What would you recommend to anglers fishing in Waukegan, Illinois for the first time?

June is good, but I understand that fishing Lake Michigan in May is best! Our trip far surpassed fishing in Indiana or Michigan. Booking with Hook’d on Fishing in Waukegan Harbor was a great choice! We were novices but the two of us (father and son) still managed to put 7 coho in the boat! Any day is a great day to be on the water!

If you really want to catch em', hire Bear King Fishing and Captain Dave. He will get you on fish! For the DIY guys from shore, throw Gold 1oz Kastmater spoons in the harbor. Cast along the breakwall. Also plugs that dive to 6-7' with some wobble. Kayak guys can troll in the harbor and do really well too. Great spot!

Early April may be tough for salmon. Agreed to rebook a few days prior to our trip because conditions (visibility, water temp, etc) were tough to catch salmon, had plenty of luck at the end of April.

Make sure to get the Lake Michigan Salmon stamp along with your fishing license, and bring motion sickness meds if you’re not used to being out on the open water.

We fished early morning…. And the captain was able to put us on the fish right away! It’s worth getting up early!!

I was the only one on our trip that had fished on Lake Michigan previously. I informed captain Jim and he did everything to make the trip a great adventure for everyone.

Great place to get out on the lake. Bring adequate food & drink on the boat with you, and be prepared for changing temperatures.

Coho season (May-early June) is best time to take kids. King season (July) is fantastic to catch huge fish but is typically not as reliable as coho.

May is a good month to go perfect weather! The Waukegan harbor was easy to get to and fairly clean. Fish cleaning station available and long peer for great fishing.

Dress for the weather. Still pretty chilly in May. Went with Capt Karl Rudobielski of Prime Time Fishing, LLC. He was fantastic!

Hire one of the great charter captains fishing out of Waukegan Harbor for a great Lake Michigan fishing trip.

Book time with Capt Jim at Long Gone 3 fishing. Start in pants and a long shirt, end in shorts and a t-shirt! Aug is a great time to fish and enjoy the water!

It was cool in the morning and beautiful all day. Weather was great. Lots of stuff to do around the area to finish out a trip.

Make sure you know your weather! We checked with Capt Don the Sunday before tornado quality T-Storms were blowing through the area on our scheduled trip. We postponed a day for a much smoother ride!

This was definitely worth the trip for a first time charter fishing experience and loved that everyone caught something and the captain cleans the fish on the boat and sends home with you!

Go with Jawzon, this captain knows where to go and how catch the fish on this lake

Weather can be unpredictable early in season, bring change of clothes and rain gear

Go on a charter with Captain Jim because he has been fishing this area for a long time.

I recommend Captain Jim /Long Gone 3 charters. This was our first trip and he did really good job .

Bring light weight pants to fend off the biting flys that are present during July & summer months.

Get a charter with Ray and Joe at Xtasea IV Charter for a great weekend fun day with your friends!