Flathead catfish and other beasts of summer fishing lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.
Joe Hirsch emailed the photo at the top and this:
My dad [Joe] aught this 35lb flathead out of the Kankakee river [on Memorial Day] weekend. It was the last bait (sucker) at the end of a slow day of fishing and was landed on walleye gear.
I love the flathead, but I love the joy of his dad even more.
This is one of a many flatheads featured this week.
LAKEFRONT PARKING
Chicago Park District’s parking passes ($20 for two months) for the anglers’ parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor (cash only) and the Northerly Island Visitor Center (credit card only, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, but call (312) 745-2910 first to make sure someone is there).
My column from Nov. 30, 2022, on parking the length of the Chicago lakefront is posted at https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/11/30/23485385/chicago-lakefront-parking-fishing
AREA LAKES
KID NOTE: On Sunday, June 11, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County holds a the free Just for Kids Fishing Derby for those 15 and younger on Sunday, June 11, from 8 to 11 a.m. at Silver Lake at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville. “Kids can register online, at 630-933-7248, or at the event. The Just for Kids Fishing Derby is an open house, and there is no capacity limit.”
Dave Kranz of Dave’s Bait, Tackle and Taxidermy in Crystal Lake and with his You-Tube channel, Dave Kranz Living the wild outdoors, texted:
The early heat has made the weeds grow very quickly. Many places have slop to fish for bass already. Daiwa 50 pound braid, 7’4 heavy St. Croix rod and a Spro frog will do the job.
Ken “Husker” O’Malley of Husker Outdoors emailed:
Hey Dale,
Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.
Area lakes-
Summer patterns for bass are setting up. With the lack of rain and hot temps, weed mats are setting up. Flipping a creature baits into open pockets can take quality fish.
. . .
TTYL
—
Ken Husker O’Malley
Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team
Pete Lamar emailed:
Hi Dale,
. . .
All the local waters are low due to the lack of rain, including lakes and ponds. I’m standing and casting from areas where I caught fish a few weeks ago. I went after some bluegills using a small store-bought panfish popper and did find some good-sized and colorful bluegills. What surprised me was that I caught as many bass as bluegills. I wouldn’t have thought that such a small popper would be worth their effort to chase it down and eat, based on calories gained v. calories expended. But they gave the two-weight rod a good test.
. . .
Pete
Rob Abouchar emailed the photo above and this:
Hi dale the bite for largemouth bass is very good this week. Bass hitting top water baits and soft plastics. Best baits have been a frog worked over duckweed and moss mats and texas rigged senko in 1 to 4 feet of water.
Last night i returned to rehearsal in milwakee as the first club garibaldi show is a few short weeks away
Saturday a quinnfest some great performances from midnight mile say what and Uncle pidgeon
I include the music report because it just makes me happy.
BRAIDWOOD LAKE
Open daily 6 a.m.-sunset.
District fisheries biologist Seth Love would like to hear from anglers on catches at Braidwood. You can email him at seth.love@illinois.gov.
CHAIN O’LAKES AREA
Kyle Tepper at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said about everything is about done spawning, so just they’re starting to see most move deeper; white bass and yellow bass are in 8-10 feet, mostly oon Channel and Marie; channel catfish very good on stinkbaits; frogs, Senkos and topwaters are working shallow for bass; panfish biting on little jigs, waxies or spikes under a slip bobber out deeper; muskies are going on bucktails and topwaters; jig and half a crawler or trolling work for walleye;flatheads are on the move.
NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.
NOTE 2: Stratton Lock and Dam is open 8 a.m. to midnight through Sept. 30
DELAVAN LAKE, WISCONSIN
Arden Katz said there were good bass on the west shoreline on baby Texas-rigged finesse worms.
Capt. Dave Duwe emailed:
Delavan Lake 6/5/23 through 6/12/23
Fishing in the shallows remains very good. Largemouth bass can be caught on two patterns; the shallow post-spawn, 4-5 ft depth or the deep weedline. The deep weedline has been the slower pattern since the majority of fish don’t seem to have made it out there yet, it will improve daily. The shallow fish can be caught by Lake Lawn or by the Highland Bay or Viewcrest Bay. I’ve been casting a Texas rigged weightless All Terrain Stik. Green pumpkin is the only color I’ve tied on. The deep weedline bass are being caught on Crank Baits that are trolled or by casting nightcrawlers fished on a lindy rig. The best locations are the Oriental boathouse or by the gray condos.
