IL River Sauger Fishing

Illinois River - December 30, 2010

Icy Parking Lot

Since it's been a while since I fished for Sauger, I thought I'd try to get Jim Lukancic and Al Bernicky out on the river so we could try our luck. Jim had got called back to work for a couple days after being laid off and wasn't able to go, and so Al and I were disappointed he wasn't able to join us.

Launching the boat very carefully

The ride out to river was a messy one. The boat was covered with snow and road scum by the time we got there. The parking lot was a sheet of ice. That was great for the kids who come to the park to sled down the hill, but not great if you're pulling a bass boat. We took our time and had no trouble getting the boat safely in the 35 degree water. By this time, most of the morning fog had dissipated leaving a dreary and overcast day.

Bald Eagles in the distance

As soon as we were on our way to fish our first spot, I spotted a couple Bald Eagles in a tree up river from where we were. We never went close enough to try for some good photos and I figured that we'd see more of them during the day.

A Bald Eagle flies by

A short time after we started fishing, Al said " That bird is going to fly right over your head and you don't have your camera ready?". Sure enough, before I could grab the camera and get a good shot, a Bald Eagle flew right over us. I missed the good shot but caught him flying away from us.

One of my first nice Sauger

Fishing was slow. I caught one or two smaller fish in the first spot we tried, but since we were looking for more and bigger fish, we decided to move. Sitting in a bass boat when you're flying down the river at more than 50 mph is one thing. Doing it when the temperature is at about the freezing mark is quite another. I had to suck it up and take it for a few minutes while we ran to our next spot. That was one cold ride.

A young Bald Eagle watches over our fishing spot

On the way down river, we spotted more Eagles. I wasn't about to try to photograph them as we were moving for fear I'd freeze to death before I could aim the camera. I anticipated the air temperature was going to be a bit warmer than it was and I left my extra clothes in my car - which was parked back in Als driveway.

 Another shot of the Eagle

 Once we began fishing, I caught a nice fish right away. That gave us hope we were going to have a better day. Unfortunately every time we found ourselves on top of a school of fish, we had to move to let the tug boats get at the barges were fishing near.

Another fish out of the same hole

I caught another fish once we were able to get back on top of the same spot where had I caught the first, but we were forced off a few minutes later by another tug pushing a couple barges. This got old real quick. I'd catch a fish and we'd have move right away before we could get any more.

  

Another nice Sauger

We stayed as long as we could in that area and put a few more fish in the boat. Eventually the bite stopped once they stacked a couple barges right over the hole where we had found them so we decided to head back to where we started our day.

One more nice fish in the boat

By this time there were several boats drifting around the area we wanted to fish. They were catching a lot of small fish so we decided to try a different drift pattern. It worked since Al put a nice Walleye in the boat on the first drift we made.

A Barge passes us on its way up river

I put one more nice fish in the boat that we caught in much shallower water than everyone else was fishing. After a few more smaller fish we decided to head back. It wasn't worth it to stay out there and go through so many small fish. Not to mention that it was supposed to already be raining on us according to the weather forecast.

A scenic point on the river

Pulling the boat out wasn't too bad. Once it was out of the water, we had trouble getting traction on the ice to get it the rest of the way up the ramp. Al eventually got it and we stowed all the gear in preparation for the messy ride home.

Des Plaines River - 5/18/2010

Blustery day on the River

My plan was to fish Heidecke lake again for Walleye during the late afternoon and early evening hours, but when I got there it was closed. I guess somebody fell asleep and didn't realize the high winds that came through earlier in the day had subsided quite a bit.

I called the Braidwood office and was informed that the lake was open, but then opted for the river instead. It was still a little windy but not so much that Heidecke should have been closed. I ran down river and fished for a short time before I had a small fish hit the crank bait I was throwing. He came off pretty quick but a couple casts later I had a much better fish on. I put this one in the boat, took a few photos and let him go.

Largemouth Bass

I fished on for a while without another bite so I decided to work my way up river. I couldn't buy a strike so I went even further up river. I probably could have done better had I targeted the spawners, but that's not my idea of sport fishing.

Bald Eagle

As I made my way up river, I spotted a Bald Eagle in a tree. He was tough to see against the dark sky but I stopped anyway and took several pictures.

I got to the first spot I planed to fish and struck out. I saw a lot of Gar coming up and figured they'd drive out a lot of the fish I was after so I moved. I got to the next spot, made my first cast and a giant Gar hit the lure. He came up, shook is head and as soon as the line came in contact with his beak, he was gone with my lure. A short time later I hooked a Smallmouth Buffalo. I brought him to the boat and decided he wasn't worth bringing up for a picture so I played him for another minute next to the boat until he was able to unhook himself.

