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Warm October Boosts Bass and Perch as Chicago Salmon Run Remains Uneven
Published 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Michigan, Chicago fishing report for Saturday, October 4, 2025.
Sunrise hit at 6:48, welcoming anglers with a downright balmy October morning—near record highs today, folks, with readings pushing upper 80s and just a whisper of south wind, waves a gentle 1–2 feet. The lake’s water temp is holding steady around 53°F, which means that fall bite is switching on, but the unseasonal heat does have fish acting a bit squirrelly.
Salmon are the headline as always this time of year. Chinook and coho have started their run into Montrose, Diversey, and Burnham harbors. The word on the docks: first light and late evening are prime time, with spoons and crankbaits leading the charge for hookups. Local regulars have been mixing it up—casting wide wobbling silver and chartreuse spoons, and floating skein or spawn sacs beneath bobbers, especially where the north wind stirs up bait. There’s been a handful of solid coho and a few hefty chinook pulled just off Burnham’s pier heads at dawn, but the run is still uneven due to stubbornly warm, clear conditions. If you’re looking for numbers, patience pays—expect scattered salmon rather than a full-on blitz.
Steelhead are showing up when overcast rolls in. If you spot some cloud cover, tie on the brightest spoon you’ve got, or tip a jig with a waxworm and jig it along the warmwater discharges. Lake trout are a rare but rewarding find patrolling breakwalls and deeper structure. Slow-rolling swimbaits or bumping heavy blade baits on the bottom in 15–30 feet when the lake lays down are your best bets.
Bass anglers have something to cheer about too. Both smallmouth and largemouth are feeding hard on shad inside the harbors and up the Chicago River. Try current seams and marina corners with ned rigs, jerkbaits, or small swimbaits—especially where you’ve got stained water after a windy blow. Last evening, more than a few buckets got stuffed with chunky smallmouth around the breakwater pilings at Monroe Harbor.
Perch have been hit or miss this week. The best action is early and calm, just after sunrise. Target the weed edges and pilings with live minnows or shrimp bits. Some folks found schools off the north slips but reported they had to move around to stay on the fish.
Best baits right now:
- For salmon: glow spoons, chartreuse or silver crankbaits, skein or spawn sacs.
- For steelhead: bright spoons, waxworm-tipped jigs.
- For lake trout: heavy blade baits, white paddle-tail swimbaits.
- For bass: ned rigs, flukes, small swim jigs, and jerkbaits in shad patterns.
- For perch: live minnows, small shrimp pieces.
Hot spots to check out:
- Montrose Harbor: salmon at dawn in deeper water, some huge smallmouth in the corners.
- Burnham Harbor: coho staging at the pier heads, perch off pilings, especially right after sunrise.
- Monroe Harbor: breakwater for smallmouth, backside pilings for perch.
- Diversey Harbor: best shot at mixed bag action—bass, stray trout, and the occasional coho.
Tidal movement is mild, so fish won’t get super aggressive on current alone, but keep an eye on moonrise (4:27 pm) and today’s major activity periods—7:50 to 9:50 am and 8:03 to 10:03 pm—for your best odds.
Remember: slightly stained water after a windy night can produce, so don't shy away from louder profiles and chartreuse accents for low visibility.
That’s your Lake Michigan report for Chicago—slower salmon numbers, hot bass bite, perch showing on calm mornings, and a stellar run of summer-like weather to close out fall. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for your daily fishing fix.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was c
Sunrise hit at 6:48, welcoming anglers with a downright balmy October morning—near record highs today, folks, with readings pushing upper 80s and just a whisper of south wind, waves a gentle 1–2 feet. The lake’s water temp is holding steady around 53°F, which means that fall bite is switching on, but the unseasonal heat does have fish acting a bit squirrelly.
Salmon are the headline as always this time of year. Chinook and coho have started their run into Montrose, Diversey, and Burnham harbors. The word on the docks: first light and late evening are prime time, with spoons and crankbaits leading the charge for hookups. Local regulars have been mixing it up—casting wide wobbling silver and chartreuse spoons, and floating skein or spawn sacs beneath bobbers, especially where the north wind stirs up bait. There’s been a handful of solid coho and a few hefty chinook pulled just off Burnham’s pier heads at dawn, but the run is still uneven due to stubbornly warm, clear conditions. If you’re looking for numbers, patience pays—expect scattered salmon rather than a full-on blitz.
Steelhead are showing up when overcast rolls in. If you spot some cloud cover, tie on the brightest spoon you’ve got, or tip a jig with a waxworm and jig it along the warmwater discharges. Lake trout are a rare but rewarding find patrolling breakwalls and deeper structure. Slow-rolling swimbaits or bumping heavy blade baits on the bottom in 15–30 feet when the lake lays down are your best bets.
Bass anglers have something to cheer about too. Both smallmouth and largemouth are feeding hard on shad inside the harbors and up the Chicago River. Try current seams and marina corners with ned rigs, jerkbaits, or small swimbaits—especially where you’ve got stained water after a windy blow. Last evening, more than a few buckets got stuffed with chunky smallmouth around the breakwater pilings at Monroe Harbor.
Perch have been hit or miss this week. The best action is early and calm, just after sunrise. Target the weed edges and pilings with live minnows or shrimp bits. Some folks found schools off the north slips but reported they had to move around to stay on the fish.
Best baits right now:
- For salmon: glow spoons, chartreuse or silver crankbaits, skein or spawn sacs.
- For steelhead: bright spoons, waxworm-tipped jigs.
- For lake trout: heavy blade baits, white paddle-tail swimbaits.
- For bass: ned rigs, flukes, small swim jigs, and jerkbaits in shad patterns.
- For perch: live minnows, small shrimp pieces.
Hot spots to check out:
- Montrose Harbor: salmon at dawn in deeper water, some huge smallmouth in the corners.
- Burnham Harbor: coho staging at the pier heads, perch off pilings, especially right after sunrise.
- Monroe Harbor: breakwater for smallmouth, backside pilings for perch.
- Diversey Harbor: best shot at mixed bag action—bass, stray trout, and the occasional coho.
Tidal movement is mild, so fish won’t get super aggressive on current alone, but keep an eye on moonrise (4:27 pm) and today’s major activity periods—7:50 to 9:50 am and 8:03 to 10:03 pm—for your best odds.
Remember: slightly stained water after a windy night can produce, so don't shy away from louder profiles and chartreuse accents for low visibility.
That’s your Lake Michigan report for Chicago—slower salmon numbers, hot bass bite, perch showing on calm mornings, and a stellar run of summer-like weather to close out fall. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for your daily fishing fix.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was c