SAN DIEGO — There haven’t been many easy games for the Cubs during this West Coast swing, but as the seven-game trip nears its close, there are some things that stand out. Here are two key observations:

Wisdom wants to stay awhile

Teams might not have known who Patrick Wisdom was before his torrid stretch, but they definitely know who the Cubs third baseman is now. Wisdom has set the league on fire since being called up from Triple-A Iowa on May 25.

He has been just what the Cubs needed with much of their every-day lineup on the injured list or dealing with bumps and bruises, providing some additional thump with seven homers in 14 games.

“I think it’s just slowing down,” Wisdom said. “Those homers, they come when I’m not trying to do too much. . . . I think when the homers come, it’s just being relaxed and looking for the pitch I can drive and looking for something in the zone.”

Wisdom, 29, was named National League Player of the Week on Monday after hitting .435 last week with six home runs, nine RBI and a 1.719 OPS.

The Cubs will have some decisions to make when Matt Duffy, Nico Hoerner and David Bote come off the injured list. But if Wisdom continues to swing the bat like he has in June, he won’t be coming out of the lineup anytime soon.

“[He has] definitely given us more than I think we expected,” manager David Ross said. “That would be a true statement. He has come in and filled in really nicely and almost carried us here for a little while and kept that lineup turning over there toward the middle.”

Starters must help out the bullpen

The rotation has been the Cubs’ biggest area of concern, and it hasn’t exactly gotten into a groove with only one starter going more than five innings on the trip.

The rotation began to show signs of life after a slow start in April with a combined 2.65 ERA in May. But with some key injuries in the lineup, the Cubs are going to need more from their starters while the offense tries to get healthy.

The Cubs have been able to overcome the rotation’s early struggles because their bullpen has been one of baseball’s best. Cubs relievers rank second in the NL with a 2.74 ERA. Ross has been forced to lean on his bullpen a little more often than he’d like, but he won’t be able to ask his relievers to continue to cover 12-14 outs a game all season.

”It’s been one of those things that when we’ve gotten the lead and we’ve held it down early, we’ve been able to turn to the bullpen,” Ross said. ”When we fall behind earlier or get some traffic and aren’t able to get out of that, it taxes the bullpen at some point. That’s where we’re at right now.”

One bright spot has been right-hander Kyle Hendricks’ return to form. Hendricks came into the season as the Cubs’ No. 1 starter and has started to pitch like it.

He has quality starts in six of his last seven outings and has won his last five starts. Hendricks knows he’ll have to continue to step up if the Cubs hope to keep their eyes on the NL Central title.

“That’s always my focus,” Hendricks said. “Always want to go deep into the ballgame and keep my pitch count down. And I’ve been doing a pretty good job of it.”

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Bring it, manager Tony La Russa said.

The White Sox opened a three-game series against the Jays Tuesday night, the beginning of a 13-game stretch over 13 days that includes one team with a losing record — the Tigers — to be played at Detroit this weekend.

After that, the Sox host the Rays (39-23) and play four games in Houston against the Astros (34-26).

It should be a good test, starting with the Jays, whom the Sox took care of in a 6-1 victory.

“They’re one of the top-hitting clubs in baseball, lots of talent up and down the lineup,” La Russa said. “We don’t concede anything, our lineup has tough outs up and down, too. Other than Detroit this weekend, for two weeks it’s going to be American League East with Tampa Bay and the West with Houston. If you like competition you’re going to like what goes on the next two weeks.”

In former Sox Marcus Semien, Teoscar Hernandez and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Jays had three of the AL’s top four leaders in hits and average and in Guerrero baseball’s leader in home runs, on-base percentage, OPS and total bases and the AL leader in average and slugging. Left-hander Carlos Rodon held the Jays to one run over five innings and Jose Ruiz, Evan Marshall, Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks teamed up for four scoreless innings of relief.

“They have a lot of life in their bats and they’ve got some speed,” La Russa said. “I like to look at it as, yeah, they’re tough to play against but we hope they think we’re tough to play against as well.”

Andrew Vaughn tied a tight game at 1-1 with a bases-empty homer against an otherwise dominant Jays lefty Robbie Ray (13 strikeouts) in the seventh, and Vaughn’s sacrifice fly started a five-run barrage in the eighth against the Rays bullpen. Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes started it with singles and pinch hitter Adam Eaton (RBI single), Leury Garcia (two-run triple) and Tim Anderson piled on more runs than were needed.

The Sox will be in first place for the 35th day this season Wednesday — every day since May 7 — their most in one season since 2012 when they led for 126 days. The four-game lead they took into Tuesday was the largest in baseball.

Rodon, who started Tuesday on seven days rest, is one-fifth of a stout starting rotation that has had as much to do with the Sox success as anything.

“It was an amazing five innings keeping us in the game,” La Russa said.

