A Look Back at the 2012 Coho Shore Fishing in Chicago

I started this blog three years ago, it's purpose was to be a journal of adventures in the Great Lakes region.  It kept me busy through some slow times, and took the back burner in the middle years.  I let it grow to an unsustainable point, with all of the forecasts, news, related stories, and links to other blogs and fishing venues.  I let it snowball and then I nearly killed it in the middle of last year, but given some distance I've realized that I miss it, and that I'd like to cut it back to the meat, what it was started for, to share stories with my friends and those who care to read it.

The first Coho Salmon of the year, on March 6th.

This spring we conquered the lakefront coho fishing like in no year before. We fished in the slim slice of daylight before the work day started, some days I had two coho on ice in my car, in the dark, in the cooler, in the trunk.  Away from everything, my mind full of the thought.  Those perfect coho scales covered my boots, they are still on some of the cork and carbon of my rods, I leave them there to remind me of the spring.

Two days after the first.

This year I was fortunate, I caught them under floats, with lures, with spoons, and with the trot line.  Every time I went out I caught fish, and everything I used caught fish.

One day three others joined me and in one morning we caught 34 between the 4 of us, myself catching 14.  The record warmth we had in the first quarter of 2012 brought the fish up from the south basin a month early, and they were only here for a short time.  Two weeks of perfect fishing, followed by a short spurt of brown trout, followed by only hopes that they would return, though I knew they were out in deep water, and headed north, toward the flotilla of boats waiting with peanut flies off Waukegan, Racine, and Milwaukee.

42 degrees.  When the surface temps hit 42 degrees, the fish will be here.  When they get to 40 it will be time to get out, though the water may take a few rays of sunlight before the fish get active.  Once you hit 45 degrees things will slow down, and 46 and up you'll see the slowdown kick in to full gear.  42 degrees and you can't miss.  Muddy water, clear water, wave action or glass, you'll find fish.

Coho Salmon Fishing Along the Chicago Shoreline

Hi folks, I'm back!  I had the rod and reels hung up for far too long and the urge to wet a line finally burned it's way to the surface.  Coho are definitely in thick up and down the shoreline this week.

After some recon pier walks late in the week I picked a spot, picked up long time Chicago Fishing comrade Mike, and we hit the pier.  We ran two power lines and casted crank baits and spoons.  The morning started slow, Mike hit a couple with a orange and gold K/O wobbler, from then on out it was steady action on the power lines.  We limited out just before we had to be back to the car.  First ever coho limit for both of us.  Just a wonderful spring day of Chicago fishing.

The Steelhead run has come and nearly gone and I will miss it this year almost entirely.  Reports have been mixed, but it sounds like if you put in the time to fish any river with a reasonable flow you'll likely find a dance partner.  It just may take some time and you will most certainly need to cover some water to find one.

Chicago Blizzard 2011 Photographs and Video

This week Chicago got more than 20 inches of snow accompanied by driving winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour.  I spent a good portion of it out in the snow and wind with my camera making what I could.  I have always been one to make the best out of a great storm and I feel content knowing that I didn't waste a minute of the blizzard.

Here you can see the storm's progression at my front door.

The Louis Sullivan Church at Leavitt and Haddon near my house.  A favorite of mine, my camera can't stay away from it.  Captured here at dawn and again in the early afternoon.

This is a good friend of mine, Matt Messner who I do much of my photography with.  We hiked the neighborhoods together in the worst of it and made a video which I will embed below.

Wild Weather Soaks Chicago's Lakefront

Yesterday I watched as waves built and wind speeds rose, finally things looked like they were going to peak and a couple of friends and I hopped in the car and headed into the gale.  We arrived at a parking lot, only to be steered away by police who said the waves were too big and that we would not be allowed to leave the parking lot with our cameras.  We scouted several other harbors, all of which had their token police cruiser.  Finally we found a spot to slide past the patrols (who were certainly doing their job, which I can not blame them for).  We hiked a few blocks and across a wide field through storm force winds and snow drifts finally to find ourselves standing in awe at Lake Michigan in the darkness.  Tremendous waves were rolling in on the backs of one another, crushing the seawall and throwing water in excess of 50 feet into the air.  The gale and freezing temperatures would instantly turn much of the spray into snow, where it was whipped away from vision into the blizzard.

