Chicago fishing: Trying for perch, hot summer patterns, bass, steelhead signs

Hey Dale,

. . .

I took my nephew Macky Weathers (7yrs old) from Highland Park musky fishing up in the Eagle River/Three Lakes area over the weekend, and he landed a 36” Pike. We were trolling crankbaits and it hit right on a weed point. He did an amazing job battling and getting the fish to the boat for me to net! After releasing the pike and getting everything reset, we lost a nice musky that jumped a few times and threw the bait. It was an awesome fish!

Thanks for the consideration Dale! I hope all is well with you!

Mike

“Bullfrogs may be taken only by hook and line, gig, pitchfork, spear, bow and line, or bow and arrow and arrow, hand, or landing net.June 15 through October 15, both dates inclusiveDaily Harvest Limit is 8; possession limit is 16A sport fishing license is required to harvest reptiles and amphibians”

“Frog hunting season runs from June 15, 2024 – April 30, 2025, and hunters can harvest the American bullfrog and green frog. The bag limit is 25 frogs per day with a possession limit of 50 frogs, and any combination of bullfrogs or green frogs maybe be used to reach these bag and harvest limits.”

Hi Dale,I managed to get out to the Lemont Quarries today, and was not disappointed. The bluegill fishing was fantastic, with the action being almost nonstop from the first cast. It was rather challenging to get around, as the algae bloom made it difficult to row my personal pontoon boat through, so I had to navigate breaks in the vegetation to get to my preferred panfish spot in the quarries, “Bluegill Bay”. I was not disappointed, for from the first cast many hand-sized fish were nailing my Rocket (slip) bobber rig baited with live red worms on the drop. I do love fighting bluegill on ultra-light tackle, it feels like pulling in a sheet of plywood sideways. I could see and hear large surface “plops” all around me, apparently fish taking advantage of the abundant insect offerings, namely (but not exclusively) cicadas. Call it a cicada frenzy, call it post spawn, but it was a stellar bluegill day like none other at the quarries. Too many gills to count, all released.Tight lines,Jay

. . Panfish are good on wax worms and red worms. It’s froggin time fish the slop! 7 foot 4 inch heavy rod and 50 lb braid.

Hi,

Another nice bass caught on weightless nightcrawler . Sorry I don’t usually weight the catch. I find the fun in catching them the way i want to.

Charles Horwath
Darien

Dale...tube bait was the trick for midday fishing despite the hot weather..from Shorewood pond... this one was easy 3#....

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.

Area lakes-The frog rod got the call for the first time this season. I had a short window so it was early on and early off. Weed growth is heavy on flats with lily pads filling in nicely. It’s the perfect conditions for kermit to catch some bass. I went 2 for 4 on blowups. With this weeks temps of 90 plus through next weekend, this bite will only continue to get better. Bass will be looking for shade and an easy meal. FINS Braids infinity braid in 50lb test was the perfect line to get those bass out of heavy cover.

. . .

TTYL

Ken “Husker” O’Malley
Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale

I’m back from a whirlwind couple of days after heading to Merrill to cut the grass check the house and then on to Milwaukee for Zappa rehearsal. I had a little time to fish from shore in town where I launched for years with Bella. The weather was ominous and the river had the kind of swift current that makes for an almost non existent bite. Possibly from dams being open further down river. I reembarked on my quest to catch a musky on a senko. A kayak fly fisherman was at the launch and also was after musky. I dared not tell him of my follie. He pointed out an osprey nest on the baseball field lights. The rain storm was imminent as I headed back to the house.

In island lake the bite for bass remained good as the hot sunny weather set in. Texas rigged neko worm and wacky rigged senko in baby bass and green pumpkin under dock a and in shade AR we s produced nice largies. Anglers Fly fishing for bluegill having success.

