Chicago fishing: Spring signs abound, perch closure and Wisconsin opener

Good Morning,I thought I’d share this photo with you. My Son Brian Adame Jr, 10 years old, caught this beautiful Northern Pike last night at the Bass and Gill Club in Plainfield. It kept stealing his bait and hook, due to its sharp teeth cutting through the line like butter. He knew it was a Northern Pike because of that. Then after his line got cut for the third time, he finally decided to tie steal leader ( small piece of metal wire ) on to his line. A few minutes later this big girl snatched up the bait and he was able to bring her to shore. It almost got away when the hook broke lose while it was beached at the shore line, but he was lucky that I was quick enough to grab it. Not sure of the weight or length, but I guess it was around 36”.

This year, new fishing regulations are in effect, including a new small tournament registration requirement and a statewide daily bag limit of three walleye/sauger per day on all inland waters.

Finally got out. Some inner city crappie. The spawn be on.

Modesto Perez with a healthy carpus saurus a inner city beautiful fish

Hi,Another free line nightcrawler bass. Suburban park pond. Caught today.Charles horwath, Darien

Bass, and panfish definitely moving to the bank in anticipation for the spawn. Top water and soft plastics will work for the bass. Use wax worms or red worms for gills and minnows for the crappies.Catfish are still going strong and cut bait or stink bait will both work. Happy spring!

Hey Dale,Here is the recap of this past weeks fishing.. . . Area lakes- Overnight thunderstorms the last two days dumped almost 3 inches of rain. This afternoon and early evening was about fishing flooded cover along the windblown shorelines. Bass were up tight to cover so the All-Terrain Tackle swim jig got the call. Pairing that with FINS Braids spin 5 braid was the perfect setup for this presentation in order to detect bites. That pattern took good numbers as bass were chasing bluegills. A swimbait worked on the windblown flats took a few more as those fish were busting shad near the surface. I’m glad the thunderstorms stayed south and east of me as that also seemed to trigger an additional bite window. Fishing high water periods can work to your advantage as fish movement can get very predictable. Watching the sunset capped a good evening.. . . TTYLKen “Husker” O’MalleyHusker OutdoorsWaterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale,

Things really picked up this week with the warmer weather. As far as still waters, I hit several different Kane Co. Forest Preserve ponds. Good numbers of fish, both sunfish/bluegills and largemouths, as well as size: bigger fish were getting active as can be seen in the attached images. All fish came on topwater patterns. No signs of nests yet, but fish are in close to shore, probably because that’s where the food is.

Hi DaleThe wind and rain continued in island lake but the temperatures were on the rise. Baby geese and ducks are makung their first journeys on the water. The lilacs are blooming and the bass are on the beds. One bed had a beautiful pair of largemouth ready to spawn. Other beds with males ready and waiting. I continued to work on wacky rig senko techniques and landed some nice bass around shallow shoreline areas. Saturday evening when things settled a little i targeted panfish from the dock with gapen fly/bug jig with red trout worms. I also tried the squirmy worm jig in pink. The lure was purchased at the muskie swap meet and looks like a piece of spaghetti on an ice jig. The lure got lots of attention at woodale grove on Friday when we took some of the students fishing. Some caught their first fish and gave the fish a kiss . I landed several species on island lake. Gills sunfish yellow bass perch and even a shiner. The bluegill bite should really pick up if weather stays warm.On the music front the next scheduled gig is with the conscious rockers reggae band at main street outfitters in waucanda june 7th. Some dates are coming in for the reggae band to play sundays at Austins in Libertyville outside on the patio. Gozortenplat continues to rehearse for summer dates in Milwaukee Chicago and kenosha. Midnite mile is scheduled in july at lily lake for family fest. We will be playing on the bill with the youngsters from uncle pigeon. Some camping fishing and music sounds like a nice time.Tight lines and good health! Rob

This is a CHICAGO SLAB CRAPPIE…. 14 inches… ya Digg…regular [STUFF]!!!

