Get your boat ready to float

Here are some tips for those of you getting your fishing boats ready to hit water.

Check the wheel bearings on the trailer. Bearings usually have to be cleaned and greased. Measure the pressure on the trailer tires.

I normally kept my batteries on a trickle charger all winter. Clean the contacts on the batteries themselves and also take a wire brush and scour the cable connectors.

Check the bilge and live-well pumps for debris. Look at your anchor lines and check for worn spots.

Sometimes rodents get in through a boat cover and chew up the seats. Check for dead mice in the storage areas.

Crank the outboard a few times once you hook the battery to the ignition wires and listen for any strange motor noises.

Fishing report: Now let's get to the important stuff.

Fox Chain: Look to those sheltered bays for schools of crappie in the shallows. Walleye action on Nippersink Lake is improving, as is the activity on Pistakee Lake as well.

Forest preserves: Trout season kicks off again Saturday. In Cook County, Axehead and Belleau are prime waters. In DuPage County, Deep Quarry and Silver are prime spots as usual. You will need a new state license and inland trout stamp.

Lake Michigan: The coho action is a tedious proposition both on the far north and southern ends of our immediate area. Perching should pick up when the winds subside, but a few decent fish have been taken from the Calumet harbor area.

Cooling Lakes: Heidecke Lake finally is open. Look for some big striped bass not far from the narrows bridge.

Expect to see some big smallmouth bass near rock areas. LaSalle Lake stripers are doing quite well, as are the smallmouth in the first pool.

Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler@mikejacksonoutdors.com. His radio program is heard 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.