Perch, lakers, ice fishing: Chicago fishing, Midwest Fishing Report

Hi Dale, My cousin and myself went out this past Friday at Navy Pier for some lake perch and towards the middle of the day I got a surprise lake trout. This hit on a little jigging rap I was using for perch. Regards, Mike Trinka

Got cold not as many guys my way like there was navy pier packed on weekend a lot of those guys are farther Ilinois guys and I don’t see them perch bite

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.

Hey Dale, Here is a recap of this week’s fishing.Area Lakes- waiting. Some that are wind protected have locked up while others have plenty of open water. Some colder temps could have us on hard water before Christmas.TTYL—Ken Husker O’Malley Husker Outdoors Waterworks fishing team

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 – -Bait Shop Fall Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 7 Days And LAST DAY BAIT SHOP OPEN is Oct. 14th (Depending on bait supply)– Boat Rental Fall Hours: 8:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. SAT. & SUN. ONLY – BOAT RENTAL will CLOSE for the season Oct. 8th – – 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.-HENNEPIN-HOPPER LAKES – Lakes are CLOSED for the SeasonMcMASTER 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. 31POWERTON LAKE –WINTER HOURS (Oct. 1st – April 30th): 8am – 4pm – THIS LAKE WILL CLOSE TO BOAT FISHING ON OCT. 21th (Last day for Boat fishing will be Oct. 20th) and CLOSES TO SHORE FISHING and ALL FISHING ON OCT. 28th (Last day for Shore fishing is Oct. 27th) and REOPENS TO SHORE FISHING ONLY ON DEC. 26th AND NO BOAT FISHING till FEB. 15th – –PRAIRIE 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

Good afternoon fellas Here is what I have as far as the update on the fishing Well we have cold weather on its way starting this week here in Door County. Whether it will be cold enough, for a long enough period of time to get some safe ice cover on some of the shallow bays, we will just have to wait and see. Never the less, ice fishermen are starting to get geared up for the season. During the early ice season, fishermen crowd the shallow bays of Sawyer Harbor, Little Sturgeon and Riley’s Bay just to name a few spots searching for a nice meal of Perch or Pike, which both can be quite prevalent during the early ice season in that shallow water. Small jigs tipped with waxies, spikes or minnows will work well for the Perch, even suspending minnows under tip-ups works quite well. And for the Pike, suspending large Golden Shiners or sucker minnows under tip-ups and or auto fishermen. Walleye anglers are patiently waiting for some good ice cover so they can head on out to their hot spots. Some of those spots include…Henderson’s Point, Sherwood point and the Larson’s Reef area. Best baits include the good old Rapala Jig, Odd Ball Jigs and Moonshine shiver minnows tipped with whole minnows or minnow heads And of course there is the fan-favorite and quite abundant Whitefish. Hundreds of fishermen will pile out on the ice when it becomes safe enough looking to fill their buckets with limits of Whitefish and in most cases, fishermen are quite successful. A very wide variety of jigs tipped with minnow heads, wax worms, spikes and gulp with work along with slider rigs. Thanks; Lance LaVine Howie’s Tackle 1309 Green Bay Rd Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235 Ph: 920-746-9916

Some steelhead in salt and trail creek waiting on a good push of winter runs this cold weather will help that

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).

A little taste of things to come. Enough ice in places for anglers to get out on ice, but caution still advised no matter where you go. Walleye: Very Good – Anglers using tip-ups baited with river shiners, Walleye suckers on medium golden in fairly shallow water (5-8’) at dusk, after dark. Early ice aggressive fish hitting jigging lures such as Raps, Hyper Glides and Rotating Power Minnows. Nice catches of eaters with 29 ½ topping the bragging list! Northern Pike: Very Good – Larger baits (suckers/shiners) on tip-ups. Weedy shallow flats of 3-7’. Yellow Perch: Very Good – Fish Shallow flats in bays with 3-5 of ice over 3-8’ of water. Medium fatheads, forage jigs loaded with waxies best. Bluegill: Very Good – Fish shallow. Tipping jigs with bright plastic or spikes/moussies best. Lots of Gills with good #’s of eaters (7+) reported. Crappie: Fair – Not a lot of strong reports. Don’t find as many shallow and better haunts over deeper water not supporting decent ice. Largemouth Bass: Very Good – Few anglers target through ice, but plenty being caught by anglers using medium shiners on tip-ups. Despite some ice making, cold, lake effect snows covering lakes will slow ice production. Foot traffic recommended at this point. Ice thickness ranging from 2-5. Wear creepers (snow very powdery), carry rope, floatation and spud your way out to test ice. Forecast for low’s in single digits with highs in teens to low 20’s will add to ice. Looks much better by weekend. Kurt Justice Kurt’s Island Sport Shop www.kurtsislandsports.com Like us on FaceBook

Fishing Report Before you venture out onto the ice, there are steps you need to take to make sure that you have a safe and enjoyable time. The most important piece of knowledge is knowing that there is no such a thing as 100% safe ice, but you can take precautionary measures to stack the odds in your favor of knowing the safety of the ice before it is too late.

Visitors must understand that the safety of ice is determined by a combination of conditions and factors, not just thickness. One of the important things that need to be considered in determining the safety factor is the type of water (pond, lake, stream, river, etc.). The type and size of the water will have varying factors such as depth, chemistry make-up, and current to name a few. Other major considerations are appearance (color, texture and features), daily and weekly temperatures, snow cover, and distribution of the load on the ice (not only yours but surrounding area too). To read the entire ice safety article, click here. See the fishing report below. Panfish: Using slip bobber rigs tipped with minnows or a piece of red worm should catch you a bunch. Crappies are in the deeper weeds and around lay downs, so a slip bobber rig tipped with small minnow or plastic will work on these. Bluegills are up in the shallows, so a slip bobber rig tipped with a small piece of worm or wax worm will work on these fish. Bass: Largemouth will be found around structures such as, laydowns and docks. Throwing spinnerbaits and plastic will work even near top water and around pads and reeds will spark action. Smallmouth are going to be in and around the rocks, so jigs tipped with live bait, plastics, and crankbaits will work here. Northern: You will find these fish in and around the deeper weeds. You can use smaller spinnerbaits like #3 or #4 Mepps. Safety pin style spinnerbaits are an effective choice. Walleye: These fish will be found on the deepest weed edges and on the rock piles. As the month goes on, these fish will start moving towards the deeper breaks.

Some steelhead in salt and trail creek waiting on a good push of winter runs this cold weather will help that The guys which aren’t many are still getting crappie under 249 bridge area just down from portage marina on minnows or jigs in black or white tipped with beemoth some dandy crappie and good numbers