A pair of Bald Eagles

I hooked one other fish briefly before I decided to head back. I never saw it but it felt like a nice fish. On the return trip that same Bald Eagle was still in the same spot, only now a friend had joined him. I took several more photos before stopping at one more spot to try my luck.

Deer

I hooked another Largemouth Bass that looked smaller than the one I caught earlier, but he was able to toss the lure when he came up and shook. After that I packed up and headed home wishing I had been able to spend the time on Heidecke instead of the River.

A lot of Bass are spawning right now, and on top of that, the wind was blowing all the smells from the nearby industry right down the river which did not make for a pleasant trip. The water was 62 degrees and high from the recent rain, but not so bad that it wasn't fishable. I've seen it much worse out there and at least I was on the water and caught a couple fish. The wildlife viewing was nice despite the smells and lack of fish, and that's never anything to complain about.

Heidecke Lake 5-11-2010

Geese at Heidecke

I met Mike Matlock at Heideceke Lake around noon on Tuesday, May 11th, 2010. The skies were cloudy and every once in a while a small rain drop would find its way down from the clouds. It looked to be a perfect day for fishing. The water temperature was only 55 which was quite a drop from the last time either of us had been there.

First Cast, First Fish

As we left the cove, I realized I had left my cameras in the car in plain sight. I turned around, went back in and retrieved them before we headed off to our first spot.

My first Walleye of the day

I stopped the boat well before the shoreline we were going to fish and mentioned that the drop off we were approaching was sometimes good for a fish or two. Sure enough, I landed a small Striped Bass on my very first cast.

One of my Smallmouth

Within moments, Mike had a Smallmouth Bass on. He put it in the boat, unhooked it, and quickly released it. With two quick fish in the boat, I was hoping that was an omen for a good day.

Inspecting the power lines

We weren't fishing for more than a couple minutes when a helicopter buzzed over us. It was inspecting the power lines that run over the lake. Heidecke used to be a power plant cooling lake, but the plant has since been demolished, removing the former source of artificial warmth and current that helped grow giant fish all through the northern Illinois winters.

The wind picks up

I made a comment that the wind was not as strong as was predicted, which was dumb since the wind really picked up as soon as I made that comment. Keeping the boat positioned so Mike could have a good angle at the shoreline became a little more difficult at that point.

Mike with the best fish of the day

I put another fish or two in the boat including a keeper walleye. But then a short time later, Mike tied into it's grandmother. This was a real good sized walleye. The fish came up and we could clearly see the lure in the fishes mouth. The fish went down again and I heard Mike exclaim, "oh", as if he had lost it. But the line quickly tightened back up letting us know the fish was still there. The fish came back up and Mike asked me to net it since now the lure was in the fishes back. I've only seen that happen one other time where a fish was hooked, threw the lure, and still managed to hook himself - and that was a Catfish. After a picture or two, the walleye was in the live well with the other one.

Channel Catfish

We continued fishing, and once things slowed we doubled back and drifted the same area again. We caught more fish but fishing was a little slower. Mike landed a big Channel Catfish that went back in the water and I had one stretch where I hooked three Smallmouth almost in a row but only put two in the boat. None of the Stripers I caught were worth bragging about, but they were fun nonetheless. I only had one possible musky take a crank bait off the end of my line.

Feathered Fishing Guide

As we made our drift, we came across a couple of diving birds that neither of us had seen before.

A pair of diving birds

They would float in the waves, then disappear under the water.

Diving under the water

The sounds they made as they communicated to each other reminded me of a small puppy playing with his buddies.

About to release a small Striper

Once it was time to go, we headed back in and pulled the boat out, then proceeded to the parking lot to remove the fish from the live well so Mike could take them. As I was trying to get the bigger fish that Mike caught, its gill plate put a pretty good slice in my thumb. Then when I handed the fish to Mike, it got him too. My wife said she would have liked a picture of us standing there sharing the same towel to wipe the blood off. We probably did look kind of funny.

Another fish about to be landed

The Wrong Kind of Record

Heidecke Lake - May 3, 2010

The rain in the distance that never made it

I got to the lake about noon and right away I knew where I'd start my fishing based on the wind direction and speed. Rain was forecast for the afternoon but it set up about 20 miles east and moved away leaving a bright and sunny afternoon.

High Wind or Storms Forecast - Use Extreme Caution

I put the boat in the water, raced to my spot and started fishing. I don't think I was fishing for more than 10 minutes when I felt a hard tap on the end of the line followed by a couple of tugs. Then the water exploded in the distance showing me I had a big Musky on. The fight lasted about five seconds before the fish bit right through the line and was gone with my lure.

