City
Limits Smallmouth Bass
Chicago’s
portion of Lake Michigan offers world
class smallmouth bass opportunities in
early summer.
By:
Andrew Ragas
Date Posted: May 6, 2011
Smallmouth bass are arguably one of the
most fun and sporting fish to catch, and
personally one of my favorites. They are
historically native to most rivers and
streams in Illinois. Within the last
quarter century their self-sustaining
populations have been established in
some of our inland bodies of water to
offer additional angling opportunities.
Amongst
the most popular fishing destinations
found throughout our state, and regarded
as one of the best in the entire Midwest
region, the southern basin of Lake
Michigan offers world class fishing
opportunities for smallmouth bass. The
big lake, in particular, is no stranger
to the re-establishment of fish species
and population restorations.
Historically speaking, smallmouth bass
are native to several confined regions
of Lake Michigan, but very few of them
were found in the southern basin of Lake
Michigan prior to 1996. Their
once-limited populations in Illinois
waters inhabited the restricted
off-shore reefs and shoal areas for
several years before heavy stocking
efforts began taking place within
Chicago’s city limits.
From
1969 through 1985, approximately 101,706
juvenile smallmouth bass were
sporadically stocked in a few select
sites around Chicago. Years later during
the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, it
became evident to state biologists and
anglers that these limited stockings had
generated into small, self-sustainable
populations, and resurrected the native
smallmouth bass fishery.
Since
then, the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources has supplemented these
original ancestors with additional
stockings that were dispersed along much
of the lakefront. These efforts have
consequently resulted in a
self-sustaining world class fishery
right in the heart of Chicago and the
surrounding southern basin of Lake
Michigan. Presently the populations are
thriving, with stocking having being
discontinued more than a decade ago.
Southern
Lake Michigan is notoriously known as a
shallow water environment with very
little natural structure and a bottom
composition of nothing more than sand.
However, as local municipalities and
industries began to gradually develop
the shoreline by constructing parks,
piers, beaches, boat slips, and break
walls, the coast was transformed into
ideal smallmouth bass habitat.
Today’s
habitat and favorite angling areas are
all man-made, comprised of rocky rip-rap
and boulders lining the shorelines,
breakwalls, rock reefs, harbors and
additional boat slips. Almost
immediately, smallmouth bass began
utilizing these areas claiming the
territory as their own.
Smallmouth bass are caught from several
near-shore and off-shore areas of Lake
Michigan. Most anglers who fish the
Chicago area of the lake fish from shore
and harbor hop, while others work by
boat and comb the break walls.
Throughout the spring and summer months,
when most of the fish are shallow and
active, the fishing peaks.
One
angler in particular who has made a name
for himself by fishing Lake Michigan
since his formative years is Captain
Ralph Steiger.
Steiger,
26, of Hammond, IN, guides and charters
the southern basin of Lake Michigan on a
year-round basis out of his 2011 model
Crestliner Tournament 202WT,
and suggests that the smallmouth bass
fishing is as good as it can be from
spring through summer.
According to Captain Steiger, who has
guided for six years, the early spring
through summer period is comprised of
several movements, and stages, all of
which are related to the spawn. He
suggests a few key depth ranges for
anglers to concentrate on.
“In the
early spring, as water temperatures are
between 45 to 55 degrees and get warmer,
I tend to look for fish in deeper water,
anywhere from 12 to 25 ft. Then as
spring progresses into summer, water
temperatures warm, and the fish move in
for the spawn, they can hold as shallow
as 4 feet. On average I would say an 8
to 12 ft. depth range is perfect.”
As far
as structure and habitat locations are
concerned, one of Captain Steiger’s
favorite focal points is transition
areas. Examples are sharp drop-offs
where rock and sand meet. Captain
Steiger states, “Smallmouth early in the
year use these sharper contours and the
rock/sand bottom prior to invading the
shallows. As the summer season arrives
it is important to work these same areas
but to concentrate your efforts in
shallower water.”
Captain
Steiger points out that rock and steel
walls will both frequently hold fish but
in order to have success, anglers must
experiment in order to find which is
best for the given time of year. In
addition, warm water discharges may hold
numbers of fish but due to heavy
recreational pressure these areas can be
a feast or famine.
Following the spawn, Captain Steiger
notes that “Fishing can become difficult
during the few weeks after, but once the
fish resume in a summer pattern they
become easier to catch again.” He adds,
“The best areas to target are going to
have sharp drop-offs, usually with large
rocks. It is important that you don’t
move far off from the areas in which
fish were spawning, but just look for
the sharper and deeper shorelines.”
In
addition to spawning, most of the
smallmouth population will also be
utilizing the shallow water taking
advantage of the abundant food sources.
Luckily for them, there is no shortage
of good available habitat. On Lake
Michigan, in particular, it seems as if
anywhere there are rocks placed, fish
will be present.
