Chris and I headed to the Des Plaines River about mid morning. Unlike the past several day there wasn't a cloud in the sky so I wasn't expecting much in the way of fish. We got to our first spot and noticed a lot of Shad. We snagged several and some of the bigger ones hit the lures and were caught fair and square. It took a while but I finally managed to catch a couple Largemouth from that spot on a new crank bait I haven't thrown before.
Largemouth Bass
Shortly after we left that spot, we spotted a couple of Bald Eagles in a tree. Chris had never seen Eagles in the wild so it was a treat for him. I've seen more than I can count and it's still a treat for me every time. I stopped the boat and began taking pictures.
Bald Eagles
After a minute one took off, then the other. They flew a wide circle before landing back in the same tree.
Bald Eagle
We began throwing crank baits at our next spot. Again it took a while, but I put two Smallmouth in the boat.
Smallmouth Bass
We went on to a third spot and fishing was even slower. I hooked a big fish which I think was a Gar, and as Chris was standing ready with the net, it broke me off and took my new crank bait with it. I tied on another one and was ready to continue.
Red Squirrel
A short time later we noticed we had an audience from a tree that was hanging over the water. Chris managed to catch a Smallmouth while he was watching. We fished that spot a little longer but didn't catch anything else. As we were about finished, we saw the stangest looking bird. It looked like one of the rocks it was sitting between at the waters edge.
Camoflaged Bird
We stopped back at our first spot and I caught another Largemouth before we struck out at our last spot. None of the fish we caught were worth bragging about but it was nice to be out there. The air temp never got out of the 30s but the sun made it feel warmer. The water was still in the mid 50s. We made it back to my house and got the boat put away just as the sun set.
My friend Al and his friend Tony picked me up before the glow of the sun was visible in the eastern sky. Our destination was somewhere in Indiana to chase Steelhead. On the way, we made a quick stop at a bait shop so Al could pick up some bait in case the fish weren't interested in his homemade spinners.
Lots of places to snag
There is a lot of submerged brush where we were and Al has designed a spinner that goes through it quite easily without getting hung up. I was using a similar spinner as well as some artificial bait that has been sitting in my garage for the past few years.
As soon as Al parked the truck, I grabbed my rods and headed for a spot where I'd caught fish in the past. I hooked a monster right away on the artificial bait but it broke off. A short time later I had a smolt on a spinner. After snagging and losing my spinner, I switched to one that Al had given me.
Al hooks one in "my spot"
I worked the spot for over an hour before Al showed up. He threw his bait in the water and his bobberdisappeared right away. He set the hook and his pole was bent way over. Fish on. Big fish on.
After a short battle, Al landed the fish and then proceeded to land three more from the same spot. He hooked and lost a 4th. Prior to getting to that spot, he had caught three and lost another.
Al pulls another fish from a spot I had just beaten up pretty good
I followed Al and watched him catch another, then another, then another.
Another fish from the same spot where I hooked and lost a good fish
I think he landed 9 or 10 fish before we were done.
How is he going to get that fish over that tree? Watch and learn!
I went ahead of him as we were headed back and caught up with Tony. As I was throwing the spinner, I had a good hit and the fish went air born. He came down, took off up stream and broke off. That would have been right up there with the biggest Steelhead I'd ever caught.
Me going out on a limb - literally
I even walked out onto a tree to try to keep my lure from getting hung up in the brush around the shoreline, and also drift the bait into what looked like all the right places. As I was out there, Tony landed a few smolts. I also saw Al hook another monster fish that jumped 5 or 6 times before if got away.
Indiana DNR truck
We decided early on we'd keep a couple fish and wound up bringing three back to the truck. We didn't bring a cooler (they wouldn't have fit anyway) so we left the fish on the ground while Al and Tony went to look at one more spot.
I stayed back to watch the fish and an Indiana DNR person showed up. She looked over the fish, weighed and measured them, and was kind enough to provide a plastic garbage bag so we could transport the fish home without sliming up the back of the truck.
Three nice keepers
Once home, Bear helped me wash the fish and place them in a cooler, and then show them to a couple of the neighborhood kids (and parents) who like to fish. I had to admit that I did not catch them but went 0 for 2, but they were still excited to see such nice fish. Bear was excited too and wagged his tail as he sniffed each fish before it went into the cooler. I could tell he was thinking "Why didn't he take me?"
I hit Lake Michigan again on Monday the 9th. This time I took Al Bernicky with me. Al has been out there many times before, and caught countless Lake Trout, and other big fish out there. He is one of the best fishermen I know and knows several different ways to catch fish out there.
We had everything with us that has caught Lake Trout before out there including tubes, crank baits, spinners, dipseys, dodgers, spin-n-glows, and more... Nothing worked.