This last week, I’ve been catching some nice Smallmouth off the deep weedlines. The key is the weedlines that have rocks underneath. I caught several in excess of 19 inches. My presentation is lindy rigging nightcrawlers. They could be caught casting jigs with spider grubs also.
Northern Pike have been kind of slow. The water is still a bit cold for the deep weedline bite. I’ve been dragging suckers around with very limited success.
Crappie fishing has been awesome. Most of the fish I’ve been catching are in 10-15 ft of water right on the weedline. I’ve been casting small purple plastics on a 1/32 oz Arkie jig. Some days I’ve been catching one every cast. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or west of Willow Point.
Like the largemouth bass, the Bluegills have two patterns. They are moving shallow to spawn and the bigger ones I’ve been catching have been in 20-25 ft. These fish have yet to spawn. The deeper fish have been averaging a legitimate 9 inches. I’ve been catching them on half of nightcrawlers or leaf worms.
Walleye fishing has been slow. I’ve been catching one here or there but there isn’t a true pattern. My buddies who troll for them are only reporting one or two per day. The fish I’ve been catching are all lindy rigged nightcrawlers in 20-25 ft of water. Delmar subdivision or east of Willow Point are some of my best spots.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063
DOWNSTATE
PUTNAM COUNTY: Gene Jarka emailed the photo above and this:
In spite of the heat in Western Illinois this weekend, I was able to boat 7 decent fish at a public body of water in Putnam County. This one hit a 5 ‘’ Yamamoto Senko (Black with Blue Flake) on a weighless T-rig on the edge of some pads. The others were caught on a Rapala DT1 or on my new go to , Missile Bait’s 48 in Bruiser Flash. The 48 is great on a wacky rig, traditional T-Rig or Texposed with a 3/0 EWG and tail weighted. It’s got a unique shape and action that piques the curiosity of pressured bass that have seen a lot of traditional stick baits.
Tight Lines,
Gene Jarka Princeton Illinois
POWERTON: Summer hours—6 a.m.-8 p.m.—run through Sept. 30.
EMIQUON PRESERVE: Fishing is sunrise to sunset. Access permits and liability waivers are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Site is open through Sept. 4, sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Check regulations at http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-paddling-fishing.
SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.
FOX RIVER
John Paxton messaged the photos above and below and this:
Hello dale would love to have these fish featured in this week or next weeks article. My best friend and I both caught our Personal best flatheads while wading the river on memorial day . sight fishing them with 1/8 oz jighead and swimbait combo. It was a pretty sweet deal and a day I will never forget!
Then added:
Seans went 31 in inches 18lbs and mine went 34 inches 23lbs
My favorite part of this is their wading to fish flatheads.
Vince Oppedisano emailed the photo below and this:
Hey Dale,
As anyone would probably guess given the lack of rainfall this spring, Fox River water levels remained very low overall the the past week. Many different spots have become wadeable given the conditions.
Lots of hot, sunny days lately. Some days it’s been a challenge finding any bigger fish. Look for deep pockets, stronger water flow below dams, etc. Most days, early morning and evening have the best bites now.
Except for a few deeper sections, most of the areas in Kane County are tough to fish right now with any lures other than topwater. Water has been pretty clear lately and there is more weed growth every week. Get used to picking off weeds almost every cast, but put in the time and you will run into some good fish between all the dink smallmouth. My friend Len Cajic has been finding some real good ones lately. Caught my best smallie of the year so far Friday evening on topwater. The strikes are addicting. It’s that time of year...
Good luck with the new kayak!
If you’re wondering about the new kayak comment, see my report in the Mazonia report.
Dave Kranz of Dave’s Bait, Tackle and Taxidermy in Crystal Lake and with his You-Tube channel, Dave Kranz Living the wild outdoors, texted:
Catfish and Drum are all over the Fox River at Algonquin and McHenry dams. Use a night crawler or cut bait. Top water smallmouth action is also good! Remember catch and release until June 15th.
Pete Lamar emailed:
Hi Dale,
. . .
My daughter and I went to the Fox to practice our casting on moving water for an upcoming outing; she with her Tenkara rod, I with the trout spey. It was as low as I’ve seen it in a long time. I waded across in the Oswego area and never found water that reached beyond mid-thigh. There were shoals of carp, big numbers, just slowly circling an area. Everywhere there was slack water, carp were occupying it. Some caddisflies were depositing eggs and occasionally a carp would come up and sip it off the surface. On the way back out, in some faster water, I saw something leave the surface and swiped at it with my hat. It turned out to be a small-size 16 or 18-yellowish mayfly. I started looking for more after that and saw a fairly steady hatch: they’d rise to the surface, allow their wings to dry for a moment and then fly off. I consider the Fox, while it’s better than it was decades ago, to be pretty degraded; I don’t eat anything from it, not even walleyes, and don’t wet wade it. But I may have to give it a little more respect. Mayflies are part of a very pollution-intolerant order of insects. The water can’t be too terrible if mayflies are doing well in there.