On the music front I had a great time joining indika reggae band last Saturday on melodic and a little freestyle. Tonight I may bring the melodic to join Gizzae in Libertyville at independence Grove where we saw some huge bass hanging under the lakeside deck feeding on pan fish. It’s 3 weeks to go till the zappa shows. Midnight mile June 29 at Morgan’s in Libertyville. A and not last of all the conscious rockers at the Montrose beach dock this Saturday 7pm. Here we go! Tight lines and good health! Rob

Hi Dale,

I’ve braved the heat a couple of times for some pretty average fishing. I wanted to try a cicada pattern before it becomes irrelevant in a couple of weeks and stuck with it to the point of stubbornness. I got into some big bluegills on a Kane County F. P. pond, but only a few. If I’d really wanted to match the hatch, a dragonfly pattern would’ve been much better. As for wildlife, the highlight was startling a mink near a footpath. He got back to the water in a hurry when he saw me. This is a forest preserve pond but there is a local homeowners association involved too. I bumped into a professional trapper earlier in the Spring the HOA had hired to remove excess muskrats. That probably accounts for the mink colonizing this place. In addition to the muskrats, the place is full of bullfrogs as well as rabbits in the native grasses nearby. It must seem like a Golden Corral to a mink.

Pete

Hi Dale, The bass on the island have moved off their beds and are hitting wacky worms and still hitting even though they are full of bait fish, managing some very nice rock bass and a few pike for some variety. I moved this snapper of the road before it was flattened.All the best

Mike Lyons

We caught a ton of fish and this 16in crappie he caught

Delavan Lake 6/17/24 through 6/24/24

With the warm weather, I have been positioning myself on the deep weedlines in 20-25 ft of water. Due to the cold spring, the largemouth bass are a couple of weeks behind schedule, the bass are not very thick on the weedline yet. They are in the medium weeds between 8 and 10 ft of water.

Northern pike fishing has been fantastic. If you can’t catch them now, you should quit fishing. The biggest pike are in 27 ft of water. The largest concentration of fish is between 18 and 22 ft of water. The best presentation has been lindy rigging suckers or using Thill slip bobbers about ½ way down the water column. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or by Willow Point. The key I have found is keeping your bait moving. I’ve been electric motor trolling almost exclusively.

Largemouth bass have been a bit slow. I’ve been on the deep weedline. If you are targeting largemouth bass you need to be in and around the docks in 6-8 ft of water. You want to fish split shot rigged nightcrawlers or a black and blue All Terrain jig. The best location has been the North Shore from the Yacht Club down to Willow Point. The few weedline fish I’ve been catching have been over 5 lbs. I’ve been catching them by the Yacht Club or over by Browns Channel. In the next week or so, the bass will be schooled up and be very easy to catch.

Bluegill fishing has also been fantastic. The fish are in 15-18 ft of water. Look for the fish just west of the Yacht Club or by Willow Point. I’ve been catching a lot of fish throughout the lake, location doesn’t seem to matter but the depth is crucial.

Walleye Pike can be caught using two different methods. The first is trolling deep diving crank baits along the weedline in 18 ft of water. You want to use a crankbait in perch or crappie pattern. The second method is lindy rigging jumbo leeches right around the weedline also in 18 ft of water. Look for the fish by the Village Supper Club or by Browns Channel. The one key has been making sure you are fishing the windy side of the lake.

Crappie fishing has been sporadic. They are suspended over deep water. The fish are concentrating on the pods of small bait fish. They can be caught on purple or chartreuse plastic with a 1/32 oz jig. Look for the fish just east of Willow Point or just west of the Yacht Club.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Stopped working on my house long enough to take a downstate trip to my favorite crappie honey hole and sweated through a hot slow afternoon bite, but they turned on when the sun went down and managed to get a couple of Walleye to boot! Nic Father’s Day weekend

Hey Dale - Caught a small redfish this morning snook fishing off our wall in st Pete. Great little fight! Fish grabbed the spoon on retrieve and raced out drag before giving up. Fun stuff.

Hey Dale,

I wasn’t able to get out this week, but here’s a report and photo from Len Cajic:

“The river is still at a high level. Tough to wade safely. The water is stained/dirty. The heat has made the fishing difficult. Finesse presentations have been key. Hairjig, ned rig, etc. Have been getting them on crankbaits also. Topwater works in the early morning or late evening. The smallmouth have been caught mostly in current seams, dam area, and close to shore in shade pockets / slack water.”

Hi Dale,

I fished the Fox last night before the extreme heat builds and possible upcoming rain muddies it up. Water was high but clear and cool-prime conditions. I got a few smallmouths, but I must be getting jaded by recent success: I didn’t bother to photograph a 16 inch fish. I was more interested in the blackberries ripening. Also, a bald eagle flew right over me. He circled mid-river briefly, then swooped down and picked off a fish and continued on his way.

