Round Lake - July 12, 2025

The club had some decent fishing on Round Lake this year. Weather conditions transitioned throughout the outing, beginning sunny and clam until more wind and cloud cover developed later in the day. Bass and panfish were the catch of the day for the 12 club members who attended this outing. Many Bass and Panfish were landed and 19 Largemouth Bass, 1 Smallmouth Bass, 1 Catfish, 4 Crappie, 3 Bluegill, and 2 Perch qualified for points. Some standout first were the 3 9” Bluegill landed by Mikey Olszewski Jr., and a big 20.5” Largemouth Bass landed by Stew Fishman, when ended up winning the big fish contest of the day! All and all, it was a decent day on the water.

Silver Lake - June 28, 2025

High heat and blue bird skies strike the club again. Challenging conditions could not stop the outing as 5 club members fished Silver Lake even with the odds stacked heavily against them. Both Largemouth Bass and Panfish were caught, but, only 5 Bluegill qualified for points. On a more positive note however, club member Mike Olszewski, Jr. demonstrated that much better fishing is to be had on this body of water. Throwing nothing by a large musky inline spinner the entire outing, he had 5 large muskies follow his bait back to the boat, but unfortunately, none were tempted to strike!

Private Bass Lake - June 14, 2025

11 club members and 1 guest got into some good fishing this Saturday! Overcast skies and light wind added up to great fishing weather. Many Largemouth were caught, including 25 qualifying for points. Of those, 5 Largemouth were 18” or larger, and Greg Sanders landed a 20” beauty, winning the big fish contest for this outing! Besides the Largemouth bite, the following fish were additionally boated for points: 12 Crappies, 3 Bluegills, and 1 Perch. Fishing the defined weed edge was very productive and this pattern should continue to produce as the summer heats up. This local spot continues to produce some good fishing for the Club and we look forward to returning next year!

Lake Elizabeth - May 31, 2025

Cold weather did not hold back the Libertyville Fishing Club as 11 members hit the water on Lake Elizabeth. Even with unfavorable weather conditions, some nice fish of multiple species were landed for points, namely 17 Largemouth Bass, 2 Walleye, 2 Northern Pike, and 1 Bluegill. Live bait was productive but crankbaits and soft plastics baits also produced results. Many other fish were caught that did not qualify for points but some of the standout fish landed for points include a solid 17” Largemouth caught by Stew Fishman, and a nice 25” Northern Pike netted by Lou DiNicola, (a very respectable Pike for that body of water!) As predicted, rising water temps should result in more active fish and better outing results as early summer begins.

Private Northern Illinois Walleye Lake - May 17, 2025

There was a decent bite for the 16 club members and 2 guests who fished a private walleye lake in northern Illinois. In the face of overcast weather and mild wind 15 Largemouth Bass, 9 Walleye, 2 Bluegill, 2 Crappie, and 5 Yellow Bass were caught for points with many other Largemouth and Panfish landed that did not qualify. Lou DiNicola brought home the Big Fish award with a nice 24” Walleye, and Matt Biggerstaff landed a 17” Largemouth bass to round out the highlights of the outing.

Chain O' Lakes - April 19, 2025

Seven club members and one guest fished the Chain with some fish biting. The Sky was overcast and there were slight drizzles of rain - great walleye fishing conditions - but bites for the target species were tough going. Nevertheless, 2 walleye, 7 bluegill, 5 crappie, and 2 yellow bass were caught for points. John Medved landed the big fish of the outing with a nice 19” walleye! Water temps are warming up this spring and fishing should continue to improve in future outings.

Independence Grove Forest Preserve - March 15, 2025

Gale force winds could not dissuade 7 club members from hitting the water at Independence Grove Forest Preserve. Even in the midst of bad weather 2 Largemouth Bass and 11 Crappie were caught for points, with the largest coming in at 14” and 12” respectively.

Lake Koshkonong - October 4-6, 2024

Seventeen club members and one guest fished in pleasant but windy weather. Due to the wind, most of us stayed in the river fishing bridge footings and rock piles. We caught 51 walleye, 4 sauger, 5 smallmouth bass, 1 largemouth bass, 1 northern pike, 3 channel catfish, and a bunch of panfish that were of scoreable size. Fishing was steady but challenging, with sporadic flurries as schools moved through.  The water was warm for October, so that might have affected the action.

Fox Chain - April 20, 2024

Thirteen club members fished our first boat outing of the year. It was very cold and windy, but we managed to catch 25 fish that qualified for points under our scoring system. Jig/minnow or blade baits caught most of the fish. We caught 9 walleye, 2 catfish, 1 smallmouth bass, 2 white bass, 9 yellow bass, and 2 crappie. Ward won big fish honors with a 24.75” walleye.

Our next outing is 5/4 on Lake Michigan for coho.

Rock River - April 6, 2024

Nine club members fished the Rock River outing, most from shore but two by boat. The weather was nice, but with all the recent rain the river level was high and the current was strong. We mostly used 3-way river rigs with 1.5-2 ounces of weight to maintain bottom contact. We caught 13 walleyes in the 15" - 16 3/4" range, and Jason Cashmore won the big fish honors with the 16 3/4 incher. 

The next outing is April 20 on the Fox Chain.