The rotation led by Rodon (1.96 ERA), Wednesday starter Lance Lynn (6-0, 1.38 ERA over last seven starts), Dallas Keuchel, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease led the AL with a 3.04 ERA and was tied with the Red Sox with 26 wins. It has allowed two runs or less in 39 of 60 games, tied with the Rays for the most in the AL.

Wanting to trumpet the “heart and guts” of his players, La Russa wasn’t ready to call the rotation the backbone of this team, although he could have.

“How many backbones can you have?” he said.

“I agree, when you have a starter every day that gives you a shot but some of the worst games you lose [are when] the bullpen gives it up. So you’ve got to have the backbone of the bullpen. I’m not being glib, I’m just telling you. If you want to have a special year, you want to have a chance for October, all those things have to be in place. There’s a number of backbones.”

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The seven-day average statewide positivity rate of 1.1% is the lowest since experts started tracking the metric, which is used as a barometer of how rapidly the virus is circulating. The rate has ridden a roller coaster, soaring past 20% in the early days of the pandemic.

Just days short of the state’s full reopening, Illinois on Tuesday recorded 365 cases of COVID-19 and yet another record low positivity rate.

The tally of 365 cases comes one day after the state logged just 244 — the lowest daily caseload since March 23, 2020.

The seven-day average statewide positivity rate of 1.1% is the lowest since experts started tracking the metric, which is used as a barometer of how rapidly the virus is circulating.

The rate has ridden a roller coaster, soaring past 20% in the early days of the pandemic and plummeting to about 2.5% early last summer before shooting up again to 13.2% in mid-November.

In the past few weeks, it’s fallen steadily, reaching a new record low each day.

The overall steadily improving metrics prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to call for the state to enter Phase 5 — signaling an end to most all business restrictions — this Friday. Last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot abandoned her July 4 goal and announced the city would join the rest of the state in lifting all capacity restrictions on Friday.

Masks will still be required in schools, in health care settings, on public transit and in some businesses. And experts still recommend that those who are not fully vaccinated keep their faces covered in other public setting as well.

And as the cases and positivity rates have dropped, so have vaccination rates.

Another 44,174 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines were administered across Illinois on Monday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to 42,852 doses a day. That average has dipped up and down in recent weeks, but has steadily remained a fraction of the 131,642 seven-day average logged in mid-April.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file

More than 51% of the state’s adult population is fully vaccinated, state public health officials reported. A total of 11,708,874 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Monday.

Officials reported 11 additional deaths, including two Cook County men in their 40s. The state’s overall COVID-19 death toll is 22,974.

As of Monday night, 791 individuals across Illinois were reported in the hospital due to COVID-19, officials said. Among those patients, 226 were in the ICU and 117 were on ventilators.

For help finding a vaccine appointment in Chicago, visit zocdoc.com or call (312) 746-4835. The city is offering in-home vaccinations to any resident 65 or older, as well as those with disabilities or underlying health conditions.

For suburban Cook County sites, visit vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or call (833) 308-1988.

To find providers elsewhere, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov or call (833) 621-1284.

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Summer fishing truly settles in with big flathead catfish, northern pike, largemouth bass and catfish for this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

Summer truly arrived and it shows in the reports for this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

Nicholas Stilin emailed the flathead photo at the top and this:

Fox river 27 pounds , caught by my amazing wife Nancy! Even women can hang with the men!

Point wonderfully made.

MICHIGAN FREE FISHING WEEKEND

No licenses are required Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and 12, to fish in Michigan. Other regulations apply. State parks also have free entry. Click here for more info.

PERCH CLOSURE

Perch fishing in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan is closed through June 15.

LAKEFRONT PARKING

Chicago Park District’s parking passes for the fisherman’s parking lots at DuSable and Burnham harbors are on sale at Henry’s Sports and Bait in Bridgeport and Park Bait at Montrose Harbor.

Readers suggest SpotHero app downtown. Otherwise, here are some basics: Foster (free street parking or pay lot); Montrose (now a mix of metered and free street parking); Belmont (pay lots on north and south sides); Diversey (pay lot or street parking); DuSable Harbor (pay lot or fisherman’s lot); Northerly Island/Burnham Harbor (meters, pay lot or fisherman’s lot); 31st/Burnham (meter parking between McCormick Place and 31st Street Harbor); Oakwood/39th (meters); 63rd Street/Casino Pier (pay lot); Steelworkers Park (free street parking at east end of 87th); Cal Park (free parking).

AREA LAKES

Time of the year when pond fishing is nearly at its best with bluegill bedding and frog or rat fishing for largemouth bass.

Provided

John Kessler emailed the photo above and this last week:

Mario Rios caught this 18” large mouth bass last Saturday in a subdivision pond in Joliet on a slip bobber and red worm. Said it was the biggest fish he ever caught. He thought it came off, but eventually, he was able to land it. Submitted by John Kessler. (I caught 18” bass the next day at a different place in the same pond).

