Sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report finally up on Friday evening. Usually it is up on Tuesday. There’s a bit more ice and perch keeps going with some lakers, steelhead and browns around.
And there is open-water fishing to be had, as Ken “Husker” O’Malley showed over the Christmas weekend with the photo above.
LAKEFRONT PERCH
Perch fishing on the lakefront continues to be the top draw.
Lori Ralph at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan texted:
Good morning, mixed reports thru the slow weekend, sounds like browns and a few perch off the government pier.
Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station, Indiana, texted:
Perch is still on everybody’s mine.
Navy pier has been hot and cold along with 87th slip for perch and some lake trout. As many people that are fishing fish are being caught you just got to be there at the right time.
Perch action is slower as of late for those fishing in 55 to 60ft of water straight north of Gary light.
AUGER SHARPENING
For the 24th year, Fran Connelly is sharpening of auger blades. Find “Ice Auger Sharpening” on Facebook or drop off blades at either Lee’s Bait & Tackle (Elk Grove Village or Carol Stream).
NAVY PIER ANGLING
North side of Navy Pier is open for anglers. Discounted parking for anglers is $9 daily, beginning at 5 a.m.; must be out by 10 a.m. for the discount. Click here to prepay for the discounted tickets.
LAKEFRONT PARKING
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
CHICAGO PASSES NOTE
The Northerly Island Visitor Center remains closed, but parking passes or pier passes may be bought Thursdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West in Lincoln Park (credit card only, street parking only) I suggest emailing fishing@chicagoparkdistrict.com with questions.
Chicago Park District’s parking passes ($20 for two months) are for the anglers’ parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors.
The park district pier passes ($10 for the season) allow legal access to select piers at Jackson Park, Burnham, DuSable, Diversey, Belmont and Montrose harbors.
AREA LAKES
Dave Kranz of Dave’s Bait, Tackle and Taxidermy in Crystal Lake and with his You-Tube channel, Dave Kranz Living the wild outdoors, texted:
I’m am sure next week I will be able to give a report on where they are catching them on the ice in Illinois. The next 10-12 days will make ice everyday. I’m thinking you might have to drive 3 hours north to fish this weekend. I’m recommending you go through your ice tackle and get it ready, because ice fishing is days away. The normal first ice fishing will be channels off the Fox River, smaller ponds and shallow bays. Stay tuned!
Ken “Husker” O’Malley of Husker Outdoors emailed the photo and this:
Here’s the first report of 2024. I really didn’t like the way the final day of the year ended. That stink needed to come off the first day of the new year. The conditions were the same as yesterday, so I decided to hit a different lake early in the afternoon. The focus was the edge of the main basin with the roaches left over from yesterday. Down the slip bobber went resulted in the first bass of the new year. I had a few drops again, but managed a few more on the Vector Hooks 1/0 octopus. The pannie bite was very light, but managed a few gills and crappie on a IJO Plastics lil cubby on a Wiggleyourworm custom jig. Not a bad way to start off the new year. A note to Mother Nature. Can we please have a day of full sunshine? There hasn’t been one since the 14th of December.
Ken Husker O’Malley
Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team
Rob Abouchar messaged the photo above and this:
Hi Dale Happy New Year
The open water action continued right through the Holiday weekend to new years day yesterday. It seemed like the water was freezing as i fished but the ice is still absent this morning. I’m not going to make a prediction about when ice will form. I fished with slip float and large roach minnows in 4 feet of water with bait set down 2 feet. I had Roy Coakley and his neighbor Ron Hall of Northlake out to fish and Roy got a nice largie. He and Ron missed several fish . I think they needed bigger hooks. The bait needs to be big and the hook big enough to hold a big minnow and still allow it to swim with good action. I caught a giant crappie and let it go . The bass action has been great and even some nice pike are going. It’s like ice fishing open water. Catching some of the best fish of the year to end the season! Seeing people kayaking this week makes me wonder who is more nuts me or them but I’m sure we are both enjoying the holidays on the lake.
