Illinois' spring trout season opening Saturday, April 5, and smallmouth bass and coho going on the Chicago lakefront lead this sprawling raw-file Midwest Fishing Report.

Rend Lake officially crested at 413.67, only slightly below the highest recorded lake elevation of 413.83 way back in 1995.

It’s a night meeting for the next Chicago Fishing Advisory Committee ... Catch-and-release trout season in Illinois opens Saturday, March 22. Sites in northern Illinois include Rock Creek ...