Pete
Sticking to that low-water theme, Ken Gortowski emailed this:
Dale,
For the past 10 days the Fox River has been going up and down on a daily basis by about 75 CFS and this Tuesday morning it’s flowing at 478 CFS.
That’s the fluctuations in treatment plant outflow doing that. We had some spotty thunderstorms in the Fox Valley, none by me in Montgomery, so rains aren’t much of a factor at all.
For the adventurous wading angler, now is the perfect time to be out learning the river.
I always meant to do a Fox River version of what Mullady did for the Kankakee River. Would be helpful for others now.
Instead, well over 25 miles of Fox River and it’s creeks is permanently embedded in my brain.
I learned all of that during dry periods like we’re having now. Was well worth all the wading and walking.
Ken G
In the middle of Gortowski’s report is very good advice for low-water times.
GENEVA LAKE, WISCONSIN
Arden Katz texted the photo above and said that he and Kyle Tepper were caatching bass in 4-6 feet, mostly males on drop-shot rigs or tube jigs. On Friday evening, Katz found good panfish in 15-17 feet on red worms, spikes and Nailz’M Tails from Panfishpro.com
Capt. Dave Duwe emailed:
Lake Geneva 6/5/23 through 6/12/23
Fishing is fantastic right now. Both the largemouth and smallmouth bass are in the shallows and are readily available. With all the rain we’ve had, it didn’t seem to harm the fishing.
Smallmouth bass are concentrated in two depths. The spawning fish are in the 9-12 ft depth range and the post-spawn fish are off the first break in 20-22 ft. The best method has been casting grubs on a 1/8 oz jig head. Green pumpkin or smoke pepper are the best colors. I’ve also been using a drop shot rig with a 4 inch Yum worm. For finesse fishermen, the Arkie U bolt jig has been deadly. That is also rigged with a 4 inch Yum worm. The best locations are by the Military Academy, Elgin Club or by Fontana. For the 20-22 ft depth I’ve been either drop shotting 4 inch worms or drifting nightcrawlers on a lindy rig. The locations are similar to the shallow fish, just deeper.
Largemouth bass are in or around the piers. The best approach has been drop shotting 4 inch worms. I only use Root Beer or green pumpkin colors. The best locations are in Williams Bay or Geneva Bay. The best depth is 4-5 ft of water.
Rock Bass and Bluegills are everywhere. Most of the fish are in the 9-12 ft depth range. I’ve been getting them while drifting nightcrawlers. Now is an awesome time to take kids fishing, everything is shallow and biting hard.
Lake Trout are being caught while trolling spoons in the main lake basin. I prefer nickel/blue or nickel/green colored spoons. The best depth is 108 ft of water, 79 ft down. They are only biting at first light.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063
GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN
Guide Mike Norris emailed:
Fishing Report – June 5, 2023
Mike Norris
Big Green: Last week’s stable weather got the bass moving. Largemouth bass are active around the piers. You can also find them around emerging weed growth. Try working soft plastics rigged wacky style or on a jig. Some smallmouth bass have spawned, while others are still moving up. Giant bluegills are bedding in and around piers.
Fox Lake: Largemouth bass are post-spawn and on a feeding frenzy. Try swimming a Texas-rigged stick bait through scattered vegetation. Swim jigs are also working well. Bluegills are spawning around the piers and in the shallow backwater areas. With last week’s blistering heat, surface water temperature in the Government area is already at 83 degrees.
GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN
Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.
HEIDECKE LAKE
Bob Johnson emailed the photo above and below, and this;
Hi Dale - Made it out to Heidecke with my son Jake. It’s not easy getting together with his busy schedule and life but we were able to get out for an evening of fishing anyway. Heidecke is very low and water is extremely clear however algae exists especially with the drought of late. A good rain is needed!! So we did catch a multi species batch without any bigs consisting of Freshwater drum, Smallmouth, largemouth, striper and a couple crappies including this nice 14 Black Crappie Jake caught on a Ned Rig. 1st Bass took a frog off the surface. Water temps are upper 70’s. Dock talk said Walleye limits in 6’ of water. Jake brought his drone to lake and took some real nice video from a different perspective cranking it up to next level stuff. Very good evening of fishing action.
