This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Michigan, Chicago fishing report.

We’re locked in a true early‑winter pattern now. According to the National Weather Service marine forecast out of Chicago, we’ve got lingering small craft advisories, with northeast to east winds swinging around and gusting into the 20‑knot range, waves running 3 to 6 feet and higher offshore, and on‑and‑off snow showers. That’s keeping most small boats at the dock and pushing the bite toward harbors and protected shorelines.

Sunrise around Chicago today is right around 7:00 a.m. with sunset about 4:19 p.m., based on the solunar tables from SolunarForecast. That gives you a short, cold window of light, and the best feeding periods are lining up late morning and again mid‑afternoon, so no need to rush the first cast in the dark.

Lake Michigan doesn’t have real ocean tides, but the solunar tables and barometer swings are helping trigger fish. With all the recent snow and cold the Chicago media have been talking about, water temps are low and still dropping, which slows things down but stacks fish tight to structure.

Shore and harbor action has been the play. Local reports out of Montrose and Diversey harbors have been showing steady numbers of perch with a mix of size: lots of 7–9 inchers, but enough 10–12 inch fish to make a trip worthwhile if you’re willing to sort. Steelhead and a few brown trout are cruising Navy Pier, Burnham, and the river mouth, especially on those cloudy, snowy days. Down toward Calumet, guys are still scratching out some late‑season smallmouth in the warm‑water plumes and deeper rock, but the window is short.

On numbers, expect a bucket or two of perch for a dialed‑in angler fishing all morning, maybe 20–40 keepers if you move around and stay on the school. Trout are more of a one‑to‑three‑fish game per angler right now, but they’re quality fish when you connect.

Best baits and lures:
For **perch**, think small and subtle. Live minnows on 2‑hook rigs, spikes or waxworms, and tiny soft‑plastics on ice jigs are working. A simple drop‑shot with a #8 hook and a fathead minnow right on bottom is putting fish on the board. Gold, chartreuse, and glow white are your confidence colors.

For **steelhead and browns**, spawn sacs under a float in the river and harbor mouths are still king, especially in pink, chartreuse, and peach. Inline spinners and smaller spoons like Little Cleos and Kastmasters in silver‑blue or gold‑orange are taking fish when the wind lets you work the wall.

For **smallmouth**, slow it way down: tube jigs, hair jigs, and small swimbaits dragged painfully slow on the bottom, 15–25 feet, near rock and current seams. Natural goby and green pumpkin patterns are hard to beat.

Couple of hot spots to circle:
Montrose Harbor and the adjacent horseshoe have been a perch factory when the wind lets you tuck in out of the waves. Work the dock edges and any deeper holes.
Calumet Harbor and the river mouth have been a solid bet for mixed‑bag action: perch along the walls and bottom, with a shot at a winter smallie or a roaming trout when the discharge is running.

Given the waves, the cold, and all that ice building on the shoreline that Fox Weather’s been showing along the lakefront, use your head out there: cleats, a life jacket even from shore, and keep an eye on that wind.

That’s it for today from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report.

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