On the music front i have the group of musicians to record some original songs. We are going to start slow with 2 cuts; Ladykiller blues and the often requested Country Boy. The studio is in Spring Grove up by fox chain. I’m going to check it out this week. The Conscious rockers will possibly be doing a video broadcast and interview with Q Radio in coming weeks. The Bob Marley bash at Two brothers roundhouse in Aurora February 17th with hurricane reggae band. And midnite Mile at Main street outfitters in waucanda on January . Looks like busy musical start to 2024!
Tight lines and good health!
Rob
And his music report made my Tuesday and again Friday night as I ready to finally post the sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.
CHAIN O’LAKES AREA
Water remains very low, use caution when launching and navigating.
Staff at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said ice fishing is not expected by this week, maybe next week.
NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.
NOTE 2: Stratton Lock and Dam is closed through April 30, 2024.
CHICAGO RIVER
Jeffrey Williams messaged the photo above and this:
Happy New Year Dale
Good start to 2024, chicago river popping in Largies, all were CPR and all were caught on jigs
That’s the way to start.
COOLING LAKES
Braidwood, Heidecke and LaSalle are closed.
DOWNSTATE
POWERTON: Bank fishing is open. Boat fishing reopens Feb. 15.
EMIQUON PRESERVE: Open. Access permits and liability waivers are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Randy Smith, Illinois River project director for The Nature Conservancy, emailed this year’s end overview:
I haven’t heard any good reports from bass anglers this year, but the folks chasing crappie and catfish have done well. Finding the old ditches that are now underwater and fishing the bottoms for catfish or the vertical sides for crappie seems to be the strategy.
SPRING LAKE: Through the end of Canada goose season, both boat launching and bank fishing is allowed after 1 p.m. The Sky Ranch Road ramp is open with boating allowed north of Sky Ranch Rd bridge and south down to the buoy markers and sign at Maple Island.
HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Closed.
SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.
GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN
Guide Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report – 1/1/2024
Mike Norris
Big Green Lake: With no ice on any bodies of water or ponds in south-central Wisconsin, Big Green Lake remains one of the best bets for open-water fishing. Walleyes remain the most sought-after fish here, and they are active at nighttime and continue to strike crankbaits trolled along deep weed edges in 10 - 15 feet of water. The big surprise is the recent number of muskies caught on Big Green. Why? They are chasing down ciscoes that move shallow to spawn in the late fall and early winter. In prior years, boats would not be on the water this late in the year.
LAKE ERIE
Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.
LAKEFRONT
As the Fish of the Week showed, there’s some browns to go with the perch, lake trout and steelhead.
Lori Ralph at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan texted:
Good morning, mixed reports thru the slow weekend, sounds like browns and a few perch off the government pier. I was open for the holiday, but not much business to due weather and holiday.
MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN
On Tuesday, staff at D&S Bait said Cherokee Marsh capped, expect ice fishing by weekend.
Click here for the update from D&S Bait, Tackle & Fly Shop .
MAZONIA
Fishing is open at both units. Any ice fishing is at your own risk.
Hours are 6 a.m. to sunset.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN
Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
We’re slowly sliding back into a second early ice season. Despite warnings to the contrary, some anglers got out on the ice and continued to fish. Things got dicey with shorelines pulling out 1-2’ from banks (some even further), some open water Musky fishing and water skiing was also witnessed (Trout Lake). But as nights have gotten colder (and the days since 12/30) ice is firming up and slowly building. It would be nice to get some sub-zero temps, but the forecast only shows teens for the first 12 days of 2024.
Walleye: Good-Very Good – Most reports on tip-ups using suckers and shiners as anglers not willing to do as much hole jumping with jigging raps, rattlin raps and hyper glides. Not that jigging hasn’t been working, it has for those willing to do, but the less walking on 3-4 of spongy ice the better. Nice catches before dusk and pre-dawn, still most in 6-12’ weeds.
Northern Pike: Good-Very Good – Nice catches using large suckers and river shiners. Nothing out of the usual, live green weeds in 5-10’ best. Nice fish to 36 reported this past week with the best, a 38 caught and released on Friday (12/29).