The kind of photo that helps me keep the faith.
Open 6 a.m. (6:30 bank fishing) to sunset.
KANKAKEE RIVER
Chris Johns messaged the photo above and below, and this last week
Hey Dale think this tank I got out of the Kankakee river might be a contender for fish of the week. Got her on a live bluegill and she came in just under 37lbs . Cpr to be caught again
I happened to be picking up my daughter at her camp job Friday to take her to Metra so she could get to the Taylor Swift concert and saw this guy fly fishing on Rock Creek near her camp. Stopped in time to see him catch a nice rock bass.
LAKE ERIE
Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.
LAKEFRONT
Art Martinez messaged on May 24 the photo above and this about catching this on a Flicker Minnow 11 at Waukegan:
Caught this out of Waukegan, jumped out of the water about 8 times
Dan Bernstein, midday host on The Score, tweeted about Belmont Harbor on Monday:
Got two smallies there today, and battled a bowfin that (thankfully) flew off my jig before I had to decide how to handle it. A 30 pike with a recent side-wound cruised through, as did an 18 channel cat.
He added:
I have become a Chicago fishing eccentric.
As an old English major, I might suggest that is a redundancy.
Stacey Greene at Park Bait at Montrose Harbor texted:
Hi only report of late is sheephead on the Horseshoe soft shells and pond crabs
Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters said fishing is good, some days real good, some days a litle slower, mostly coho, lsome akers, occasionally some kings, some steelhead and a few browns.
Off Chicago in 60-100 feet for coho, surface down to 40, spring Yellowbirds still working; NP, 50-90 straight out, Zion to Kenosah, Wis.; a few fishing shallower, but majority fishing the hills; coho, lakers and a few kings; if you find a spot, work it.
Capt. Dan Leslie at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan said boaters are going to 100, mostly on spoons (kings on orange) and some on Dodgers and flies, takes searching for a mixed bag of lakers, coho, a few kings, a few steelhead and even a few browns.
PERCH: Season is closed through June 15, on Illinois’ Lake Michigan.
LaSALLE LAKE
Site is open daily 6 a.m.-sunset. As a perched lake, boating is closed when winds top or will top 14 mph. Check daily updates on boating at (815) 640-8099.
MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN
Click here for the update from D&S Bait, Tackle & Fly Shop .
MAZONIA
I fished one of the smaller lakes at Mazonia South Saturday to break in a new kayak. Caught crappie, largemouth bass and bluegill. I mainly focused on bluegill with small jigs, Mini-Mites, waxies or crawler pieces. Biggest bluegill were tight to the vegetation, which required precise casting.
Hours are 6 a.m. to sunset.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Juan Macias messaged he photo above and this:
Hi Dale,! Decided drive last night Sunday to mississippi river and warm weather holds very good bait in all species of fish start fishing Saturday about 7:00 pm with my friend Silvio posavec we landed 3 nices flat head and 8 channel catfish with Canadian worms and cut bait,earlier morning start casting plastics for withe bass right away they start baiting on minow gulp and crappie tunes many catches of small mouth, drums and about 50 withe bass with final bonus on this beautiful wiper fighting for about 20 minutes on the current with 4lb test line beautiful morning on the Mississippi!!!
NORTHERN WISCONSIN
Ken “Husker” O’Malley of Husker Outdoors emailed the photos above and below, and this:
Hey Dale,
Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.
. . .
Northern Wisconsin-
The weather over the weekend was hot. With ice out just happening a month ago, water temps are in the high 60’s to low 70’s on the main lakes with shallower bays being mid 70’s. The mosquitos are extremely bad right now, so once sunset hits it’s time to get off the water.
Smallmouth bass are very good on ned rigs, topwater, jigs, and drop shot on rock humps and main lake points with rock. Some are on beds right now.
Largemouth are staging and cruising shorelines midday. Pitching senkos will take the aggressive ones.
Crappie are up shallow in wood and areas with emerging coontail. A variety of plastics will take active biters.
Bluegill are up shallow with some being on beds. Dragonfly larvae imitating baits will take active biters.
TTYL
—
Ken Husker O’Malley
Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team
Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:
Unseasonably hot weather the past week (three days hit low 90’s) have had water temps soaring. Surface temps in the mid-70’s are common with some reports of temps hitting 80+. Fortunately, the coming week sees some cooling with daytime highs in mid-70’s and lows at night in the 50’s.
