The smallmouth bass fishery along the Lake Michigan shores in Illinois has become one of the best in the country. It is a relatively newly discovered fishery.

On the South Side’s Calumet River and Lake Calumet, bass fishermen have known for years that the waters held bass, both largemouth and smallmouth, and in good numbers. About 20 years ago, some enterprising anglers figured that if the river held fish, it was quite possible that some of the bass may have migrated out into the colder waters of Lake Michigan. They were right.


Ed Bohn was one of the first fishermen to find the stash of big smallies that Lake Michigan held. In fact, I dubbed him, “The Godfather of Lake Michigan bass fishing,” when he was a guest on my old CLTV television show. The name stuck.