A number of Father’s Day stories and a slow start to the reopening of perch fishing on Illinois’ Lake Michigan lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.
Joe Newren emailed (“Big Father’s Day Fish!”) the photo at the top and this:
My son, Joey Newren caught this largemouth at a local New Lenox Pond! He was using a crawler with a bobber. I’m not sure if this is the right place to send these or not but I’m taking a chance!
Thank you,
Oh, this is the right place for this kind of stuff. It’s truly appreciated here.
LAKEFRONT PARKING
Chicago Park District’s parking passes ($20 for two months) for the anglers’ parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor (cash only) and the Northerly Island Visitor Center (credit card only, during the summer, 7-10 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays).
My column from Nov. 30, 2022, on parking the length of the Chicago lakefront is posted at https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/11/30/23485385/chicago-lakefront-parking-fishing
ILLINOIS FROG SEASON
Illinois’ bullfrog (only) season runs through Oct. 15. A fishing license is required. “Bullfrogs may be taken only by hook and line, gig, pitchfork, spear, bow and arrow, hand, or landing net.” Daily bag limit is eight, possession limit is 16.
AREA LAKES
Ken “Husker” O’Malley of Husker Outdoors emailed the photo above and this:
Hey Dale,
Here’s a recap of this past weeks fishing. The week started out with well below average temps and finished with normal to above average.
Bass are starting to settle into their summer patterns. The focus during early morning hours were the inside and outside weedlines. The bait of choice was a texas rigged general on a 4/0 Vector EWG. Plenty of action was had with this presentation, but size was lacking. The focus this week will be during evening hours in hopes of finding better quality fish.
On another note the fireflies are stating to show up. They are always a welcome sign that summer is here.
TTYL
—
Ken Husker O’Malley
Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team
He’s right on the fireflies. Had my first ones on Sunday.
Pete Lamar emailed the photo above and this:
Hi Dale,
I took full advantage of the long weekend and nice weather to do a lot of local fishing. I fished a few lakes and ponds not much more than walking distance from home, some with my daughter, and got into good numbers of fish. All were caught on surface flies: I used a couple of different poppers; she used a damselfly imitation. We got a few bass, all of which were small as well as bluegills and sunfish, which were not small. The likely green sunfish/bluegill hybrid in the attached image is a 9 inch fish. There were good numbers of redds close to shore and many were active with bluegills guarding them. I’d guess that it being mid-June this is a second spawn for most of them (these are small bodies of water and warm quickly; the first spawn was more than a month ago).
. . .
Pete
Rob Abouchar messaged emailed the photo above and this:
Hi Dale
Prime summer time action is going on island lake. Bass are past spawn and feeding up on plentiful bait. Bluegill on and around beds. Big bull bluegill can be easily caught on small worm trout bits but should be released while spawn is on. Largemouth hitting plastics texas rigged wacky rigged or on shaky head . Also had some hits on Berkeley Slobberknocker in shad color woth white kalins grub trailer. The Slobberknocker fooled a nice pike in 4 feet of water in floating moss. I had my brother in law’s friend Blake and his son Cameron out for a quick guide trip and Blake got a nice largie.
On the music front it was a nice appearance with the mighty Indika reggae band on Saturday at two brothers roundhouse in Aurora at the juneteenth reggae bash. Gazortenplatt is down to one more rehearsal this Thursday for the shows that begin this Saturday at club garibaldi in Milwaukee . Then on to Madison and Chicago before Amsterdam and Germany. And this Friday its jamming in the rock and roll geerage with midnite mile. Quite a run ahead.
Tight lines and good health
Rob
Again my morning is made with the music references.
BRAIDWOOD LAKE
Open daily 6 a.m.-sunset.
District fisheries biologist Seth Love would like to hear from anglers on catches at Braidwood. You can email him at seth.love@illinois.gov.
CHAIN O’LAKES AREA
Nick Cammarata messaged the the photo above, along with other photos, on Monday, and this:
The chain is putting out some absolutely amazing fish this year. The first one was today it was the most impressive girth I have ever seen anywhere let alone the chain in June. It was on 42 but had a 26 inch girth
Art Frisell at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said catfish are excellent all over, stinkbait and crawlers, all over; bluegill are excellent, start in 4-8 with waxies or red worms under small slip bobbers; good walleye bite on small roaches, best on Bluff and Marie; white bass are good on small minnows or pieces of crawler over main lake basin.
NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.
NOTE 2: Stratton Lock and Dam is open 8 a.m. to midnight through Sept. 30
CHICAGO RIVER
Jeffrey Williams messaged the photo above on Monday and this:
Beat my PB carp again
30.01 pounds
34 in
Caught a hair rig with strawberry bolies
DELAVAN LAKE, WISCONSIN
Arden Katz said on On Monday, he caught bluegill on 37 straight casts on the weed line in 15-17 feet—”shake the rod, hold it and that is when they bite on spikes or leaf worms”—and he found largemoouth in 10-13 feet oon drop-shots working the weed lines.
Capt. Dave Duwe emailed:
Delavan Lake 6/19/23 through 6/26/23
With the stable weather the fishing has been great. I’ve been catching anything that swims in the lake this past week. It’s a great time to take a first-time angler out on the water.
Northern Pike have finally started to bite on the outside weed edge. I’ve been catching my fish on lindy rigged suckers. The best depth for me has been 20-26 ft of water. I’ve been fishing from the Village Supper Club point to the Oriental boathouse. The size is still a bit small, the biggest fish last week was 30 inches.
Walleye fishing has been good. The fish I’ve been catching have been caught on nightcrawlers either on a lindy rig or a split shot rig right off the weedline in 21-24 ft of water. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or by the Village Supper club point. I caught several legals last week and some right at 17 ¾ inches. The best time to fish for them has been at first light.
Crappies can still be caught. They are right in the shallow weeds in 12 ft of water. I have exclusively been using purple plastics and they are working very well. The plastic is tipped on a 1/32 oz Arkie Jig. Good fishing has been found by Willow Point.
Largemouth bass can be caught on the deep weedlines. Concentrating on main lake points or fishing them in ultra shallow slop are both good choices. The slop fish are biting on snag proof frogs or All Terrain Stiks. The best location is under the bridge on the inlet. For the deep weedline fish, try casting nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. Some of the bass I caught last week were 17-18 inches. Good location are by the west end by the island.
Bluegill fishing remains awesome. There are a lot of fish still in the 3-4 ft range. Also, there has been good success in the 20-22 ft range. The best bait has been leaf worms or wax worms. Slip bobbers remain the best presentation.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.
DOWNSTATE
POWERTON: Summer hours—6 a.m.-8 p.m.—run through Sept. 30.
EMIQUON PRESERVE: Fishing is sunrise to sunset. Access permits and liability waivers are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Site is open through Sept. 4, sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Check regulations at http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-paddling-fishing.
SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.
FOX RIVER
Vince Oppedisano emailed the photo above and this:
Hi Dale,
Some minor rainfall early last week seemed to raise the levels in Kane County a few inches which was helpful for a few days.
With more good water to hold fish throughout the river, it opened up the possibilities a little bit. Had varying success with different presentations each day the past week.
Topwater has been hit or miss for me...either the smallmouth are in the mood to strike on the surface or they’re not. When the bite is hot it’s a blast, when it’s cold it’s time to rethink your options. Small cranks have been pretty good when you’re in deeper water lacking weeds that are going to catch the treble hooks every cast. More finesse presentations saved a couple of days where other artificials weren’t producing much. Found pretty good luck with ned rigs in faster water near the dams.
The levels are low again now without much precipitation in the upcoming forecast. Probably going to remain low for a while with summer heat on the way. The bite for me is starting to slow around 10 or 11 am with things picking up again most days usually between 5-6pm.
Last Wednesday I was fishing a topwater lure below a dam (with a live band playing on the riverfront about 300 feet away) and hooked up with a musky in the low 30 inch range. I didn’t see the strike but all of a sudden there was a big fish on the line. Loosening drag saved the day and I was able to secure the fish in the water & carry to shore for a quick snapshot before releasing it back into the current of the Fox River while the band took a stab at Michael Jackson’s Thriller. A memorable sequence for sure!