Luckily, fishing has been hot! Weed growth to hide the bugs and minnows hatching, as well as Largemouth Bass and Gills moving in to spawn, have given anglers lots of options.
Walleye: Very Good-Good – Weed bite is on. Anglers working cabbage of 4-8’ finding plenty of fish using 1/16 oz weedless Invasion jigs to present leeches and fatheads doing very well. With all the cloudless days we’ve had, any wind has helped.
Smallmouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Catch and Release only. Spawn winding down, but great action on Ned rigs, Wacky Worms and top-water. Post spawn Smallies out on first break away from spawning areas (usually 8-12’) smashing Husky Jerks, X-Raps, Rattlin Rouges. Working craw imitations on jigs putting some nice 18-20 fish in the net.
Largemouth Bass: Very Good-Good – Starting to bed and working shallows. Lots of top-water action on Chug Bugs, Torpedos. Wacky worming and Ned rigs easy choices. Shallow cranks and light (1/8 oz) bass jigs with craw trailers.
Bluegill: Very Good-Good – Bedding up and aggressive. Poppers on fly rods or behind small floats. Thunderbugs, small leeches, worms or tiny tubes all being gobbled up.
Yellow Perch: Very Good-Good Active in same weed areas as Walleye. Nice eater Perch of 9-11 being caught on leeches and minnows meant for Walleyes. Thunderbugs a favorite of Perch, the hatch is happening quickly now with temps so high, so availability will end soon.
Northern Pike: Good – With attention in the weeds for Walleye, some Pike getting caught, but not when Walleye seem to control the cabbage. Still some nice Pike to 30 this past week. Live bait out producing artificials.
Crappie: Good-Fair – Spawn being over, Crappies recovering. Very scattered throughout 8-12’ weeds (Narrow leafed cabbage). Fan casting through weed tops with small beetle spins, Crappie Thumpers and Slider Charlie Bees best bet for finding scattered fish.
Musky: Good-Fair – Smaller bucktails and surface baits producing best action for anglers working shallows of 4-10’.
These unusually high-water temps help to accelerate fish metabolism, causing the need to feed more often. The bright sun is a negative, but target low light times (early mornings, evenings) and any wind to offset the light. Would not be surprised to see some Hexagenia (big mayfly) hatches soon due to heat. That will put a damper on the Walleye fishing we’ve been experiencing. But hopefully a couple weeks away.
Kurt Justice
Kurt’s Island Sport Shop - Like us on Facebook
NORTHWEST INDIANA
Jason “Special One” Le texted the YouTube video above on fishing at Michigan City.
Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted the photo above and this:
Bluegills going strong at area lakes and ponds using crickets and red wigglers
Steelhead action on the pier in portage and Michigan city is fair few fish caught daily using shrimp or nightcrawlers under a float and some caught casting spoons and arctic spinners.
Few catfish being caught from portage marinas public fishing pier. Cut skipjack or shad best bait
Salmon and trout going good for trollers fishing straight out of portage in 60 to 80ft of water. Dodgers and flys,spoons and spindoctors and flys doing good.
Christina Petrites at Stan’s Bait & Tackle Center in Hammond emailed:
Hi, Dale! The upcoming moderate, yet still warm weather is definitely something to look forward to! And fishing in our area is doing absolutely wonderfully!
Fishing remains strong on Lake Michigan, with anglers catching good numbers of Coho.
Fishing on inland lakes has picked up a great deal, with the Bluegills moving up onto the beds; beemoths & redworms are working best.
Walleye on the rivers is a bit little slower, but performing best on Wolf Lake. Spinners & leeches are working well.
Catfishing is heating up nicely with the water temperature. Sonny’s stinkbait & mealworms are working well on the lakes; various cutbaits & crawfish are performing well in the rivers.
ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN
Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.
SHABBONA LAKE
John Honiotes at Boondocks reported bluegills going evenings near shore; bass are good on the weed lines; hybrids on chicken livers; crappie in no-motor zone and trees; water in low 70s.
Site summer hours—6 a.m.-10 p.m.—run through Oct. 31.
Boondocks’ bait shop is open daily, 6 a.m.-7 p.m.; restaurant hours are 11-8.
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT
Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.
SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said drum, including a 15-pounder Tuesday, and a few skamania off the pier; anglers drifting the river for walleye.
Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.
WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN
Gary Bloom messaged photo above and this from Winnecone over the weekend:
Top t no bones Northern pike.
