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.

Monee Reservoir Video from 9-18-2009

Here is a video I created that shows different views of the fog. Try the HQ button and full screen!


If I have time I'll add music.

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.

Monee Reservoir - July 10, 2009

More photos from today:

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/07102009.htm

Great morning for Fishing

I went to the Monee Reservoir this morning for a couple hours. I was planning on fishing the shoreline for a little bit before the rain hit, but the rain looked like it was going to hold off for longer than I originally expected so I rented a boat. On the way into the parking lot, a buck almost ran right into my truck. He crossed the street and was across the field in no time flat.

Heading out in the rental boat

There were already several boats out by the time I got on the water. The sun that was barely visible by the time I got there was becoming more obscured by clouds with each passing minute. I have no idea what the water temp was but I’m guessing the upper 70s. There was also some algae bloom visible.

Lily Pads

I noticed more Bullfrogs this time out than what I’ve seen there for the past few years. That’s a great sign.

I started out by catching a real nice fish. It hit a crank bait that broke on the next cast. The front of it was cracked and it split in half.

4.5 lb Largemouth Bass

I tied another one on and caught a couple smaller Largemouth.

2nd fish of the Day

I saw a guy catch a nice Bass on the other side of the section I was fishing (same guy who took a couple pictures of the big fish for me – Thanks!). Shortly after that I tied into a good one on a plastic worm. I thought it might have been a big catfish by the way it was fighting. It made several powerful runs and was probably one of the strongest Largemouth Bass I’ve ever fought. When I saw it I was really wishing I would have brought the net that I have specifically for fishing that place.

6 lb or better Largemouth Bass

I got the fish to the boat and was able to lip it on the first attempt. After a few photos, I lowered it back into the water and it took off with a splash of its tail fin. I got the brunt of it right in my face too. That was ok though because it let me know the fish was no worse for the wear and tear I put on him.

Released to fight another day

I took a few more casts and realized it was time to turn the boat back in. Perfect timing too as the rain was just starting.