Chicago fishing: Perch and what ice?

Still perch, perch, perch that’s about all u here.

Navy pier, and what everybody calls the 87th street slip for shore fishers has been fair to good most days using xl- fatheads, Rosie reds and lil pieces of shrimp.

Groups in boats fishing up in the river from 106th street and up and moving around a lot to get a decent batch of perch.

WE ARE STILL OPEN AND STOCKED WITH BAIT THROUGH SUNDAY DEC. 17th.

PERCH STILL LEAD THE REPORT. SOME STRONGER WINDS AND A FEW PASSING SHOWERS SLOWED THINGS DOWN AT NAVY PIER OVER THE WEEKEND. THE PERCH ARE NOT GONE JUST BEING A LITTLE HARDER TO FIND AND CATCH. SOME DAYS YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR THEM. SOUTH BY THE SLIP IS STILL OFF AND ON. TIMES OF THE DAY FLUCTUATING. SOME HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AT DIVERSEY HARBOR, HAVE NOT HAD ANY OTHER HARBOR REPORTS. BITE HAS ALSO BEEN VERY LIGHT I THINK MAYBE A CIRCLE HOOK COULD HELP? BITE HAS BEEN MOSTLY ON MINNOWS OF ANY SIZE BUT THEY ARE HITTING WORMS, SHRIMP, WAX WORMS & SPIKES. WE NOW HAVE RED SPIKES IN STOCK. DONT JUST STICK TO ONE THING IF WHAT YOUR USING ISN’T WORKING CHANGE IT UP!

I have some customers that are traveling north to ice fish. I am sure ice is forming and moving south everyday. . . . Make sure to tell those getting gifts or gift certificates for you this holiday season, to shop at your local favorite tackle store.

Hey Dale,

Here’s a recap from the past weeks fishing. Water temps continue to hover around the lower 40’s. The extended forecast for this week will keep them there with above above average temps expected. Bluegill have excellent during the major and minor bite windows. It has been non stop action during those periods. I’m finding active biters holding tight to isolated weed clumps or wood. Accurate casting is a must as they will not venture very far from cover to bite. A couple feet one way or the other will not entice a bite. The bait of choice continues to be a Wiggleyourworm_fishing custom 5mm ice jig in wonderbread tipped with a bees moth. A can’t beat this kind of action on the long rods in December.

. . .

TTYL

Ken Husker O’Malley

Husker Outdoors Waterwerks fishing team

Hi Dale happy holidays! The last of the ice fully melted last Friday on island lake so Saturday i got some minnows from Dave’s in crystal lake. After a full afternoon of fishing the bobber went down. I had to do a double take because I was shocked i actually got bit . Setting the hook i almost dropped the rod . A nice largemouth bass was netted by my neighbor jim . The fish hit a large golden roach minnow on a green google eye jig under a slip float and split shot in 4 feet of frigid water. All i could think was merry fishmas!

On the music front making first plans for recording more original material this time hopefully rock blues country and such. Lots of classic cuts from past to present to choose from. And the Bob Marley bash February 17th is on the calendar with hurricane reggae band. Hopefully i can join in on melodica.

Tight lines and good health!

Rob

. . . Some are still open water fishing here at the Dams on the Fox River. Live bait is the best under these cold water conditions. Walleye at the McHenry Dam, smallmouth below Algonquin. Make sure to tell those getting gifts or gift certificates for you this holiday season, to shop at your local favorite tackle store.

Fishing Report – 12/11/2023

Mike Norris

Big Green Lake: We lost what little ice we had late last week when air temps rose into the mid-50s. While that was terrible news for hard-water anglers, soft-water anglers took advantage of the open water and warm weather. With clear water and a maximum depth of 236 feet, Big Green Lake doesn’t freeze until mid-January, and monstrous fish can roam the shallows this time of year. And despite the December cold, I still hunt for northern pike, smallmouth bass, and walleye this time of year. Live bait rigging is my preferred method for catching smallmouth. And for brave anglers targeting walleyes after sunset, casting and trolling crankbaits near gravel-strewn bottom structures can be rewarding.

Beaver Dam and Fox Lake: Both lakes had just enough ice to support anglers walking, and nice-sized crappies were the reward. But that all ended late in the week with the above-normal temperatures. Unfortunately, there are always a few who think the ice is still safe, and I know of two rescues that took place on Beaver Dam Lake last Wednesday and on Friday. Before venturing out, check on ice thickness with friends or local bait shops. And always go with a buddy who can help get you out if you fall through the ice when traversing early-season ice, or don’t go at all.

Last week 50 degrees, water went up to 47 in the pm. Deep water fish fed a bit on slow moving baits. Weekend cold front will slow things down again. G. Peters

My buddy [Andrew Haywood] got his first perch and lake trout on friday! Lol

WE ARE STILL OPEN AND STOCKED WITH BAIT THROUGH SUNDAY DEC. 17th.

PERCH STILL LEAD THE REPORT. SOME STRONGER WINDS AND A FEW PASSING SHOWERS SLOWED THINGS DOWN AT NAVY PIER OVER THE WEEKEND. THE PERCH ARE NOT GONE JUST BEING A LITTLE HARDER TO FIND AND CATCH. SOME DAYS YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR THEM. SOUTH BY THE SLIP IS STILL OFF AND ON. TIMES OF THE DAY FLUCTUATING. SOME HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AT DIVERSEY HARBOR, HAVE NOT HAD ANY OTHER HARBOR REPORTS. BITE HAS ALSO BEEN VERY LIGHT I THINK MAYBE A CIRCLE HOOK COULD HELP? BITE HAS BEEN MOSTLY ON MINNOWS OF ANY SIZE BUT THEY ARE HITTING WORMS, SHRIMP, WAX WORMS & SPIKES. WE NOW HAVE RED SPIKES IN STOCK. DONT JUST STICK TO ONE THING IF WHAT YOUR USING ISN’T WORKING CHANGE IT UP!

