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Posts: 171
| You are correct Pete. You can make it to Green Bay in an hour/hour and a half less time than St. Clair depending on your location in the Chicagoland. Green Bay would still put you over the 3 hour mark, however, and Lake St. Clair still gives you the "better" chance at a 50" 
To be fair and to save some time... Here are some lakes and in order of what may be your best shot at a 50 incher... 3 hours or less from the Chicagoland.
Fox Chain
Lake McMaster
Lake Storey
Spring Lake North (Best shot to catch 50 inches of Muskie)
Unfortunately, it would take the hands of God to provide you with a 50 incher from any other Illinois lake within a 3 hour drive... but I'm sure you have much better luck than I do. I guarantee it actually :P |
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Posts: 171
| I forgot to put Shabbona on the list, but unless you are a Crappie fisherman or your name is Bob... I'm not sure if Shabbona, 50", or best belong in the same sentence. |
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| I'd throw Evergreen in that list too |
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Posts: 8782
| Best chance for a 50" fish within three hours of Chicago would probably involve a plane ticket. |
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| There is a bunch of luck involved. I managed a couple fish of 50inches, one in within 1 hour of Chicago and the other about 4 hours south. I have also managed to spend time in some of the best places for trophy fish and and come up short on many trips. IL is not a haven for giants, but a really nice place to get out and enjoy the challenge. The Fox chain is pressured water for example, each lake presents fun challenges. I would say get out there and who knows, you might get lucky. BR |
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Posts: 880
Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151 | Drive to Green Bay and cast the Fox river or troll the Bay.
Netman |
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Posts: 4
| 28" out of Busse
22" out of lake Geneva
50 "s of musky ,
LSC hands down,
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Posts: 246
Location: Grand Marais, MN | I'm only interested in fishing for 50" muskies too  kind of a strange question. It doesn't take anywhere closed to a 50" class fish for me to appreciate the challenge of musky hunting. I haven't been measuring fish anymore, just no need, and people wouldn't believe me anyway
lsc would be a good choice, as would green bay if you got a seaworthy boat. or you could hit the southern wisc and illinois lakes that may not have many 50", but you could still have fun.
Edited by bigfoot 8/30/2013 7:55 PM
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | St. Clair,.. or N. Mn.
That's your BEST chance at a 50+ fish....... (On a Daily basis) Or for you guys that don't understand Where 50" fish are boated everyday...... These 2 places are your best Bet....... Call Vegas,...... They always know the odd's
Jerome |
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| Lake Michigan doesn't have muskies? Crap |
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Posts: 1767
Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Good luck on grabbing a 50" close to Chicago....as stated by most, best closest realistic chance is either Green Bay or LSC.... Yes some swim in waters closer to that but not very realistic you will get one |
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Posts: 20219
Location: oswego, il | Catch one, fillet one side, flip the fillet over, measure again. I find most Il muskies beat the 50" mark. |
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Posts: 171
| To restore hope to those reading, it IS very realistic catching a 50 from Illinois |
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Posts: 253
Location: On the water | Isn't Green Bay part of Lake Michigan???????
Good Luck, Tom |
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| Don't wanna use my screen nmae buddies would be ticked. Kinda keep my big fish secret but its aholiday and I am feeling like spilling the beans. Also all this talk of no 50s in Il kinda bugs me. Have been fishing super heavy sincei retired. Here is a list.
Shab 1
Mcmaster 2
Storey 2
Fox chain 3
Prairie lake 1
And the super sleeper mallard lake 2
But I advice you to bypass oukachee and go to occonomowoc only been fishing it hard for 2 years. 51.5, 50 and a giant 52.5 on Friday. Seen some there that where big enough to almost make me poop my pants. Go there and throw pounders white or walley. |
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Posts: 317
| I agree with most here, While very heavy, many IL fish just don't get the length. John Doe is mistaken, as I know of 5 legit, verified 50+ to come from the chain in the last 5 years, so that isn't a good average. Same with Shab-very heavy fish, hard to get the length. Central IL has produced some, but again, the overall numbers aren't there. I do know of a small 300 acres lake in the NW suburbs that has also put out 5 verified 50's and an upper 40 inch Tiger in the last five years, but a very tough lake overall. For SWI, I have to agree, Ocono is the best choice, but again, a hard lake to fish. A 50" fish is tough almost anywhere, LSC may be an exception but it's a big lake with a learning curve all it's own. Good luck.
Edited by MuskyStalker 9/2/2013 4:50 PM
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| Your so super sleeper lake is not a super sleeper... gets hit pretty hard on a daily basis... and there are no 50s in there lol |
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Posts: 246
Location: Grand Marais, MN | mallard got stocked for the first time in 2006, sampling this year by the dupage forest preserve district got data from 26 muskies, largest was 40 inches. dont think there's a fifty in there yet. someday there will be, and the meat hogs can have a 50"er for dinner
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Posts: 371
Location: Dixon, IL | Guest seem want to get a 50 inch in a few hours close to his home so forget it! |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Pewaukee in fall with suckers is your best bet if you're looking north. |
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Posts: 371
Location: Dixon, IL | I know few 50 inch in some lakes in Illinois but catch them is not easy! Biggest musky I caught in Illinois is 48 inch and that's 2 inch short of 50 inch. I released it! So far I know two 50 inch this year came from two different lake that's not far from Chicago. Mallard Lake look good but heavy fishing pressure and some muskie might be out in open water and grow to 50 inch. |
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Posts: 78
| Sure, I'll add my 2 cents. I would say since you are in the Chicagoland area and looking to fish, just enjoy what is available. This is not 50" country, but it is a very good area to fish and certainly holds some very respectable fish. 40~45" fish are caught regularly with a few bigger here and there. I love big fish as much as the next guy but I fish what is given in a particular part of the region. Notmanymuskie waters throughout the range offer a lot of 50" fish. I spend over 250 days a year on these waters and we put a lot of fish in the boat but only a half dozen or so over 45". 50s do exist, but theyan aabsolute needle in a haystack. So go have fun, stick some fish in the boat and dont be disappointed if you dont catch a monster. Imo people get much to hung up on 50s and forget about the great sport that is musky fishing. |
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