At peak there were waves in the 25 foot class in Indiana.

At long last we couldn't handle the wind chill and we retreated to the car.  I readied my camera and set the alarm for an hour before sunrise.  I picked up my photographic counter-part, Matt Messner, and we headed again into the white.  We were not impeded by police this morning and arrived at Belmont Harbor just before sunrise.  As we set up the waves were crashing in with just as much force as the night before.  All told we spent about 45 minutes getting coated in freezing spray, our cameras were fogged, iced, and every other undesirable thing that could happen to a camera.  Tripods did little while perched on ice in 25 mph sustained winds, but we made the best out of what we had.

Matt cautiously waiting for a particularly crushing wave to finish breaking, shielding his lens from the spray.

 Enjoy the images, and please go out to the lake to see just how amazing this lake can be, even if from the safty and warmth of your car.  The waves should be good until the end of the day.

 

These are the current observed wave conditions.  Still very impressive.

Saint Patrick's Day in Chicago : The Green Chicago River

For those of you not able to get a glimpse of the Chicago River this weekend I bring you some photographs from a unique vantage point. My work brought me up onto the 28th floor of a downtown high-rise on the river where we photographed for the day. I snapped some images of the river and the spot that the river meets the channel, making for an interesting break line where the green water met the discolored North Shore Channel-Chicago River water.

A view of the Merchandise Mart and the green River.

A view of the spot the stain hits fresh water.

Looking back at 333 East Wacker with the Chicago River in the foreground, shot from in front of the Holiday Inn.

In Steelhead news, fish have pushed into Wisconsin tributaries and persistent anglers are buttoning fish. Look for warm ups this week to really get things going.

Enjoy the photographs and happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Chicago Perch Fishing Report : 12/20/2009 : Montrose Harbor

The ice is beginning to move in and perch are harder to find as a result. I found today at montrose harbor that getting away from the open water and fishing between the floating ice floes was the best way to find the fish. Perch were very scattered and the bite was lite when it did happen.

I hooked a few fish on artificials and a few more on cut bait made from a dead perch some other inconsiderate fisherman threw directly onto the ice.

Reports from Navy Pier sound similar, that you have to move around and work to find the school and when you do the perch are small. I caught a couple above 8 inches but most ran around 6 today.

The harbors still have a way to go before they lock up for the winter. Get out and catch some perch before you have to drill through to find them.

Chicago Perch Fishing Report : 12/13/2009

Perch are finally showing up in numbers in the harbors near Chicago, fishing picked up this morning at Montrose Harbor around 8:30 a.m. today and continued to be good until I left at 10:30. Between myself and two friends we pulled up around 75 perch in those 2 hours, 14 of which were winter keeper Perch in the 7.5-10 inch range. Shrimp on a crappie rig on the bottom worked well, artificial minnows and small spinners tipped with bait worked as well. Larger Perch hit the spinners but fish were far between using that method.

The code for the Montrose Harbor Docks (B Dock at least) is 3-4-5 this winter, this allows you to get out into the harbor and off the wall, move often if perch aren't biting to find an active school.

A friend took home the keepers in the photograph above, I gave some of my keepers to him and released the rest. A quick note, I was checked by the DNR today for license and limit. It is great to see the DNR out there enforcing some law. I wouldn't dare keep more than 15 perch or fish without a license. There is no where to run or hide and the DNR will catch you if you are poaching.

As the ice comes be safe and careful out there, a lot of fun will be had this winter on the ice but do some reading if you haven't been out before and always use common sense.