Provided

Radouane Ouarzazi emailed the photo above and this:

This is my second big carp.i send u my first one last week.this caught this Wednesday at 2pm. At maple lake near boat center.using hot dog. It was 32 inches 18 pound

Thank you very much

BRAIDWOOD LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset. Click here for the preview.

CHAIN O’LAKES AREA

Staff at Triangle Sports and Marine in Antioch said crappie finished spawning; bluegill on beds; largemouth are mostly coming off beds; flathead and channel catfish are phenomenal right now, especially in the river; white bass in deeper water on Marie and Channel, topwaters, bucktails and trollers.

NOTE: Check updates on water conditions at foxwaterway.com or (847) 587-8540.

NOTE 2: The Stratton Lock and Dam is open 8 a.m. to midnight through Sept. 30.

CHICAGO RIVER

Provided by Jeffrey Williams

Jeffrey Williams messaged Tuesday afternoon the photo above and this:

1 out of 2 so far

15 lbs 31 in

Caught on Marshmallows

Later in the evening, he messaged the photo below and this:

wat a surprise it was catching this girl

Provided

DELAVAN LAKE, WISCONSIN

As the column notes, wacky-worming Senkos for largemouth bass was good Thursday on the flats Dave Kranz and me.

Dave Duwe emailed:

Delavan Lake 6/7/21 through 6/14/21

Summer has finally arrived. The warm temperatures and warmer water have made the fishing fantastic. It is great fun when there is action in multiple species. The boat traffic is intense but if you fish early, you should have a lot of fun.

Walleyes have started to bite. The best depth for me has been 18-22 ft. on the outside of the weed edge. My legal fish have been coming off of lindy rigged nightcrawlers. Some fish have also come off of fat head minnows. The best spot has been by Willow Point or by the Island on the west end.

Largemouth bass are still in the shallows. Just fish the docks and you’ll catch all the fish you’d care to. Use Senkos or Floating worms for the most action. The color doesn’t matter that much. With the warmer weather the fish should be pulling off the bank in the next week or so. This is when the deep weed line bite should be on.

Smallmouth bass are also on the deep weed line in the 20-22 ft range. I haven’t been catching large numbers of them but the certainly have been quality fish (16-19 inches on average). My best bait has been night crawlers fished on a split shot or lindy rig. The best location has been by the Village Supper Club or west of Willow Point.

Crappies continue to bite. The crappies I’ve been catching are off the weed line in 12-14 ft of water. They are suspended right above the weeds. Mini mites have been producing all of the fish for me. The best color is chartreuse or purple. The average size of the fish are about 9 inches.

Bluegills are stilling spawning in 3 to 8 feet of water. Trout worms are the answer fished on a small split- shot. Look for the fish at Three Flags or by Delmar subdivision boat launch.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

DES PLAINES RIVER

Lou DiNicola emailed the photo above and this:

Provided

is the youngest member of the Libertyville Fishing Club and he loves to fish anywhere and everywhere. He recently caught this 18” largemouth and 16” smallmouth within 10 minutes on the DesPlaines River. Congrats Isaac!

Isaac is 16 and usually kayak fishes and in this case apparently took his bike! You printed his pic awhile ago with salmon and smallmouth from his kayak in Lake Michigan. Great to see a young man with the fishing bug. So far he has big fish of the year at our club outings with a 33” pike caught ice fishing in Lake Michigan. He is a formidable competitor to all us old guys!

Click here for Biggerstaff’s earlier Fish of the Week, mentioned by DiNicola.

DOWNSTATE

POWERTON: Hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sept. 30.

EMIQUON: Access permits and liability waivers are again required. They are available Tuesday to Saturday at Dickson Mounts Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

HENNEPIN-HOPPER: Reopens May 15. Open through Sept. 6. Closed Mondays (except Labor Day). Check regulations at http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/dixon-paddling-fishing.

SHELBYVILLE: Check with Ken Wilson of Lithia Guide Service. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Check with Jason Johns of Boneyard Fishing.

FOX RIVER

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Chris Horvath messaged the photo above and this:

Smashed the Ned rig

I’m noticing the Smallmouth are starting to be above the Algonquin dam now

Biggest one this year. She was released to fight another day

Dicky’s Bait Shop in Montgomery reported the river is quite low and fishing slowed, “Basically catfish up and down the river.” A really big drum was caught below the Montgomery dam. Leeches seem to be the ticket for bass.

Pete Lamar emailed:

Hi Dale,

The attached image is what happened when I removed a leech from my leg. It looks much worse than it was: I never felt a thing and I think leeches use an anticoagulant when feeding, so I didn’t clot as quickly as usual. I’d been fishing a Fox trib for smallmouth and didn’t notice my “passenger” until I’d gotten home and changed clothes.

