Fishing near Lincoln Park, Illinois

This is Lincoln Park, an Illinois town in Cook County. The nearest bank is a drive rather than a walk. In the order you would reach them: North Pond about 0.7 miles to the north-east, South Pond about 0.9 miles, Humboldt Park about 2.9 miles to the west then Schiller Pond about 10 miles. South Pond is the plain first choice: find the weed edge, then work the drop behind it. Ice comes and goes from one winter to the next. Locals will tell you more than any forecast. Flat water is the rule round here. A soft bottom fishes differently from a hard one. North Pond is the near option, about 9 acres in size. Boats go in at North Pond, going by the mapping. Expect the lakes here to open about mid March. Across Cook County, recorded fish include common carp, bluegill, green sunfish, gizzard shad and goldfish. Start with North Pond and work down the list as the season goes on....