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.

Weather at LaSalle Lake

Since today is closing day for the 2009 season at LaSalle Lake, here's a video of some of the wind, weather, waves, and fog from the past 10 years. Don't forget to try full Screen and HQ.

LaSalle Lake - October 14, 2009

LaSalle Lake - October 14, 2009

More photos from today:

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/10142009.htm

Cold, Rainy, and Foggy

When I left the house it was cold, dark, and a moderate rain was falling. I left the cover on the boat for the ride to the lake hoping that the spray from the other vehicles on the highway would not wind up on the windshield and upholstery. The interior stayed clean, but the exterior was filthy by the time we got the boat in the water.

Boat Ramp Out of Order

The parking lot for trailers was empty when I got there. I was a little late due to being held up by a train in Seneca. It stopped just short of the last car clearing the crossing, then sat there for a while before it backed up and cleared the crossing before stopping again.

Neither the road leading into the lake, nor the parking lot are paved so when it rains it can be very sloppy. We were concerned after we saw the "Do not Enter" sign in front of one of the ramps and discussed going back towards home and fishing the river again. After a closer look at the sign we figured out that it was only for the one ramp because of a hole that had developed near the bottom of it. The fact that there were no other boats there also concerned us because they have a tendency to close the lake to boats if its windy. More on that later.

Empty Lot

There was a lot of thick fog blowing across the lake with the cold east wind. Both Mike and I were surprised at how brutal it was considering that there didn't appear to be much wind at all on the way there. LaSalle is a cooling lake for the LaSalle nuclear power plant. It's 2,600 acres of water that is built on high ground so that it catches the wind to keep the water cool. This means it can get very dangerous out there too.

Fog and Rain

Mike caught the first couple of fish. His first fish was a nice Largemouth. A little later he hooked a catfish and kept it in the water until it got loose. He didn't want it in the boat. Mike also wound up with a nice Smallmouth and a couple more Largemouth before we were done.

Mike with the best Largemouth of the day

Fishing was a lot tougher than we expected. Usually fishing at LaSalle is phenomenal when there is a good cloud cover and a good breeze. Not today. We worked several areas with no luck but Mike was able to pick off a fish here and there while I hauled water.

My first fish of the day - Freshwater Drum

When we got to the warm water discharge canal, I grabbed a rod with a blade bait and promptly caught a Freshwater Drum. As we worked our way into the warm water (which was only in the low 70s) we thought we'd at least catch a couple small catfish. Neither of us got a bite so we moved on.

Me and my best fish of the day

I didn't catch my Smallmouth until we were almost done for the day. The fish hit right at the boat and took off. I didn't let him go very far and when I got him back to the boat I hoisted him up out of the water, unhooked him, and posed for a photo before releasing him.

Not the best of days - but my favorite kind to fish

As we were leaving we saw two boats launching. We were concerned that one of them was taking a baby out in those conditions. Judging by the issues they were having getting their boat in the water, then off the rocks after it got away from them, they did not seem to be experienced boaters. That lake has taken several lives over the years and today was not a day for the inexperienced to be out there. Usually they close the lake to boats if it gets windy because 6 and 7 foot waves can materialize very quickly.

To see some of what this lake is capable of dishing out, take a look at these links:

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/lasallesign2.htm

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/w38.htm

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/w14.htm

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/w15.htm

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/w20.htm

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/w5.htm

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/w4.htm

LaSalle Lake March 27, 2009

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/03272009.htm

I got to the lake just after sun up and it was cold and windy. There was a lot of fog blowing over the water from the warm side of the lake. Once you left the ramp area, visibility went down and you had slow way down.

A boat ahead in the fog.

Once I approached the spot where we did good last week, I saw there were three boats on it so I moved down the bank a ways and started to fish. It took about 20 minutes before I caught the first fish. It wasn't the biggest fish in the lake, but it was a fish. As I moved down the bank I noticed a large bird in the same tree where we had seen another large bird the week before. This time it was a Bald Eagle and I was able to get a couple photos despite the fact it was a quarter mile away.

Bald Eagle

There was a lot of wildlife around the lake today including nesting geese, turkey vultures, redwing blackbirds, and seagulls. There were plenty of large carp spawining in the rocks on the warm side of he lake and a few of them came all the way out of the water whle chasing each other over the rip rap.

Turkey Vulture

Nesting Goose

I spent most of the day throwing crank baits and I probably chose a larger bait than I should have because I ran across a former fishing partner who was using a smaller lure and he had a couple real nice fish in his livewell that he released after I took a couple pictures for him.

I tried a couple more spots with similar results and then ran to a spot where boat control would be a little easier in the wind. I deceided to throw a plastic worm and managed to land a decent catfish on it. He could have swallowed the bass I caught a couple casts later.

I worked my way around to the wind blown bank and the average size of the fish went up a little, but after looking at my watch I realized I had better head for the ramp after the next fish. It took about three minutes and another 15 inch Largemouth was in the boat.

The water temperature was 63 at the ramp and in the mid 80s in the discharge canal. I didn't spend any time in the discharge canal because the wind wasn't making it easy to fish in there the way I wanted to.

The wind was so strong out of the north that even after I hooked the boat to the trailer, the tail would blow off to the side making it impossible to pull the boat out of the water without having the boat rest on the fender. Lucky for me another boater was kind enough to hold the boat steady for me while I pulled forward up the ramp.

LaSalle Lake March 18, 2009

I met Mike Matlock at the boat ramps just as the lake was opening. It was still dark so it took an extra minute or two to get the lights out and set up. As Mike was backing my vehicle and the trailer down the ramp, I realized that the drain plug was still in the car. Mike stopped in time, and after I put the plug in we set out into the darkness.


We ran towards the warmer side of the lake and found a spot about halfway down one of the banks, far enough away from the other boats that were starting to congregate on that side of the lake. After a few minutes of casting it was "Fish On"! I landed a nice Smallmouth before the sun was up. Mike quickly followed with a nice Largemouth, then another, then another, then another....

Mike with a nice LaSalle Lake Smallmouth Bass

For a while it seemed like every cast was good for a fish. I threw crank baits and Mike switched off between a small crank bait and a 7 inch worm. I'm pretty sure he caught more fish on the worm than I caught on the crank baits, and he didn't have to worry about those sure-set hooks winding up stuck in his finger like I did. Ouch!

The sun came up a short time later and looked spectacular through the clouds. Fortunatly for us, it quickly dissapeared behind more clouds and that helped keep the fish biting. Once the sun made a brief appearance later in the morning, the hot bite quickly stopped and the fish were fewer and farther between.

LaSalle Lake Sunrise

Mike and I lost count of how many fish we caught. Most were in the 12 to 15 inch range with a few larger ones thrown in. Both of us lost a couple really big fish before we were able to get them to the boat, but we caught more than enough nice ones to make us happy. We caught Largemouth, Smallmouth, Catfish, Drum, and a few Striped Bass.

Mother nature blessed us with better weather than what was predicted. It was warmer than forecast, and the rain showers held off until the boat was washed, covered, and put away. The water temperatures at the lake ranged from around 62 at the ramp to the mid 80s in the discharge canal.

More Pictures from this trip:
http://www.catchphotorelease.com/03182009.htm

You can visit LaSalle Lake and take a 3D Tour here:
http://www.catchphotorelease.com/LaSalle.htm