The fishing was tough. I caught a few small smallmouths, but it was frustrating because there were some large fish around. They showed themselves, but would not eat; I’ve made fewer fly changes when trying to get a stubborn brown to take. The water was low, clear and warm. I’m not sure which, if any, of those conditions caused the bigger fish to become so difficult. I talked to another angler who was leaving as I arrived: he was fishing for chubs to use as catfish bait later that evening, but had no success. When chubs aren’t biting, you know it’s not going to be your day. The rain we got yesterday and are supposed to get the next couple of days can only help.

I requested Home Waters by John Maclean (the spelling and capitalization-or lack thereof-mattered to his family) from my local library. I’m really looking forward to reading it.

Pete

Trust me, the photo was tough to look at.

GENEVA LAKE, WISCONSIN

Arden Katz said there were good bass in 9-12 feet at night in Williams Bay on drop-shots, also lots of rock bass and one big smallmouth.

Dave Duwe emailed:

Lake Geneva 6/7/21 through 6/14/21

Fishing has been very good with the warmer weather. The smallmouth are still in the shallows spawning. They are being readily caught either with leeches, nightcrawlers or tube jigs. Due to the cool spring the pleasure boat traffic has been very light.

The best location for Smallmouth bass has been either Belvidere Park or the Elgin Club. Try for the fish in 12-15 ft of water. Most of my fish are being caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers. The best depth has been 11 or 12 ft of water. The key to success have been the wind. The wind has been very light lately, so you need heavy wind to drift properly.

Rock bass are literally found throughout the lake. They have not spawned yet. The best depth is 6-8 ft of water. Most of the fish are being caught on nightcrawlers. Look for the fish by the Military Academy or by Fontana Beach.

Walleyes have been very good. The only success is coming at night in 12-15 ft of water. Try trolling medium diving crankbaits. The best success is the Walleye Bandit in chrome/Blue or Chrome/Black. Look for the fish in Trinkes Bay or in Geneva Bay. The best time is between midnight and 4 a.m.

The perch are in the 6-8 ft depth range. They can be caught on slip bobbered fat head minnows or leaf worms. The best location is by Knollwood or Rainbow Point. The fish are very aggressive and are schooling.

Largemouth bass are spawning at the present time. They can be caught on their beds or just off their beds. Nightcrawlers on a split shot rig are a good option. Lizards fished on a light weight and a spinning rod have produced quite a few fish. The best location has been Geneva bay or Trinkes.

Good Luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050

GREEN LAKE AREA, WISCONSIN

Guide Mike Norris emailed this:

Fishing Report 6/07/2021

Mike Norris

Big Green Lake – The smallmouth bass bite is hot right now. Look for them in 6 to 10 feet of water. Drop shot and Ned rigs are both working well, as are Alabama rigs. Walleyes are good on Flicker Shads and Salmo crankbaits trolled in 10 -12 feet of water.

Little Green Lake – Muskie fishing was good last week, and I am looking for more of the same this week. Try casting bucktails over emerging vegetation. Both walleyes and panfish are biting. Try a jig and leech on the outside weed edge for walleye and redworms below a float near piers for panfish.

Fox Lake – Largemouth bass fishing has been hit or miss. The lake lost 15 degrees of water temp with the frost last week. The bass bite should return with warm stable weather this week. Bluegills are moving shallow to spawn right now and can be found around the islands and under piers.

To book a guide trip reach out to me via my Facebook page at mike.norris.7773 or email me through my website at www.comecatchsmallmouth.com

GREEN/STURGEON BAYS, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR weekly report.

Lance LaVine at Howie’s Tackle in Sturgeon Bay emailed this on Thursday:

Good morning fellas! Sorry for the delay

Perch fishing in the county has been going extremely well in recent weeks and that should continue right through summer. I believe we are experiencing some of the better Perch fishing we have seen in the past 10 plus years. Very good numbers of all year classes in my opinion. Areas to try include…Little Sturgeon, Riley’s Bay, Sawyer Harbor, the Flats, downtown Sturgeon Bay in and on the edges of the shipping channel along with some of that deeper water and mid-depth mud down around the Chaudoir’s Dock area. Fatheads, Crawlers and Leaf worms still the best live baits to have in the boat or on the dock

Fishing out on the Big Lake has also been very good in recent weeks. Up until this point it has been mostly Rainbow Trout with some Kings, Coho’s and Lake Trout mixed in. I anticipate that will be changing here very soon with the warm temps on the way. The big, sought after Kings will be showing up here in full-force once our water temps rise and become established. Currently the best depths are from that 100 foot mark out to that 350 foot range fishing the top 50 foot of the water column with the occasional King coming a bit deeper. For the Rainbows, bright colored spoons are working the best and Flasher/Howie Fly combos working for the Kings

Bass fishing can be classed as good at this point as we are now experiencing all stages of the spawn pending which area you are fishing. Pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn patterns must be part of your arsenal at this time. Jerk baits, spinner baits, spy baits, Howie Tubes, ned rigs and paddle tails all good baits to have in the box at this time

