Every Boat Ramp on Lake Michigan (Illinois)

About Lake Michigan (Illinois)

Lake Michigan's Illinois shoreline stretches 63 miles from the Indiana border through Chicago and north to the Wisconsin state line, providing urban Great Lakes fishing unlike anywhere else in the country. The Chicago lakefront offers world-class salmon and trout fishing within sight of the city's iconic skyline, with charter boats and private anglers trolling for chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and lake trout just minutes from downtown harbors.

The spring and fall salmon runs draw anglers from across the Midwest, with chinook salmon exceeding 30 pounds caught from Diversey Harbor to Waukegan. Smallmouth bass fishing along the breakwalls, piers, and rocky shoreline is outstanding from May through October, and yellow perch provide excellent shore-fishing opportunities at harbors and piers throughout the season. The warmwater discharge areas near power plants attract fish during colder months.

Chicago's harbors at Burnham, Diversey, Montrose, Belmont, and Jackson Park offer launch ramps and docking facilities, while Waukegan Harbor to the north is a major staging point for open-lake trolling. Lake Michigan fishing requires awareness of rapidly changing weather conditions and big-water safety, but the opportunity to catch world-class salmon and trout against a major metropolitan backdrop is unmatched.

Nearest towns: Chicago, Waukegan, Evanston, Highland Park