[muskyman]

We launched outta burnham and ran up river and fished all along the way. Most of the bass - largemouth, came on crankbaits, in firetiger patterns, jigs worked on the smallies, the rockbass ate everything, and the crappie came on yamamoto grubs. Shallow was better, the best depth around 5-8 feet deep, lost a few crankbaits too. Weekday fishing is really nice though.

[TJorgs]

Hey, I'm going to fish the Chicago river tomorrow. Were you fishing the main, north or south branch? was the bite better early in the morning or the same all day? thanks for any extra info.
tim

[muskyman]

We fished the main branch before it splits off. The afternoon bite was best. The big circle barriers at each bridge were hot . Work them from all angles, running crankbaits down along them were very consistent. As well as fishing along all the walls. The older walls with wood on them were the best. Anything old and falling apart was best. We fished all the way down to the locks.

[FightingIlliniAngler]

Very Nice!

[TJorgs]

muskyman, thanks for the info, hopefully i can put it to good use and i'll have a good report to post

[timmojo]

tim mojo here from north point .What is the north south branch ? we want to bass fish but need i liil held where to go lv the smalles ? where to launch at im from around gurnee

[mattbassman]

Timmojo-
Look up Ralph Steiger....he is the only smallmouth guide on the southern basin of Lake Michigan. He fishes Chicago often and does very well. He advertises on this site. Take it from someone who tooks years to learn how to catch the smallmouth out there(and now I rarely fish for them), in the long run to it will save you $$$ in gas, time, boat damage, and lures to hire Ralph. And you mentioned you have a 25' boat...do you have a trolling motor? If not, you may have a tough time.