The Walleye fishing is still going quite well especially to the south from Chaudoir’s Dock south to the bottom of the bay. I anticipate the bite to ramp back up here in our neck of the woods rather quickly with the weather change we are about to experience. Soon, most of the Reefs, like Larsen’s Reef for example will fire up with Walleyes and there should be a really good trolling and casting bite going on

Thanks;

Lance LaVine

Howie’s Tackle
1309 Green Bay Rd
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Ph: 920-746-9916

HEIDECKE LAKE

Provided

Bob Johnson emailed the photo above and this:

Summer patterns are setting up on Heidecke for Bass with warming water. Caught some fish by trying on different lures to change it up some. Tied on a surface lure the past couple times out and was able to get blow ups from both large and smallmouth. Also have been casting bladed jigs tipped with a crawler tail. It seems most fish want something dark resembling crawfish so your blacks and brown colors worked best fished parallel to rip rap. Also the plastics seem to be best choice for all around. Catch and release the Bass.Note – coast guard were out doing safety checks on Saturday. It’s a good thing!!!

That’s a good breakdown of how to approach summer bass fishing at Heidecke.

Open 6 a.m. (6:30 bank fishing) to sunset. Click here for the promising preview.

KANKAKEE RIVER

Rain came up and dirtied after some of the basin was hammered Monday with heavy rains.

Provided

George Peters emailed the photo above and this:

Hi Dale, our heat wave and low water have sent Largemouth Bass onto beds in Kankakee River backwaters. River fish don’t become trophy fish like in lakes so a 3 pound fish like this is about max. Plastic. Creature baits near shore will work. G. Peters.

LAKE ERIE

Click here for the Ohio DNR Report.

LAKEFRONT

Steve Palmisano at Henry’s Sports and Bait texted:

Not much to report, smallmouth slowing down from shore. Salmon and trout still good about 100 feet. Dodger and fly.

Capt. Bob Poteshman of Confusion Charters said Chicago has “big numbers of lake trout” straight out of Chicago in 80-100 feet with coho, too. Out of North Point, coho are in band in 50-100 feet from Kenosha to Waukegan, “But you have to work the pockets of fish;” a mixed bag is in 200-300. Coho are mainly coming on Dodgers and flies; spoons run deeper are working best for lakers.

Lori Ralph at the Salmon Stop in Waukegan texted:

Boat fishing good, anywhere from 70 to 150 feet, steelies, cohos, Lakers and a couple browns.

Capt. Scott Wolfe emailed:

Coho fishing is generally very good. There is an occasional bad trip, usually in the afternoon, where they seem to shut down for 1/2 a day. The best fishing has been in 65 to 100 feet. Most board have been trolling between Waukegan and Northpoint, but a couple of us explored the same depts to the South of Waukegan over the weekend to avoid the crowds and we did just as well. There are occasional kings, lake trout and steelhead taken as well. Jimmy Fly trolling flies in various colors have worked well. Most days blue/green are best. On the slower days try switching to small black and purple leant size flies. Purple or green spoons have also worked from Warrior lures in Voodoo, Purple Alewife and Lance’s Two Face patterns. the XL size was best. All lures are being run the the top 40 fee with most fish taken 10 to 30 feet down.

I again saw no one fishing the harbor. The SW winds over the past few days cleared up the water and harbor fishing should be good. I saw some huge pike this week chasing bluegill and crappie near my slip in the South Harbor. The carp are becoming active and look like they are getting ready to spawn.

Capt. Scott Wolfe

schooloffishcharters.com
630-341-0550

LaSALLE LAKE

Open daily 6 a.m. to sunset. Click here for the preview of prospects.

MADISON LAKES, WISCONSIN

Click here for the update from D&S Bait.

MAZONIA

Both units are open for fishing.

MILLE LACS LAKE, MINNESOTA

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Justin Lederer emailed the photo above and this from McQuoids Inn in Isle, Minn.:

Justin Lederer checking in from McQuoids Inn Lake Mille Lacs. The weather has been hot and so has the fishing. Walleye are still being caught in the deeper reefs with slip bobber and a leech. Smallmouth are in 5-12 feet still neds and tubes are producing a lot of quality fish. If you want to experience some of the best fishing in the Midwest come on up and see what Lake Mille Lacs is all about.

NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Provided

Ken “Husker” O’Malley emailed the photos above and below and this:

Hey Dale,

Here is a recap of this past weeks fishing.

Northern Wisconsin-record high temps have hit the Northwoods this past weekend. Water temps have risen to 68-70 on the main lake and 75-76 in shallower bays.

Smallmouth bass- some are still on beds while others are post spawn. Best baits have been ned rigs, x-raps, senkos, and drop shot max scent flat worms. Focus on rock points, humps, and flats adjacent to deep water. The evening bite has been excellent with the warm-up. Best bait has been the Berkley choppo.

Walleye have been good during evening hours working an x-rap on rock points.

Northern pike are excellent working a variety of baits along emerging weeds that are starting to take off because of the hot temps.

