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South Branch Chicago River (Illinois) — one of the area's fishing spots. About 8 km long. Nearest town — Chicago. This page shows an hourly bite forecast for today and the week ahead; the algorithm factors in the weather, atmospheric pressure, and the moon phase.
Nearest towns and cities
Other nearby places to fish
Other nearby waters
The course is moderately sinuous: pools are scoured at the bends and riffles run between them.
Illinois: the months when each species peaks and when it goes quiet. The current month is outlined.
| Fish | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelhead | peak | peak | active | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | peak | peak | peak |
| White crappie | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active |
| Black crappie | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | fair | fair | active | active | active | active | active |
| Lake trout | peak | peak | active | active | fair | slow | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak |
| Muskellunge | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | active | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Walleye | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| White bass | slow | slow | active | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow |
| Yellow perch | slow | fair | active | peak | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow |
| Largemouth bass | fair | active | active | active | active | active | active | active | fair | fair | fair | fair |
| Pike | fair | fair | fair | fair | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | active | fair |
| Smallmouth bass | slow | slow | fair | active | active | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow |
| Rainbow trout | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | active | active | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Blue catfish | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Bluegill | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Carp | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Channel catfish | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
| Chinook salmon | slow | slow | slow | active | peak | peak | peak | active | fair | slow | slow | slow |
| Whitefish | fair | active | active | peak | active | fair | fair | active | fair | fair | slow | slow |
| Coho salmon | slow | slow | slow | slow | fair | active | peak | peak | peak | fair | slow | slow |
| Flathead catfish | slow | slow | slow | fair | peak | peak | peak | active | slow | slow | slow | slow |
Wednesday, October 21
Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
South Branch Chicago River — Wednesday, October 21
The bite is strong — fish are active. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite. Peak 07:00–09:00 and 18:00–20:00.
The computed water temperature is around 62 °F — inside the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie, so baseline activity is high.
Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.
Pressure is dropping 0.06 inHg over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.
One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.
October is an active season for Black crappie here.
These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works
Clear · feels like +67°
The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.
Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.
Geomagnetic fieldquiet, Kp 3.7
Kp index — NOAA forecast. Not part of the bite score: catches show no link between geomagnetic storms and the bite.
The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.
What are solunar periods?Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.
South Branch Chicago River — Wednesday, October 21
The bite is strong — fish are active. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite. Peak 07:00–09:00 and 18:00–20:00.