In order
to rear a healthy fishery that possesses
both numbers and sizes of fish, there
needs to be a diverse and abundant
available food source. Lake Michigan’s
smallmouth bass have several options
that they use at different times of the
year. As the seasons change, different
prey species become more available, and
turn into the preferred dinner menu
item.
One of
the most abundant and frequent spring
and summer forage species is the
invasive round goby. These small, 2 to 4
inch bottom-dwelling fish lack a swim
bladder and are always confined to the
lake’s bottom, utilizing the same rock
habitat as the smallmouth.
Several
tackle manufacturers have created goby
imitation tubes and plastics to match
the hatch. When fished properly, the
goby imitating plastic is deadly.
One of
Captain Steiger’s all-around favorites
is the Poor Boy’s Erie Darter, a simple
do-nothing type of flapper-tail plastic
that is best served on a jig to hop and
drag along the bottom. “The presence of
gobies is like having a 24 hour buffet
in front of them,” he claims.
For
Captain Steiger and many of his clients,
Poor Boy’s Erie Darters are his baits of
choice most of the time. For instance,
“They are easy to fish, don’t cost a lot
(which is good for the numerous snags),
and work great.” Captain Steiger
interestingly notes, “There are several
goby imitators out there and some of
them work while others don’t. It seems
like the more detail the bait companies
put into copying a goby the worse they
work. Certain companies are investing
too much time into cosmetics and not
enough time into recreating the movement
of a goby.”
When
fishing the Poor Boy Darter, Captain
Steiger warns “It’s appearance
underwater isn’t too overwhelming with
action. Fished best when rigged with a
1/8 oz. to 3/8 oz. jig head, it is meant
to be fished and hopped along the bottom
without much action.” He believes that
for these reasons singlehandedly, the
Darter works so well and imitates the
real thing. For the all-around plastics
approach, some of the more popular color
choices for Lake Michigan are brown,
green pumpkin, smoke, purple, and red
with variations of these colors mixed
together with gold or black flecks
Captain
Steiger claims that due to the several
forage options for smallmouth bass, it
is important to match the hatch
accordingly. “In early spring mimic
shad, shiners, smelt and alewives. In
later spring thru early fall mimic
gobies. In later fall both patterns can
work at any time. Keep it simple and you
will catch fish.”
As far
as gear and tackle is concerned, medium
light to medium heavy action rods
between the lengths of 6 ½ to 7 ½ ft.
are preferred. 8 to 10 lb. main line is
standard but due to the zebra mussel
infestations and razor-sharp abrasive
conditions it is important to use 10 to
15 lb. fluorocarbon leader material to
help prevent line frays and break-offs.
Essentially, smallmouth bass are caught
all along Chicago’s lakefront and
extending all the way down to Northern
Indiana. Some popular areas for
smallmouth bass angling in the Chicago
area are around several of the city’s
landmarks. All of the downtown harbors
offer shoreline and boat access to fish,
including the Chicago River, as does the
area surrounding Navy Pier and the
treatment plant, and the museum campus.
However, for Captain Steiger, “Some of
the best areas to fish out of are East
Chicago Marina, Hammond Marina, or
Burnham Harbor. There are plenty of fish
around these locations whether you go
from shore or boat.”
Nowadays, most of the smallmouth bass
caught range in size from 10 to 14
inches, but there are significant
numbers of larger fish out there. Bass
in the 2 pound range are most common,
while 3 pounders aren’t too far behind.
There are also 4 and 5 pound fish
available throughout the warm weather
months, including the 5 lb. 12 oz. brute
that was caught and released by Captain
Steiger a few years ago. It is possible
that the next state record is out there
somewhere.
With
great angling comes conservation-minded
principles that help elevate the fishing
to world class proportions. In 1998, a
mandatory catch and release program,
which still exists, was enacted so that
smallmouth bass populations can grow and
expand to the high levels that we have
today. With state record size fish being
caught and released within six years of
the rule being established, changes were
made in 2004 to accommodate the possible
harvest of the next state record size
fish. However, nearly everything goes
back, and catch & release is widely
followed regardless of circumstances.
These days, the smallmouth bass fishing
on Lake Michigan is better than ever. To
help keep it that way, it is important
to handle fish carefully and to practice
catch-and-release as if it were a
religion.
During
an era in which state enforcement is few
and far between, Captain Steiger and
majority of the city’s harbor hoppers
serve as stewards of the lake, and help
promote and mandate the conservation
required to sustain a high class
fishery. Steiger stresses, “Something
that most common anglers don’t realize
is that the DNR doesn’t stock any of
these fish because they are all
naturally reproducing. For every fish
people keep another will never be
stocked to replace it. It is critical
that catch and release be used 100% of
the time. We have a great thing
happening here and if we don’t protect
it we have no one to blame but
ourselves.”
Captain Ralph Steiger
specializes in guide charter trips on
Lake Michigan for smallmouth bass,
salmon and trout, and perch from
Chicago, Illinois to Hammond, Indiana.
To book your trip, you may reach him at
(219) 688-3593, or at
ralphish00@aol.com.
Visit him online at
http://www.captainsteiger.com