Crappie are very good along deeper weed edges and isolated wood. Best bait has been the Strike King joker under a slip float.

Here is the nature pic of the week. No words needed. Courtesy of Hailey O’Malley.

TTYL

—

Ken “Husker” O’Malley

Husker Outdoors
Waterwerks fishing team

Hailey O’Malley

Kurt Justice at Kurt’s Island Sport Shop in Minocqua emailed:

WOW! We got hit with a heatwave for those of us in Northern Wisconsin this past weekend! Temps in the low 90’s pushed lake surface temps into the 70’s and threw off some fish and anglers alike! We are well into the bluegill spawning stage on many lakes while some large and cooler lakes still have bedding Smallmouth.

Bluegills: Very Good – With gills moving into shallow with many bedding up already. The Bluegill fishing has been hot! Poppers, small leeches, thunderbugs, and tiny tubes all working. Be kind at this vulnerable time as studies show that large male Bluegill are very important for maintaining quality Bluegills. These males are very important for guarding nests, so treat these fish like bass! Get ‘em back to their nest quickly to provide good year classes for the future.

Smallmouth Bass: Very Good – Many done with spawn, but hitting tubes, creature baits and 3” swimbaits. Season Catch and Release only until June 19^th. Big smallies to 5 ½# reported over the weekend.

Walleye: Good – Fair – Heat and sun hurt daytime bite though some good catches reported during windows of activity. Leeches hot bait, but Chubs also producing in and along weed beds of 7-14’. Some anglers working swimbaits and Gulp minnows on 1/8 – ¼ oz jigs. Reporting hard hits working weeds.

Musky: Good – Fair – Large swimbaits and Marabou Bucktails were the ticket over the weekend. Action improved as the heat cycle extended. Evening action on top water picking up also.

Northern Pike: Good – Fair – Fast moving Spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits best. Fish thick weeds for best action; Weedless Swimjig with Swimbait trailer also good.

Crappies: Good – Fair – Need to fan cast weed tops in 7-12’ with small Twister tails to locate; then fish small minnows at weed top level or just below.

Largemouth Bass: Good-Fair – Good action on tube jigs along inside weed edges. Wacky Worms effective late morning through mid-afternoon until the sun lowers, then start up top-water Whopper Ploppers!

Yellow Perch: Good – Fair – Still not getting much direct attention, but thunderbugs and medium leeches around drowned timber or weed flats of 8-10’ best.

The early heat is playing havoc on wild bait trappers. Leeches are in short supply, while Redtailed Chubs, Black Chubs, Walleye Suckers, Mud Minnows and DACE are almost impossible to find. Try experimenting with more swimming style plastics where applicable. Fathead and crawler supplies still good.

Kurt Justice

Kurt’s Island Sport Shop

NORTHWEST INDIANA

Provided

Capt. Rich Sleziak at Slez’s Bait in Lake Station texted:

Fishing on the south end remains good 70 to 100 ft fishing top to bottom. Dodgers and Flys and spoons best baby spindoctors and Flys taking a lot of coho

Few steelhead being caught off of Michigan city peir and portage river walk on shrimp

Bluegills doing their thing at all lakes and ponds.

Catfish on triple s dip bait at night at lake George in Hobart and portage lakefront river walk

Few perch starting to show up around the doughnut east of burns ditch in 35ft of water. Nothing fast and furious yet but it’s coming.

Love to hear that last one.

Christina Petrites at Stan’s Bait & Tackle Center in Hammond emailed:

Hi, Dale. With the lake temperatures heating up, fishing for certain species has been heating up right along with it. Enjoy the slightly cooler upcoming week!

Fishing on Lake Michigan & its subsidiary inlets remains very good, from the Chicago lakefront to Michigan City to Saint Joseph, with Coho & Trout with some Kings mixed in. Trollers are doing best on small spoons.

Catfish, Smallmouth Bass, & Walleye are doing excellently on local rivers.

Inland lakes are on fire now for bluegill, as they are bedding in most lakes.

ROOT RIVER, WISCONSIN

Click here for the Wisconsin DNR’s report, usually on Tuesday or Wednesday.

SILVER LAKE, WISCONSIN

Arden Katz they caught over 40 largemouth, mostly smaller but one went 4 1/2, and a few rock bass, on Ned rigs, wacky-worming and spinner baits in 2-5 feet. There is a free launch.

SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

Staff at Tackle Haven in Benton Harbor said coho, lakers and the occasional king are in 120-150 feet; the river has the occasional walleye.

Paddle and Pole hosts the Berrien Springs Fish Ladder Camera.

SHABBONA LAKE

Site hours through Oct. 31 are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

The concessions are back up and running with the same phone number, web site and Facebook. There may be kinks to work out, but much is the same. Bait shop hours are currently 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN LAKEFRONT

Provided by Nick Mertins

Nick Mertins messaged the photo above and this:

Been on some good kings!!! Figured I’d share some pics!! Always wanted to make your fishing report. We were fishing deep 150-200 outta Milwaukee bite was crazy first light then they moved out a bit but we stayed in em!!