Asian Carp Fish Kill : Game Fish Saved

As I reported here a couple of weeks back they shocked the water pre-poison and removed as many game fish as possible. I only now have run across a tally of what was saved and in what numbers. Thanks to Dale Bowman at the Chicago Sun Times I'm able to bring those numbers to you today.

They are as follows:

Species saved and number:

largemouth bass : 63
smallmouth bass : 1
bluegill : 83
channel catfish : 10
grass pickerel : 2
black crappie : 1
walleye : 1
goldfish : 1
sunfish : 90

A Concerned Reader on Asian Carp

A reader here at Great Lakes Angler had this to say regarding one of my prior posts on Asian Carp.

"For the past 10 years the Chicago Park District has stock the Lagoons with Catfish that came from fish farms that used Asian Big head Carp in there tanks. One can only speculate how many Asian Bighead Carp were accidentally stocked in our lagoons in the last ten years.

Now the greatest concern is two lagoons (Lincoln park zoo south Pond & Jackson Park that had direct access to Lake Michigan. Lincoln Park Lagoon had a Fish Kill, I believe that Jackson Park lagoon maybe next.

Now I previously tried to bring all of this on several online Fishing communities in Chicago, but unfortunately my actions were perceived as just spamming & many just plain ignored my postings. One website deleted my posting stating that "this was there house". I know for a fact one of the online-monitors of that site works for CPD.

I've even contacted bob "The Fishin' guy" from CPD & he gave me a well rehearsed statement that "the Asian Bighead carp in the Lagoons don't pose a great threat in the lagoon because the fact that they need fast current to spawn/reproduce". Which I feel is absolutely BS! Even though the Lincoln Park south pond was not connected to the lake like Jackson park is, it still had a drain pipe that went directly to the Lincoln park lagoon next to LSD."

Due to reading Dale Bowman's recent articles in the Chicago Sun Times detailing catches of Bighead Carp in these very lagoons I'd say that this "concerned citizen" is on the right track.

Thanks for the input my friend, I value all constructive feedback I get and do my best to read any comments or emails that I receive. I found this particularly detailed and well written comment to be important to bring to the attention of all the readers.

Thanks again.

-Great Lakes Angler

A Quick Note on the Asian Carp Fish Kill

A single bighead carp has been found, and it looks as though this huge endeavor may not have been as necessary as previously thought. The sky might not be falling out yet, there is still hope.

The Army Corps of Engineers is doing a study to decide weather closing the locks in Chicago is a necessity.

Take a quick read through this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has sent a letter to the bosses at the Army Corps asking (demanding actually) them to take a quick hard look at the costs and benefits to closing the locks.

Today's Chicago Sun Times : Asian Carp on the Front Page

I suggest picking up a copy, or at the very least read through some of the article online here. The article speaks of the "boondoggle" that is the barrier, and of the poisoning of the channel tomorrow (Wendesday). Just under 7 miles of the river is going to be poisoned to prevent the advancement of Carp, although Dale Bowman does bring up some good points in his column, citing half a dozen or so cases of carp being found or caught in Lake Michigan already.

Photo from John Patsch/Sun Times

"The economic costs of these fish to the ecosystem would be tremendous - unquantifiable and irreversible."

Asian Carp : "Monumental Government Screwup"

From Freep.com, this article details the Asian Carp invasion even further. Delving into what it might do to our Great Lakes fishery and ecosystem, terms like "a potential desaster for many of our sport fisheries".

The carp have become the dominant species in the water systems they have intruded upon and show no signs of slowing down at the great lakes.

"I'd plan for the worst"

Read the article here, a part of the article follows:

Anglers in the Great Lakes watershed better fish as much as possible in the next decade. Chances are that yet-another monumental government screwup has let Asian carp into the world’s biggest freshwater reservoir, auguring a potential disaster for many of our sport fisheries.

