Hey guys brand new to the site. Been fishing on and off for years ( caught very few).   I currently live in Chicago ( unfortunately) and usually go out to to starved Rock to fish.      I wanna try fishing the great lakes near me.  Preferably in Indiana.    I like fishing without tons of people.  

   Any good places to SHORE fish in the fall/ spring?

I dont live in MI but visit every spring.  Being in a large city like you are it makes fishing hard to go somewhere real close to the house as its probably all over fished. (Like it is here in Louisville)  Looking at the map I would find streams/rivers that feed into the main lake.

 

Being a fellow bank fisher is is sometimes hard to get out to that deep water for those monsters.  Lucky for us the fish are moving shallow to feed and get ready for the winter.  I attached a screen shot of where I would go first if I was in your area... Look for those points

My second choice would be here in the tailwaters. Hope that helps and you catch lots of fish

Try Burnham, Belmont, and Diversey harbors. You can try around Pasterick in IN

Awesome help.  How good can you fish if you stood on a beach like the Indiana dunes and cast into open water? I'm talking about in the fall fishing where swimmers would normally be in the summer.

You need to fish the walls and piers in the harbors. You won't get anything in open water from shore. If you had a boat, there are shoals and a couple artificial reefs.