Ken Gortowski emailed the photo above:
Dale,
Even though I live about 500 feet from the Fox River and can watch it flow by from my front porch. And even though I’ve fished it and it’s creeks a number of times in the past 2 years, all from shore, it’s been over 2 years since I’ve gone wading and fishing in it.
The Fox is flowing along at drought levels, which is low, so I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when I started wading across the river. The deepest water I waded through was a good 3 feet and I could see the bottom clearly. I can’t recall ever seeing the water this clear in June in the 27 years I’ve been fishing it. It’s usually murky summer green by now with clarity barely a foot. Over 3 foot clarity was always a winter thing.
Got to watch lots of carp and suckers cruising the bottom with the occasional big smallie cruising along. Casting to the cruising smallies was useless, they completely ignored anything near them. I blame it on being out midday with the sun high and no shade. Not a time I usually go out, but it was the time I had.
Wound up catching 13 smallies and 1 decent channel cat in about 1.5 hours of fishing. All of the smallies were sitting in the faster flowing water, typical place for them to be this time of year. The faster more rippled waters supply oxygen to the water, which attracts bait, which brings the predators.
I must be in better shape than I think. I walk and/or bike ride over 2 miles a day. After I got done wading and now 24 hours later, not a single ache or pain.
Not bad for an old man.
Ken G
Not bad at all, not bad at all.
He later added this addenum:
Dale,
Went out to Big Rock Creek for the last 2 hours of daylight on Father’s Day. Big Rock has become more of a playground for me and my 4 year old granddaughter for the past couple of years and I can’t remember the last time I actually fished it. Thought I’d give myself a Father’s Day present.
Water was real low and the fishable pools were pretty far apart. Missed a good half dozen fish of some sort but wound up landing 3 smallies and a pretty good sized catfish. The catfish was in a decent sized pool that had a deadfall spanning the length of it and it fought like hell since it had nowhere to really go but under the deadfall. If I had brought the stringer I would have kept this one. Being in such a clean creek the catfish barely even had any slime on it and I’m sure it would have tasted pretty good.
Ken G
Pete Lamar emailed the photo above and this:
Hi Dale,
. . .
I only fished moving water once: The Fox near sunset last night. Ken G mentioned a couple of weeks ago that with the low water, it’s a good time to see what structure is usually covered by more water and to get around and explore a little. I got to some water that appears to be lightly fished and is usually more difficult to approach. There were a lot of small smallmouths in and immediately adjacent to fast water. Bigger fish, including an unexpected channel cat, were found in water with a good current but deeper and slightly slower than where the small fish were. Not surprisingly the water was low and clear. It was still cool to the touch; low oxygen content is not yet a problem.
Pete
GENEVA LAKE, WISCONSIN
Arden Katz said rock bass, perch and bluegill were in 14-17 feet on jigs and spikes or leaf worms; largemouth in 8-12 feet around docks on wacky worms days or drop-shots at night.
Capt. Dave Duwe emailed:
Lake Geneva 6/19/23 through 6/26/23
Fishing is excellent on Lake Geneva. There are literally fish to be caught almost anywhere on the lake, which makes it very nice when the winds are strong because you still have choices. The water temp has finally warmed up to about 70-73 degrees. With the warmer water, the pleasure boat traffic is increasing.
Smallmouth bass can be caught in the 20-22 ft depth range. The best bait has been either drop shotting small 4 inch worms in green pumpkin color or drifting nightcrawlers. Some of the best locations have been by Knollwood or by Belvidere Park in Fontana. The warmer weather will continue to make the fish go deeper.
Largemouth bass are now being caught on the weed flats. Try by Trinkes or in Williams Bay. Most Success is coming by drop shotting 4 inch worms or drifting nightcrawlers. With the warmer temperatures you can once again catch fish on the top water. Chrome/Blue or Chrome/Black Chug bugs are my favorite choices. have also been some reports of success while fishing around docks. Most people are casting spider grubs on a jig. A good choice of spider grub is the Arkie Crawlin Grub.
Rock bass have slowed a little but are still plentiful pretty much any place you fish. They seem to still be in the 6-8 ft depth range. The best choice of bait remains the nightcrawlers.
