Panfish: Good reports of Bluegill in most lakes and rivers. Expect bites shallow, mostly less than 15 feet around vegetation. Papoose Lake, Turtlehead Lake, Lemont Quarries, and Tampier Lake have been productive locally. Great reports have been coming in from the Mazonia lakes along with the Madison Chain. Expect Redworms, Wax Worms, Gulp Alive Plastics, and standard bluegill plastics to produce consistent action.
Bass: Great fishing has been reported practically everywhere, from retention ponds in neighborhoods, to local lakes and rivers. Vegetation is a key to finding success, so focus on grass edges if throwing live bait, like a Medium Roach Minnow. Artificial lures have an advantage of fishing through vegetation easier and more efficiently. Try Swimming Worms, Wacky Rigged Stickbaits, Swim Jigs, Punch Rigs, Topwater Frogs, and Swimbaits for consistent fishing.
Walleye: The bite is still going in some places, with the best action on the Kankakee River near the Hydro Dam and the old train bridges. More reports recently from Wolf Lake suggest they are moved into their summer locations, holding to deeper water structure. Try trolling a Night Crawler Harness or thowing a Jig and Minnow if using live bait. Dropshots and Gulp Minnows rigged on Jigs are also an excellent choice.
Perch: Steady fishing has been reported just outside the Portage Breakwall. Lots of reports have been coming from the East, with good numbers and some quality around Michigan City. The Chicago fishing has been slower overall, but Perch have been caught around Cal Park, but significantly less consistently than Indiana waters. Perch Rigs and Dropshots have been the go-to, and most anglers are using Fathead Minnows. Inline spinners have also been successful recently.
Steelhead: Chicago has been hot with some great quality Trout being caught in the last couple of weeks. Montrose, Diversey, and the Navy Pier area has been the most popular. We have also received reports from further North, but fewer than from the city. For the Lake, try throwing Inline Spinners, Swimbaits, and Vertical Jigging Plastics. The steelhead have also been caught using Night Crawlers on a float along with shrimp. Trolling has been consistent as well, and the bait selection seems to be varied with reports of success on crankbaits, spoons, and flies in the last few weeks. Indiana has also been great, with Portage and Michigan City being the hotspots as usual. Michigan City Rigs on the Pier with Cralwers and Shrimp have been the most successful. Try drifting a bead, and casting a small Inline spinner in both Salt and Trail for good action on the tail end of this recent push of fish.
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