Now's the time for fine fall fishing
With the spate of extra-mild weather upon us, angling on inland lakes and ponds has been nothing short of spectacular.
Fox Chain: Excellent crappie fishing off the Spring Lake Channel as well as on Bluff Lake. Very good bluegill action on Pistakee Lake and the north end of Channel Lake. Muskie activity seems to be a day-to-day proposition, with a few fish spotted on Channel and Petite Lakes.
Fox River: As expected, better smallmouth fishing right close to the shorelines as the result of the additional rainfall. Pick any spot near deadfall trees or outlet pipes and you could score well on live minnows.
Lake Michigan: Good king and coho action off Waukegan.
Forest Preserves: In Lake County, Banana Lake off Route 176 is very good for panfish. In Cook County, check out Skokie Lagoon near the dam and over the fish cribs for bass and crappie. The same holds true for Busse Lake at the dam.
• Mike Jackson can be reached via e-mail at angler88@comcast.net, and you can catch his radio program 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.