MIDWEST FISHING REPORT
LAKEFRONT PERCH: Slow reports from Chicago and Waukegan. Slez’s: Over weekend in Indiana, perch ‘‘solid’’ in 15 to 30 feet from ‘‘The Doughnut’’ toward Michigan City. Tackle Haven: Some perch a mile south of ‘‘The Chalets’’ off St. Joseph, Michigan. AREA LAKES: Kevin Clancy caught a 16-inch crappie on an IJO Plastic in LaSalle County. Matthew Schultz: Son Declan, 13, caught big largemouth night-fishing in western suburbs Thursday with ‘‘plastic on a jig.’’ Sean Whippo: Caught a tiger muskie in 10 to 14 feet from a Cook County lake. Ken ‘‘Husker’’ O’Malley: Bluegills very good on plastics along wind-blown weed edges. Largemouth on plastics pitched to shoreline cover early or late. AREA RIVERS: CHICAGO: Jeffrey Williams: Spotty panfish/bass on small jighead with Gulp! Minnow. FOX: Vince Oppedisano: Evenings better for wade fishing; better ones on topwaters in final hour. KANKAKEE: George Peters: ‘‘Fish closer to banks where the water clears first.’’ He caught an 18.5-inch smallmouth on spinner bait.
CHAIN: Triangle: Catfish excellent on stinkbait, roaches or crawlers; Bluff or Marie best. White bass in 8 to 12 feet off mainlake points. Walleye excellent on leeches or medium roaches; Marie best. Bluegills good on ice jigs on Spring or Petite. DELAVAN/GENEVA, WISCONSIN: Capt. Dave Duwe: Bluegills ‘‘very good’’ in 12 to 13 feet. Largemouth in weed flats in 15 to 16 feet. GENEVA: Walleye very good midnight to 3 a.m. trolling large Rapalas. Bluegills very good in 18 to 20 feet. Smallmouth in 20 to 25 feet on weed points. Largemouth in 20 to 30 feet.
GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN: Mike Norris: Decent bass along deeper edges in 13 to 22 feet. Bluegills grouped on deeper weed edges. HEIDECKE LAKE: Bob Johnson: Smallmouth good on finesse baits along riprap. Good white crappie going down rock shoreline. O’Malley: Water 78 degrees. Algae bloom making 6-inch visibility. Smallmouth along rock humps by slowly dragging jig tipped with craw.
LAKEFRONT: James Baranski: ‘‘Epic day’’ with Dale Rehus on Sunday, boating 35 smallmouth and losing as many. Better success on 12-pound line. Park Bait: Some kings showing up. Good smallmouth action. ‘‘Quite a few’’ pike and drum. Capt. Bob Poteshman: Very good lakers with occasional coho, king and steelhead deeper than 100 feet. Out of North Point, lots of lakers in 150 to 250 feet with occasional kings, coho or steelhead. Very good young kings and coho with occasional steelhead and browns in 60 to 130 feet on ‘‘The Hill.’’ Salmon Stop: Some kings and steelhead in Waukegan harbor. For boaters, fish scattered from 70 feet to deep. Smallmouth active in harbor. Capt. Scott Wolfe: Fish scattered. ‘‘Good mixed-species catches with good numbers of all species, even regular catches of pinks.’’ Most consistent in 80 to 180 feet from Waukegan stacks to state line.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN: ‘‘Ramblin’ Ray’’ Stevens: 21-inch smallmouth in Boulder Junction on drop-shot with blue/green plastic. Kurt Justice: Largemouth (heavy cover during cooldowns on crayfish plastics on Ned heads), smallmouth (work deep weeds in 12 to 16 feet with drop-shots, Ned Rigs or Wacky Worms) and bluegills (weed edges or tops) are very good.
NORTHWEST INDIANA: Slez’s: Salmon/trout in 70 to 100 feet straight out of Burns Ditch and east.
SHABBONA: Boondocks: Trolling No. 5 Shad Raps for walleye. Largemouth hitting in lily pads. Catfish by the dam or campground on chicken livers soaked in Jell-O. Hybrids caught while catfishing. Crappie on cribs.