Back On The Water

Des Plaines River - October 11, 2010

 

Two Pelicans on a Stump

 It's been a while since I've been on the water. For me, being off the water for any length of time is very difficult. It's just one of those things I need to do. I've had some neck and shoulder problems recently so I figured it would be best give things a rest - not that it helped any. Also, for the last year and a half, lack of steady work has allowed me to fish during the week when things are less crowded. Now that I'm back to work full time, I'm back to fishing on the weekends and holidays with the crowds. Today was the Columbus Day holiday so I was able to get out. I had a tough time deciding where to go. Long story short - I went back to the Des Plaines river since it's close and I wasn't sure how long I'd last out there.  

Calm Morning

I put the boat in the water and headed off to a nearby spot where I figured there would be fish holding. It was a beautiful morning with a few clouds, light breeze, and air temps in the low 60s. The water temp was a lot warmer than I expected for a mid October day - high 70s. That told me the power plants up river would be pumping full steam. I went the other direction though.
 

Sunrise

As soon as I got to my spot I began casting a crank bait along a drop off. I could see fish jumping all around but quickly noticed they were carp. Jumping carp usually do not bode well for a good day of bass fishing on the river. I had a small fish hit the lure but lost him right away. A short time later I snagged the crank bait in the rocks. I began to try pop the lure free like I usually do when I get hung up, but something didn't feel right. I kept this up as I got closer to where the lure was stuck and thought I felt a couple of pumps on the other end. I pulled back and the lure didn't budge - until it took off in the other direction. I scooped a nice Flathead Catfish into the net after a good battle. Unfortunately that was the only fish I caught there, but it was certainly nothing to complain about. I placed him back into the water after taking a few photos.



Flathead Catfish

I ran to another spot where I figured I'd find fish and managed to catch a nice Freshwater Drum. I was hoping for a decent bass and was a little disapointed when I got a look at what it was. Still, it wasn't anything to complain about. I released this fish at the side of the boat without bring it aboard.



Freshwater Drum puts up a good fight

A short time later I caught a small Largemouth Bass and released it without a photo since it wasn't anything to brag about. A few minutes later I decided to run up river after catchng another one slightly smaller than the first.

I wanted to stop at one of my favorite spots but there was a long line of barges tied together that had it blocked off. There was no way I was going to be able to get at it so I kept going as far as I could go until I reached the lock.



Turkey Vulture glides over the river

I began fishing away from the lock chute and caught more floating weeds than anything. There was no avoiding them. My only hope was that a fish would hit the lure before the lure would pick up some of the debris that was very plentiful in the water. There were no takers though.

A few Turkey Vultures were gliding right over my head and didn't seem to concerned about my presense. Acoss the river I noticed two more in a tree. Usually I start seeing Bald Eagles about this time of year on the river but I didn't see a single one today. then again the weather has been unseasonably warm.


Turkey Vultures in a tree

As I made my was away from the lock, a tug approached pushing a couple of barges. The doors opened and the rushing water created enough current to wash a lot of the weeds out. The two guys standing at the front asked if I had caught anything. I replied that I landed a nice flathead and a couple small ones but that was it. Since I hadn't gotten a bite other than a nice Green Sunfish that hit a lure that way too big for him, I moved to another area.



Green Sunfish

I hooked a couple more bass at my next spot including a couple nice Largemouth, and a Smallmouth, but only managed to put another dinky Largemouth in the boat. After beating up the area pretty good, I realized that the many gar that I was seeing had probably chased out what I was after. I saw Gar in all shapes and sizes and hooked a couple of them too. I brought one about 30 inches to the side of the boat and luckily he got away before I was going to have to unhook him.



A small Channel Catfish

By this time I was starting to realize I'd better quit before I over did it, so I hit one more quick spot on the way back. Too bad I wasn't fishing for Bluegills because I found the motherlode. There were some big ones mixed in with the crowd that was holding along a weed edge. I fished the area for a few minutes and after landing a small Channel Cat, I decided to pack it up and head for home.


Bluegills everywhere

I never did catch what I was after, but still had a decent day. I suppose even if I would have struck out it was still a nice day to be on the water. I still kind of wish I had taked the time to drive another hour and a half to fish Powerton Lake, but that will have to wait until February when it opens back up for boats, since it will be closed for the season by the time I get another chance to get out again.

Slow day at the Monee Reservoir

Monee Reservoir Shoreline

When I turned into the parking lot at the Monee Reservoir right at 6:00 am, I was surprised to see quite a few cars in the lot already. I wound up being 5th or 6th in line to rent a boat for the day. I was on the water by 6:20 hoping for one of the big bass that swim in that lake.