A small bird walking the shoreline rocks

The same thing happened several more times throughout the day. I saw a total of four of the Muskies that I hooked so those are the only ones I'm counting as Muskies. One was a monster of a fish, another looked about the size of the one I caught last trip, and the other two were smaller. There were a couple more fish that bit the cranks off the end of the line that might have been Walleye, but I never saw them. My record for landing Muskies at Heidecke was three in one day. I also lost one more that day. If I would have been targeting them, I would have tied on a little Tyger Leader material and probably landed most if not all of them.

Freshwater Drum

As for the fish I did catch, the first was a Drum. It was a plump sixteen inch fish that put up a fight, but later on I caught his mama who put up even more of a fight.

Green Sunfish - Little Fish, Big Appetite

I also caught a Green Sunfish that wasn't much bigger than the lure I was throwing. I'm not sure how he managed to open his mouth that wide, but he did. That would be the most humorous fish of the day.

Smallmouth Bass #1

I put two Smallmouth in the boat. The first was a nice fish and the second was a little smaller. Both were quite acrobatic and jumped a few times before being hoisted aboard. Both were quickly photographed and released.

Smallmouth Bass #2

The geese were very aggressive towards each other today. As I went along the bank, they were chasing each other and fighting over who knows what. Red Winged Blackbirds were already looking for crayfish in the rocks and the gulls were sitting on the railroad cars keeping an eye on everything else that went on.

A small Hybrid Striped Bass

I hooked and lost three or four small Hybrid Stripers or White Bass, and caught one. It's tough to tell them apart when they're small unless you actually get them in the boat. At least these fish didn't take my crank baits with them. So for today I think I set a record for the most fish hooked and not landed during a trip. And for some reason I can't wait to get back out there and try again. The water was still 62 and there was a 20 mph southwest wind that made it easy to drift and cover a lot of water quickly. The air temp reached the upper 70s which made it a very comfortable day to be on the water.

3 hours at LaSalle

LaSalle Lake - April 8, 2010

I got to the lake right around 8:00 am. Before I pulled into the lot, I noticed the windmills that stretch as far as the eye can see were all turning at a pretty good clip. That told me the lake would be fairly rough. I still think it's funny that so many windmills surround a nuclear power plant, but I guess it's a good thing that they do. As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed that I was the only one there other than a couple shore fishermen.

I launched and headed for spot number one. I was only able to fish the north shorelines because the wind would have made it tough to stay out of the rocks on the east and south banks. There are no west banks other than within the restricted areas and you wont ever see me in there. As it was, the wind was carrying me along the shoreline a lot faster than I would have liked.

My first fish was a nice Bluegill that hit the crank bait I was throwing for bass. A few casts later and I had a 5 lb channel cat in the boat. After that it was slow going. I caught two more small catfish on crank baits and that was it. Never saw a Bass which is rare.

The highlight of the trip were the flocks of Pelicans I saw. I have never been so close to them and I was really kicking myself for forgetting to grab both cameras and my cell phone. I would have gotten some great photos of the Pelicans and the fog.

After switching spots a few times and not getting a bite for 2 hours, I packed up and headed in. I was still the only person dumb enough to brave the 25 mph+ wind out of the NNW and the 43 degree air temp since there were still no other trailers in the parking lot. The water temp was 55 at the ramp and 89 back in the discharge canal. Most of the lake was in the 70s.

Blustery Day at Braidwood

Braidwood Lake - March 28, 2010

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/03282010.htm

Clouds and light rain at Braidwood Lake

The goal today was to test the new Lower Unit. I put the boat in the water and everything worked fine. Everything worked fine that is - until the engine alarm went off. I looked back and saw the outboard was not spitting water so I powered it off and used the trolling motor to fish a little by the boat ramp.

A 12 inch Largemouth about to be released

I managed to catch a 12 inch Largemouth very quickly. The wind would catch the lures and take them quite a distance which allowed me cover more water rather quickly. I didn't want to get far from the ramp in those conditions so I stayed tight to the bank and worked my way down the shoreline.

Best fish of the day

A short time later I caught a real nice Largemouth that was almost 20 inches long. It put up a good fight.

No sooner did I release the fish when I spotted another boat that looked like it was going to move in to the bank in front of me. It made another quick turn, then pulled up along side me and two IL Conservation Police Officers proceeded to check my fishing license and inspect my boat for all the required safety equipment. They made sure I had life jackets, a throwable cushion, a working fire extinguisher, a horn or whistle, and they also checked my live well to make I didn't have any undersized fish or more than the allowed limit. Mine was empty and I had everything I was supposed to have so I was good to go.

