Monee Reservoir - September 18, 2009

More Photos:

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/09182009.htm

I got an early start this morning and made it to the lake right around 6:30 am. The sun was just rising and the fog was still very thick.

That combined with the glass calm water made for a very scenic morning. I rented a boat and then went back to the car to get my gear cart it all down to the docks.

The 12 foot aluminum row boats that they have were all soaked from the fog so I made one more trip back to the car for a towel.

I took several photos of the sun rising through the trees.

The geese were just starting to form a line and take to the water. They swam past me as I was trying to frame different of my surroundings.

I stopped to fish two spots where I had caught nice fish the last couple times I was at this lake, but didn’t get a bite. I worked my way towards the back end of the lake alternating between throwing plastics and a large crank bait. A short time later I felt a good fish hit the crank bait. I fought the fish and got it to the boat. It was one of the better bass I’d seen this year and easily over 20 inches. As I reached for it, the fish shook the crank bait free and took off.

I spent a lot of time hammering the same area but didn’t get another hit in that spot. I continued down the line of lily pads and didn’t have to go very far before another fish picked up the plastic worm I was throwing. I set the hook and managed to put the fish in the boat

A couple casts later I felt a sharp jolt come through the line and notice it was moving off to one side. Again I reeled up the slack and set the hook. This time I had a nice Channel Catfish on the end of the line. After a good fight, he too wound up in front of the camera. I took a couple pictures and let him go.

I moved down a little more and another fish picked up the plastic worm. I set the hook on another nice Largemouth.

That was it for a while. I went back to alternating between the crank bait and throwing the worm into the lily pads. I’d move the worm over the tops of the pads and let it fall into the pockets hoping another fish would grab it.

It didn’t happen until I got to the other side of the lake. I never felt the fish grab the worm, but instead noticed the line twitch towards the pocket that the worm had fallen into.

I set the hook and started hoping the fish would work his way out of the lily pads and lucky for me that’s exactly what he did. He saved me the trouble of going in after him.

That was it for the plastic worm. I continued to fish it the rest of the day alternating between a couple different types of plastic worms and the crank bait.

I caught a few more fish but they all hit the crank bait in deep water. The last fish of the day turned out to be the best one. Once he was in the boat I decided it was time to go.

The Will County Forest Preserve District does a great job managing this lake.

Considering it isn’t all that big, it has some remarkably large fish swimming in its waters. The staff are always friendly and keep the place in good shape.