It didn't take long before I hooked one. The fish took the plastic worm I was throwing and made a powerful run before it jumped and threw the whole thing back at me. I got a good look though and was kicking my self for not setting the hook a second time. This would have been one of the biggest Largemouth Bass I'd caught all year.

First Catfish of the day

I continued working my way around the lake and had another fish grab the worm and make a powerful run. I got a good hookset into the fish this time but quickly realized that it wasn't a bass on the other end of line. I could feel the tell-tale head shake of a good sized catfish and sure enough, that's what it was. I brought it to the boat and unhooked it without removing it from the water.

Second Catfish of the day

Bass were no where to be found. The concession worker told me he thought the storms had them shut down and it sure seemed like he was right on. He's there everyday and knows what's going on so I figured I'd change tactics. I started throwing a crank bait and quickly hooked another nice fish. It wasn't as big as the first one, but it was still able to toss the lure before I got the fish to the boat. Another foot and it would have been in the net that I was leading him towards.

Since the bass were not cooperating, I decided I'd try throwing live night crawlers into the open holes in the lily pads. I never use live bait but figure it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. I had a couple fish grab the worms but think they were bluegills because they'd pull and then there'd be nothing. I gave up on that pretty quick.

Monee Reservoir Lily Pads

I started to make another trip around the lake and manged to catch another good Catfish on a plastic worm, and 4 smaller Largemouth on crank baits. My trip was then cut short by a phone call telling me a hose had come apart on my pool and we'd lost a foot of water. Luckily that took a flathead screw driver and less than 60 seconds to fix.

Typical Largemouth Bass for today

One thing that I noticed was that a few times a dragon fly would get close to landing on a lily pad, there'd be a swirl. Since the skies were bright blue, I knew the bass that weren't deep would be tight to cover and seeing a couple bass go after dragonflies at least let me know they were in there. They weren't around the edges but backed well into the pads - away from the area I spent most of time targeting. Next time I'll have a rod rigged with 50lb braid so I can get something through those pads closer to the shoreline.

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

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.

Easter Sunday on the Water

Heidecke Lake - Des Plaines River - April 4, 2010

Easter Sunrise at Heidecke Lake

I got to Heidecke Lake just in time to see a wonderful red an purple sunrise. But you know the old saying "red sky in the morning, sailors warning"... that kind of turned out to be true considering before long the wind was blowing past 35 mph out of the south.

The wind is picking up fast

I had a limited amount of time to be on the water before I had to be back in time to get to a family gathering. Fishing was slow and after two hours I hadn't had a bite so I started thinking about heading for the Des Plaines River where it would be easier to deal with the wind. As it was, the wind was pushing me towards the rocks and without a bite to show for it, it wasn't worth the effort to stay out of the rocks so I left for the river.

Early morning swim at Heidecke

As I was packing up, I noticed something bobbing in the waves. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was some type of critter swimming across the lake. It looked like a beaver to me but I never saw the tail so I can't be 100% sure that's what it was. I picked up the camera and took a few photos before I headed into the waves for the boat ramps.

Young Bald Eagle

I made the short drive to the river and with the limited time I had left, I decided I'd try two spots and then head home. I struck out at spot number one, although I hooked and lost a very small White Bass before I got it to the boat.

I left that spot after a few minutes then headed for spot number two. On the way I spotted a young Bald Eagle sitting atop a dead tree in the water.

Channel Catfish

I got to spot number two then proceeded to let the wind carry me along the bank as I threw a couple different crank baits toward the shoreline. About halfway through the drift I caught a nice Channel Catfish. A couple casts later I snagged a big Carp. I brought him to the boat, got him in the net so I could get my lure back, then flipped him out of the net back into the water. As I ended my drift, I hooked and lost a tiny Largemouth Bass.

Pelicans over the Des Plaines River

The day started out in the mid 40s but quickly warmed into the mid 60s. The water at Heidecke was only 52 which was 4 degrees cooler than the previous day. The water in the river was in the 60s. As the day progressed the clouds thickened, and after I got the boat put away and we left for our family gathering, the rain and thunderstorms began. All in all it was a great Easter on and off the water.

First Fish of 2010

January 13, 2010 - Des Plaines River

More Photos:

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/01132010.htm

Cold Morning

2010 Started out cold for us. When I left the driveway with the boat in tow it was a balmy 13 degrees outside and the wind was already blowing pretty good. My concern was the launch ramp at my destination. My partner for the day, Jim Lukancic, had made a trip to check out the parking situation a couple days earlier and found that despite the heavy snow of recent, they were kind enough to leave some space for those boaters who were crazy enough to venture out in the cold of January. The water was open, but the the ramp had a good coating of ice on it.

