NW Indiana......

[lockus]

Looking for some fellow bassers to fish with this fall.  Thinking of trying the Kankakee or some other rivers if anyone knows.  My down fall is I have limited access to a boat and may have to shore fish.  I have never fished a river and would like to try.  Also would like to try Lake George from a boat.  This year the best fishing was in the spring at Doubletree Lake Estates in Crown Point.  

If anyone knows some other spots to try let me know.  Or if you want to go lets go.

[scaledriver]

Heya!  good to see another NW indiana guy here    I went to lake george last couple weeks and fishing was pretty good.  I caught 17 Bass last time I was there.  The kankakee river can be good fishing but also can be rough to fish from shore. ( i live about 5 min from it).

Do you have a trolling motor by chance?  if so there are a couple places that rent boats not too far that have some pretty good fishing.

[lockus]

Have access to a few trolling motors at any time.  sound good to me.

[Joel Pera]

Hey I am from Valparaiso and am working on getting a boat but not yet. I am up for going whenever. I know of some good smallmouth spots up on lake michigan in Portage that you can get from shore. Let me know when you guys are going out.

[scaledriver]

that might be fun I have never fished the lake Mich from shore too much.  

[lockus]

Hit up a few local ponds and caught some nice 2-3 pounders this week on Rattlin Rapala - Baby Bass color.

Anyone else fishing still in NW Indiana.

[scaledriver]

nice fish Lockus!   I haven't been out in lil over 5 weeks now work has been crazy 6 days a week  60 + hours a week  =( 

But on a good not I did get me a new rig   

[Northern Strain]

1 or 2 more times this year (saturday-sunday) ... lets hope its good, but i am in central IN.

[TheOriginalFishaholic]

Hey! I'm in the Valparaiso area AND I fish the Kankakee approximately 90% of the time. I'm a shore fisherman and trust me, although boat fishing is great there's plenty of good access points for shore fishermen; not only on the river itself, but also for backwater areas, flooded marshes, feeder creeks & ditches.

I'm always looking for someone interested in fishing along the Kankakee.

I've fished Lake George in Hobart from a boat and taken bass up to 6.5 lbs from there...but the majority of the bass there are in the 1-3 lb range.

Wolf Lake in Hammond is good for shore fishing - you can take nice bass, pike, musky and walleyes from shore there; in fact, in 2009 a 34 lb musky was caught by a shore angler there!

If you're primarily gonna be fishing from shore, a nice pair of hip waders can be real handy for getting your presentation in the most optimal location.

PM me if you're interested in hooking up this year for a little quality time on the Kankakee.

[Sledge]

Hello, I'm in the portage area and my friend and I are planning to go out this weekend. We don't have access to a boat so we will be shore fishing. I know it's pretty hot but we both haven't been able to get out in a couple years and just want to get our lines wet. Just wondering if anyone might know of some good spots for shore fishing. Looking for Largemouth mostly. I'm happy with anything myself but my friend is obsessed with largemouth lol. Anyway, if anyone knows any good spots or would like to join us I'm all ears. Looking forward to your replies.

Phill

[TheOriginalFishaholic]

check out any of the many public access sites to the backwaters of the Kankakee River: LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area - Black Oak Bayou (Area 3), White Oak Bayou (right off of Rt. 41, West and just South of the river); Grand Kankakee Marsh - on Range Line Road, just North of the River.

The topwater bite is on! Just last Tuesday I caught 18 bass over 14" fishing soft plastics on top from shore.

If you don't want to travel too far, try Michigan City Pier for steelhead - the skamania should be in the streams by now with all this recent rain we've been having...but there's always the chance for a nice smallie if you gain access to the NIPSCO property on the West side of the mouth of Trail Creek.

[Sledge]

Hey thanks! I would have PMed you but I am new to the forum and it won't let me. Where would you say the best place to go would be? Like I said, if my buddy doesn't catch a bass within the first hour he's ready to pack up and go somewhere else.

AS where I just like to sit back and relax. We were thinking of taking some crawlers and some minnows along with our spinners. Just trying to find the best possible place at the moment. I'm really bad at river fishing so still water would be great. I'm more of a throw a bobber and wait kind of guy, while my friend will walk miles around a lake or pond tossing his spinner lol.

Sorry, getting of track. If you could just give me your best guess on the best place and if at all possible directions how to get there that would be great. And if your free this weekend Your more than welcome to come join us, always nice to meet a fellow fisherman.

