Chicago fishing: Hybrid stripers, historically good coho, perch, cicadas, big carp

My granddaughter Kinsley Bianco caught her first perch a 13.75” jumbo from 41’ feet of water north of the mouth of The Little Cal.

My friends asked me if I could help their daughter catch a fish. I took your advice and met them at palmisona park .Watched a guy catch a legit 4 lbs bass.

My son Steve Howard caught this 28 inch walleye on a jig and minnow at the club he belongs to in Will County.Tom Howard

My employees tell me bass are hitting large roaches and senkos. . . . Bluegills are spawning and eating wax worms or red worms. Crappie are spotty right now.

Hi Dale,. . . I was surprised to see what is likely the second spawn of the year taking place at a Kane County F.P. pond. This is a small pond, a few acres at most, It warms quickly in the Spring and a bluegill spawn occurred weeks ago. But there were big fish (the fish in the attached image was typical, no bigger than several others) stacked up and defending their nests from each other within an arm’s length of shore. They weren’t pushovers: plenty of them ignored the flies I was offering; others were spooked if I cast too close to them. It’s a C & R-only pond, so they may have experience with fishermen’s offerings.

Hi Dale

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Back in island lake the hummingbirds have returned to the feeders. An Oriole species was on the feeder last night . the bluegill spawn is still going and they are hitting crawler pieces. Largemouth around docks and in the moss slop. Bass hit wacky rigged senko in black and blue in 4 feet of water. Big carp are moving and jumping as we approach the carpfest.

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On the music front the shows start this weekend with the conscious rockers reggae band Friday at main street outfitters in waucanda and midnite mile on Saturday at the same venue. But first it’s Wednesday rehearsal with Gozortenplat in preparation for summer shows in July. June 14 is the juneteenth show with Indika reggae band. Looking forward to first date at Montrose beach dock june 22 with conscious rockers...time to hit the woodshed. Tight lines and good health

It’s been about two years but I finally broke my personal best record for common carp from chicago river, This girl was thirty five pounds , forty one and a half inches with a girth of 32

The river walk is active with a variety of species. Have a great week.

Delavan Lake 6/3/24 through 6/10/24Fishing in the shallows remains very good. Most of the largemouth bass seem to be post-spawn. And the bluegills are coming up to spawn.Largemouth bass can be caught on two patterns: the shallow post-spawn, 4-5 ft depth or the deep weedline. The deep weedline has been the slower pattern since the majority of fish don’t seem to have made it out there yet, it will improve daily. The shallow fish can be caught by Lake Lawn or by the Highland bay or Viewcrest Bay. I’ve been casting a Texas rigged weightless All Terrain Stik. Green pumpkin is the only color I’ve tied on. The deep weedline bass are being caught on Crank Baits that are trolled or by casting nightcrawlers fished on a lindy rig. The best locations are the Oriental boathouse or by the gray condos.This last week, I’ve been catching some nice Smallmouth off the deep weedlines. The key is the weedlines that have rocks underneath. I caught several in excess of 19 inches. My presentation is Lindy Rigging Nightcrawlers. They could be caught casting jigs with spider grubs also.Northern Pike have been kind of slow. The water is still a bit cold for the deep weedline bite. I’ve been dragging suckers around with very limited success.Crappie fishing has been awesome. Most of the fish I’ve been catching are in 10-15 ft of water right on the weedline. I’ve been casting small purple plastics on a 1/32 oz Arkie jig. Some days I’ve been catching one every cast. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or west of Willow Point.Like the largemouth bass, the Bluegills have two patterns. They are moving shallow to spawn and the bigger ones I’ve been catching have been in 20-25 ft. These fish have yet to spawn. The deeper fish have been averaging a legitimate 9 inches. I’ve been catching them on half of nightcrawlers or leaf worms.Walleye fishing has been slow. I’ve been catching one here or there but there isn’t a true pattern. My buddies who troll for them are only reporting one or two per day. The fish I’ve been catching are all lindy rigged nightcrawlers in 20-25 ft of water. Delmar subdivision or east of Willow Point are some of my best spots.Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063

Hey Dale,This past Sunday I hit one of your favorites ,and mine, Hennepin Hopper. Sunday things were definitely on the slow side. My co-angler did manage to boat a very nice Largemouth and the one strike I did get, was this Northern. Caught it on the most venerable Pike bait ever, a Texas rigged Senko. Hoping for some warmer temps and warmer water.

