Lake Michigan is home to some very good fishing in northern Illinois. Anglers fish out of Winthrop Harbor, Waukegan and Chicago. The fishing is good all along the coastline, however, you have a lot more people and traffic in downtown Chicago, so many anglers prefer heading further north to launch their boats. Salmon and trout are the primary species of fish targeted in this part of the lake, however, the perch fishing can be very good at times to go along with smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike and more.
Chicago, IL
Chicago is a major city that is full of people, entertainment, sports, tons of restaurants and a beautiful lakefront. There are several places to launch a boat from downtown, however, this is a very populated area. You are most likely going to deal with plenty of traffic and just lots of people in general in the downtown area. When trailering your boat, it is much easier to get around this town in the early mornings on the weekends. Fishing is good within the city limits for salmon and trout. At times, you can also experience very good fishing for smallmouth bass and perch. You will find other fish here too such as northern pike, largemouth bass, carp and more.
Waukegan, IL
Waukegan is the most populous city in and the county seat of Lake County, Illinois. This city is an industrial suburb about 36 miles north of downtown Chicago. This is a very popular place to fish out on Lake Michigan. You will have plenty of fishing charters that operate out of Waukegan and many anglers take their boats out of Waukegan as well.
Winthrop Harbor, IL
Winthrop Harbor is a village in Lake County, Illinois. It has a population of just under 7,000 people. Winthrop Harbor is located along the northern border of Illinois and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is a popular harbor for fishing out on Lake Michigan.