Scouting report for chain of lake. Moonpie Outdoors guide service ran 10 vet clients on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday 3 days combined boated over 80 walleye and many white bass. Trolling in 3-4 feet of water fish where hitting all colors. Jigging was working well on rock and shell beds. 14-18 Inc keepers were plentiful!! White bass are currently spawning. They are hitting all bright color cranks in current seams in 6-9ft. The water temp was on average 58.

Opening Day – Delavan LakeTypical of Delavan Lake I expect the fishing pressure on opening day to be tremendous. You can’t have a great fishery without a lot of fishermen. However, if you don’t know where to look and what to try, fishing will be tough with the cold spring we’ve had.The walleye will be hard to catch. In early May they are in shallow water in the thick weeds, with the clear water they are easily spooked. I only try them using slip bobbers and flathead minnows. I suggest working the 10-12 ft depth range.The crappie fishing this spring has been fantastic. People have been catching a lot of fish in the 8–12-inch range. The best location is in front of Lake Lawn Lodge in 5-12 ft of water. I prefer using plastics, mini-mites, or small twister tails. My favorite colors are purple, white, and yellow. A lot of fish can be caught using small minnows fished off slip bobbers.Largemouth bass are cruising the shallows. The fish are in 2-4 ft of water. I like fishing in the outlet area of the channels. I use floating worms or Senkoss. With the cold spring the bass aren’t anywhere near spawning yet.Bluegill fishing has been very good throughout this cool spring. Most of the fish are being caught on the west end in 4-6 ft of water. Most people are using small ice jigs tipped with a wax worm or leaf worm. Some good catches are being reported. The water temperature is still very cold, and they won’t be spawning for another month or so.Good Luck – See you on Opening Day! For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

I haven’t heard any good reports from bass anglers this year [2023], 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.

Hi Dale,. . .

I didn’t fish the Fox itself, but as of yesterday, it is only slightly high with pretty good clarity. That was a surprise after all the rain over the weekend. I did fish a tributary not far upstream from the Fox on Friday. Despite the steady rain all afternoon, water levels didn’t rise much and the clarity wasn’t affected at all-I could see straight to the bottom in all but the deepest areas. I got into good numbers of smallmouths on a yellow streamer. No photos because #1, while nice enough fish, all in the 12-15 inch range, none were notable; April and May are typically when I get my biggest smallmouths of the year. I don’t think the big females have shown up yet (more about that in a moment). #2 My hands and phone were too wet from all the rain to open the camera and get any images. As far as bigger fish, the gravid females, I didn’t see any. It’s possible that I missed the spawn entirely-they spawned quickly in the recent high water and have gone back out to the Fox-but I don’t think that is what happened. Some of the males still had drab Winter colors and this was in sight of the Fox; they may have run up the creek as recently as that morning. No fish at all were seen only a couple of miles farther upstream. They, including the big fish, may be there by now with all the rain that occurred after Friday and the much warmer weather.

Opening Day – Lake GenevaThe fishing season on Lake Geneva is about to begin. Unfortunately, just because May 3rd is almost here doesn’t mean that fishing season is in its prime on the big water. Being the largest and deepest lake in the county does have its disadvantages, especially in early May. The water is still really cold, and the fish are not very active. Most of the smallmouth bass are caught suspended, not associating with structure. They are actively chasing bait fish pods near their spawning flats. The best presentation is casting small hair jigs or throwing small jigs with twister tails. I like working the water depths of 12-15 ft of water. The best locations are by Knollwood, Elgin Club or over by Bigfoot beach.Most of the largemouth bass activity is related to shallow water, areas like Trinkes and Abbey Harbor are good choices. I like using Senkos in green pumpkin color or a plastic worm Texas rigged. I work in depths of 4-5 ft of water. With the unusually cold spring, fishing for bass will really be tough for awhile.Panfish should be biting in the 4-6 ft of water depth. The yellow perch will be the most active and biting on small minnows or wax worms. I prefer using a slip bobber set up. The best location for the panfish is by Knollwood or by Rainbow Point.Good Luck, I’ll see you on the water Opening Day! For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Fishing Report – 4/29/2024By Mike NorrisBig Green Lake: Virtually no one fished Big Green last week due to the up-and-down weather. It was 80 degrees last Saturday, but the wind out of the west at 30 – 45 mph. It rained all day last Sunday, and the air temperature never exceeded 46 degrees. The water temperature remains in the low 40s. I did hear last week of one angler who hooked into a 46-inch muskie while panfishing, something that is not uncommon in the spring of the year. The fish was released. The general game fishing opener here in Wisconsin is this Saturday, May 4th. Don’t forget to buy your 2024 Wisconsin Fishing License before heading north. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and I’ll have better fishing reports next week.Lake Puckaway: One of the local restaurants up here holds a team walleye tournament on Lake Puckway annually on the third Saturday in April. In better years, I have seen over 120 walleyes weighed and released back into Lake Puckaway during that tournament. But in tune with how bad it’s been this year, there were a total of nine walleyes caught in last Saturday’s tournament, and five of the nine walleyes were caught by the winning team. The winning weight was 15.01 lbs. Smallmouth bass fishing remains good on Lake Puckaway anywhere from the west end of the lake upriver to its juncture with the Grand River.Fox Lake: Once again, the weather plays a major role in angler success. On days when it’s not raining, or the wind is not blowing hard, anglers target crappie in the main lake basin. Jigs tipped with smaller crappies minnows are working best. Try plastics and spinnerbaits for largemouth bass in the river channel which extends through the Town of Fox Lake.

