Action tough along shoreline. Illinois trollers fishing bottom in 110-120 feet of water taking lakers on flies and dodgers or Spin `n Glows. Waukegan boaters fishing for salmon in 120-140 feet of water, 70-110 down, using spoons; perch fair, taking crabs at harbors.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
River stable and clear. Walleyes hitting wing dam faces, on tackle using three-way rigs with floater jigs or minnows, leeches or nightcrawlers. Bass taking off at Lanesville, above Sabula and Sabula Lake, hitting on white spinnerbaits; crappies and bluegills slow.
ROCK RIVER (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Channel catfish still strong on dip cheese; Lowell Park and Castle Rock areas hot. Few walleye taken below Oregon and Dixon dams. Good number of stripers taken at Steel Dam and Mill Creek, on spinnerbaits and minnows. Lake George best for crappies and bluegills, hitting on waxworms and redworms. Rock Island`s Potters Lake yielding few bluegills on waxworms.
CHAIN O`LAKES (STAR)(STAR)
Spotty activity throughout chain. Stripers still being caught at various depths, but most are hugging bottom, taking jigs and nightcrawlers. Bass hanging on rocky shorelines, taking top-waters. Northern pike slow; few muskies being caught early and late in day. Anglers taking crappies by drifting outside weededges in 8-12 feet of water in Pistakee. Catfish hitting on doughbaits.
KANKAKEE RIVER (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
River in good shape and wadeable. Catfish and smallmouth hitting at Kankakee Dam and state park area, on leeches and crankbaits. Good smallmouth action at Wilmington Dam, on soft-shells, artificial crayfish, crankbaits and twister tails. Warner Bridge, north island dam and area near Prairie Creek producing fish. Heidecke Lake slow, yielding bluegills, few stripers and catfish. Braidwood Lake warm, very slow. Mazonia Lake yielding bass, few crappies and bluegills.
ILLINOIS RIVER (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Starved Rock turning on for white bass, few sauger and walleye. Fishing from banks fair, better from boats in fast water; best bait jigs and minnows or spinners. Catfish still hitting from shore. Ottawa yielding abundance of catfish on stinkbait, shrimp and nightcrawlers; white bass good at Allen Park, Marseilles and mouth of Fox River, using jigs and minnows or small spinners;
smallmouth fair on jig and minnow; largemouth active in backwaters; few walleye and sauger at Marseilles Dam and on Fox at Dayton Dam.
FOX RIVER (STAR)(STAR)
McHenry yielding fair action for stripers, catfish and bass. Yorkville producing smallmouth on spinnerbaits, catfish on nightcrawlers, stinkbait. Geneva good for catfish on stinkbait, chicken livers, soft-shell crayfish;
smallmouth on crankbaits, small minnows.
FOREST PRESERVES (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Busse best for northerns on roaches; few bass on nightcrawlers; crappies on minnows, bluegills on redworms. Tampier yielding crappies on minnows, bluegills on redworms, channel catfish on `crawlers. Arrowhead producing bluegills on redworms, channel cats on doughbaits.
SHABBONA LAKE (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Walleyes improving in deep trees, on nightcrawlers and leeches in 16-18 feet of water; catfish active in same area and Somonauk Point on `crawlers, cheese, liver, shrimp, few on leeches. Muskies hanging around deep trees and no-motor area and taking big bucktails, large tandem spinners. Bluegills and lake perch being taken all over, on worms and `crawlers. Bass still hitting top-water lures, spinners and buzzbaits, few taking minnows and nightcrawlers. Crappies picking up over cribs on minnows.
LAKE OF EGYPT (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Angling picking up with cool weather. Crappies, bluegills and largemouth improving. Plenty of catfish available on minnows and worms. Few big stripers reported.
MICHIANA (STAR)
Lakefront action spotty. Wolf Lake producing few bluegills and panfish. Lake Michigan best for lakers in deep water. Potato Creek producing bass. St. Joseph River`s Berrien Springs Dam still yielding skamania, few kings and browns, on flies and Wobble Glos. Steelhead, kings and lakers taken in 100-200 feet of water off St. Joseph.
MANISTEE, MICH. (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Lake Michigan producing excellent steelhead catches in top 30 feet of 250 feet of water; fish averaging eight pounds, taking spoons. Manistee harbor piers producing chinook to 30 pounds on J-Plugs. Manistee Lake good for northern on sucker minnows and spinnerbaits; walleye at night good on crankbaits.
MUSKEGON, MICH. (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Good northern pike catches in Muskegon Lake. Walleye spotty in river and lake. Salmon and steelhead fair, perch excellent in Lake Michigan.
MADISON, WIS. (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Cold temperatures halting action. Bluegills tight in weeds. Bass slow. Anglers still getting walleyes, a few crappies at Waubesa. Few perch being taken on Monona and Mendota lakes; few smallmouth and walleye hitting on Mendota.
MERCER, WIS. (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Turtle-Flambeau Flowage area yielding muskies on bucktails and surface baits. Fisher Lake muskies taking suckers, walleyes on chubs. Grand Portage best for crappies, smallmouth and jumbo perch on nightcrawlers. Echo and Mercer excellent for walleyes on `crawlers.
EAGLE RIVER, WIS. (STAR)(STAR)
Cold front slowed action. Walleyes hitting jig and minnows deep next to weedbeds. Crappies available in weeds on slip bobbers. Muskies slow.
LAKE WINNEBAGO, WIS. (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Oshkosh area producing walleyes at mud flats. Perch taking helgrammites or small worms south of Garlic Island.
LAKE GENEVA, WIS. (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Panfish good mostly around piers on small minnows, worms and `crawlers. Walleyes spotty on `crawlers; few browns showing up. Largemouth bass active at Military Academy, 25 feet down in weeds. Smallmouth best in 17 feet of water on south shore, and 19 feet of water at Conference Point, using leeches, nightcrawlers and medium minnows. Northern best off Fontana Beach, Abbey Springs and Williams Bay, in 20-25 feet of water, and at the Narrows, 30-35 feet of water, drifting a foot off bottom and at tops of weeds, using large roaches or chubs, early morning, late afternoon.
LAKE ERIE (STAR)(STAR)
Walleye hitting at Toledo Shipping Channel, near Ohio, Michigan, Ontario lines, north of Niagara Reef and west of Rattlesnake and Green islands. Ruggles Reef area good, along with sandbar offshore six miles north of Lorrain. Fair yellow perch catches reported at Cedar Point, Green Island and Rattlesnake.
MICHIGAN RIVERS (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR)
Excellent trouting on the Au Sable and other Michigan Rivers, because of unusually cool, overcast weather.
