It’s June and there’s lots to do on the summer social calendar. Keeping that in mind, you don’t want to travel too far and blow the whole day so here’s a few spots that are close to home that can provide you with plenty of early summer action! June is the time for a mixed bag of Crappies, Walleyes, Pike and Bass. Check out some of these local spots when you have some time.

Des Plaines River
"This river was once regarded by many as a cesspool of pollution & waste that housed nothing but "rough fish"; says Todd Berg of Into the Outdoors Guide Service (847) 566-1277. Check out Todd’s website at www.intotheoutdoors.net for up to the minute fishing information or to book an outing on any of our local lakes here in Northern Illinois. "This river has rebounded dramatically in the last decade, and some really nice quality Pike, Bass & Crappie are caught here in June," said Todd. The stretch of river from Gurnee, IL to route 137 in Libertyville is a good place to start. There is a canoe launch with parking for your vehicles at route 120 just east of Milwaukee. The river runs anywhere from 1 foot to 9 feet in depth along this stretch with an average depth of 4-6 feet. Northern Pike to 37 inches have been caught here. I’ll work bass style spinnerbaits on short nylon steel leaders to prevent bite off’s. Hot spinnerbait colors include white skirts with nickel blades and chartreuse & orange skirts with orange blades worked in some of the deeper holes (9 feet). Small jerkbaits and twitch baits like Rapala’s & Rogues also work well for Pike and Bass. There is a lot of downed timber along the shoreline, which is perfect for Texas rigging plastic worms. I use as light a weight as possible for my bullet sinker, and prefer Tequila Sunrise and Motor Oil colors for the Largemouth Bass. A second "improved canoe" launch can be found at Route 60 & Milwaukee Ave. This also has parking for your vehicles. The river from here north to the dog training area at route 137 is great for Crappies & Bass. Ultra light crankbaits and small Mini-Mites in hot colors are the ticket for crappies to 12 inches! Fish current breaks, eddies and downed timber with ultra light spinning gear and it won’t take long to get into some great action!

Diamond Lake in Mundelein, IL is a 155-acre lake located off Diamond Lake Road just west of Route 45. This lake has coontail, pondweed and sand grass which is perfect for Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye and Panfish. There is no horsepower restriction on this lake but a permit is required to launch your boat here. Annual permits run $50.00 for residents and $80.00 for non-residents. Boat rentals are not available. This is a great lake to wade or even float tube, but fish it during the week as weekend boat traffic can be very heavy. The northwest side of the lake has a great rock bed that is marked by "no wake" buoys. Tube jigs and Kalin grubs are the favorite choice here for Walleyes & Bass. Walleyes in the 4-6 pound range are not uncommon. The back channel on the south side of the lake near the ski jump is also a good place for Bass and Panfish. Slip floats with Mini-Mites tipped with pieces of nightcrawlers are awesome for really big ‘gills. The lake averages around 10 feet in depth with the deepest spots running to 28 feet. The smaller channel on the western tip of the lake that borders route 83 is another hot spot for a mixed bag of fish including channel cats to 8 pounds. If you like to "slop fish" the lily pads in the southwest corner of the lake near the small feeder creek is the area to fish! Joined Rapala’s and Rattlin’ Rogues twitched on the weed edges or in the open pockets will produce some huge Pike. I also like to fish plastic frogs over the tops of the lily pads during dawn & dusk hours for explosive Bass action.

Beck Lake on Central Road and East River Road just west of I-294 is a 100-acre Cook County Forest Preserve Lake that is a great place to spend some time at. It is shoreline accessible and contains some nice Walleye, Bass and lots of Bluegills & Crappies. Walleyes in the 6-7 pound range have been caught here.

Most Walleye’s have been taken on Lindy rigs with crawlers or leech’s dragged along the bottom. Slip bobbers tipped with minnows will catch Crappies and Gills. I like to work the area around the island using a slip float tipped with a number 8 hook and a minnow. I’ll cast out and let the rig settle for a few minutes. I’ll give the bobber a slight twitch and then let it settle again. I’ll continue this twitch/pause method until the bobber disappears.

Lake Catherine on the Chain of Lakes has a good Crappie and Bass population. When fishing Lake Catherine, I launch at Bob’s Marina (847) 395-1173, which is about 1½ miles west of Route 59, right off Route 173 on the south side of the lake. The channel coming out of their marina is a hot spot to start fishing for Crappies & Bass. There is a good weed bed out in front that runs out to 10-12 feet of water. In addition to the weeds, sunken trees are also part of the bottom structure. This structure holds crappies and is one of my favorite areas. Fish the boat docks for Bass and Bluegills as well as an occasional Musky. Don’t be afraid to move with the fish if the bite slows at this location!

 Rich’s Picks
Des Plaines River: Bass, Northern Pike and Crappies from route 120 down to route 60. Fish spinner baits, small jerkbaits and Mini-Mites.
Diamond Lake: Slop fishing with topwater baits like plastic frogs and Rapala’s for Bass & Northern Pike. Fish on weekdays to minimize boat traffic.
Lake Catherine: Bass & Crappies out of Bob’s Marina. Fish docks and drop offs here for consistent action.