With the arrival of May, we can look forward to outstanding weather to go along with great fishing along the southern shores of Lake Michigan.

Warming water temperatures along the southern shores, mostly in Indiana and Illinois, have triggered the coho bite. These excellent-eating silver salmon have been filling out limits and loading up freezers with future dinners.

Before I get into the fishing reports, I would like to say goodbye to a pair of giants in our local fishing family whom we lost recently: namely Mike Conlin of Auburn, Ill. and Larry Martochko of Fremont, Wisc.

Mike Conlin, 81, served as Chief of Fisheries with the Illinois Department of Conservation, which was later renamed to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, for 38 years, starting out as a fisheries biologist.

In his time with the DNR, Mike was responsible for initiating many programs and innovations that are still with us today, including expanding the catchable trout program, and beginning the construction of the Jake Wolf Hatchery, which was at the time the most innovative hatchery in the country, along with the Little Grassy Hatchery. These hatcheries made Illinois second to none in fish production.

He was also instrumental in adopting standardized fish sample protocols, helping the “Fish Illinois Initiative” to get passed, expanding the Urban Fishing Program and initiating the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program. These are just a few of the many things he accomplished over his career. 

What I most remember about Mike was his accessibility. He was never too busy to help me with a story or answer any question that I might have had. 

He served on the crack team headed by the late Governor Jim Edgar and Director Brent Manning, P.R. Director Ron Allen, and the rest of the staff on an all-star team that built the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to be the best in the business.

Budget cuts by later administrations had the core of the Department retiring en masse, leaving it as a shadow of its former self.

Conlin is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sonya and many grandchildren.

Whether you’ve ever made it up to Fremont, Wisc. for the world-famous white bass runs on the Wolf River, I’m sure you’ve heard the booming voice of Larry “Uncle Lar” Mortochko over the airwaves.

Larry and his wife Jan ran Larry & Jan’s Resort on the Wolf River in Fremont for 45 years until selling it in 2020.

You could always get the latest fishing report by giving Larry a call or listening to The Great Outdoors on WGN Radio on Saturday mornings. The radio show was hosted by the late Bill Cullerton, a legend in his own right.

Larry was a frequent guest on the show, talking from his bait shop overlooking the river. Sometimes he would be joined by old buddy and fellow MidWest Outdoors writer, the late Tony Portincaso. He was also the show manager of the big Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Sports Show that runs every March in West Allis. Larry is survived by his wife Jan of 62 years, and many grandchildren. Larry and Mike will be missed. RIP until we meet again.

Back to fishing. Anglers off the Illinois and Indiana shores have still been enjoying the rampage that the spring coho have been putting on. The top catches so far have been coming out of Indiana, but Illinois anglers along the Chicago shoreline have been catching up lately with the warming water temperatures. Action has been great for boaters and shore fishermen alike.

There have been some nice coho caught casting Acme Little Cleos, KO Wobblers, Mepps Syclops, Williams Wablers and Kastmasters off the piers at Jeorse Park in the Pastrick Marina. Casting has still been best, but on some mornings, fishing the inside will produce well. Nightcrawlers fished beneath slip bobbers have also been scoring some nice coho.

Fishing inside the marina off the wooden pier has also been good, giving up some nice brown trout and steelhead. Fishing nightcrawlers or skein spawn has been doing best, fished on the bottom with slip sinker rigs or about 6 feet down on slip bobbers. Casting spoons and crankbaits like the Berkley Flicker Shad have also been putting fish on the stringer. Best colors have been (Fl. Red or Orange/Gold), (Fl. Red w/Black Dots), (Chartreuse/Fl. Orange), (Fire Tiger) and the old reliable (Blue & Silver).

If you’re after smallmouths, you’ve come to the right place. Pre-spawn bronzebacks can be found in the marina or along the rock walls and pilings. My personal favorite for them is a Bait Rigs Tackle Odd’ball jig tipped with a Berkley Power Bait 3-inch grub.

Boaters have still been filling their coolers off the East Chicago shoreline, the Inland Wall, U. S. Steel, and around the Gary Light. Dodger/Fly combinations and crankbaits have been producing the best catches, but anglers have been working some trolling spoons like the 

Anglers have been trolling Fishlanders, Dreamweavers and Stinger Spoons for some early Chinook that mix in with the coho later in the spring.

Dodger/fly combinations have worked best on Yellow Birds with bead chain or keel sinkers. I usually run two Birds off the starboard and two off the port side of the boat. I run two to four downriggers for trolling a little deeper, depending on the level where the fish are most active.

Two must-have baits for spring coho are the Brad’s ThinFish and the original Storm ThinFin. These 2 1/2-inch cranks have been top producers year after year, and this spring has been no exception. These versatile baits can be fished in any manner. They can be trolled on flat lines, off Yellow Birds, downriggers, leadcore or Dipsys. Best colors are (Red/Black), (Hellfire) and (Orange/Black). They have also come out with a jointed model. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s been getting rave reviews.

Later in spring, Dipsys and leadcore will start working. As the water warms up later this month, the salmon will begin to move out to deeper water.

Well, that about puts a wrap on it for now. Next month, we’ll migrate offshore with the salmon.