Heideke Musky today!! Thanks for the great articles Dale!!! Caught on by Bass Ron AntinoriYes, caught bass fishing on wacky worm ! Go figure, We were trolling and decided to take a break on one of the humps, We were talking about your article all morning and on the way over there. The fish hit at about 11:10 AM, and was a great fight on 6 pound test.

Hi Dale – Every year lately the first fish to really take off on Heidecke is Walleye and this year is no different. It’s like Bass fishing on Braidwood in the first month. Water temps in low 60s, lake is prime when weather allows. They can be caught on most walleye and bass baits along with slow drifting live bait if that’s your thing.

Hey Dale,Here is the recap of this past weeks fishing.

Heidecke-The morning started off frosty, but it turned out to be a nice day. Water temps were 52 at launch time and rose to 55-56 by the time the boat was put back on the trailer. The walleye were excellent today. A BPF Lures jerkbait was the first to get the call working over humps. Most of the fish hit on the pause. Next up was a Keitech swimbait on a All-Terrain Tackle smasher head worked along the ledge of drop offs. A few smallmouth were caught as well on this presentation. FINS Braids spin 5 braid with a fluoro leader thrown on a 7:0 paired with a 7’6” was the perfect setup for this presentation. A few fish were also caught on ned rigs as well. M good friend Dave managed his PB walleye at 25” and weighing in at 6.3 lbs. Imagine that fish pre-spawn! Both the North and South sides produced fish today. It was a good day on the water with an even better friend.

. . .

TTYL

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors

Waterwerks fishing team

Hi DaleCoho have been biting good on the Horseshoe because Alewives are around. They are biting on cut shad, crawlers, minnows and lures. Other areas a little hit or miss. They are getting bigger. Nice Brown Trout still around too.A few perch but today’s the last day before the unfortunate closure. Northerns being caught in the mix. Smallmouth starting to get more active on baits like Nitro worms and plastics.Our hours are still 5am to 7pm 7 days a week.Have a great week!

Hi Dale -Waukegan fishing continues to be very good when the weather allowed. We only ran a couple of trips this week due to wind, waves and rain making fishing not so fun. Bait and coho are still loaded up in the very shallow water but poor water clarity slowed the bite. In the 30-40 foot range there were less fish but the bite was actually better because the water was clearer. Yellowbirds with 00 Red dodgers and Jimmy Fly Almost Oz and Oz flys were best. Dark greens continued to be the best color.Let’s hope for some better weather this week.Scott R Wolfe312-933-0552

Water temp on the Menominee River is 48-50 degrees and smallmouth are in pre-spawn. Yesterday I found a bunch of smallmouth stacked up tight to wood. The best wood will be on the edge of the current seam and have a muck or sand bottom. The combination of wood and a muck or sand bottom will result in warmer water temps and attract smallmouth.

