MIDWEST FISHING REPORT
AREA LAKES: Some trout around, but focus shifts to crappie as winter creeps in. Ken “Husker” O’Malley: Bass good on jerkbaits over inside weed lines sunny middays; after weekend rains, working outflows with Bitsy Bug jig tipped with Paca Craw good on current seams.
AREA RIVERS: CHICAGO: Capt. Pat Harrison: Finding largemouth, but small (12-14 inches); river still over pool and fast.
DES PLAINES: Rich Anzalone: Some quality pike on lower river. FOX:
At flood stage. ILLINOIS: At flood stage at Starved Rock and LaSalle.
KANKAKEE: High, but under flood.
CHAIN: Arden Katz: Decent white bass, some crappie and a few walleye in 18-20 ft. on Marie, weight on bottom with two hooks with fatheads trolled at .5 to .75 mph. Triangle: Walleye excellent, biggest around bridges and current areas; crappie are good; muskie are fair, but some quality fish on suckers; look for white bass off deeper points.
NOTES: Lower river remains no-wake; updates at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540. Last day for Stratton Lock is Thursday.
GREEN LAKE, WIS.: Mike Norris:
BIG GREEN: Weather permitting, chance to catch biggest smallmouth and walleye of the year; smallmouth anywhere from around docks to mid-depth flats with healthy patches of coontail adjacent to rocky shoals.
FOX: Water cooled into 40s, trollers with crankbaits down 10-12 ft. catching walleye to 28 inches down middle of lake basin; pier angler caught and released a 50-inch muskie last week.
LAKEFRONT: Waiting on perch. Dennis “Bigbo’’ Ocasio: One small perch at 87th, but a couple of big carp. Park Bait: Some steelhead on crawlers in most harbors; smallmouth active inside harbors. Shop hours: 5 a.m.-6 p.m.
SNAGGING: Coho and Chinook only and only at Lincoln Park Lagoon (Fullerton bridge south), Waukegan (north harbor basin), Winnetka Power Plant discharge area and Jackson Harbor (Inner and Outer).
MADISON, WIS.: Lakes remain no-wake. Norris: Top story shore fishing for walleye on suspending jerkbaits (twitch, pause, twitch); boaters vertical jigging steep breaks in 20-30 ft.
N. WIS.: Kurt Justice: Suckers remain hard to get and brook trout are expensive as muskie bait, but muskie are good; walleye (deep transitions in 22-32 ft. where gravel slides meet mud flats), crappie (deep wood or on coontail edges in 14-20), pike and bluegill good; water cooling through 40s.
NW IND.: Slez’s: When weather allows, perch straight out of Burns Ditch; otherwise steelhead should be getting better in streams. Winter shop hours: 5 a.m.-5 p.m.
SW MICH.: A.J. Cwiok: Caught some night steelhead; walleye should go in next few weeks. Tackle Haven: Some steelhead off St. Joe pier and a few whitefish; river is high.
SHABBONA: Lakeside: Lot of crappie and a few muskies; water near normal. Thursday is last day for Lakeside until ice fishing. On Friday, park hours go to 8 a.m.-5 p.m.