. . . Catfish on the Fox River are still hitting stink bait and cut bait.

Hey Dale,The rain is relentless this year. It’s making it really tough to wade the Fox River safely. Water levels remain high and the flow pretty fast in most areas in Kane County. Fishing from the banks again, my friend Len Cajic & I have found good numbers of smallmouth but it’s been tough to find fish above the 15 to 17 inch range. Len did catch this beauty on a ned rig in St. Charles which was the biggest fish of the week. Put up a good fight with some spectators witnessing the battle.

Hi Dale,

Interesting week as far as fishing. After work on Friday, I hit the mouth of a Fox tributary. I wanted to try some cicada imitations that I’d been working on. I thought they looked pretty good, but the fish were less impressed: all I got was a big bluegill. When I switched to a subsurface fly, a minnow pattern, I got into smallmouths immediately. The creek mouth was tough to fish because of complex, swirling currents, but I got a few-not sure how well I was able to cover it. Before it got too dark to see, I made a few casts into a fast run on the Fox. I’d have thought the water was way too fast for smallmouths-it looked more like steelhead or salmon water-but I was wrong: smallmouths were stacked up in there. The faster I retrieved, the more aggressively they hit. The fish in the photo was caught on the last cast of the night. It was a legitimate 18-inch fish, Other than a bunch of mallards, two kayakers and a beaver who, fortunately for me, decided to stay on the far bank, I had the place to myself. Things may look very different at the moment after all the rain on Saturday,

Hi Dale,All the rain Saturday raised water levels on the Fox, but not by that much: areas I can normally wade easily I could still wade easily. There was more stain to the water but not enough to affect fishing adversely: clarity was more than adequate. Water was surprisingly cool. The fish in the image was 19 inches (without compressing the tail-I wanted to get her released quickly). She stretched from the butt end of the handle to the “d” in Redington.

Lake Geneva 6/3/24 through 6/10/24Rock bass are concentrated on the shallow flats in 10-12 ft of water. They can be caught on fat head minnows or on nightcrawlers. Last week it was almost every cast that produced a fish at a certain spot near Fontana. The basic rig is a split shot and a single hook. This time of year, the fish are pretty much everywhere in the shallows. The key to catching them is making sure you have enough bait.Smallmouth bass are starting to bed. They are located in 10-12 ft of water. They can be caught on hair jigs or on nightcrawlers. The best location is by Elgin Club or by Coleman’s Point. With this warmer weather they should become more active.Bluegills are in 3-4 ft of water. I’ve been catching them around boat docks. Good locations have been by Williams Bay Municipal Piers and by Gage Marine. They are biting on leaf worms fished on bobbers.Largemouth bass have been becoming more active every day as the temps improve. The best location has been by the beach in Lake Geneva or by the Geneva Inn. They can either be caught on Chompers fished on a football head jig or nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. With the warmer weather, we should have a good couple of weeks of good fishing while the fish are shallow.Perch are schooled up in the shallows. They are in 8-10 ft of water. The best approach is slip bobbers with small fat head minnows. Look for the fish by Belvidere Park and by Knollwood. The biggest problem is catching the bigger fish. You will likely catch 2 or 3 small fish before you hook any keepers.Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Fishing Report – 6/3/2024By Mike NorrisBig Green Lake: Outside of dodging a few raindrops here and there, it was a good week to be on the water to catch largemouth and smallmouth bass. The warmer water and cloud cover was a blessing for some anglers and a detriment for others. The big attraction was bedding bass, and the ability to see which beds had bass on them was much easier for anglers using the flogger, a cone-shaped device that allows anglers to see and catch bedding bass beneath the water. The flogger was a major factor in two Green Lake tournament victories last weekend. The tournament on Saturday was won by Bassmaster’s Elite Pro Jay Przekurat and his partner, Dan Munch. The duo flogged their way to an allowable six fish weighing 24 pounds. Przekurat and Munch also won the Sunday tournament flogging with a five-fish bag weighing 20.56 pounds.Fox Lake: Most largemouth bass on Fox Lake are done spawning and have moved out into emerging beds of curly cabbage and coontail weeds. A Texas-rigged Berkley ribbon tail worm or a Senko hooked wacky style are perfect for working through this new weed growth. Also, try Chatterbaits off the tips on the numerous islands. Walleye are done spawning and have moved out along rocky points in 8 to 12 feet of water. Crappies have also moved into deeper water. Northern pike are very active and will strike any lure you throw at them. Bluegills are spawning and can be found around the piers.

