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Yesterday I made it back to my favorite place big Millelacs lake in Minnesota. I’ve been here every year except covid sine 1997. I arrived to steady rain so i had lunch and waited for the rain to end. Cove bay is my usual starting place on arrival day and it didn’t disappoint. All bass species were active and some big ones were hitting . Largemouth smallmouth and freakishly giant rock bass were hitting wacky rigged senkos in bubblegum pink and white dippedin chartreuse garlic dip n gloà. Reeds with rocks in 5 feet of water were best areas. The smallmouth are starting to get on the beds and around the docks. The size and strength of these fish is something else. I guess they gotta be in this rugged place. Today im going to target big pike with spinners and swimbaits. Mcquoids is where I’m staying.

Weather could have been kinder for the Memorial Weekend, we just had winds on Saturday that made for some challenging fishing. Wind shifts and threats of rain along with some advancement on the fish spawning calendar disappointed some anglers. While giving rise to others up for the holiday weekend.Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Excellent - Somewhat earlier than usual, Smallies are up and bedding on many lakes. Season not open, all catch and release, but reports of hot fishing in the shallows using Wacky Worms, Ned Rigs, and Tubes. If you only could find the Lee side of the lake, top-water action is a blast. Lots of reports from anglers experiencing 30 to 40, and 50 fish days.Walleye: Very Good - Weeds being key, depth varies. Finding Walleyes along 22' breaks in sandgrass, taking black chubs and red tails. Working into weeds (tall, narrow leaf cabbage) of 10-14' also producing. Jigging chubs or setting up slip floats with large fatheads or large leeches. Casting stickbaits over weed tops of 10-14' just along breaks into deeper water producing well using Rattlin Rouge Perfect 10’s.Crappies: Very Good-Good - Most spawning is done, though some lakes still have bedding fish. Most consistent bite using small plastic, swimbait twister tails on 1/32oz jigs, through 6-10' weeds. Mini Mites or Crappie minnows under small floats, rocking in the wind also producing.Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good - Action in 6-10' weeds using wacky worms, tube jigs and #8 Husky Jerks. Pre-rigged plastic worms slowly retrieved through some areas and a real “do nothing” approach that’s been deadly.Northern Pike: Good - Most reports came from Walleye anglers jigging chubs or Musky anglers working swimbaits and smaller musky bucktails. A couple of reports from anglers targeting using #3 and #4 Mepps.Yellow Perch: Good-Fair - Prior to wind, anglers finding Perch taking medium fatheads in green cabbage of 6-8'. Slip bobbers in pockets working best. Worms and leeches always seem to work when Perch are around.Bluegills: Good-Fair - Probably more due to wind and rain than anything. Many Bluegill anglers prefer nicer weather. Gills found from 2-8' of water, not bedding yet, but taking advantage of warmer waters and shallow bug hatches.Musky: Fair–Poor - Wind on opening day was brutal for boat control, and seeing what reports I could gather (my boat struck out!). Few fish seen and even fewer caught. I’m sure I will hear (and see) more as this week progresses.Water temps that had been into the mid-60s, (64–65 degrees) early last week dropped into the upper 50s (58 average). May have been the rain and hail, yet Smallies have moved in and Largemouth won’t be far behind if temps get back into the mid-60s. Forecast for cool mornings mid-week but nice days with temp pushing 70 degrees. Unfortunately, rain is forecasted for the weekend, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Rain forecasts have been unreliable as far as the intensity the past week.Kurt JusticeKurt’s Island Sports Shop – Like us on FaceBook

Some action for steelhead on Michigan city pier using crawlers and shrimp.Coho action in 65 to 75ft of water west of burns ditch on dodgers and flys and spoons.Bluegills bedding at most area lakes and ponds Crickets’s,jumbo reds, lil leeches best baitsCatfish in deep river and burns ditch using triple s stinkbait, skipjack and shad.

We fished the Wolf River in Fremont, WI this past weekend. The run is pretty much done but we managed to get a few.