Yellow Perch has also slowed a bit. Last week I didn’t catch any of the real big ones like I did the prior week. The little ones that I did catch were on pieces of nightcrawlers. The best locations are by Colemans Point or Knollwood.
Lake Trout are still being caught in the main lake basin. Some success is coming on large chrome/blue Rapalas or chrome/black Rapalas fished on a down rigger. The best success has been coming on the suspended fish, 80 ft down in 110 ft of water.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063
GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN
Guide Mike Norris texted the photo above and emailed this:
Fishing Report – June 18, 2023
Mike Norris
Big Green: Catching numbers of large and smallmouth bass is not a problem. Catching bass of significant size is. They are few and far between. Up and down weather has played a major role, as have many bass tournaments on the lake. I’m trolling crankbaits for walleyes over emerging weed growth while waiting for a new wave of better-sized bass to arrive in the shallow bays. The water temperature is 68 degrees.
Fox Lake: Largemouth bass active around Brushwood and Elmwood Islands. The weedy bay on Dead Island’s east side holds some nice northern pike. Wacky rigged stick baits and swim jigs account for most of the catches. The crappie spawn is near its end, and the bite has slowed. Try trolling crankbaits for walleye in the main basin of the lake. The water temperature is 75 degrees.
GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN
Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.
HEIDECKE LAKE
Bob Maida emailed the photo above and this:
Dale: Attached is 15 year old Jake Maida with his 36 inch musky caught at Heidecke Lake last weekend.
Open 6 a.m. (6:30 bank fishing) to sunset.
KANKAKEE RIVER
George Peters emailed the photo above and this:
Happy Fathers Day Dale! Fishing for bass this week and got another surprise! 25 Walleye on same jig and twister tail. River up maybe 4 from Indiana rain last weekend but should be down and clearing by this week. Put this one back in for you to catch!
LAKE ERIE
Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.
LAKEFRONT
Capt. A.J. Cwiok of Storm Warning Charters messaged the photo above and this on Sunday:
Some of the best consistent fishing off Chicago I’ve seen in a while this past weekend. Fish snuck out a bit deeper from the blow we had last weekend, 100-160 fow is all holding fish. Great coho fishing with some good kings and steelhead mixed in. A lot of trout hangin around the bottom, been tougher to get em to bite than usual, but the silver fish have been keeping us busy enough to say the least.
Nice having my brother this weekend as my mate, definitely needed the extra hands with how hot the fishing was this weekend.
Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:
Good morning Dale,
Perch season opened Friday but due to the constant north/east winds some really strong days it has started off slow. I did get a report that one guy we told Sunday things were slow went out that evening and caught some and kept 7
I’ve had others tell me that when winds and lake had calmed down during the closure there were some nice jumbos on the Horseshoe. Time will tell I guess. Smallmouth still acting weird. Can’t explain it but they are just different since bedding. Sheephead good on windy days.Our hours are now 4am to 8pm 7 days a week.Have a great week!
That’s the only reports of perch I’ve heard.
Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters said fishing was spectacular out of Chicago on Tuesday, nice coho and lakers, all over the water column, primarily Dodgers and fles in 90-150 (lakers on the deeper end); speed critical with the heavy currents on the lake, so figure out how to play the currents. Out of North Point, lakers are suspending when deeper than 180; lots of coho with some steelhead and a few kings, 150-230, mix of lures all over the water column; play the currents there, too.
Capt. Dan Leslie at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan said boaters are going deeper, start at 90; lot of coho with some lakers, and a few steelhead and kings; mainly a spoon bite all over the water column. For perch, waiting on the west winds.
LaSALLE LAKE
Site is open daily 6 a.m.-sunset. As a perched lake, boating is closed when winds top or will top 14 mph. Check daily updates on boating at (815) 640-8099.
MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN
Click here for the update from D&S Bait, Tackle & Fly Shop .
MAZONIA
Hours are 6 a.m. to sunset.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN
Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:
Last week was a cold one for the most part. Temps at night into the 30’s with mornings on the water in the low 40’s. Surface temps dropped into low 60’s (from highs in upper 70’s to 80 degrees). Wind chill made early fishing tough to deal with (pulled out the heavy sweatshirts and jackets). With tough cold weather came some tough fishing. Temps are rising again now, yet the fishing seems to be a bit behind.