Swimbaits and jerkbaits are my go to baits. In cold water let the jerkbait pause for 5-15 seconds and use slow short twitches. Patience is the key.

With warm weather on the way the action should intensify. Open May Guide Dates 5/5, 5/7, 5/9, 5/13, 5/14, 5/17, 5/30, 5/31. Book a river smallmouth trip or a combination smallmouth /walleye trip.

On the cusp of the 2024 opener! First opener in three seasons we haven’t been concerned with ice out. For the most part Walleye spawning is done. Water temps are averaging 43-46 degrees. Cool nights (in the 30’s) has kept the warmer days from heating up too quickly. We have received some rain, not as much as we need but enough to bring lake and Flowage levels up.Walleye anglers for the opener should for the most part be targeting post spawn Walleyes. This is a time where your temperature gauge on your electronics becomes very important. Differences in 1-2 degrees surface temp, from one side of a lake to another, can make all the difference in fish activity. Wind will push the warmest water (at the surface) across lakes lowering the temperature or the lee side while raising the temperature on the windward side and having a distinct effect on fish activity at this time of year.Look for any newly emerging green weeds in 2-8’ of water. This is where insects and minnows will be that draws these hungry post spawn Walleyes in to feed. A light weight 1/32-1/16 oz jig tipped with a lively fathead minnow, dace, chub or even leech as the water warms into the low 50’s will work great. Slip-bobbers rig with the same live baits as well as shallow running stick baits in the 3-4” length such as floating Rapalas, Storm Jr Thundersticks and Smithwick Rattlin Rouges are also a great choice. Just Work these shallow running baits just over the new weed tops.Northern Pike should also be actively feeding as it’s also the post spawn period for them. The earlier mentioned stick baits as well as 3-4” swimbaits or a good ol’ jig and chub on a wire leader is always a good choice.Yellow Perch will also be post spawn. Typically, the larger Perch will be scattered throughout green weeds. They really love dragonfly larvae, but will eat minnows, leeches and crawlers just as well.Crappies have mostly been holding out in 6-8’ of water unless warm sunny days pull them into the 1-2’ shallows. Tiny tubes, hair jigs or small minnows have been working best. Any wood in the water will help collect some heat and draw them in a little better.Bluegills have been seen sunning themselves on warm days in the shallows.Largemouth Bass are working dark mud bottomed areas for the most part, though I did get a report of big LMB holding up on shallow rocks, fish to 20”, where water was warmer.Smallmouth Bass anglers finding Smallies on rock/gravel breaks using Ned rigs and hair jigs.Overall, water temp will be key. Forecast for rain/clouds should extend the bite on opening day. Warmer weather on Sunday should bode well for all species as waters start to warm up again.Walleye Fishing on the Minocqua ChainAs of Friday, April 26th, the Lac Du Flambeau band of Chippewa’s exercised their right to spear the Lake Tomahawk/Minocqua Chain.So all hook and line anglers understand, there is a process to go through for the DNR to be able to open the catch and keep season for non-tribal harvest. The chain WILL NOT BE OPEN at the start of Walleye opener May 4th.The DNR is working on getting a special meeting with the Natural Resource Board (NRB) to work out details to open the season. Once this meeting is scheduled, make sure to have your comments heard as to what you’d like to see done (i.e. open season, remain catch & release etc)Please respect the rules and refrain from keeping Walleyes from the chain until the season opens!Kurt JusticeKurt’s Island Sports Shop– Like us on Face

Coho action for trollers fishing from the port of Indiana and east in 20 to 40 ft of water using dodgers and flys and spoons.Crappie action at potato creek using minnows and Rufus jr jigs tipped with waxwormsWolf lake both sides giving up a little bit of everything. Crappie, gills, pike, walleye.

Wolf lake both sides giving up a little bit of everything. Crappie, gills, pike, walleye.

20 wh bass. 3 WE.Walleye and wh. Bass biting. This bonus 32 in pike fell to a black/ red fly.

57 degree water temp on Monday. White bass bite is good with rigs in deep water, and jigs on the drop offs and current breaks. The walleye action is picking up. Night crawlers working best to keep the white bass from taking your jig.