Lake Michigan
King salmon (chinook)
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Great Lakes · Lake Michigan · Chicago, IL
Chicago fishing conditions
Chicago's harbors, breakwalls and nearshore Lake Michigan hold perch, salmon and smallmouth within sight of the skyline. This page shows live wind, waves, water temperature and lake level from NOAA stations, the National Weather Service forecast, and a rough daily bite estimate for king salmon (chinook), yellow perch, smallmouth bass.
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Bite estimate
Rougher estimate · 0–9Rough estimate
Lake Michigan
Yellow perch
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Lake Michigan
Smallmouth bass
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Conditions now
Wind
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Waves
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Water temp
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Barometer
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Lake level
NOAA CO-OPS Calumet Harbor, IL (9087044), feet above Low Water Datum (chart datum). The Great Lakes have no real tides; level swings come from wind setup, seiches and the seasons.
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NWS forecast
National Weather Service point forecast for Chicago, IL.
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Stations used for Chicago
| Source | Location | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDBC 45174 | Wilmette Buoy, IL (Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant) | nearshore buoy · seasonal (pulled for winter) | 15 nm |
| NDBC CHII2 | Harrison-Dever Crib, Chicago, IL (GLERL) | offshore crib station · year-round | 2 nm |
| NDBC CMTI2 | Calumet Harbor, IL (NOS 9087044) | harbor station · year-round | 10 nm |
| CO-OPS 9087044 | Calumet Harbor, IL | water level (ft above Low Water Datum) | near spot |
| GLERL GLSEA | Daily satellite lake-surface temperature at 41.9, -87.52 | water temp fallback | on the lake |
| NWS forecast | Point forecast for Chicago, IL; gridded wave forecast on the lake | forecast | at spot |
| NWS LMZ741 | Nearshore marine forecast: Wilmette Harbor to Northerly Island IL | official marine forecast | zone |
Where they fish: Perch and smallmouth work the harbors and breakwalls; charter boats troll for salmon and trout a few miles out.
FAQ
Where does the Chicago fishing data come from?
Wind, waves, water temperature and pressure come from NOAA NDBC stations 45174, CHII2, CMTI2 (first station with a recent reading wins; seasonal buoys are pulled for winter). Lake level is from NOAA CO-OPS station 9087044 (Calumet Harbor, IL). When no station reports water temperature, Swelldex uses NOAA GLERL's daily satellite analysis (GLSEA). The forecast and wave forecast come from the National Weather Service.
What does the Chicago bite score mean?
It is a rough 0–9 estimate of how good conditions look for king salmon (chinook), yellow perch, smallmouth bass, based on wind and waves, surface water temperature, the time of year, the barometer trend and forecast storms. It does not count fish and it is not a safety rating.
Why is there no tide table?
The Great Lakes have no meaningful tides. Instead, Swelldex shows the lake level against chart datum and how much it moved in the last 24 hours; fast changes usually mean strong wind setup or a seiche.