Yellow Perch: Good-Very Good – Perch never get a high ranking in the summer reports, but this week they top the charts! Working 6-9’ cabbage flats with red, brown or orange 1/16 oz weedless jigs tipped with ½ crawlers produced some very nice 9-12 Perch this week. Slip-floats baited with ½ crawlers, medium leeches or their favorite, thunderbugs also effective. Yes, Perch got some love on a tough week and anglers got some great eating.
Largemouth Bass: Fair–Good – Setting up in their favorite summer time weed pattern. Fish same 6-10’ cabbage flats using jig Ned Rigs, Wacky Worms, Jig/creature combos. Largemouth have picked up the action slack. Even anglers jigging large leeches for Walleyes in weeds reporting lots of LMB!
Pumpkinseed: Good – Pumpkinseeds?! Yes, had an outing with the Pumpkinseed Kid AKA Remy Anderson (5 yrs old) and he tore up the shorelines with the ol’ bobber and worm trick. Knocked ‘em dead! (But released all alive!) First time ever fishing, but won’t be his last!
Bluegill: Fair-Good – Cold had Gills slowed way down. This should pick up once water temps get back into 70’s and Gills move into shallows to spawn.
Smallmouth Bass: Fair-Good - Actually found one still on a bed, poor bugger, got stuck with the babysitting duty. Shallow water, inside weeds worked for some using Wacky Worms, Sweet Beavers. Also reports from anglers working jerkbaits along breaks of 8-12’, but action slow.
Musky: Fair-Good - Report from guide Jake Smith finding Musky very shallow, comparable to first cool down of September. Surface baits, such as Flaptails, small bucktails (Wizards) and 9 jerkbaits worked slowly in the early mornings near inlets/outlets or some type of current best.
Northern Pike: Fair – Oddly off. Best dragging suckers or chubs slowly through cabbage flats. Bites light. Not a lot of chasing, but some spinnerbait action.
Walleye: Fair-Poor – One good day in seven…yeah, I’d say poor. Working redtails through heavy weeds of 6-10’. Slow and low. Bites reluctant.
Crappies: Fair-Poor – Not a lot of reports. Anglers once again finding schools of unresponsive fish. Tough to trigger. Live minnows on the smallest jig and plastics you can fish with in wind best.
Temps on the way up this week. Highs in the mid-80’s. Summer patterns should return as water temps will be breaking into 70’s again. Still no sign of big mayfly (Hexagenia) hatch so that cloud still coming! Mosquitos bad, not as bad as three weeks ago, but light rain, humidity and warmth bringing more out. Dragonflies help, but they don’t start their day as early as us anglers.
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop - Like us on Facebook
I love a good pumpkinseed report.
NORTHWEST INDIANA
Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted the photo above and this:
Coho action straight out of portage and to the east a little in 80 to 150ft of water has been good using dodgers and flys, baby spindoctors and flys and spoons.
Steelhead are in trail creek in Michigan city pretty good right now but lots of pressure on them. Spawn saks, spinners things to use.
Some steelhead are being caught daily off of portage Riverwalk and Michigan city piers using shrimp, nightcrawlers and casting arctic spinners.
Kids are out of school and people are fishing all over.
That last sentence is the truth and gives me hope.
ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN
Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.
SHABBONA LAKE
On Sunday, Dana Robinson messaged the photos above and below, and this from a Big Catch Angler Association outing:
Happy Father’s Day
Shabbona report.
Catfish bite is on!
Walleye good but all were under 18.
Big bluegills as well.
All biting nightcrawlers.
Site summer hours—6 a.m.-10 p.m.—run through Oct. 31.
Boondocks’ bait shop is open daily, 6 a.m.-7 p.m.; restaurant hours are 11-8.
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT
Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said some walleye are being caught in the river; coho are in 140-150.
Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.
WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN
Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:
Not much has changed since last week. The early morning fishing has been better, mainly because of the heat and boat traffic in the afternoons .