Rain moving down the lake

After working my way down the bank a little I decided to fire up the outboard again and when I looked back it was spitting water like it was supposed to. I ran at just above idle for quite a ways with no alarm before I decided I'd go check out one more spot further away. Just as I got there, the alarm went off again so I shut the engine down right away. It didn't sound for more than a second or two.

I fished until I was sure the engine had cooled down completely before I decided to try to head back. During that time I caught and released an 8 inch Largemouth and lost a smaller one. I had a tough time getting the motor started which told me it was probably still a bit warm. As I was struggling with it, the two Conservation Officers pulled up again and offered to follow me back to make sure I didn't get stuck out in the wind. I got the motor started and it was spitting water again as it was supposed to. I made the run to the ramp but when I turned around to look at the motor I didn't see any water coming out so I didn't wait for the alarm and shut it down, then went the rest of the way using the trolling motor. I was almost right in front of the ramps anyway. I called a good friend and he agreed to take a look at the boat for me within the next couple of days. Since the lower unit was just replaced, he thought he had a good idea what might be wrong.

Despite the engine trouble, I was very happy that the lower unit issue was resolved. That worked like a charm. I caught a couple fish including one real nice one, and the clouds and rain departed leaving sunny skies and warmer temperatures in their wake.

Interesting clouds over an island

A Slow Start

Braidwood Lake - March 15, 2009

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/03152010.htm

A Cold and Windy Morning at Braidwood

I was outside with the dog listening to the birds starting their morning songs well before the sun came up on Monday morning. All the early morning activity made me hopeful that the fish in Braidwood would be active too. A little later I was putting my gear into Al Bernicky's boat and we were on our way to the lake. The forecast was for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 50s. When we got to the lake it was still in the mid 30s, cloudy, and the north wind was blowing about 10 mph.

An Island at Braidwood

Our goal was to figure out a couple different ways to catch fish because Al has a tournament coming up there in the near future, and except for my last trip there, the fishing reports I've been getting haven't been that great. We took off for our first spot. I asked Al to stop in one spot well off a bank and he replied, "out here?". A couple casts into that spot and I had my first fish of the day on. It was good one but the fight didn't last long at all. He got away before we got a good look at him.

Another Deer on one of the Islands

We continued to follow the bottom contour without another bite. We threw everything we had at them and nothing worked. We soon gave up on that area and headed for another. All we found was more of the same thing. We made cast after cast with no fish to show for our efforts. Eventually I put the first one in the boat. It wasn't the smallest fish in the lake but it was nothing to brag about. Al eventually caught one too and it wasn't much bigger.

First Fish of the Day

We moved on and fished a few more spots with no luck before returning to the area where we had caught our two fish. We managed to put a couple smaller fish in the boat but they were still nothing that we were interested in catching. A short time later we found ourselves fishing a spot I haven't fished in years, and since we didn't get anything there it'll probably be a few more years before I fish it again.

Off to our next spot

We started fishing again in a new area. By this time I wasn't expecting much until Al said "Fish On" and pulled back on the rod. In no time flat he had a nice Largemouth in the boat.

Al releases a nice Largemouth Bass

On his next cast he set the hook and his rod doubled over again. This fish was a little better than the last.

Al puts another one in the boat

I was throwing a different lure and it didn't take me long to hook one. I was surprised the fish hit as it did because it had a huge shad in its throat. I put the fish and the shad back in the water and off it swam.

My first nice fish of the day

I didn't get a hit on the next cast like Al did. Instead I had to skip two or three before I caught my next fish. It was even better than the last.

Another nice one about to be released

We were happy we had finally figured out a way to catch some fish in those conditions. This trip was the total opposite of the last trip were we started out great and it slowed down the later it got. In this case, fishing was miserable until about the last hour. Al even caught a Bluegill on one of the Bass lures.

A Bluegill

We continued moving and manged to pick up a few more fish. I alternated between two different colored lures and caught fish on both of them. Al was throwing a few more things and also caught a few more fish.

Another one about to go back in the water

As Al began to put some of his rods away, I hooked one last fish and it turned out to be my best one. Al snapped a picture and the fish was quickly put back in the water so that he'll hopefully end up in Al's live well on tournament day.

My last and best fish of the day

As I started to get my gear in order for the trip back to the ramps I noticed it wasn't quite as cold as it was earlier. Not that I was anywhere close to being warm, but I had stopped shivering. The sun never showed up and it never got out of the 40s, but the fact we ran into a few nice fish helped make it a memorable day.

Best Fisherman on the Lake