MIDWEST FISHING REPORT
SHORELINE/TRIBUTARY SALMON/TROUT: CHICAGO: Jason ‘‘Special One’’ Le: Anthony Sokolov caught a 44-inch Chinook on Monday at Diversey on a Le special custom lure. Henry’s: Salmon spotty, sporadic as schools come through, but more coming through the harbors; try spoons and crankbaits. Carl Vizzone: More jumping at Northerly Island. One caught Tuesday by Eric Gholston. PARK BAIT: Kings up and down lakefront. Some dark, others clean. WAUKEGAN: Salmon Stop: Spoons and spawn sacs working for primarily kings with a few coho. Capt. Scott Wolfe: Skein starting to work. NORTHWEST INDIANA: Slez’s: Kings and coho in all the tribs; spawn sacs, skein and spinners best. SNAGGING: Snagging for Chinook and coho open only at Lincoln Park Lagoon south of Fullerton, Waukegan (north harbor), Winnetka Power Plant or Jackson Harbor (inner and outer).
ILLINOIS TROUT: Early catch-and-release season opens at select spots. Regular fall trout opens Oct. 16.
AREA LAKES: Colder weather would help crappie bite. Ken ‘‘Husker’’ O’Malley: Bass good evenings, especially overcast ones, on topwaters. Stay mobile to pick off scattered crappie.
AREA RIVERS: DES PLAINES: Jonny Pitelka: ‘‘The smallie frenzy fall bite has begun!’’ KANKAKEE: Bob Johnson: He and Joel Wilson caught smallmouth and largemouth (surface baits and dark finesse baits in 3 to 7 feet or around laydowns) and a pike (Rapala). CHAIN: Arden Katz: Lots of yellow perch with yellow and white bass on points of Marie, trolling live bait in 10 to 12 feet. Triangle: Some crappie and bluegills in channels. Some walleye moving up with cooler nights. Catfish, as usual, on stinkbait or crawlers. COOLING LAKES: Final days: Heidecke, Tuesday; LaSalle, Oct. 15; Braidwood, Oct. 19; Mazonia, Oct. 19. (Monster open all year.)
DELAVAN/GENEVA, WISCONSIN: Dave Duwe: DELAVAN: Tough fishing with warmth. Bluegills suspended in 35 to 40 feet. GENEVA: Warm October has fish in ‘‘funk,’’ but perch ‘‘fantastic’’ in 12 feet. Rock bass in 12 to 15 feet. Smallmouth on main-lake points.
GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN: BIG GREEN: Mike Norris: Smallmouth good along weed edges and rocky shoals; best on swimbaits and tubes. FOX LAKE: Rick Wendlandt: Largemouth shallow and under piers on rocky shorelines. Walleye improved for trollers in basin. LAKEFRONT: PARK BAIT: Salmon casters also catching pike. Some smallmouth being
caught, plus big carp and drum. Hours 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Capt. Bob Poteshman: Lakers definitely on the reefs, but some out of North Point working other areas with mixed success. Out of Chicago, fishing came back for lakers and a couple of other fish in 120 to 160 feet. Wolfe: Out of Waukegan, limits of lakers on the reefs and hills offshore. Some kings in same areas.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN: Kurt Justice: Warm weather making for odd conditions. Smallmouth, gathering on rock piles and drowned wood, good to very good. Largemouth (find green weeds) good.
NORTHWEST INDIANA: Slez’s: Crappie better at Lake George in Hobart. Fall/winter hours: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN: Bill Stoeger: Water still 64 degrees. Crappie on wood or white bass on sand bars.
FISH OF THE WEEK
Big muskie in Illinois — a pair share Fish of the Week honors — elicit notes such as this one from Pat Karpinski (top).
‘‘I got a 48.5-incher out of the Fox Chain yesterday fishing with Ray Cote,’’ Karpinski messaged. ‘‘I still can’t believe it!’’
His muskie ‘‘fought hard all the way to the boat, staying down the entire fight, right until the end when she showed herself and I knew we had something big! I wasn’t thinking 48.5. I am still in disbelief that I was able to catch a fish of that caliber, but I couldn’t have done it without Ray.
‘‘I’m happy to get a truly special Illinois muskie.’’
Frank Strand (holding smallmouth) had his own special Illinois muskie while fishing Heidecke Lake on Sept. 28 with son Chris (far right).
‘‘Before we left, he had this [muskie] on my grandfather’s Quick reel,’’ Chris messaged. ‘‘And an old Rapala Rattlin’ Rap.’’ It was a quick fight of seven minutes. ‘‘Barely hooked, no blood or anything wrong,’’ Chris messaged. ‘‘Swam away great. His foot is broken, so that’s why I landed it and held it. Didn’t want to get a measure and leave it out longer.’’
The muskie was ‘‘super-fat and healthy’’ and was estimated at 45 to 47 inches.