Perch here, ice will be back: Midwest Fishing Report, Chicago fishing

Gonna stick to navy pier for the week. There’s a zillion perch there. Nice work with Kenny Lookingbill this weekend

If you like to fish, there is insane perch fishing taking place all along the lakefront. This past weekend I split my time between Navy Pier and Montrose. I caught in excess of 60 perch in 4 hours, of which a dozen ended up in the cooler. Open water fishing will end as soon as the harbors ice over, so get out now.

You gotta fish. You’re not catching 13 12-inchers in 15 minutes. You have to put your time in.

The agreement means Illinoisans holding both a resident Illinois license and a nonresident Indiana license can fish in the reciprocal area, taking the daily limit for whichever state they choose, but NOT for both states. The place from which an angler launches a boat does not impact his or her rights under the agreement. The boundaries for the reciprocal area are as follows: – The east-west portion of the breakwater system which extends lakeward from the Lake Michigan shoreline at about 85th Street in Chicago on the north (the area north of the breakwater is not included). – On the east, the reciprocal area extends from the far east end of the northern boundary, southeast to the southern boundary. – On the south, the area extends from the southern tip of the breakwater system, southwest to the east side of the pier at the south edge of the Calumet Park beach. – The western boundary is the existing Lake Michigan shoreline from Taylor Pier on the south edge of Calumet Park beach to the far western point of the northern boundary. The reciprocal waters also include the main channel of the Calumet River from Lake Michigan downstream to the Ewing Avenue bridge, anglers fishing from the Illinois shoreline of Lake Michigan in Calumet Park and from the Calumet Harbor breakwater system and from any other publically accessible areas in the reciprocal zone. The reciprocal agreement DOES NOT APPLY to the channel waters of the North Slip on the northwest corner of Calumet Harbor and the South Slip off the Calumet River northeast of the Ewing Avenue Bridge. The agreement also does not include privately-owned shorelines, including both shorelines of the Calumet River and the Ewing Avenue Bridge. Fishing access from the Lake Michigan shoreline in Calumet Park is allowed only at areas and hours allowed by the Chicago Park District. Illinois and Indiana residents who are exempt from sportfishing license requirements in their home state are also exempt from sportfishing license requirements in the reciprocal fishing area. Individuals can take only one daily limit of fish per day, so anglers from either state with both an Illinois and an Indiana license must choose which state’s regulations they intend to follow – they cannot take both an Illinois and an Indiana limit of fish. A map of the reciprocal sportfishing boundaries can be obtained by calling (219) 874-6824.

Dale, Here are the Winter Lake Closures I have from IDNR for Central IL (& couple extra). ANDERSON LAKE –– – THIS AREA Will CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING in Main Lake on Oct. 21st with Last Day to Fishing being Oct. 20th during waterfowl season with bank fishing Only allowed. BANNER MARSH – ** THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING Oct. 18th (last day to boat fish will be Oct. 17th) — AND 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 – –CLINTON LAKE -REMEMBER an easterly area of Clinton Lake between the DeWitt (CH14) and the 48 bridges willCLOSE to protect fish and wildlife FROM OCT. 10th through – typically March 31st – but with weekend, could be March 30th, 2018..? DOUBLE T S.F.&W.A. ** THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING Oct. 1st with LAST DAY to Fish being Sept. 30th and will remain CLOSED till Feb 1st..EVERGREEN LAKE – –– – A SOUTHERN PART OF EVERGREEN LAKE – AROUND DEER ISLAND and ALL OF SIX-MILE CREEK BAY IS CLOSED TO GAS MOTORS from Oct. 15th through JAN. 1st to allow resting areas for migratory waterfowl. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STILL RUN A TROLLING MOTOR IN THESE AREAS ONLY.-McMASTER LAKE at SNAKEDEN HOLLOW –* THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING for the Season on Oct. 16th (last day to fish is Oct. 15th) till Feb. 1st —NEWTON LAKE –As written in the fishing regs booklet : ** The cold arm of Newton Lake shall be Closed daily from one-half hour before sunrise until 1:00 pm to all fishing and boat traffic except for legal waterfowl hunters during waterfowl season commencing with regular duck season through the close of the Canada goose and regular duck season. * For here – Regular South Waterfowl Season: Nov. 23 – Jan. 31PRAIRIE LAKE in Jim Edgar/ Panther Creek State F&W Area – Lake access is CLOSED to Fishing from Nov. 1st – Jan. 15th until After 12:01 PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays.RICE LAKE –* THIS AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING on OCT. 21st with Last Day of Fishing being OCT. 20th and Will Re-Open at end of Duck & Goose Season..SPRING LAKE (South & North) –* THIS AREA WILL BE CLOSED TO BOAT FISHING in Hunting Area ON OCT. 21st with Last Day to Boat Fish being Oct. 20th –with BANK FISHING ALLOWED ONLY AFTER 1pm–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 –AND Shore Fishing is allowed in entire Lake after 1pm in Hunting areas or at boat ramps all day..SANGCHRIS LAKE –* THE WEST and EAST ARMS OF LAKE and Small AREA NEAR DAM ARE CLOSED DURING WATERFOWL SEASON to boat traffic effective Oct. 18th (last day to boat fish will be Oct. 17th) through Jan. 31, 2018 (during this time fishing boat traffic is permitted in the center hot arm only). Keep up the Good Work,Enjoy the Fall & GOOD FISHINGlarrysfishinghole.comLarry