The carp were 8 miles below Lake Michigan with only one upstream lock between them and the big lake, but the lock opens regularly. So there’s no reason to believe the fish detected above the barrier are the first to reach that spot, especially since they were discovered the first time that area was tested, or that others didn’t pass through months or even years earlier.

Truthfully, no one knows what will happen once Asian carp reach the Great Lakes. But looking at the Illinois River, where they’ve become the dominant fish species in a mere 10 years, I’d plan for the worst.

More Asian Carp News

This time it's from the Wisconsin State Journal, in Madison. Read the full article here.

I would agree in full that too much is at stake here for shrugging.

Read on:

"Too much is at stake for Wisconsin and the world's largest freshwater system to shrug off this threat as just another in a long line of invasive species.

The Army Corps of Engineers confirmed last week that Asian carp - which can grow longer than 4 feet and heavier than 100 pounds - were detected within 10 miles of Lake Michigan. They somehow spread beyond an electric barrier that was supposed to stop them.

The Corps now plans to poison a Chicago canal. Two navigational locks near the Lake Michigan shoreline also need to close or operate with much tighter restrictions because they may be the last barriers to the open lake.

Wisconsin officials should encourage a strong response to protect Lake Michigan and its delicate ecosystem from this latest and particularly worrisome foreign invader.

It's not that the Asian carp are inherently bad. But set loose on the Great Lakes, the monster fish could decimate native fish species and wreak havoc up and down the food chain.

The Asian carp eat huge volumes of plankton each day, leaving smaller and less aggressive competitors to starve.

The largest of the two Asian fish close to reaching Lake Michigan are known as bigheads. Yet the smaller silver carp pose their own unique threat.

Sliver carp jump out of the water when startled by motor boats. Some boaters in the Mississippi River basin where the leaping fish are abundant wear helmets to avoid being violently hit, according to the Associated Press."

A call to close the gates of the Chicago River.

One of the only remaining options to save the great lakes from an onslaught of Asian Carp may be to temporarily close the locks that link the Chicago River to the Chicago Harbor at Navy Pier.

An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel goes into more detail.

An excerpt from the article.

"The Asian carp appears to be not only on the doorstep of the Great Lakes, it's managed to push the door ajar and is trying to wriggle through. But before we get used to adding a carp menu to Friday fish fries, there are still some things authorities can do to prevent a full-scale invasion.

One key step would be to temporarily close the gateways and locks in Illinois that lead from Lake Michigan to the waterways that have already been invaded by the carp, as a coalition of environmental groups urged last week. Then monitor the waterways to determine just how far the large jumping fish has come, and poison those stretches where necessary to eradicate the fish"

It's going to be a long fight boys and girls, we had better hunker down and put on the boxing gloves for this one.

-Great Lakes Angler

More News on Chicago River Poisoning : Asian Carp

Some good news from freep.com, plans to shut down over 5 miles of the waterway near the Asian carp barrier are underway.

The following is borrowed from this article.

Closing a 5 1/2 -mile stretch of waterway and poisoning it is not something to take lightly. But it's more than justified by efforts to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

Starting Dec. 2, a multi-agency task force will close off a portion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal below the two electrical barriers intended to stop the carp from advancing out of the Mississippi basin and into Lake Michigan and the rest of the lakes. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turns off the newer, bigger barrier to inspect it, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will put a fish poison in the water and haul the carcasses to a landfill.

The barrier has been operating for six months and needs its first regular inspection, according to the Corps. Meantime, the older barrier is not considered sufficient to stop fish, especially smaller ones, from slipping through. DNA evidence from earlier tests suggests carp have come within a mile of the barrier. Hence the need for poison while the stronger barrier is down for inspection and maintenance.

Fisheries biologists have long experience with the poison that will be used and with a detoxifying chemical that is administered to counteract it. The antidote will be applied downstream to ensure no additional stretches of waterway are harmed, and then later in the poisoned stretch to return it to normal. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is contributing to the stock of antidote for the operation, and will supply up to a dozen crew members and whatever gear Illinois requests. As many as 200 people will be needed on site each day for the four to five days involved.

