Chicago fishing: Early kings arrive along with an overall holiday outlook

This is a weird year

Caught 3 nice sized coho and a steelhead before work. All in 74 degree surface water. There’s definitely kings in too. Just haven’t had any luck. My buddy Kirkland caught 5 steelhead out with his dad, and so did Dale Rehas.

I usually don’t coho skein like this until mid-September.

Well for those on the edge waiting for Salmon a few are starting. Still early but it is definitely good to see some early ones. Joe caught the first one I know of in our area here on Friday morning and another regular had 3 good hits on Saturday morning but never hooked up. A few have seen some jumping. Time to get out and start casting! . . .

Creeks really cooled off, and a few early coho and kings have shown up, despite warm nearshore water. And a slob brown!

Few salmon have already found their way into the creeks not a load yet but some. Spawn saks bait to try.

Hello Dale,

I wanted to let you know that the Wauconda Moose Lodge is sponsoring a Kids Fishing Derby on Aug. 31 from 7a.m. - 11 a.m. on Bangs Lake. This FREE event is open to kids ages 5-15, and the Wauconda Bulldogs IHSA Unified Division Champion anglers will be helping out. I’m including a flyer for the event with specifics. For registration and more information, contact Ed Lochmayer: elochmayer@comcast.net

This was formally an annual event for many years before COVID forced a pause. This will be the first year back.

Thanks for any exposure you can provide!

Regards,

Tim Howe

The hot weather has customers staying inside during the heat of the day. Morning and evening hours have been productive for bass and panfish. Top water baits are working well and very fun! REBEL POP R PRO is one of my top producers. Berkley Gulp minnows or wax worms will catch panfish. I prefer hard bottom areas like sand and gravel. Dave’s Bait and Tackle is open Labor Day 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

Hey Dale,

Here’s a recap of this past weeks fishing.

Area lakes- There was a full moon (actually blue) so the bite windows were going to be longer. Only problem has been the conditions with the NE winds and high pressure the last few days. The perfect day to get out and focus on the pannies. I found bluegill stacked up in weed pockets along the outside weedlines as water temps have dropped to 70-71. The bait of choice was a Wackem and Stackem Custom Baits split tail paired with a Wiggleyourworm_fishing wonderbread swirl jig. This has been my go to presentation all summer for bluegill. Crazy monkey was the color of choice today on the split tail. An aggressive jigging motion seemed to pull out the better ones from the pack. Catch a few and move on.

. . .

Here is the nature pic of the week courtesy of Hailey O’Malley.

TTYL

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale

On island lake the best bite is for bluegill. Late afternoon and evening has been the best time. Gills hitting both nightcrawler bits and red trout worms on small hook. I’m getting them on my favorite gapen ice jig in white with gold tinsel. The fillamentous algae has agae has again grown to problematic levels. Bass are under and around the algae mats and were hitting a worm dragged across the top of the mat. Missing more hits than landing. The neighbors are talking about the “weeds” and as they were the “weed” clipping watercraft was at work on Monday. I’m going to get back in the kayak this week and headed to Wisconsin this weekend with an extra day to chase the musky on a senko.

On the music front it was 2 gigs near water over the weekend. At a wedding party Saturday with midnite mile on the shores of Lake Fairfield. I took a few casts with no takers and sat enjoying the view before the show. And Sunday the conscious rockers finished our 3 show run at the dock at montrose beach. Before the show I hit the horseshoe and took some casts with a little cleo spoon . No takers but it was nice just knowing what is swimming out there. And Gozortenplat is ready to resume rehearsals with a set list for our friend Ray white who will be joining us in December at Shank hall in Milwaukee and Reggies in Chicago!

Tight lines and good health!
Rob

My brothers crappie slab, 1 lb on the dot

Fishing on the riverwalk is really getting hot, did 2 sessions last week with awesome results, multiple LMBs, a few crappies, and good size white Bass/Perch. Also managed to catch my 1st drum in 8 yrs, but hightlight was a 4.5 channel cat caught on ultralight on a crappie rig

... The Chicago river has still been doing really good on a lot of different species. Use minnows, worms, leeches, crayfish etc. …

Delavan Lake 8/26/08 through 9/2/08

Delavan Lake continues to have some great fishing and the good news is that it only gets better as we head into fall. Several species are active right now, so you can choose exactly what you want to fish for.

Largemouth bass have been slower than recent weeks; however they can still be caught on the main lake weed points. The best depth is 17-20 ft of water. Drop shotting green pumpkin finesse worms or nightcrawlers seem to be producing most of the action. Look for the fish by Willow Point, Browns Channel or by Three Flags.