Hello guys! Here is a quick update on what is going on up here as of now and what we should expect here in the hopefully very near future The smaller bays are starting to get some ice cover and are the protected marinas and as of this weekend there were some fishermen that ventured out and found some fish. So this is what we heard…. Perch fishermen managed a few decent batches of fish, fishing in the shallow bays of Sawyer Harbor and Little Sturgeon. Up until this point, only the back bays had safe enough ice to walk out on and fish so the area is a bit limited, but never the less, most fishermen that we talked to managed to catch enough fish for a meal. Shiner minnows under tip-ups along with an assortment of jigs tipped with minnow heads and waxies were working. Along with the Perch, there was some decent Pike action mixed in from fishermen that were targeting them and even some decent Pike caught by the Perch fishermen in those same areas. Along with the areas I mentioned above, Pike fishermen have been finding some fairly safe, walkable ice in a few of the protected marinas mainly in downtown Sturgeon Bay where they have been catching mainly Pike and a few bonus Brown Trout mixed in. Large Golden shiners under tip-ups and auto fisherman have been working the best. As far as the Whitefish fishing in Door County up until this point, we just don’t have the ice cover yet to sneak out to the so called Hot Spots quite yet, but it is coming! After this week it looks like the weather is going take a turn for the better for the die-hard ice fishermen and it’s going to get very cold and hopefully freeze up the entire bay of Green Bay. The only Whitefish action we heard of has been from the Dykesville area in very shallow water like less than 6 feet. Once the bay freezes and becomes safe for travel Whitefish fishermen will be heading out to their favorite hotspots which include Henderson’s Point, Larson’s Reef, Sherwood Point along with that vast shoreline to the north of Sturgeon Bay where the options are endless especially when we have good safe ice. The main method for the Whitefish is vertical jigging with a wide variety of jigs like Sweedish Pimples, Forage minnow and Jigging Rapalas just to name a few. And above your main jig, fishermen will run some kind of a slider hook like a treble or single hook, small jig or even a fly of some kind. Tipping your jigs with waxworms, spikes, minnow pieces or gulp is always a good bet. Walleye action obviously hasn’t started as of yet either because of the lack of ice cover, but once we get just enough ice to safely venture out, the go-to Walleye spots will be full of people. Some of those spots include…Henderson’s Point, Riley’s Point, Sherwood Point and Larson’s reef just to name a few. The best baits year in and year out are OddBall jigs, Rapala and Moonshine jigs along with a variety of jigging spoons tipped with minnows or minnow heads Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

Snagging for chinook and coho salmon only is permitted from the following Lake Michigan shoreline areas from October 1 through December 31; however, no snagging is allowed at any time within 200 feet of a moored watercraft or as posted: A) Lincoln Park Lagoon from the Fullerton Avenue Bridge to the southern end of the Lagoon. B) Waukegan Harbor (in North Harbor basin only). C) Winnetka Power Plant discharge area. D) Jackson Harbor (Inner and Outer Harbors).

Snow has created problems here in the Northwoods as the insulation and weight of winter’s blanket has shut down the ice making abilities of even the coldest of nights. Caution and high waterproof boots are required for fishing the ice right now. Areas of good ice are being fished heavily as access and ice thickness are NOT good everywhere. Walleye: Very Good – Thin ice and some mild temps of late are bringing in some shallow action at dusk. Lots of eater (to 20) fish with some trophy fish of 27–29 ½ again this past weekend. Suckers and chubs have been tops on tip-ups while jigging Raps, Slab Raps and Hyper Glides have produced large aggressive fish even in water as little as 4-6’. Northern Pike: Very Good – Big, lively bait producing larger than area average Pike of 30-39 ½ this past weekend. Weedy flats of cabbage in 4-8’ best. Rigging big shiners on Finicky Foolers or Danglers so as to get the Rod/Reel experience has been fun. Bluegill: Very Good – Numbers are good, but for those willing to search out some off the beaten path lakes big Gills have been very good. Tungsten Fly’s and #3 or #4 Fiska’s tipped with moussies or small plastics. Reports (and photo evidence) of honest 10+ Gills, including a 11 ¼ over the weekend. Largemouth Bass: Very Good – Taking medium golden shiners on tip-ups. Also being caught on jigging Raps meant for Walleyes and small jigs meant for Gills. Yellow Perch: Good – Shallow bites in flats of 4-8’ using small-medium fatheads or 2-3 waxies bunched on Northland Forage Minnow jigs. Crappie: Fair – Very few reports so far, anglers with cameras seeing few fish. Ice thickness reports are running from 2-7. The snow from last week is keeping ice from building and causing slush. Can’t recommend anything but walking and spudding your way around right now. If the snow doesn’t arrive and we get the cold that’s forecasted for next week, we should be good. Keep your fingers crossed. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com Like us on FaceBook