SPOT, RATE, QUICK HIT
Lake Michigan (Chicago lakefront)
**
Downtown locales relatively quiet, although a few perch reported. It’s busier near Indiana and near Montrose Harbor, where rock bass are active near shore. Anglers still waiting for salmon to move in.
Lake Michigan (Northwest Indiana)
**
Trout and salmon action spotty over past week, with a mixed bag of cohos, kings, steelheads and lakers in depths ranging from 40 to 90 feet. A few steelhead caught off Michigan City pier last weekend.
Lake Michigan (Lake County)
** 1/2
Salmon action increasing with kings starting to show up in harbors. Best in early morning and in evening. A few steelhead and browns also in mix. Boat anglers finding salmon in 50 to 120 feet of water; shallower in morning and progressively deeper as sun warms the lake.
Southeast Wisconsin
**
Perch hit-or-miss for Kenosha shore anglers; trollers catching good numbers of chinook in 40 to 60 feet on spoons and J-plugs (green or silver). Similar situation for Racine-area trollers. Shore fishing for chinook and perch near Milwaukee is slow. Trollers finding chinook, plus a few coho and lake trout, in 80 to 120 feet of water.
Chain O’ Lakes
****
High water levels expected to peak by Thursday with river portions closed and lakes under a “no wake” provision. Fishing is excellent throughout system, with walleyes active around bridges on fatheads, leeches and crawlers. Stripers strong near shore and seawalls. Bass are good at edge of weedlines on spinner baits. Northern and muskie picking up. Catfish also active around bridges.
Kankakee River
** 1/2
River still high, but dropping in some spots. Catfish good in Indiana around the point, north of English Lake. Best on minnows, crawlers and catfish cheese. Try large minnows for pike if river and ditches are down to normal in Indiana and Illinois. Some smallmouth bass in Illinois near Momence, Aroma Park and Wilmington through Des Plaines Conservation area.
Fox River (Batavia)
***
Water levels down and current slowing, but still around 7,000 cubic feet per second at midweek. Hungry fish are avoiding currents and are stacked in shallows and near shoreline, but sometimes are hard to find. Active species range from smallmouth to catfish to walleye to bluegill.
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Compiled by Jack McCarthy from pro and bait shops and state natural resource reports.