Walleye fishing has been a bit slow. I did catch a few on nightcrawlers fished on a lindy rig in 21 ft of water. Also I have caught a few while trolling deep diving bass crankbaits in pearl color. The pearl color will mimic the crappie forage base of the walleye. Look for the fish by Assembly Park or by Browns Channel.

Bluegill fishing has been awesome. It’s the same old story; 18-20 ft of water, use leaf worms fished on either a Willospoon or a Hali jig tipped with wax worms. The best location is by the gray condo point or by the old Marina on the north shore (orange building). It’s a great time to take a kid fishing with the fish being so aggressive. Last Sunday, my son caught 20 keepers in less than ½ hour.

Good luck and have a great Labor Day Weekend. Remember that after Labor Day the boat traffic will slow down tremendously, the last few weeks have been extreme even at 5 a.m. – typically it’s me and Steve the park superintendant. With cooler water the fishing for trophies will increase. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Lake Geneva 8/26/09 through 9/2/24

Smallmouth bass are in two depth ranges. The fish I’ve been catching have been in 14-16 ft of water. My friends are catching them in 26-28 ft of water. When I tried the deeper water, all I caught on the nightcrawlers were northern pike. The best location has been by Knollwood or by the Military Academy. Most of my success is coming on nightcrawlers or drop shotting small 4 inch finesse worms. I expect the deeper bite to continue to get stronger in the coming days and weeks.

Largemouth bass have been spotty. The best action has been on top water fished in the early morning hours. Chug Bugs or Pop-R’s are producing most of the action. The occasional bass can be caught while Carolina rigging lizards or nightcrawlers in the 12-14 ft depth range. Look for the fish by Colemans Point or in Trinkes Bay.

Walleye are still biting at night, however I did hear of a daytime bite that has been occurring in the last few days. The fish are in 26-28 ft of water and are being caught on lindy rigged leeches. The key is deep water humps near the narrows. Some of the walleyes caught last week, were over 25 inches.

Bluegills have been biting really well, however the size has been a real factor this season. The last few years, it was nothing to catch 8 or 9 inch fish in deep water, this year it’s been a real chore to get the size. I’ve been catching 5-6 inch fish easily but they are too small to keep. Most of the fish are being caught on nightcrawlers drifted in 16-18 ft of water.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Fishing Report – 8/26/2024

By Mike Norris

Big Green Lake: The full moon late last week and a cool down in weather turned the bass on, and the bite was as good as it has been all year. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass are active out along weed edges and on gravel points. Drop shot rigs caught the most bass, but the most prominent bass were especially susceptible to jig and pig combinations. On the other hand, bluegills have thinned out and are easily spooked when sitting over them with a trolling motor on spot lock. You can still catch a nice limit, but it is best to be ready to move and hunt them out at various locations. Try drop-shotting with red or wax worms around Big Green Lake’s many deeper water cribs. Walleye fishing remains decent. Try trolling for them with crankbaits out along the edge of either the Baptist Bar or the Shale Bar.

Little Green Lake: There haven’t been any big bites at Little Green Lake this summer, but that all changed mid-week last week. Just about all species of gamefish in the lake turned on. Muskie and northern pike were active just outside of the Inlet. Try fishing for them with bucktails. Largemouth bass are located in and around the piers and can be caught on worms or jigs. And walleye are being caught by anglers fishing along the weedline with jigs and minnows.

Fox Lake: Fishing for largemouth bass and northern pike improved with the arrival of cooler weather late last week. Try working swim jigs or crankbaits wherever you find rock points attached to the numerous islands that dot the lake. Crappie fishing is fair on jigs and minnows out in the lake basin.

Hey Dale,

Here’s a recap of this past weeks fishing.

. . .

Kankakee River- The Kankakee river was the destination of choice today. Field staff Dave joined me as we waded at first light. The thought was to take advantage of the topwater bite, but that never developed oddly enough. I switched to a TRD tickle Z and Dave went to an erie darter. We immediately caught fish as the smallmouth were eating crayfish. Once the sun got over the tree tops, the fish went on a feeding frenzy. Fish were also caught later in the morning on bandit 100 cranks. Areas that had water willows with current held the most active bass. River is in excellent wading condition and very clear. Long cast were necessary. As noon time hit and the temps hit over 90, it was time to call it a day and go grab a burger.

. . .

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

DuSable Harbor very productive today. 6 medium-sized smallies and a 22” drum, all on a ned rig.

Well for those on the edge waiting for Salmon a few are starting. Still early but it is definitely good to see some early ones. Joe caught the first one I know of in our area here on Friday morning and another regular had 3 good hits on Saturday morning but never hooked up. A few have seen some jumping. Time to get out and start casting!

