Silver Lake, Kenosha County

[Dawn Keebals]

Was wondering if anybody could give me a few tips for muskie fishing on this lake? I'm looking to get out for my first time next weekend.


Thanks in Advance!


Kind Regards,
Dawn Keeballs

[RJN]

I have fished this lake for the last 10 years for muskie.
The best place to fish is right out in front of the DNR launch. I basically fish with suckers on quick strike rigs right over the side of the boat, and cast bull dogs, orange and black bucktails, and my personal favorite Amma Bamma baits. This lake 5 years ago could yield 6 fish days, but for me, those days are gone for now due to extreme fishing pressure.
The muskies average from 30 to 38" , but have landed a 45" two years ago. Back in the day we caught a bundle of 40 and 42"ers. My favorite time to fish this lake is between Sept. and up until Thanksgiving. The 13' weedline is hard to beat, but big skies suspend over the deep water. The problem is that you can't troll on this lake, so the deep water fishing is kind of out of the picture unless you're looking to drift suckers deep. I would wait until the water cools before using suckers. It's almost impossible to keep them alive from the shock of the warm water.
Good luck out there.

[Eric Haataja]

Very informative! Thanks RJN

Eric

[tuffdaddy]

The suspendo bite out there isn't too tough even though you can't troll. The basin isn't too big that they have too much room to move. Depth Raiders ripped over the deep water will score right now. Fish them super aggressive. Also like RJN said, work the thicker weeds right outside of the launch. In the next couple of weeks, burning hair in should start to rock. Make em eat it and do a good L turn at the boat cause they like to eat there when burn'n. Other than that RJN hit it right on the head. This lake rocks in cool water. Great sucker bite (except for last year) on the weedlines. Don't be afraid to fish reaaaaallly shallow in the thick weeds either. Even late in the fall they will get in there. Shallow dawgs rock when ripped through them. Good luck, and if you see a black and white Crestliner out there, stop and say hi.

[RJN]

Tuffdaddy,
I will see you out there come Sept.
I have a blue and beige Northwood with a 60 Mariner.
I recognize your boat, and have seen you out there before.
You aren't kidding about last year. It was by far the worse sucker bite I had with only one 38" to show for it out of 3 trips.:(
I hope things get better out there. The lake isn't what it use to be for numbers.
I'm thinking about hitting Loon Lake more this year. That small lake has some whoppers in there. My buddy caught 2 over 40" in one day. The problem with Loon is that it's hit or miss. If it's not cloudy, rainy, and cold it's not worth going. The ski's are a little shy on that lake when it's sunny. That water is so darn clear.

[tuffdaddy]

Very cool. We didn't do too hot on meat out there last year, but we were slam'n em with dawgs up tight. (kinda stumbled on to that one) You had to litterally rip through the weeds to get them to eat. Good size to them though. All in the upper 30s to early 40s. Hopefully this year treats us a bit better. There was a 48 cpred out there about a month ago, so they are in there. I usually don't fish it during the summer much because it gets way too warm, but with the cool down, hopefully that will get things going.

I've never fished Loon, but have heard good things. How far is that from Silver, and is there any HP restrictions? Shoot me an email if you want.
dancertails@yahoo.com

[RJN]

My brother had one on that appeared to be at least 50" a few years back. The fish hit right in front of the duck blind near the launch, and slowly came up to the surface to check us out. So I agree, there are some huge fish in there. He got a little to excited, and set the hook to early. I thought he should of waited until the fish went down a little bit for leverage. Paddock lake sporting goods claims of a few 50"ers coming out of there, but who knows.
It's by far one of my favorite action lakes around here for ski's, but as I said in my last posts, the fish are becoming more and more scarce for me. I might need to change my technique a little bit, or check on the WDNR for the fisheries report.

[Adam]

I would agree thorougly with the 13 ft mark, good depth. I have had a couple good evenings on Silver this year number wise, biggest fish was 39... Nothing huge but thick. Dawgs were good when the water was cooler, (Orange and Black.havent tried it) the sucker pattern has hit for me. I had about a 45 inch fish charge a dawg and she swam SO fast I couldnt set the hook.

