Chicago fishing: Rebuilding ice before the snow

Hey Dale,

Here’s a recap from this past week’s fishing.

The trip to the pits offered up a multi-species kind of day today. The bite was hot at first light. Active biters were holding tight in 8 fow right at the break into the main basin. Jigging a Clam Outdoors tikka flash in wonder bread tipped with multiple spikes was the ticket today. The chasing flags game was slow most of the morning. When the overcast cleared out, the bite got tough. Going under the flip over helped giving some shade with that bright sun. The ice is at 6-7 and was groaning early on as we are slowly starting to build ice again.

TTYL

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

I’m hearing and seeing 11 inches of ice on many Northern Illinois lakes and ponds. The day time bite has picked up in the last week but early morning and afternoons are always good also. Large Golden Roach Minnows for pike and bass are what’s being used. Wax worms, spikes and crappie minnows for panfish. More hours of daylight are probably increasing the weeds to grow producing more oxygen. Possibly why the daytime bite is better! Spring is coming! Check my Dave’s Bait , Tackle and Taxidermy facebook page for almost daily reports.

Hi Dale

The bite has slowed on island lake only a small pike was landed Saturday. Not sure if it’s the weather but it has not been stable. Possibly next couple days of bad weather could turn them on. On the music front it was a great what rehearsal Saturday with the conscious rockers as we prepare for the 22nd at Mackies. And yes but also Gozortenplat now back at the sand dollar lounge in Vegas confirmed June 7th…viva Las Vegas!

Tight lines and good health!!

Rob

Tom Bernard checked out my friend Patty’s place in lake Fairfield got a few small bass on tip ups

Fishing Report – 2/9/2025

By Mike Norris

Big Green Lake: Lake trout are active in 100 – 130 feet of water around Sandstone Point, where the ice is only 6 – 10 inches thick. Walk out and try jigging white jigs tipped with strips of cisco meat. The cisco bite is slow. Try Dartmouth Bay for bluegills, perch, and northern pike. The ice is 16 inches thick, and anglers are driving vehicles out.

. . .

Fox Lake: The ice is generally 16 inches thick throughout the lake. The crappie bite is still ongoing, but the fish are thinning out. Three walleyes over eight pounds each were brought to the scales during a recent ice fishing derby on the lake.

Lake Puckaway: Northern pike bite remains good on tip-ups baited with shiner minnows. Walleyes are active at night.

Still good action on perch in the 87th slip.

Wind (and lots of it, not needed) and snow (about 5”, much needed), slowed participation on the ice for anglers. Add cold and it looks like a lot of anglers took a pass on heading out on the ice this past week. Those that fished (when they could) had mixed results. Still, fish were caught and time on the ice enjoyed.

Crappie: Good-Very Good – Deep basin and wood along river channels (Flowages) produced very well for anglers using Rattlin Kastmasters. Most tipped with waxies or minnow heads. Conditions for tip-down use not the best with snow and wind. Weed Crappies (8-12’) held tight to bottom. Slow dropping thin, fluttering jig/spoons tipped with waxies or plastics (white, silver, yellow) best.

Northern Pike: Good – Nice thing about Pike fishing in the winter, most done with tip-ups…set it and forget it (except to keep holes from freezing up). Enough action on shiners and suckers to make effort worth it.

Yellow Perch: Good-Fair – Lots of #’s, but light on the keepers was the word from most anglers. Mud flats of 16-22’ using heavy, yet small fast dropping spoons (Pimples, Hali, Bull spoons) to get back down quickly when pods of Perch moved through. Wigglers and red spikes for the most part. Some larger Perch on minnows on dead sticks.

Walleye: Good-Fair – Bite window still best one hour before and after sunset. A few early risers catching fish before dawn. Jigging Raps and Slab Raps accounting for some nice fish (17-23”) but majority on tip-ups baited with suckers or river shiners. Depths of 14-18’ weed edges or along breaks of 18-25’ gravel best.

Bluegill: Fair – Not the best conditions for chasing Bluegills. Those that did found Gills holding within a foot off the bottom and being tight lipped. Due to wind, tungsten jigs #4 to combat line bow. Tipped with waxies or spikes best.

Largemouth Bass: Fair – Came to on warmer days, yet overall waiting for warmer weather.

Forecasted cold week with daytime temps single digit to teens and night time chills of -8 to -13. Should ease up for the Holiday weekend (Fri/Sat) breaking into 20’s before dropping down into single digits for Sun/Mon.

Ice thickness good, averaging 22-28”+. New snow may be a bit of a hindrance, but overall travel conditions very good. Cold and high pressure more of a hindrance on the bite than anything else.

Only three weekends left of the 24/25 gamefish season. Closes March 2^nd at midnight, so don’t wait much longer to catch that Walleye dinner.

Ice Fishing Tournaments

February 15^th – 24^th Annual Plum Lake – Plum Lake

February 15^th – 19^th Annual Lake Tomahawk Family Fishery – Lake Tomahawk

March 1^st – KISS – WIFA Highschool – Minocqua Chain

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop
– Like us on FaceBook

Ice fishing is what most of the groups are doing with action all over the place from really slow to really good.

Still good action on perch in the 87th slip.

Nwi creeks are really low but giving up some steelhead for those willing to move around and put in the time.

Slez’s Bait is still loaded up pretty good on ice fishing stuff. Open 5am daily.

Hows it going Dale

Finally able to get on nice fish the pass month, been a struggle but were out here getting it done, recently went up to Minnesota last week and was able to get on my 1st Walleye, than we fished Powers lake in Wisconsin on sunday and my brother got his 2nd pike though the ice. Ice up their was a solid 11 inche. Hoping to get up their again next week and get on some more Fish on the Ice.

Have a great Day

This whopping 180.5-pound behemoth was speared by Hayley Herzig and weighs in as the fourth largest lake sturgeon ever speared on the Winnebago system. This F4 female was one incredible fish.

There were 3,340 shanties counted on Lake Winnebago this weekend. Most of the shanties were located off the west central portion of Lake Winnebago near the Oshkosh area. This observation is reflected in the number of fish registered at the Downtown Oshkosh and Neenah registration stations, with 19 each. These stations continue to register the highest number of harvests for Lake Winnebago.

Harvest on the Upriver Lakes continues to come in at a steady but slow pace with 29 lake sturgeon harvested today (21 males, 2 adult females and 6 juvenile females). This brings the Upriver season total to 118 males, 19 adult females and 26 juvenile females, with 163 overall. After three days, we are just about halfway to the male harvest cap on the Upriver Lakes.