There has been a few nice Steelhead caught around the area also. No Perch that I know of. Other fish caught around the area have been Smallmouth, Rock Bass & Bluegill in the harbor.

Waukegan 08/26

Hi Dale -

Good news on the lake, there is colder water about 100 feet down and there are lots of staging coho, some staging kings and smaller salmon in 100 to 115 feet off Waukegan. More are to the North and up to the state line and Southern Wisconsin is ever better with more big kings holding there. The South wind this week should trigger the big kings to come in by Waukegan, maybe onto all the way tit he piers, but that’s possible.

Lake trout fishing is world class on the off shore reefs. We ran a pattern all last week where we get the lake trout limit then move in to the 100-115 foot area and get some kings and coho. Lakers have been great with yesterday’s trip getting 3 over 20 pounds, biggest 25#, 6 more 12 to 18 pounds. Jimmy Fly Mo rigs in Green or Orange and Yellow near the bottom were best.

Most of our kings and coho have been on Warrior UV spoons trolled fast, 2.6 to 3.3 mph. But other boats were trolling slower with flasher/fly combos and doing well too.

I think you will see alot of smaller “jack” kings spawning this year. We are getting a lot of them. The coho return looks strong for Illinois. We are getting much more than we usually do. I think this is going to be a good fall.

Scott Wolfe 312-933-0552

The last week of the summer is upon us. We’ve seen the temperature swings from upper 40’s for lows to mid-80’s for highs. One big day (8/23) of thunderstorms and rain, followed by a weekend of high humidity and heat. Fishing during this past week has been a bit off to be honest. Even the “action” bite wasn’t what was expected. Not all bad as we move past the full moon phase and see some temps level off after this Tuesday’s (8/27) cool down.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Fair – Bite not as active and size seeming to run smaller this week. Wacky Worms and Ned Rigs in the cabbage continued to work, though signs of Largemouth coughing up small Perch and Gills had moves to twitchbaits and swimbaits as well as lipless cranks over weeds scoring some nice LMB up to 19”. Hot muggy weekend provided good top-water action on Whopper Ploppers, Buzz Baits, and plastic frogs in the evenings in shallower weeds and pads!

Smallmouth Bass: Good-Fair – Like their green cousins, Smallies were a bit tougher to catch. Rock humps and some deep weed edges held biting fish. Drop-shotting small bait fish and crawfish imitations most consistent. Tube jigs and jig and creature baits also produced. Tubes better along weeds, jig/creature over rocks.

Bluegill: Good-Fair – Just like the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys, my Mother-in-law and the flying ants arrived this weekend. (I forecasted the ants, but wasn’t ready for my Mother-in-law)! Gills were good, slowed, but improved as they rose to eat the plentiful little buggers off the surface. Fishing high in the water column (1-2’ down) or on the surface with small dry flies or poppers scored well.

Northern Pike: Good-Fair – Best on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Live bait in the form of chubs or suckers on spinner rigs with wire leaders also scoring. This bite will improve as temps cool.

Musky: Good-Fair – Mostly reports of action fish (34-38”) hitting bucktails (Wizards, 700 Series Buchertails) over weeds. Larger fish toward evening on top-water baits (Tallywackers, Fat Bastards)

Yellow Perch: Fair-Good – Slowed mid-week but picked up over Sat/Sun (8/24-25) with warmer weather. Dragging 1/16 – 1/8 oz weedless jigs through heavy cabbage tipped with ½ crawlers or beavertails. Slip-bobbers with fatheads also effective.

Crappie: Fair – Bite hasn’t’ recovered from up and down weather. Most caught casting small jig/plastic combos over weed beds. Crappie minnows under small floats fished 2-3’ down at weed top level.

Walleye: Fair – The fluctuating weather hasn’t helped much. Redtails along deep coontail edges picking up a few fish. Rock bite has been mostly tough, but a few size exempt lakes giving up fish on large fatheads or half-crawlers.

Forecast for the last week of August and the coming holiday weekend looks like a cooling off by Wed (8/28) with lows in 50’s and highs in the mid-70’s. As we move into the week, the waning moon should be more to our favor, hopefully bringing some appetite to the fish!

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop

Trollers out of portage and Michigan city getting some kings and other salmon and trout fishing 120 to 150ft of water using mag spoons and paddles and flys most action is 75 ft down and deeper.

Few salmon have already found their way into the creeks not a load yet but some. Spawn saks bait to try.

Loomis lake in valpo still giving up a variety of panfish for those in boats moving around. Jumbo reds, beemoth and crickets are baits to use.

Slez’s Bait Shop will be open 5am till 5pm on Labor Day. We are fully stocked.