Some complaints have come from the shipping industry and barge operators who would have liked more lead time to prepare for the closure. But even those have been muted; most everyone seems to understand that protecting the Great Lakes takes priority here.

A third electrical barrier is supposed to be running by this time next year. In the meantime, another maintenance closure -- and presumably another round of fish poison -- may be necessary next spring.

Although it's an extreme measure, poisoning the canal should yield valuable information -- especially about how far Asian carp really have traveled -- that cannot be gleaned any other way. Let's hope the results don't suggest it should have been poisoned sooner.

We all must hope these plans are successful, as I've made clear in my recent posts, this is no matter to be taken lightly.

A Creative Solution to the Asian Carp Invasion

A great comment left on the article in the tribune :

My Bulletproof Plan

I'm going to take my boat to the barrier, run the motor in neutral to get the carp to jump, and when they do i'm going to punch one right in its face as hard as i can. As it falls back toward the water in a daze, i'll yell "and tell your friends to STAY OUT!!". Problem solved.

posted by rocketj3 on Nov 20, 09 at 1:44 pm

The Asain Carp Have Arrived

This is grave news to be sure. We might remember this year as the last year we fished the great lake before the plight of the Asain Carp arrived...

Straight from an article today in the Star Tribune:

"New research shows the super-sized fish likely have made it past the $9 million electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a source familiar with the situation told the Journal Sentinel late Thursday."

In news relating to river poisoning, as I discussed earlier this week:

"In addition to plans to poison the river, the Army Corps is scrambling to build a twin to the new barrier. It also is looking at building an emergency berm to prevent the fish from riding floodwaters from the carp-infested Des Plaines River into the canal above the barrier."

This is bad news readers. Bad news indeed. Please read the article in full :: here ::

Chicago River to be Poisoned : Asian Carp

Straight from the Chicago Tribune :

"Alarmed that Asian carp are swimming closer to Lake Michigan, state officials plan next month to poison a stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal."

"The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced Friday that it will dump Rotenone, a potent fish-killing chemical, into the canal between Romeoville and the Lockport Dam in early December."

"Poisoning the canal has been considered a last-ditch solution to preventing Asian carp from spreading into the Great Lakes, where the fish are considered a serious threat to the region's $4.5 billion sport fishing industry. The main deterrent has been two electrified barriers in the canal near Romeoville, but one will be shut off for maintenance next month, and the other is considered too weak to stop younger fish from swimming through."

I would be interested in viewing the shocking they plan on doing to relocate native fish. It is always fascinating to see the diversity of fish in a system.

Here is some more about the electro shocking.

"Before Rotenone is applied to the canal, crews will use electrodes to shock fish to the surface and identify sport fish that can be safely relocated. After the dead carp are sent to a landfill, the crews will apply another substance that speeds up the breakdown of Rotenone, a chemical widely used across the country to kill invasive fish.

Rotenone is not considered a serious threat to people or wildlife. Water quality experts from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will monitor water quality downstream to ensure the chemical doesn't drift beyond the targeted area. And the Sanitary and Ship Canal will be closed to boat traffic for up to five days."

We'll see if it works, and I'll keep you updated if I learn anything new.

-Great Lakes Angler

The Chicago River

Keeping tabs on the water and the city I live in. Shot this tonight on the walk to the train from work.

Kinzie Street Bridge

Chicago 2016 : What it Means For Fishermen

With the decision from the International Olympic Committee only hours away, I can't help but wonder if by tomorrow afternoon, fishermen along the lake front of Chicago my see numbered days.

I'm hoping that Chicago does get the bid, as it will mean Chicago will likely clean up Northerly Island and may even make quality improvements along the lake shore as a whole. I would be surprised, however, if at least some fishing access is lost along the shoreline.