The turkey monitoring you wrote about today is a pretty cool program. I got into it last year after our conversations with Mr. Garver. I see turkeys occasionally during my wanderings on the Fox watershed in Kendall and western Kane County.

You have great taste in comedic movies.

Pete

Hi Dale,

. . .

The Fox has returned to normal Summer levels, much lower than it was for the past week. It’s also as clear as I’ve seen it during the Summer. It was a great backdrop, but all I got were some small smallmouths. Water temps are rising quickly in the extreme heat, so it may be time to focus on oxygenated water near dams and fast water, or go back to the spring-fed tributaries.

Pete

The hot weather has helped the catfish bite on the Fox River cut bait, suckers and stink bait.

Lake Geneva Fishing Reports 6/17/24 through 6/24/24

Lake Trout are biting in the main lake basin. Most of the fish are suspended off the bottom between 50 and 90 ft down in 115-130 ft of water. Most of the fish are caught at first light or right at dusk. With the longer days, you need to get up very early to get the best bite. Fish can be caught on nickel/green or nickel/blue spoons fished on down riggers. I’ve been trolling the spoons at 2 to 2 ½ mph.

Smallmouth bass have finished spawning and have moved out on the break lines. The best depth has been 12-18 ft of water. They can be caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig or drop shotting small finesse worms. My best success has come by Linn Pier or by Belvidere Park in Fontana. I’ve caught a lot of post spawn females in excess of 20 inches in the past few weeks. The smallmouth bass bite this spring has been one of the best in the past 3 years.

Rock bass remain everywhere on the lake. Lake Geneva is an awesome place to take a first time angler for a lot of action. The highest concentration of fish is from 10-12 ft of water. The bigger fish seem to be on the break line in 12-18 ft of water. My best location has been by Linn Pier by what is known as the duck hole. The best bait has been a split shot rigged nightcrawler. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on live bait, white hair jigs have also been producing a lot of fish.

Largemouth bass have not moved to deep water yet. They are still in the weed flats. My best location has been by Trinkes or in Geneva Bay by the boat launch. The bass can be caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers, wacky rigged Senkos or split shot rigged green pumpkin lizards. My biggest fish this past week was 4.3 lbs. caught in Trinkes bay. The next couple of weeks should be some of the best largemouth bass fishing shallow that Geneva has to offer.

Bluegills and Pumpkin Seeds have been sporadic. The biggest fish I’ve caught has been in Trinkes Bay in 12-13 ft of water. I’ve been catching the fish by accident on split shot rigged nightcrawlers. If you wanted to key on them, I would use leaf worms fished on a slip bobber while anchored. Some of the pumpkin seeds this past week were over 10 inches.

Perch still remain in the shallow waters. They are on the hard bottom near points. On Saturday last week, the average size was very good. There was one keeper per five small ones, which is pretty good for Lake Geneva. I’ve been catching them on nightcrawlers pieces fished on a Thill slip bobber or a split shot rig.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Big Green Lake: Water clarity is extremely clear for this time of the year. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are post-spawn and have moved to deeper water. Work quarter-ounce tube jigs and drop shot rigs in 10 to 15 feet of water. The better areas are where gravel extends from shallow water to deep water. Try trolling spinner rigs over the top of the deeper weeds for walleye. Troll crankbaits for white bass are suspended near the Heidel Bar. You can find rock bass everywhere. I’m catching them with a drop shot and a red worm around cribs in 17 feet of water.

Fox Lake: A bloom has formed on the surface due to the warmer lake temperatures. This allows largemouth bass to stay shallow. The dam separating the Fox Lake from the Beaver Dam Lake is open and creates a flow that flushes bait through the system. This results in excellent fishing for largemouth bass. The rocky points from Brushwood, Elmwood, and Dead Island are key fishing areas for bass. My lure of choice is a wacky worm, and I am casting them to the edge of the rocky points which come off the islands. Crappies are good out on the basin for those drifting with a split shot and minnow. Walleyes remain active in 10 to 15 feet of water off Maple Point. Troll spinners with a piece of crawler or vertically jig with plastics to catch them.

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.

. . .

Kankakee River-river is slightly up and stained but very wadable. Smallmouth are setting up into their summer pattern. Focus on current seams and moving water that has larger boulders. Lipless cranks have been the most consistent bait. Dave Strobel with a nice bass.

. . .

