MIDWEST FISHING REPORT
LAKEFRONT SALMON/ TROUT: INDIANA: Slez’s: Best news is a few lake trout caught on the reef at Burns Ditch. CHICAGO: ‘‘ Spotty’’ is the optimistic term. WAUKEGAN: Salmon Stop: Piers slowing. Some browns shallow from harbor south for boaters. SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN: Tackle Haven: A few steelhead in the river. Piers slow.
SALMON SNAGGING: Steve Palmisano at Henry’s said Polaroid glasses are important to sight- snag. Legal spots are the inner and outer harbors at Jackson Park, the Lincoln Park Lagoon south of Fullerton, the discharge area at the Winnetka power plant and the north basin of Waukegan Harbor.
AREA LAKES: Henry’s: With this weather, crappie and bluegills have been the best bites going at forest preserves such as Saganashkee Slough in Cook, many lakes in DuPage and Chaminwood in Will. Ken ‘‘ Husker’’ O’Malley: Jigs or lipless crankbaits taking bass late morning and early afternoon. Fall trout is winding down.
AREA RIVERS: CHICAGO: Capt. Pat Harrison: Water cooled to 50s. Discharges and river about same, making for tougher fishing for crappie, bluegills and bass. FOX: Pete Lamar: Lots of rock bass and some smallmouth in deep pools of tribs, all on white streamers. KANKAKEE: River is wadeable. Some quality walleye ( see Fish of the Week). ILLINOIS: Illinois Valley Outdoors: Best for white bass is mouth of Spring on jig and minnow. Three- ways with minnows taking decent sauger and walleye. Good crappie at bridges and barge tie- ups.
CHAIN O’LAKES: Triangle: Suckers are taking muskies. Catfishing remains good with warm water. Arden Katz: Marie and Bluff are best for walleye ( see Fish of the Week), rip- jigging minnows in 10 to 13 feet. That also produces good white bass ( up to 16 inches) and some crappie. Try drifting if wind is right. Otherwise, try trolling at .5 to .75 mph. GREEN/ STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN: Howie’s: Bass are best from Egg Harbor to Washington Island. Perch are best downtown and in the Sturgeon Bay flats, Sawyer Harbor, Riley’s Bay and Little Sturgeon. NORTHERN WISCONSIN: EAGLE RIVER: Chamber of Commerce: Muskie bite going to suckers. Walleye early and late, though some deeper middays. MINOCQUA: Kurt Justice: Muskie are very good, including some multiple- fish days; best on suckers. Walleye are good to fair; best on larger lakes. SHABBONA: Park hours are 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. Lakeside is open through Sunday. Lakeside: Crappie ( more brush piles than cribs), muskie ( shallow) and walleye ( by handicapped pier and road bed) are top bites. Water is in mid- 50s. WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN: FREMONT: Bill Stoeger: White bass best from Rat to mouth of Poygan on minnows. Water holding around