Northern Illinois April Hotspots???

[jlong]

Lot's of you from Illinois travel north to fish Wisconsin lakes and rivers. How about sharing some good early season (March&April) hotspots for us Wisconsinites to come down and explore? I've been eyeing up some of the small, shallow potholes that flow into the Fox Chain for some fast action with smaller fish. Where else could I go for a day trip (less than 2 hour drive from WI border) and have a good chance at connecting with a ski? Thanks for your help!!

jlong

[Da Bears]

Man, I wish I could help you on that one. I am trying to find those spots myself. I have tried the fox river a few times, but to no avail. It sounds like the Fox river might be good by Elgin, which, of course, is where I have not gone yet! Lake Shabbona has some good ski's, but lots of fishing pressure. There is a 4 day fishing seminar in Naperville, IL in march or April, being conducted by Spence Petros. Jim Saric will speak on the Fox Chain for one of those days. I plan on attending so I don't have to rely on driving to Northern WISC to musky fish! Check the new Musky Hunter mag for details on the seminar if you are interested, or I can post them here if you want!

Salmon fishing from shore in March is good at the Indiana power plants! Not the same as musky fishing, but fun!

[Matt Collins]

Shabbona is a good early season bet. Loon in Antioch has been good to me in the past in early part of the season. I know stocking isn't what it used to be on this lake, but it's still got some nice ones. Good pike population and Big largemouths. Fox River can be good at Montgomery esp.. Fish from shore with small twitch baits below the dam. Hiedekie, a cooling lake here in Northern IL is also pretty good for numbers of average size musky. For some reason I've done better for them on this lake fishing from shore with small twitch baits and jigs and minnows. Trolling smaller size shad style baits like bagleys and little ernies has worked too. For a shot at bigger fish, I would stick to Shabbona and the Fox River.

[mcurto]

JLong, you may want to try some of the southern lakes on the Fox Chain such as Fox Lake, Nippersink, Pistakee, the mouth of the Fox River, and the smaller ponds. There isn't much pressure (relatively speaking) on the southern lakes and the water warms much faster there. For more info on the southern lakes try to get a hold of Greg Kos. I think he does pretty well on the southern lakes. Maybe I'll see you out there in the early spring. Only live 5 minutes away. Post on the board when you are coming down.

P.S. You may want to give Pierce Lake in Rockford a try. Not sure on size or numbers of fish though.