Welcome to the Chicago Fishing Links Mail Bag of Comments, Suggestions, Compliments and Insults.

This is the place where I try to help out visitors to the site, thank them for advising me of content or navigational errors, or just take one on the chin.  While I can't always guarantee optimum results, I do encourage visitors to send questions, comments or suggestions.  I work hard to provide as much information as I can, and welcome anything that may help improve the site.  However, I reserve the right to interject humor and/or sarcasm when necessary.  E-Mail can be sent to the following address:  Comments@ChicagoFishingLinks.com.

More mail coming soon, as time permits.

Fishing 1st week of April

I am a very keen flyfisher living in the UK, and will be attending a conference in Chicago the 1st week of April.   I'm very keen to get a day of fishing in, preferably salmon or trout.   I obviously want to make it a day to remember!!  Any suggestions?
Mike

Response:

Mike,
You picked the right time of the year if you are interested in Coho Salmon or Brown Trout.  As a matter of fact, this should be the best weekend of the winter/spring.

The Coho run north from Indiana to Wisconsin.  Right now they should be getting hot just inside the Indiana border from Chicago.  As the weeks go by, they run through the city from south to north before going all the way up to Wisconsin.

You may be able to catch part of the run when you are in town.  Check out the Lake Michigan section of my site to get the locations of the public access areas to the Lake.  (http://www.chicagofishinglinks.com/lakemichigan.htm)  All access areas in the city are Chicago Park District property and close at 11:00 p.m.  You may also want to view the maps I have on the main page.  You can customize your own maps at www.MapQuest.com

Once you have that information, the next thing to do would be to monitor the fishing reports to see were the fish are hitting.  My Fishing Reports page has several good sources to choose from.  (http://www.chicagofishinglinks.com/fishingreports.htm)  The best reports come from Dale Bowman's column in the Wed. and Sun. editions of the Chicago Sun-Times  (http://www.suntimes.com/index/outdoors.html), and from Henry's Sport and Bait Fishing Hotline which is (312) 225-FISH.  You can also hear the report on the Internet via Henry's Website (http://www.henryssports.com).  Interactive message boards are also a good source.  There are several that cover the Chicago area; www.ChiTown-Angler.com and www.ChicagolandFishing.com are two of the most popular.

Once you are in town, you can get Bait and Tackle at Henry's.  Henry's is just outside of the Downtown area, and a few miles down the street from the 31st Street pier.  You can check out my Illinois Bait Shops page (http://www.chicagofishinglinks.com/illinoisbaitshops.htm) for others in the area.

If you want to book a Charter out of Chicago, you can check my Illinois Charters page (http://www.chicagofishinglinks.com/illinoischarters.htm) for Charters in the area.

If you are interested in knowing what the Fly Fishermen are doing, you can visit http://www.steelheadsite.com for message boards and reports, or http://www.chicagoflyfishingoutfitters.com for reports, tackle and information on were to try Fly-Fishing.

I'll also forward your letter to a few guys in the area who fish the lakefront on a regular basis.  They may be able to provide you with some useful tips and tricks.  I'll also post your letter on my site, and forward to you any feed back that may be useful.

I hope I was able to assist you, and I also hope you enjoy your stay in Chicago.  Let me know how things work out for you.


JD

Musky Fishing

I am going Musky fishing at Lake Namekagen Aug 11-17. I do not have any gear heavy enough. Is it possible to rent gear either here in Chicago or up at Lake Namekagen. Any help on this matter would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Barrett O

Barrett,
I don't know of any places around here that offers tackle for rent. Your best bet is to do one or all three of the following:
1) Check my listing of bait shops in that area and call around. I've included some of them here, but I'm sure there's a few smaller towns in the area that have bait shops as well so you might want to cross reference the list with a map of the area to make sure you get as many as possible.
2) If you are staying at a resort, call ahead to them.
3) Consider muskie fishing with a local guide. Not only will that help you find the fish, he/she probably has enough gear to outfit clients. You might even be able to talk him into letting you borrow or rent equipment for a few days after using his services.

Good luck with the fishing let me know how you did and any recommendations to pass along to others regarding that area. Look below for the bait shops.

JD

Lake Michigan Charters

King Olaf has at least two boats, as does Capt. Al's. Both can be found within my Illinois Charters page.

Thanks for visiting ChicagoFishingLinks.com

JD

More Lake Michigan Charters

Although there are numerous harbors in the area, there are two main harbors within the city limits that have Lake Michigan Fishing Charter boats:

Burnham Harbor is located downtown. It is on the East side of Soldier Field, next to the airport and between the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. There is plenty of parking around Burnham, but very little of it is free. You can use any of the pay lots (the East side near the football field is best), or you can feed a parking meter along Planetarium Drive (watch the time limits).

Diversey Harbor is located just a couple miles north of the loop at Lake Shore Drive and Diversey Ave. Diversey Harbor also has plenty of parking, some or most may be free of charge.

Both harbors are a short cab ride from any hotel in the downtown area, and there is a chance the Charter Captain may be able to assist your parking needs.

I've included a list of all Burnham and Diversey fishing charters that are listed on my site, I've also included the web site and/or e-mail addresses, if applicable. You can also link to them all through my Illinois Charter page:
http://www.chicagofishinglinks.com/illinoischarters.htm

I hope you find this information helpful. Let me know how the trip works out, I'll even post any pictures you send. Don't forget to look below for the listing, and thanks for using ChicagoFishingLinks.