Crappies: Good-Very Good – This species being found actively biting (except 12/28) in both weeds and in open basins. The basins have not been as accessible due to thinner ice (2) so most activity has been weed related. Tip-downs with Crappie minnows or small rosies, as well as rocker style jigs with white, pink and yellow plastics. Jigs with blades such as Lethal Cecils and Tikka Flash tipped with waxies also producing well!
Largemouth Bass: Good-Very Good – Not typically targeted, but moving the needle in a big way! Several reports of Bass in the 18-20+ range caught and released by anglers using medium shiners on tip-ups, as well as those jigging spoons tipped with waxies or minnow heads. The warm temps always seem to bring out the best in Largemouth activity, with no real cold days on the forecast, expect good action to continue.
Yellow Perch: Good – Anglers looking for Gills finding Perch in 6-10’ weed flats taking #3 tungsten jigs tipped with spikes or waxies. No jumbos being reported but nice eaters in the 8-9 ½ range. Also picking some up on tip-downs baited with minnows for Crappies.
Bluegill: Good – Once past Thursday’s high-pressure system, Gills once again biting well on small, dark jigs (black, red, green) tipped with red spikes or dark colored plastics. While most attention is spent in weeds of 5-10’, a few anglers (where ice is thick enough) finding suspended Gills in 20-25’ basins.
Thankfully, no reports, that I’ve heard of locally, of people breaking through the ice. While things will be getting better from here on out for a while, caution is still advised. Most ice reports have gone from 2-4 mid-week up to the 3-5 mark, some small lakes with 6. Can’t recommend vehicle travel of any kind. Creepers are essential for safely walking and safety spikes and flotation suits or throw cushions still a must. Looks like we will be getting our ice back, not quickly, but enough to have an ice fishing season.
Upcoming Tournaments
Jan 6th – 73rd Annual Rib Lake Area Ice Fishing Contest – Rib Lake
Jan 6th – 16th Annual NCO Club & AMVETS Post 724 Ice Fishing Tournament – Lake Nokomis
Feb 10th – 22nd Annual Plum Lake Ice Fishing Tournament – Plum Lake
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sports Shop – Like us on Facebook
NORTHWEST INDIANA
Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:
Perch is still on everybody’s mine.
Navy pier has been hot and cold along with 87th slip for perch and some lake trout. As many people that are fishing fish are being caught you just got to be there at the right time.
Perch action is slower as of late for those fishing in 55 to 60ft of water straight north of Gary light.
Steelhead in trail creek in Michigan city has been better this last week floating spawn saks of voodoo jigs tipped with waxworms. Must move around cover some water.
Crappie for groups in boats fishing the docks around 249 bridge just down from portage public marina. Crappie minnows best bait.
ROCK RIVER, WISCONSIN
Arden Katz: Takes much sorting for keepers (18 inches); he’s using 3-inch Keitech swimbaits and fly on a 25-inch leader; here’s one keeper that he caught last week. When cleaned, it had a 5-inch freshwater drum in it, suggesting why white swimbaits are working.
SHABBONA LAKE
Through January 31, winter site hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Boondocks is closed.
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT
Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report – 1/1/2024
Mike Norris
. . .
Wisconsin Harbors: Browns and lakers dominate open-water fishing along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline. Boaters are taking advantage of the warmer weather and ice-free access to catch brown and lake trout in the harbor towns. Milwaukee Harbor and the Milwaukee River provide the best bet for catching both species. Try casting crankbaits along seawalls and the outer breakwall leading into the harbor.
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said steelhead are improving in the St. Joseph River with a a few steelhead and whitefsh off the St. Jose Piier.
WISCONSIN RIVER
Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report – 1/1/2024
Mike Norris
. . .
Wisconsin River: Boating anglers are catching numbers of walleyes with jigs and minnows, but they are running small. A better bet is to trailer further north and fish that portion of the Wisconsin River downstream from the Nekoosa Dam, where walleyes run a bit bigger. Try fishing them with a jig and plastic combo.
WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN
Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:
Nothing in this area for ice, all lakes are open along with the river. The walleye bite has been excellent from Chico’s down to the lake. A lot of fish 12-13, but put your time in, there’s 15-17 down there