Hi Dale - Heidecke lake Sunday on a very calm and summer like day. Water temps at 78 degrees with way too much algae for me. Throwing surface lures fooled the bass, largemouth, smallmouth and one nice Hybrid. Hybrid were busting the surface on shad and I was in right place at right time. Fun fight, catch and release.

I hit Hickory Creek this evening, and it was indeed a topwater bite. I saw the occasional “plop” on the surface and decided to throw a home-tied foam hopper. Strike after strike produced nice rock bass and the occasional smallmouth, until I picked my personal best smallie on Hickory Creek, a 2.5lb plus fish on the hopper.

Dale Bowman if I see smallies rising to take damselflies (or cicadas), I’ll throw any type of foam bug and they’ll almost always take it. It’s usually a mid-summer thing, but I suspect due to the mild winter and cicada hatch they’ve turned on early.

Hi Dale, fished DesPlains conservation area on Thursday. Got some largemouth on plastic craw baits. Waiting for the river to get on summer pattern . G. Peters

Lots of Sheephead on the Horseshoe on crabs (crayfish).

Smallmouth activity pretty good and I’ve seen some really nice size ones. It won’t surprise me if we weigh a record this year. A few Northerns in the harbors.

The Coho bite off shore for the boaters, regular or charter is unbelievable! I feel it’s probably one of there best spring seasons.

. . . Have a great week.

Hi Dale

Im back from big Millelacs where i finished the trip catching beautiful northern pike and big bass. The Berkeley Slobberknocker got bruiser largemouth in some of the most beautiful bass habitat you could fish... pads rice cabbage coontail catails and bullrushes. I was only fishing there to get out of the wind as the big lake was growling. The pike also hit the Slobberknocker in the deeper weed beds.

Hi Dale,Here is a recap from this weeks fishing.This is the Northwoods edition. Water temps on the main lake are 61 in the morning to 64 by the afternoon. Bays are slightly warmer.Smallmouth are staging with a few males on beds. Best baits have been jerkbaits, swim baits, and ned rigs.Crappie are tight to wood and staging. Best bait has been a Wack’em and Stack’em chow bell.Bluegill are still waiting to come up shallow. On sunny days you will find them moving up. Insect imitating plastics have been the most productive bait.Largemouth are cruising the shallows on sunny days. Wacky rigged stick baits have been very productive. Let the fish dictate color.Walleye are productive working jerkbaits over the top of emerging weeds in wind blown bays.Good news the dragon flies have hatched. Bad news for the mosquitos.TTYLKen “Husker” O’MalleyHusker OutdoorsWaterwerks fishing team