TTYL

Ken “Husker” O’Malley
Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale , river is wadeable and semi~ clear, however bass are on post spawn and not active. Many casts are needed for a few bites, fish should be back feeding in a week or two. G. Peters

Hi, good morning.

Perch opened Sunday, and as is with summer Perch catches, some guys had their limit, others had few or none. The ones that were caught are nice sizes. Hitting crayfish and minnows.

The weekend was also hot at Diversey for Steelhead. We heard one guy had caught 4 as well as a few guys having 1’s. They were hitting shrimp and hair jigs with wax worms. Sheephead are hitting when winds are north.

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Have an awesome week.

Hi Dale, what a Fathers Day bonus!! My brother Joe caught and released this Muskie out of the Famous “Chippewa Flowage“ on a “Mepps Muskie killer No. 5, Yellow and black bucktail. They were only fishing a couple hours, and his daughter, Becca, Netted the fish!!! It’s his personal best Wisconsin Muskie and a Father’s Day to remember forever!!

Heading into the first day of summer and it continues to be a wet, windy season so far. Lots of fronts moving through keeping anglers off the water or making it tough to stay with the winds we keep getting. Those able to wet some lines doing well with good reports from gamefish anglers.

Musky: Good-Very Good – Keep in mind the “bite” window for these long fish is sometimes short. Some very nice fish over the past week, topping 50” have been boated. Bucktails over deep weedlines along big drops. Double bladed to push water and rubber baits were key. Muggy, warm evenings have been hot for top-water action. Smaller bucktails such as #500, #700 Buchertails and Wizards doing best in mornings over shallower weeds producing mid-30” to low-40” fish.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – No reports of bedding to our knowledge, yet good reports of nice LMB in 6-10’ weeds on Wacky Worms, jig/creature, pre-rigged worms and top-water baits (evenings). Casting big weed flats with chatterbaits and spinnerbaits also effective.

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Very Good – First move off the beds has been out in 8-14’ weeds. Ned rigs and Wacky Worms best. As waters warm up, we should see more movement out to rock bars.

Walleye: Good – Signs of Mayfly (hexagenia) hatches moving up the water columns over the weekend and now actual reports of hatches reaching the surface has slowed those waters. Yet on waters not ready, nice fish being caught using redtails or full crawlers along coontail edges of 14-16’ on larger lakes. Lots of reports of protected “slot” fish and those larger being caught and released.

Northern Pike: Good – Best on 4-5” swimbaits over cabbage flats of 6-12’. Nice averages of 25-30” fish with two over 36” this past weekend.

Bluegills: Good – Lots of reports of staging Gills, lots of heavy egg laden fish in 6-9’ outside shallow spawning areas. Most on worms with floats on tiny jigs. Wind making small/light presentations tough.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Wind biggest factor as fishing pockets in shallow flats tough. Beavertails, medium fatheads or leeches under weighted floats best. No concentrations, but some very respectable (9-11”) fish scattered about.

Crappies: Fair – As with other panfish, tough to sit on productive spots and use viable presentations. Live Crappie minnows or small tubes under weighted floats in 8-14’ narrow leaf cabbage best.

More weather expected through this weekend, coming in small waves. The following week looks to get very summer-like with highs in the upper 70s to mid-80’s should get the summer patterns locked in. Mosquitos have been heavy, especially on the calm, humid spells. Out away from shore, no skeeters – just some flies.

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
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Good fishin in Indiana today

Coho action still good most days fishing in 65 to 85ft of water from east Chicago to Michigan city. Stubby dodgers and flys best fishing 25 to 60 down.

A good number of steelhead over the weekend fishing portage Riverwalk and Michigan city pier. Shrimp and crawlers did best but some caught on a variety of other baits

Trail creek in Michigan city giving up steelhead using shrimp, spawn saks and some on spinners.

Catfish of all sizes being caught at night fishing burns ditch and deep river using triple s stinkbait, skipjack and shad.

Not sure if you have heard about the cohos this year on the lake but it’s shaping up to be like the run in 2019. I have a good feeling there may be a few records beat this year. The charter(Schools Out Sport Fishing out of Racine,Wi) I work for has been getting them in the 10lb plus range already. I wouldnt be shocked to see one go 25lbs this year.

Limit of nice walleye. Bonus pike.

Still catching on Salmos.

Water temp Monday was 71.8 degrees. The walleye bite has been getting better as the temperature goes up. Casting small crank baits, blade baits, or dragging jig/ crawler combination all working.