[esoxjake]

I'll tell ya I agree with RJN
Loon is got to be the most underrated lake in N. Illinois.
I have been out there quite a bit in the last 2 years,and Musky pressure seems few and far between. The result is the "hit or miss", can't fish it on Sunny days...however we did manage a 41" around noon in April.
I will be honest about Loon, The fish i have caught have been 30"-32" naturals, so reproduction still exists in that lake, but the follows I get on the G-train and Cranes.........46"-50" fish over the east dropoffs.
Last big boy I saw was a month ago easily 48", very hard to trigger these guys.
Yep, Silver we boated a 48.5" last month and lately as of today, 10 follows and 6 unbottoned, they hit fast and love to hit on the "L" so be ready to get proper hookset!
Tuffdaddy.....We need to get out sometime soon, I will be dragging My buddy Ben down to Silver soon! Keep my # handy!
Good Luck to all!

[tuffdaddy]

I'll be out there this weekend I believe, or sometime during the week. These cooler nights are gonna keep them eating. If you're burning those bucktails in, definitely pay attention in the L turn. Lots 'o fish eat right in the turn. Looking forward to this time of year. The weagle will be fly'n. Let me know when you guys get down there.

[esoxjake]

Sounds good.
I know I will be @ Silver on Thursday all day, I want to try out late morning afternoon bite, I had quite a few curious fish around 1 pm last week.
What bucktails do you have most success with out there? Seems like this year its be Llungens and Showgirls for us.
:cool:

[tuffdaddy]

I'm usually throwing things I make. But if I'm not throwing one of my creations, I'd be throwing a XX or a Giant Killer. I like the Giant Killers for burning cause they stay down a bit more even with alot of speed. The XX's just flat out get eaten. Something they don't see much, but similar to a Show Girl (actually a double cow girl, but you get the picture.)

[RJN]

What do you mean by L turn?
Is that similar to the figure 8, but just a quick turn to the left or right right at the boat?
I haven't heard this one before

[tuffdaddy]

The L turn is just like you said. It's basically changing the direction sharp right at the side of the boat, and then going into a figure 8. For some reason, that fast direction change gets them to eat alot when burning hair in.

[RJN]

Tuffdaddy,
Are you going out on Silver this weekend?
I will be out there around 6:30AM hanging some suckers over the side.
I have the Blue/Beige Northwood with the 60 Mariner.
Hope to see you out there.
P.S
Did you hear about the 51" that came out of there. Rumor has it that the fish was kept.:(
Of course it's his right, but still sad.

[tuffdaddy]

I'll be out there on Sunday with clients, but Saturday I'll be fishing the IMTT on Okauchee. The fish are definitely moving now. Don't be afraid to fish shaaaallooowwww. :) I didn't hear about the 51"er. Bummer it was kept, but again, it's definitely their right. The only bad thing, is I was planning on catching that this weekend. LOL

I'll keep an eye out for you if you're out there on Sunday. I have a black and white Crestliner Fish Hawk with a 115 Yammi on the back. I'll be out there more and more as the fall comes in.

[RJN]

Good luck with the tourney.
Since I'm married, Sunday will definitly be out of the question.
I'll be out there next week, so I'm sure we will bump into each other eventually.

[RJN]

Finally boated a 40" on Silver Saturday.
It followed my Bulldog to the boat, and decided the sucker was a better meal.
I will post a picture as soon as I can develope and scan the picture.

[tuffdaddy]

Atta boy!!! Good job man. Keep up the good work! I had clients out on Sunday and we had a slow afternoon. We raised 2 fish and wiffed on a sucker. 2 pike were all they could muster up.

[RJN]

Tuffdaddy,
Are you going to be out there tomorrow?
My fishing partner is taking me out on his boat on Silver tomorrow.
I will be hanging suckers around 6:30AM
I look for your boat.
I will be on a 14' aluminum boat with a 25 suzuki.

[tuffdaddy]

I have clients all day on Okauchee tomorrow, so I'll be up there. I may be out there with the wife on Sunday though, but may be on Lake Michigan for some crome as well. Hopefully one of these days I make it out there when your out there. We can hit the bar for a beer and a story or 8.

[RJN]

Here's the picture of the 40" we got a couple of weeks ago on Silver
http://chicagolandfishing.com/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=3809