A very careful launch

Our first task was to clear away enough snow and ice so we could safely launch without dunking my truck. I brought a shovel, ice breaker, and salt which came in handy. Despite that we played it extra safe by placing a big log at the bottom of the ramp after the trailer tires were in the water to prevent the truck from hitting water should it slide despite our efforts. You can never be too safe.

Adult Bald Eagle plays in the early morning sky

We saw a few Bald Eagles fly by before we had the boat in the water.

Bald Eagle Nest

Jim pointed out that he saw one land in a tree and sure enough, there were a couple more in the air around the same tree off in the distance.

Young Bald Eagle

After we had the boat in the water, we idled out of the cove. Mist was rising off the water and the tugs were already pushing the barges around. The engine hadn't been run for almost two months so I continued to idle for a bit. I very slowly worked my way up in speed as we headed toward our destination which was the tree where we saw the eagles.

Tug Boat in the fog

I was armed with a new 650-1300mm lens that my wife had given me, and was eager to try it out. Before we made it to the tree, we saw two more young bald eagles that were playing over the water.

A young Bald Eagle soars over the River

I discovered very quickly that it was difficult to sight my target while in the boat due to the strong winds that kept us bobbing in the water. A tripod is must even on dry land with a lens like that. But despite all that, I still got one photo of a bird in that tree. I'll come up with a better system for using the lens in the boat some other time when it is warmer.

Adult Bald Eagle

We headed off toward our first spot. As we crept up on it we saw another Bald Eagle across the river in a tree, but the sun was directly behind it so I didn't even try for a photo. The water was as cold as its ever been there and we struck out. Since this was our first trip of the year, we wanted to make sure we caught something so we quickly decided to head toward where Al Bernicky and I caught our first fish last year.

A Belted Kingfisher

As we approached the area we were about to fish, we noticed more eagles and also that mist rising off the water had frozen on the trees and brush creating a very scenic winter wonderland.

Winter Scene

I was able to photograph another Bald Eagle before we started fishing, and also a big owl. I didn't realize it was an owl until I saw the photo at home on the computer.

Owl

We made one pass through the area and Jim caught the first fish which turned out to be a Largemouth Bass. After the first fish was in the boat, we tried another nearby area and Jim quickly put the second fish of the day in the boat which was a nice White Bass.

First Fish of the Year for Jim

White Bass for fish #2

The lure I was throwing was getting smacked, but it was like the fish were swimming up to it and batting it away. I finally caught a Smallmouth Bass before we moved back to our previous location.

My first of the year - Smallmouth Bass

My next fish hit like a freight train. It fought hard and Jim was ready to grab the net when we finally got a look at it. "Forget the net and just take a couple photos while it's still in the water", I said, hoping it would free itself before I'd have to hoist it up into the boat. It was a chunky Smallmouth Buffalo. It fought hard for its size but failed to free itself.

Smallmouth Buffalo

Jim caught another decent fish later which turned out to be a nice Catfish. Before we were done for the day, both of us had put a couple cats in the boat. I had another Smallmouth and Jim had a couple more fish too.

Jim puts another fish in the boat

Both Jim and I had also hooked and lost good fish. I could tell by the slime on the end of my line that one of them was another good sized catfish. We had 5 speices total for the day. Fishing was slow, but it's the middle of January and we're out fishing open water. That's nothing to complain about.

Me with a Catfish that is about to be released

We headed for the opposite end of the river but were greeted by floating chunks of ice as we got closer to the Kankakee River. We idled around a little and took some photos before spotting more Eagles and trying for photos.

Floating Ice

Freezing River Bank

I did not want to go much further because I was concerned that if a large enough chunk of ice broke off, it could float out and trap us so we turned around.

You don't want to get caught behind a big chunk of this

Despite the wind never letting up, it turned into a nice day. It warmed into the low 30s and the sky stayed blue. The warmest water was 60 at one of the discharge areas we fished and as cold as 33 elsewhere.

Bald Eagle flies over us

I've fished enough in cold weather to know how to take care of a boat in those conditions. The most important thing is to drain ALL the water out of the boat. Since no one else was around and we wouldn't be in anyones way, we stopped on the ramp with the boat tilted back end down. I pulled the plug and opened the livewell valve just in case. Sure enough a little bit of water poured out and I decided that I'd leave the plug out for the trip home. Normally I leave it out until the start of the next trip to prevent any accumulation.

I also lowered the outboard to make sure it was drained. The last thing you want is water to freeze in something and crack it. Especially your engine. Never assume you didn't get any water in the boat. If you stop suddenly, the backwash will find its way down into the bottom the boat. Also, condensation accumulates a lot faster than most people realize. By draining off any water in the bottom of the boat and out of the lines, you can prevent a very expensive repair bill.

Water under the bridge

Bear Goes Fishing

By William D. Anderson

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Catch Photo Re...

By William D. Anderson

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