City boy looking for pout.

[chameleon]

Hello, I'm new to the site. I live in Chicago and have become increasingly interested in catching a berbot. The fishing here in the harbors is great. Lots of coho, kings and perch at different times of the year. However no one fishes for pouts here. I don't know for sure if it's just because no one is fishing for them or if they even spawn in shore this far south. Be that as it may I will be pounding the bottom to find out this winter. I know they are attracted to lights which seems to make a city harbor ideal. Does any one have info about southern lake Michigan berbot fishing? No one here has any advice for me. In fact most cats around here consider them a trash fish. A shame. I'm a shore fisherman. They catch them here out on boats which makes me think at least some will be spawning here in the winter but it is all theory. Please advise.

[muskiewrangler]

First off, welcome to the site and second, you're better off going to MyFishfinder, because it's for open water, but again welcome to the site and start your addiction. 

[chameleon]

My apology. It's a desert of information here when it come to ling. I'm looking to any resource I can find to inform my endeavors.

[surflizard]

   Welcome to the shanty chameleon, glad to have ya aboard ! No need to apologize, Ling can be far and few in between during the summer months, they tend to be sluggish and unresponsive during the warm weather months. But as soon as the ice hits, it is a whole new ball game, the lings get really active at night from December on, they can be caught during the day too sometimes.
   Normally in March, they start to spawn and move into the shallower, rocky bottom areas and concentrate together around the rock piles and they become super aggressive, that is the Prime time to target them !
   Bouncing a shiny spoon with a chunk of shiner or suckermeat can fill buckets with them at times ! Plan on targeting them on a full moon during the spawn and you will be pleasantly surprised by the results !

Surf

[chameleon]

Thanks Surflizard. That's a big help.The harbors here are lined with enormous rocks.  I'm a powerliner and during the spawn times most cats here are fishing top water for coho.  I think just maybe there is a treasure on bottom no one is looking for. I hope I'm right. Thanks for the hospitality. 

[surflizard]

  Glad to be of some help, I don't know if you have a camera or access to one, but they can be a huge time saver when your looking for the ling spawn balls. The burbot in the photos were in a 2' cave at the bottom of a rock pile, out off a point. Without the camera, it would have been virtually impossible to have found them ! Good luck and let us know how ya make out.