Edit: I was thinking worst case scenario I might try Rogers lakewood park in valpo again, but the last time I was there they had sprayed for the weeds and killed off most of the fish.

Phill

[TheOriginalFishaholic]

Rogers Lakewood is tough to fish from shore...there's a nice couple of lakes you might try in Hobart: Amber Lake - North of Lake George; and, Robinson Lake.

They're both very close to you...if you want to just sit and relax, try Countryside Park - your buddy can cast for bass and you can bank fish...just a pond, but there's some good bass in there AND it's in Portage!

Want to take a long drive and satisfy you both? Try Willow Slough near Morocco - excellent bass and gill fishing from shore...there's some nice 12" gills in there too.

[Sledge]

Thanks for the advise. My birthday is in 2 weeks and I noticed that Willow Slough has class B camping. I was just curious if you have ever been there and know if they allow tent camping and if you might know any rates such as camping and boat rental. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Phill

[scaledriver]

I go to Willow Slough a lot ( was just there last weekend)  They have plenty of places to tent camp, A shower house and bathrooms.  Boat rental is 20 dollars for all day.  Boat house opens at 6am and you can keep the boat till after dark if ya like.  I don;t know the camping rates but you can call for rates/ reservations from 6am till 4 or maybe 5 their number is (219)285-2704

[Sledge]

Hey thanks a lot. Pretty good fishing out there? any good spots you could fill me in on? My birthday is Friday the 13th... hoping for some good mojo.

Phill

[scaledriver]

The fishing there is good for both Bass and Bluegill. If you are bank fishing you are kinds limited as they only allow bank fishing from 2 fishing piers. The lake is 1200 acers and electric motors only. There is good fishing not too far from the boat ramp but if possible once you leave the ramp head east down the channel. Go 300 or so yards and you will see reeds with a channel runnin through them try there up next to them and also the flats besides that channel in the reed area. Black blue flake or green pumpkin senkos work well and weedless topwaters (frogs) will do well for bass

[Sledge]

I'm more of a live bait guy myself... I can never figure out how to fish a lure other than like a rooster tail or the like lol. Was thinking about taking some crawlers and minnows.Do you think I'd have much luck with live bait? Oh and do they have a bait shop on site?

Edit: I will be renting a boat for sure. I'll pay and make my buddy paddle lol.

Phill

[ChiCityBasser]

I'm pretty close to northwest indiana and have fished a couple of places. Good to see there are more places to fish in the area. Gonna have to check out some of these places myself and thanks for the info guys.

[TheOriginalFishaholic]

I currently hook up with a guy from Cicero...for some serious bass fishing from shore...maybe we can hook up some time for more of the same.

[ChiCityBasser]

I'm in Calumet City about 5 min from Hammond and 10 min from Cabelas. Caught my personal best LM in NW indiana this summer. Just looked up some info on Grand Kankakee Marsh and if fishing from the shore is good there then that I will be trying to get to very soon.

[Sledge]

I currently hook up with a guy from Cicero...for some serious bass fishing from shore...maybe we can hook up some time for more of the same.

That sounds great. do you want my email address or anything?

[Sledge]

I just need to get out on the water. My birthday is next week and my girlfriend just broke up with me... I need some distraction lol. Looking as if we are planning an overnight trip to Willow Slough. From the size restrictions on the LMB I'm assuming they have some pretty nice ones in there. I called today and got some info seems very nice. I'll probably fish 90% of the time there and just sleep around noon when its the hottest lol. I forgot to ask if they had an on site bait shop though... I have already called and bugged the poor woman 3 times. I'll wait until I call to make reservations before I ask lol.

[Sledge]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good weedless top water baits and explain how to use them a little? As I said an an earlier post I have always used live bait and would like to try out some lures. I have 0 experience with anything except spinners. I'll be using an open faces spinning reel.

[ChiCityBasser]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good weedless top water baits and explain how to use them a little? As I said an an earlier post I have always used live bait and would like to try out some lures. I have 0 experience with anything except spinners. I'll be using an open faces spinning reel.

I'm sure any t-rigged plastic can be fished as a topwater or just under the surface and best to rig them weightless. Buzzbaits also work well and with those as soon as they hit the water you want to start reeling and keep them on top. The weeds under the surface or surface slop?