Another off spring! Aren’t they all lately? Early ice out you’d think would equate to ahead of schedule weed growth, but it doesn’t seem to be on many lakes. Water temps hovered in the upper 50’s for a long time, finally moving into the 60’s but likely falling again with the forecast for the end of the week. Some species of fish bedded early this year (Crappies, Smallmouth) and were done before what anglers were used to seeing. Probably a good way to protect these fish while they are so vulnerable to harvest (Crappies) and harassment (Smallies). Either way it all adds up to anglers having to adjust methods and locations while chasing their preferred fish!Smallmouth Bass: Very Good – Nice reports of high number, high quality fish (18-20”+). Lots of this action fishing Wacky worms and Ned rigs around first drop wood or rocks. Top-water in evenings and early mornings and twitching slash style baits (X-Raps, Husky Jerks) over 6-10’ of same types of water.Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Staging, no reports of bedding yet, but if temps hold in mid-60’s and up they will be in. Wacky worming and drop shotting in 6-10’ cabbage. Evening top-water (Whopper Ploppers) and swimbaits such as Kietechs Swinging Impacts on 1/8 oz swim heads during late mornings thru mid-day.Bluegills: Good-Very Good – Very shallow on warm days, some signs of bedding colonies. Tiny tubes, grubs (1-1 ½”) Mini-mites and small leeches. Fish 2-6’.Crappies: Good – Confusion with the Crappie catchers as some anglers are finding eggs in the females they’ve filleted. These fish missed their chance and they won’t get another this year! These Crappies will slowly reabsorb these eggs, so don’t be surprised to find egg filled Crappies come August (soft, squishy, greenish eggs). Casting small jig/twister, swim or under spin (Charlie Bees) effective, 6-12’ weeds.Northern Pike: Good – Swimbaits, spinnerbaits over thickest weeds you can find. Stickbaits and 4-6” glidebaits as well as jigs with chubs or suckers a good bet.Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Those seeking Perch finding in spread out cabbage flats of 5-10’. Small floats baited with medium fatheads cast into pockets within weed beds best.Walleye: Fair-Good – Mornings, especially early, have been tough. Windows of opportunity seem to arise for jig anglers starting mid-morning and again late afternoon/early evening. Still a decent minnow bite, but leeches under slip-floats have been effective. Casting stickbaits over 8-12’ weeds (when you can find) producing nice, but mostly slot fish (20-24’). Overcast with rain forecast could help throughout the week until things clear up on weekend.Musky: Fair–Good – Most reports of smaller fish hitting 6” Cranes and #5 Mepps. Small Smity Jerks and similar glidebaits. Most action in water less than 10’!As always weather dictates fish and anglers alike. Lots of wind shifts this past week with either high clear skies or rainy, stormy weather. Lots of rain in a short period (6/3) saw some lake and Flowage levels rise. Water temps fluctuating from 58-64 degree averages. As said, some lakes behind on weed growth (others fine). Mosquitos liking rain, but luckily dragon fly hatches showing up. Despite call for rain (6/5 – 6/7), and cooler temps, fishing during new moon usually very good. Just keep an eye on the sky for electricity!Kurt Justice

Coho action good for most fishing 65 to 80ft of water straight out of portage and east and west same depth of water stubby dodgers and flys best.Some steelhead action in trail creek using spawn saks, small pieces of shrimp and few on spinners.Most area lakes and ponds giving up bluegills to crickets, red worms and beemoth. Must move around weeds are up heavy most places.Catfish good in the evenings fishing burns ditch and deep river using triple s stinkbait, skipjack and shadSlez’s bait shop is on summer hours 5am to 6pm daily.

Hi Dale

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I hit the Wisconsin river Saturday in my way home and got a pike on the same Slobberknocker lure. The river was normal pool . Bass were hitting senkos and seemed to be still on the spawn.

The river is the highest it’s been this year. Water temp Monday was 67.6 degrees. There are still some white bass spawning near Partridge Lake. River rigs working best with fly/minnow combination. A few walleye are coming in, mostly jig and crawler on shallow flats.