QUITE A FEW LAKERS IN THE MIX SO BE READY FOR A NICE FIGHT. YOU CAN USE LARGE SHINERS OR JUST JIG A NICE BLADE BAIT, JIGGING SPOON OR CAST A LURE. WE HAVE A NICE SELECTION OF JIGGING SPOONS.STEELHEAD STILL HITTING AROUND THE HARBORS ON THE USUAL BAITS LARGE SHINERS, CRAWLERS, SHRIMP, HAIR JIGS WITH WAX WORMS, OR CASTING LURES.

PARKING AND PIER PASSES AVAILABLE HERE.

JUST GET OUT AND TRY, YOU CANT CATCH FROM THE COUCH!

Powerlining Rainbow on government [on Monday], not me a friend

Good morning, The pic I sent you was from yesterday from a friend of mine who fishes the pier alot.

Things got a little wet and slippery for a while on the ice as the warm up late last week melted off the light snow from the early part of the week. That was OK, we didn’t lose ice just that annoying snow cover. Unfortunately, more snow came in with the drop in temps to cover things back up. Fishing was fair to good overall, not at all like the previous week, but rarely do we see action that good.

Walleye: Good-Fair – Jigging raps and spoons still taking fish, just not as aggressive of a bite as earlier. Tip-ups with medium golden shiners or river shiners still scoring in that 6-10’ of green weeds. Pre-dawn and dusk best.

Northern Pike: Good-Fair – Big shiners and suckers on tip-ups tops. Anglers using Jaw Jackers baited with the same having fun catching on rod and reel. No big Pike reports this week, but plenty of eaters.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Fair – Liking the warm up last week. Flags flying for anglers using medium shiners on tip-ups for Pike. Plenty others caught by Bluegill and Crappie anglers.

Bluegill: Good-Fair – Tentative at times, lots of talk of lookers but not biting. When this happens best to go small. Try a 2.5 mm tungsten tipped with a single red spike or smidge of plastic. An active presentation draws them in, but once they show up on your locator or camera its best to go small and slow.

Crappies: Fair – Once again, cautious bite. While Crappie minnows had been the preferred bait last week, a switch to a smaller, more subdued presentation was needed by the weekend. One exception was anglers fishing deeper water, 20-25’, there tip-downs with small minnows best.

Yellow Perch: Fair – Not being targeted, but incidental catches by Crappie and Gill anglers.

Looks as if this cool/warm pattern will persist through Christmas Day. Luckily the warm just takes the top layer (snow) down, then cold (teens 12/11) firms things back up. Unfortunately, the cold we need to really build a nice base (12-15) isn’t in the forecast for the next two weeks. Walking and checking are safest forms of travel for now, most reports of ice thickness range 3 ½-6, some North (South facing) shorelines thinner.

Upcoming Tournaments

Jan 6th – 73rd Annual Rib Lake Area Ice Fishing Contest – Rib Lake

Jan 6th – 16th Annual NCO Club & AMVETS Post 724 Ice Fishing Tournament – Lake Nokomis

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sports Shop – Like us on Facebook

Still perch, perch, perch that’s about all u here.

Navy pier, and what everybody calls the 87th street slip for shore fishers has been fair to good most days using xl- fatheads, Rosie reds and lil pieces of shrimp.

Groups in boats fishing up in the river from 106th street and up and moving around a lot to get a decent batch of perch.

Crappie are being caught fishing the boat slips near 249 bridge down from portage marina using minnows. Must be in a boat to cover water moving dock to dock.

Hi, Dale! I hope that you & your loved ones are gearing up for the holiday season. Here’s what’s been happening in the fishing world in our area during this very special time of year:

Perch fishing in the slips & on the Little Calumet River is still going strong. Fatheads & rosy reds are working great, with the latter taking a slide edge in catches; beemoths as a backup are holding their own also.

Pier fishing for Steehead is really starting to take off; those venturing out are catching good numbers of fish on skein & shrimp.

Whitefish are still around, just not in big numbers; anglers are using single eggs or jigging for them.

River fishing has remained steady, with anglers mostly using small Maglips & Hot-n-Tots.

Some anglers are still catching nice-sized Crappies on inland lakes with minnows.

Anglers have also made us aware that they are having some issues with the excessive drainage of the annual Fox Lake waterway system from the army core of engineers; it has negatively impacted fishing in that area this time of year. The inordinate amount of water evacuation in the area makes current conditions difficult for boat launching from any Fox Lake harbor & Chain-o-Lakes region. Most of the fish in that area have moved to deeper water.

Though the overall bite has slowed down some due to the current shallow conditions of the water, Walleye are primarily the fish that can still be found-as their preferred movement is over shallow rock; anglers are working lipless crank baits & blades, primarily on drops adjacent to shallow rock.

Also in the Chain-o-Lakes area, duck hunting continues through this week-SO WATCH OUT FOR HUNTERS! There’s little worse than catching a decoy line in your propeller…

Ice conditions in the area are generally poor. A few fishermen venturing out on the smaller bayous, with perch and bluegill action has been good. The river did open up again, although when the ice left, so did the walleye. I fished 3 days last week, had 1-12 walleye.