MIDWEST FISHING REPORT
PERCH: Season reopens Thursday on Illinois waters of Lake Michigan. FROGGING: Illinois’ bullfrog-only season opens today. Fishing license required. ‘‘May be taken by hook and line, gig, pitchfork, spear, bow and arrow, hand or landing net.’’ Daily bag limit is eight; possession limit is 16. ILLINOIS’ FREE FISHING DAYS: Friday-Monday. No fishing license or stamps needed.
AREA LAKES: Bluegills and topwater largemouth going. Former Ald. Jesse Granato: 4 1/2-pound largemouth on wacky-rigged sweet-potato-piecolored Senkos on Maple Lake. BoRabb Williams: Bluegills ‘‘everywhere’’ in Forest Preserves of Cook County. Rob Abouchar: Wacky-rigged worms or Senkos good for largemouth on Island Lake. Pete Lamar: Largemouth and bluegills on fly-fishing poppers.
AREA RIVERS: CALUMET SYSTEM: Williams: Smallmouth and catfish active evenings. DES PLAINES: Ken Sweda: Celebrating river’s ‘‘amazing recovery,’’ he caught more than 30 smallmouth on recent outing with buddy. FOX: Lamar: Caught his first redhorse on a fly. KANKAKEE: George Peters: With higher water, smallmouth active near bank on spinners, craw crankbaits or plastics. ‘‘Heat will make bass go to fast water.’’
CHAIN: Triangle: Bluegills very good shallow. Catfish aggressive all over. White bass higher in column evenings over deep water. Walleye best around current.
DELAVAN/GENEVA, WISCONSIN: Dave Duwe: DELAVAN: Walleye good casting crankbaits down weed lines or using Lindy or split-shot rigs with leeches or crawlers; dawn or hours after dark best. Largemouth on deep weed lines. Bluegills ‘‘excellent,’’ either spawning in 3 to 4 feet or deep (22 to 26 feet). GENEVA: Largemouth most consistent in weeds or shallow spawning in 8 to 10 feet. Bluegills and rock bass ‘‘everywhere.’’
GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN: Mike Norris: BIG GREEN: White bass ‘‘hot bite’’ on weed edges. Walleye active in 9 to 15 feet. FOX LAKE: Largemouth (to 4 pounds) in and around emerging weed beds.
HEIDECKE: James Baranski: Walleye decent, along with few crappie, hybrids and smallmouth; troll Flicker Shads at 2.8 mph. Victor Blackful: Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. from shore, ‘‘really nice white bass on big minnows.’’ A few walleye west of bridge.
LAKEFRONT: Waiting on perch opener Thursday. Park Bait: Some smallmouth and pike active around harbors. Drum on the Horseshoe on softshells and hardshells. Capt. Bob Poteshman: Out of Chicago, coho and few lakers in 70 to 100 feet straight off Navy Pier and north. Out of North Point, nice coho and occasional king or steelhead in 120 to 200 feet straight out and south to Waukegan. Salmon Stop: Out of Waukegan, boaters transitioning flies to spoons. Coho, occasional kings and steelhead scattered (follow graph). Capt. Scott Wolfe: Out of Waukegan, coho and Chinook scattered from 45 to 200 feet. Work areas where fish caught. NORTHERN WISCONSIN: Ken ‘‘Husker’’ O’Malley: Water warming through 60s. Smallmouth (staging, bedding or post-spawn) excellent. Crappie concentrated in taller coontail. Bluegills bedding. Kurt Justice: Walleye (moving toward leeches, scattered through cabbage beds) very good. Pike (same weed beds as walleye) and bluegills (some bedding, others suspended in 15 to 18 feet) good to very good.
NORTHWEST INDIANA: Kayaker Isaac Biggerstaff: ‘‘Huge’’ drum at Michigan City. Good skamania in Trail. Slez’s: Lots of trout and coho with occasional king and steelhead straight out of Burns Ditch in 65 to 80 feet. Skamania off Michigan City pier and Portage.
ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN: Tackle Haven: Walleye going in river. A few steelhead off pier.
SHABBONA: Baranski: Largemouth bite should spike this week. Boondocks: Walleye shallow near sundown and later. Crappie moving deeper with heat. Hybrids on chicken liver. Water warming through 70s.