May 15, 2014

Fox River: The smallmouth bite is starting to slow down as the river levels are fluctuating a lot with the recent rains.  Both live bait as well as artificials are allowing fishermen to bring a few fish to hand. Jerkbaits in a shad pattern or white twister tail grubs on jigs are the top producers. 

Lake Taylorville: The crappie bite is picking up on minnows. Bass fishing is slow. Water conditions are murky. Dawson Lake: Bass fishing has ranged from good to fair with most bites in early afternoon and mostly small males. Females are still staged in channel waiting for water to warm. Crappies are fair and have improved

Crab Orchard Lake: Fishing is good across the board. Crappies have moved to the banks. Anglers are taking fish on minnows and jigs. Bass have also moved into shallow areas and around the points. Fish can be taken on a variety of baits around shoreline cover. Bluegill action has also been good on crickets and

Lake Michigan: There have been good reports of a mixed bag of fish being caught out of Waukegan in the 20-35 feet water range. Coho are being caught with body baits and smaller flashers and peanut flies. The trout action in downtown harbors has started to slow down. Some of the shore anglers are still