Click here for the southern Lake Michigan reports from the Wisconsin DNR.

WISCONSIN RIVER

Provided

Rob Abouchar emailed the photo above and this:

Hi Dale

Back on the Wisconsin river and Larry Lixx LoCascio was on the bass again. Very little breeze but good water levels on the Alexander Flowage. Bass going for wacky rigged senkos. Some hammer handle pike going as well. Summer patterns going on the river. Still trying to secure a gig in Merrill for a true fishin musician trip. Might have to be solo or duo with my bandmate Joe “The grasseater” Schatz. Will report

Tight lines and good health

For some of us, tight lines and good health is the stuff of life.

WOLF RIVER, WISCONSIN

Guide Bill Stoeger in Fremont texted:

White bass are about done. Still getting a few, first and last light of the day. Walleye action continues to be good, jigs and crawler working best

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The boy suffered a graze wound to the head and was listed in good condition, Chicago police said.

A 9-year-old boy was hurt in a shooting Tuesday night in Back of the Yards on the South Side.

About 7 p.m., the boy was near the front of a home in the 5400 block of South Morgan Street when he was struck by gunfire, coming from an unknown direction, according to Chicago police.

He suffered a graze wound to the head and a family member brought him to Comer Children’s Hospital where he was listed in good condition, police said.

No one is in custody.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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The evening of June 1, the boy allegedly shot into a crowd of people in Oz Park on the North Side.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with shooting into a crowd of people last week in Oz Park and wounding one teenager.

About 7:30 p.m. June 1, the boy allegedly fired shots into a group in the park in the 2000 block of North Burling Street, Chicago police said.

Another 17-year-old boy, who was in the crowd, suffered a graze wound, according to police.

The shooter was found nearby in the 900 block of West Armitage Avenue and taken into custody, police said. A Smith & Wesson handgun was also recovered, according to police.

The boy faces one felony count each of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm, police said.

Neighbors gathered in Oz Park Friday to demand police and city officials do more to increase public safety in the area.

During the meeting, residents told Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) and 18th District police officers they’ve had concerns for years and complained of groups of minors drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in the park.

The Chicago Police Department made a pledge to add more foot patrols and surveillance cameras in the area.

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The Chicago Justice Project released a 20-year study portraying the committee as anemic over the last 20 years in hopes of pressuring the committee to approve four stalled police accountability ordinances.

The Chicago Justice Project on Tuesday turned up the heat on the City Council to approve four stalled police accountability ordinances by portraying its Committee on Public Safety as anemic over the last 20 years.

Between 2000 and 2020, the Police Committee-turned-Committee on Public Safety held 186 meetings and considered 489 agenda items, according to a Justice Project review. Of the agenda items considered, 80% were unrelated to police oversight. Only 15% had anything to do with the Chicago Police Department, the study showed.

Less than 5% of committee action related to the alphabet soup of police accountability agencies: CPD’s now-defunct Office of Professional Standards, the Independent Police Review Authority and its replacement, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Instead of flexing its legislative muscle to rein in CPD and strengthen police accountability, the committee has spent much of its time donating used police and fire equipment and “rubber-stamping” mayoral appointees, the study showed.

Tracy Siska, executive director of the Justice Project, said the 20-year record is a clarion call for aldermen to “do their jobs.”

“We have experienced misconduct and abuse for decades in Chicago with no end. The Laquan McDonald murder didn’t happen in 1980. It happened in 2014. Anthony Alvarez just happened. There’s a long line of misconduct and abuse for a hundred years that the City Council has turned their back on and shirked their responsibility for,” Siska said.

“Don’t ask the Police Department to make changes. Demand them. They’re the legislators. They set the rules. It’s time to start doing it … and restrain policing for things they don’t want to happen.”

Siska is specifically demanding approval of four stalled ordinances:

• Sweeping search warrant reforms championed by Black female aldermen aimed at preventing a repeat of the botched raid on the wrong home that forced Anjanette Young to stand naked before male police officers.

• A plan for civilian police oversight endorsed by the Council’s Black, Hispanic and Progressive caucuses. It would ask Chicago voters in the 2022 primary to approve a binding referendum empowering an 11-member civilian police oversight commission to hire and fire the police superintendent, negotiate police contracts and set CPD’s budget. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has introduced her own plan that retains those powers for the mayor.

• Creating a “robust” database of misconduct complaints filed against Chicago Police officers, not the limited database dating no further back than 2000, as Lightfoot has offered.

• A “Police Settlement Transparency Accountability” ordinance giving aldermen the facts before they’re asking to sign off on settlements tied to allegations of police misconduct and mandate that the Committee on Public Safety meet monthly to consider those settlements and twice a year to focus on police accountability.

