ok i just got the final work from my brother in law and were heading up nort, prolly the chain. Usually when i go open water, i have my boat (i blew my o/b) so thats no good.
I want to rent but the only place i know is the chain state park. Anyone know of another place to rent?
Im not looking for trophy fish(but would be nice) just some fun. Are the fish active or alive on the chain? If not, any places up worth looking into? im ok with crappie, white bass whatever cuz i wont have the energy to keep casting for like pike or sumthin.
Water level has been high on the Chain I would bet CJ's is flooded or cleaning up. I called Barnical Bobs Wed and water was still rising and his lot was under water. Both places do rent boats. Make sure before heading up there you make a call for conditions.If you do call update us as I would like to get out during week if launch is open.
Even if Chain is open it might be no Wake for awhile.
Good time for Crappie in back channels and harbor piers. Walleye bite should also be good on Marie this time of year.
... Drove from Chicago to the CJ Smith yesterday to find out that water level is indeed too high (no wake), the place is closed and we wouldn't be able to launch the boat. We drove to a place "next door" but the owner wasn't in so we couldn't pt the boat in the water. Me and friend of mine then fished offshore: I used the jig and he used artificial minnow and had no bites. There were about 3-4 other fishermen. One of them used either spikes or wax worms under a small float and caught 2 small crappies. Then I saw another fisherman catch a small crappie.
Later on Jon's place opened. He said that there were a lot of damage to the structure because of ice but they can't do anything at this point because they are still under water. His wife stated that crappie bite is good and the best baits are spikes and wax worms, in that sequence. They were out of minnows. I purchased spikes and night crawlers and tried fishing across the street for about 15 minutes and had no bites... Didn't feel like driving to state park and we then drove back to Chicago.
I believe that it is possible to launch at the State Park. While driving around I saw only 2-3 boats in the water. John said it would probably take about 3 weeks for his place to reopen (and that is if the water level comes down). He also mentioned that the prices will be going up. There are places where you can fish offshore...
ok i also found out about the conditions and we decided to stay local. we just went to tampier and messed around for a couple hours. I wanted to rent a boat b/c mine isnt ready but did not. we tried our luck and landed some crappie, white bass and some cats. nothing impressive but it sure beats the skunk!
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