JD

Need Help

Do you know of a syndicated columnist named Orrin Brand.  He claims to work out of Chicago.

Thanks
Matt

Response:

Matt,

I can't say that it's a familiar name.  I did a search with Google and found that the only match was a character in a series of Harlequin Romance.  Although it was amusing, it didn't help you much.
You might want to try the Outdoor Writer's Association of America (www.owaa.org).  They may be able to help you track him down, or tell you who he might work for.

Good luck,

JD

Cal Sag Fishing Spots

I'm fishing a tournament June at the Alsip boat ramp. This is new water for me do you think you can give me some help fishing there?

.Jeff

Response #1:

I recently read an article that had described the fishing conditions on the Cal Sag.  I believe it even mapped out some hot spots.  I believe I still may have that article.  I'll dig through my material this week and send you a scanned copy of the article when I find it.

#2

Jeff,
I finally came across the issue of Illinois Fishing and Hunting News (April5-19,2001) that had the Cal Sag map.  I scanned both pages and a shot of the map, and made .gif files.  I'm sending each to you.  I hope this helps.

JD

Thanks for  taking time out to help me fish the cal/sag better. - Jeff

Editor's Note:

The Chicagoland Bass Tournament hosts several tournaments on the Cal Sag. These folks know their stuff.  You can visit their website here: http://bassinbandits.ilbassfed.com

Pat on the Back

Hello,

It's great to see web sites like this.  We are finally creeping our way onto the web...Can you please update your page to link to our new web site www.dmfbait.com?

Thanks in advance and nice job on your web site.

Adam Grudzien
Adam@dmfbait.com

Response:

Adam,

I added a link to your listings.  Thanks for the kind words.

JD

I Can Tell Already, This Young Lady is a Keeper!

My fiancé loves to fish, but doesn't know where in the city to go (not carp fishing) or own a boat.  Is there a fishing group (not one that meets to eat dinner, see speakers, etc.) that goes out on Lake Michigan or somewhere in the city?  Maybe a guide that takes guys out?  Possibly a package deal?  I'd love to buy a package -- like 10 fishing trips with a guide and four-five guys here in the city.  The website didn't have any info. on this.  Let me know!

Thanks,
Kristen

Response #1:

Hi Kristen,
I will look into this for you, and get back to you in a couple of days.

Have a good weekend,

JD

Hi again Kristen,

I've done a little research, but I wasn't able to find groups outside of the usual fishing clubs.  However, most of the clubs have regular outings through out the year.  He could also hook up with others looking for fishing partners.  That may be something of interest to him.  If so, there may be a few in your area.

As far as guides go, most stick to one area or body of water.  I have yet to find one that advertises for Lake Michigan, although I know that Mick Thill has fished it in tournaments from shore.  He advertises his services as a guide, and I would bet that he would include Lake Michigan.  You can also try Extreme Bassin'.  They originate in the South Burbs, and may include Lake Michigan as well.

I have included the information I have for both Guides.  I hope this works out for you.  Drop me a line to let me know.  Sounds like you're going to be one heck of a wife!!  Good luck.

JD

OK, maybe I'm a little sensitive

Left anonymously

#2 (left 5 minutes later)

OK, this is where I got on my soap box:

Kevin,

Most of the corrections or comments sent from visitors of my site usually say something positive about the other 99% of the information I have gathered from 1,000's of websites across the Midwest.  Regardless of the tone in the note, I appreciate the correction or bringing to my attention a broken link or navigational error. As a matter of fact, I request them.  It only helps make the site better.

Try as I may, there is always someone out there who lives to point out other people's mistakes. 

Unlike many of the other websites out there, I do not charge for a listing, nor do I charge or request money from those who use the site.  Since I do not profess to be a great fisherman, or to have fished every body of water I list, I depend on sources such as State DNR websites and publications.  This is even more helpful to me, considering the fact that I also work full-time, or approximately 50 hours a week before I come home to work on the site.

In the case of the two error you found, both errors were included in the Indiana DNR information provided to me.  I would like to point out the paragraph at the top of the page in question:

"The following is a list of Northern Indiana inland waters by County, as reported by the State of Indiana.  We have added a contact number (if available) as well as the type of fish that are typical of that body of water."

I can't apologize for the original error made by the Indiana DNR, I can only apologize to you for me not catching the "problems," or updated information soon enough.

As for the sarcasm in the tone of your letter, I only have one thing to say: Just like free TV or Radio, if you don't like what you see or hear, or in this case read; turn it off.

Sorry if I took the tone of your letter a bit personal.  I don't know what you do for a living.  But consider how you would feel after working many weeks or months on a project, and the only thing said to you in return was a sarcastic comment regarding an insignificant portion of the entire project.

Thanks for helping make the site better.  It is for people like you, that I work so hard to continuously update and expand the site.

JD

The Doctor was right, I do feel better now.  (Except for the bruise I got from falling off my soap box)

Didn't mean for the comments to sound rude. Just was pointing out a couple errors(whether yours or indiana dnr's). I might have to reread what I sent you as I don't recall being nasty or rude, just was sending a quick note on two things I saw. Sorry
> Kevin

This is when I fell off my soap box:

Kevin,

Don't worry about it.  Sometimes it's hard to judge a person's tone in writing, especially when you don't know them personally.  I just hope you didn't mind me stepping on my soap box.

Like I already mentioned, I like to get corrections and/or updated information.  You seem to know a few of these lakes pretty well.  Feel free to send any other corrections you feel would be helpful.

Thanks,

JD