The Anjanette Young ordinance “limiting how and when they can do no-knock or knock-warrants and who they can point guns at” is a perfect place to start, Siska said.

“No one is advocating that the City Council tell them how many police to have assigned to what districts. … This is saying the citizens of Chicago and their representatives want policing to be restrained in this way,” he said.

Public Safety Committee Chairman Chris Taliaferro (29th), a former CPD officer, bristled at the suggestion he presides over a do-nothing committee.

“We are not an oversight body. We’re a legislative body. Yes, we create ordinances that affect our police department and fire department. But we should not be looked at as one of oversight. Rather, one of legislation,” the chairman said.

“I don’t think you should ever cave in to any type of political pressure to get something done. When you get something done, it should be thought out, negotiated and then passed. For their assessment to be ‘you rush ordinances and you rush legislation to vote,’ I think, is a poor assessment by them.”

Taliaferro said he has scheduled a June 18 meeting to allow aldermen to choose between Lightfoot’s watered-down version of civilian police oversight and a stronger version endorsed by the Council’s three most powerful caucuses.

He wouldn’t guess which way that vote would go.

Asked why he has yet to schedule the hearing he promised on the Anjanette Young ordinance, Taliaferro argued the legislation championed by African-American women in the Council goes too far.

“It’s asking to do something we have not done in the past. That is, codify police procedures. We’ve never done that. There are no police procedures that are a part of our city ordinances,” he said.

“The correct process to do that is … through changing police policies and procedures in their general orders.”

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The parade’s postponed till October, but you can still celebrate Pride outdoors and online this month.

Last year, Pride events were mostly limited to online celebrations. But with half of the adults in the state now fully vaccinated, this year looks different, even though the parade won’t happen till October.…Read More

Christian Kulas is at least the ninth person from Illinois to be charged in the Capitol breach, and the third from Cook County. Hundreds have been charged nationwide, and authorities have gathered a staggering amount of evidence. 

Federal prosecutors have charged a man from a tony North Shore suburb who allegedly wore a Burberry coat and laughed as he participated in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Christian Kulas, 24, was arrested at 6:12 a.m. Tuesday and later participated in a remote hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes. He is charged with unlawful entry of a restricted building and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds, both misdemeanors.

Fuentes ordered Kulas released under the supervision of his mother to live at the family’s home in the 200 block of Sheridan Road in Kenilworth. Authorities also executed a search warrant at the residence Tuesday morning, said Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Lausch’s office.

The home, on the shore of Lake Michigan, sold for $4.5 million last year, according to the real estate website RedFin.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The charges against Kulas have been filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. Kulas is now at least the ninth individual from Illinois to be charged in connection with the Capitol breach, and he is third from Cook County to be charged.

Hundreds of people have been charged nationwide in connection with the breach, and a staggering amount of evidence has been collected. Prosecutors have said it will likely amount to the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history.

Like in several cases stemming from the Capitol breach, court records show a tipster led the FBI to Kulas. That person handed over Instagram video clips depicting then-President Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6. A second clip then showed a large crowd of people walking toward the Capitol chanting, “block the steal.”

A third clip showed people scaling the Capitol’s exterior wall, court records show. And a fourth clip showed a crowd of people walking up the steps of the building.

During that fourth clip, the feds say the camera panned around to show the face of the person apparently operating the camera.

“The individual depicted in the video is laughing,” an FBI special agent wrote.

The person, later identified as Kulas, wore a dark baseball hat that read, “Keep America Great” in bright orange letters. The person was also wearing a dark coat with Burberry print.

In a fifth clip, a male voice can be heard saying, “Storming the Capitol,” according to court records.

Additional footage also put Kulas inside the building, court records show.

The person who handed over the Instagram video to the FBI also said Kulas lived around Winnetka or Lake Forest. That person also identified a former classmate of Kulas’, who viewed the videos and “was highly confident that the individual depicted in the videos wearing the Burberry coat was Kulas,” according to the feds.

The Instagram account in which the videos were found featured a profile photo of someone who appeared to be Kulas, and it identified the user as a “yogi,” “spiritual catalyst” and “alchemist.”

Meanwhile, court records show someone tried to ask Kulas’ mother on social media whether the person in the video was her son.

The answer, from an account apparently connected to Kulas’ mother, replied, “yes.”

Contributing: Michael Sneed

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A man died after he was shot on the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side last week.

Antonio Hogan, 26, was pronounced dead June 4 at the University of Chicago Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Hogan was wounded in a shooting two days earlier on Interstate 94.

On June 2, he was driving on the expressway about 7:40 p.m. at 33rd Street when someone fired shots from another vehicle, striking him in the head, Illinois State Police said.

Hogan was taken to the hospital in critical condition at the time, officials said.

Autopsy results released Tuesday found he died of complication from his gunshot wound, the medical examiner’s office said. He lived in Atlanta, Georgia.

Illinois State Police are investigating.

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