Waukegan 7-22 thru 8-11

Fishing remains mostly good out of Waukegan with the morning trips fairing considerably better than the afternoon when the sun is shining bright. We continue to fish relatively close to shore as west winds regimes remain but runs offshore have been productive later in the morning and in the afternoon.

When fishing near shore, our catches are primarily Kings (Chinook Salmon) of all sizes including the big ones that are preparing to spawn this fall but we are also catching Brown Trout and Coho Salmon. When further offshore, we are seeing Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) and Lake Trout too.

The big Kings have been running in the 12-18lb range and we have been tangling and catching some huge Trout too! Big Rainbows from 12-17lbs, Lake Trout in the teens with one that was 17lbs last Saturday the 7th and a humongous 27lb 8oz Brown Trout on Wednesday the 11th. So while our total catches in terms of numbers have dropped a little from the awesome high teens and 20's levels we were seeing in early July, we are seeing some really big fish right now. The trend of catching bigger fish should remain, BUT, as it often does, we could see our numbers accelerate again with high quality fish making up a big portion of the catch as well.

See the attached photos of some recent trips. The Brown Trout we hauled in is the biggest fish I have ever seen in person in Waukegan Harbor and that goes back to my First Mate days starting in 1986. It is also bigger than any other fish I have heard come out of this harbor in years (but I could be wrong-disclaimer).

As we enter the the backside of the 2010 season, trophy catches like this big Brown Trout will occur more frequently. Adult, spawner fish of all species are getting more active as August ensues and throughout September.

As a reminder, you can become a Fan of Windycitysalmon on Facebook and see on the water updates and photos on a much more frequent basis.

Thanks for reading,
Capt Rick