Wherever they are, the chances are they will be swimming in the top 10 feet, so get those side-planers out and set your Dipsey Divers shallow. If there is a better coho lure than a red 00 dodger and a tinsel fly, I surely don't know what it is. If you are running dodgers behind side-planers, be sure to add an ounce of lead about 4 feet before the dodger to keep it just under the water.

The following is what happened last year, so use it only as a rough guide to this year's action. Conditions change dramatically each summer, and you have to be ready to adapt your game plans accordingly.

All season long, Chicago-based salmon fishermen headed northeast toward Evanston and beyond. This was a disaster for the fuel tank, with gas dock prices exceeding $4 per gallon. But if you want fish, you must fish where the fish are. Let's hope the salmon stay home this season.

Last season, the R-4 buoy due east of the Winnetka power plant's smoke stack was hot all summer. This marker is 12 miles at 12 degrees from Diversey Harbor, and much farther from the rest of Chicago's ports. Many Windy City anglers declined to burn the gas needed to go there, but Capt. Bill Kelly of the charter boat Leprechaun (773/445-6262) convinced his customers to add a little bit to cover the cost of extra fuel and actually knocked the socks off salmon and trout all summer. Almost daily, Kelly brought in eye-popping catches of huge fish, and among them were a goodly number of trophy brown trout.

If you are fishing the R-4 for the first time -- beware. That marker is there for a reason, since a 33-foot reef pops up on the west side of the can, while the water on the east side drops to 75 feet and then quickly to 120 feet and more. Stay outside the red marker.

Up at Waukegan, the fishing was best in deep water about 100 to 240 feet east and a bit south of the harbor. The fish were scattered, but skippers who developed a wide pattern across the area did well. At Northpoint Marina on the Wisconsin state line, fishing was tough, with boats running south to Waukegan or crossing the state line toward Racine. (Be sure everyone on board is properly licensed for each state in which you drop lines.)

If you are looking for a great day of Great Lakes fishing, there are many qualified charter skippers who can provide everything you need. The boats are available for half-day or full-day trips, and provide all the tackle as well as fish-cleaning and packaging services. Be sure to bring a cooler to keep your catch fresh on the way home and, of course, bring a camera! For full information, contact the Chicago Sportfishing Association at (312) 922-1100, the Waukegan Charter Boat Association at 1-847-BIG-FISH or www.wcba.info, and the Northpoint Charter Association at 1-800-247-6727 or www.Salmonid. com.

* * *

And so, that's all the news and tips on fishing Lake Michigan for 2006. All the news isn't good, but all of it isn't bad, either. It looks like another great year if you do your homework, so enjoy as much of it as you can.

Find more about Illinois fishing and hunting at: IllinoisGameandFish.com