Al catches a Goby on the Dipsey-Dodger-Spin-n-Glow rig
We thought it was strange that no one else was out looking for Lake Trout. There was a north wind forecast, but the lake was calm with a southwest wind. We wondered if the wind forecast kept everyone away, or maybe the Lake Trout were done early. We saw a couple boats come out to do some perch fishing but all we saw them catch were small ones.
First Goby of the day
We decided we'd harass the Gobies. Gobies are very aggressive and will hit just about anything they think they can swallow. They are an invasive species and it is illegal to have live ones in your possession. We caught them on twister tails and 1/2 oz to 3/4 oz jig heads. Every time we'd get the jig near the bottom, we'd feel the fish attack. We lost count of how many caught.
Me with another Round Goby
I even caught a small perch. The big ones should start showing up soon.
A Yellow Perch
The wind turned around and began to blow out of the north. We started to see a few more Lake Trout on the surface so we quit messing around with the little fish and went back to trying to catch what we went out there for in the first place.
Round Goby
Despite the wind blowing straight out of the north, the lake remained fairly calm. I've been out there in years past when the wind has turned around and before I knew it, I'd be surrounded by 10 foot swells while I carefully made my way back to the mouth of Burns Ditch.
The North Wind beginning to add a slight chop to the water
Once we finished our last pass along the reef, we decided to call it a day. The highlight of the day was when Al spotted a giant King Salmon by the boat ramps. Too bad it had been dead for quite a while.
When I got to the boat ramps I was surprised to see an almost full parking lot. That would normally be unusual for a Thursday this time of year, but the Lake Trout were in and they're only in for a limited amount of time. You have to wait for a south wind to make the lake calm enough to safely go out there so when that window opens up, you have to take it.
Burns Ditch
I put the boat in the water and fished my way down Burns Ditch to the lake. In the past I've caught Largemouth Bass and King Salmon in there, but not today. As I made my way down the ditch, I noticed a lot of new construction. I didn't make it out on the big lake last year at all and was surprised to see a new walkway along the west shoreline.
New Walkway
The walkway was extended all the way out to the rocks that protect the mouth of the ditch from the monster waves that can develop quickly out there.
You can walk all the way out to the lake
Once I made it out to the reef, I started fishing for the lakers the way I've done in the past. They didn't want anything to do with my offerings. I saw a lot of fish caught, but I don't have down-riggers or the other gear that folks were catching them on. That was ok though because I was able to watch and learn. Every now and then a big Lake Trout would surface near me which told that my day will come. It just wasn't going to be today.
Me with a Lake Trout from the past
The lake was fairly calm since the break wall that protects the port was protecting us from the strong south winds that were picking up. By the time noon rolled around, it was blowing pretty good and there were plenty of white caps. I decided to head in without a fish to show for my efforts. Maybe next time they'll be interested in what I was throwing at them.
Starting to get rough
Lake Michigan is amazingly clear these days thanks to the zebra mussels. You can see a crank bait 10 feet down whereas you're lucky to see the same lure 10 inches down in most of the other water I fish.
My original plan was to go look for King Salmon and possibly an early Lake Trout on Lake Michigan Tuesday, but I got an email from my friend Jim Lukancic and decided to take him up on his invitation to fish the IL River instead. I met him at his house about an hour and a half before the sun was due to rise and we headed off in the darkness to fish a stretch of the river I've never been to before.
The sun rises as the clouds move in
The video at the bottom of this post doesn't do justice to the great day we were about to experience. When we got to the ramp there was a large group of hunters waiting to take off. Throughout the day we'd hear the occasional shotgun blasts, but they were a long way off from the water we fished.
Jim with a nice IL River Sauger
Jim ran his boat to the first spot and he was right on as far as where he thought the fish would be. We caught a lot of fish there including Sauger, White Bass, Freshwater Drum, and one Yellow Bass. Jim caught a couple real good fish there but it took me a little while to get into the swing of things. I left my jacket in my car and was concentrating more on the fact I was freezing than fishing.
Jim puts a White Bass in the boat
As we fished that spot we saw flocks of Geese flying south and I was wondering why the Pelicans were flying north. A young Bald Eagle flew by as a crow began yelling his displeasure at the intrusion into his air space.
Are we there yet?
After fishing that spot for a couple of hours, Jim explained that he knew of another spot where there would be fewer, but bigger fish and we decided to go check that area out. Lucky for me Jim offered to stop back at the ramps so I could get his extra jacket before we made the run to the next spot.
Immature Bald Eagle takes flight
On the way to the next spot we saw several young Bald Eagles. Some were in trees and others were playing tag in the air above the trees. Different species of birds were congregating in different areas. It seemed each species had their own little neighborhood on the river.
One of my best Sauger for the day
Jim was right about the next spot. The first time I dropped my jig, I pulled up a small White Bass. A little later I'd pull in my first big fish of the day. Fishing was a little slower, but the fish we caught were definitely bigger as my next fish was pretty much a clone of the one I had just released.
Another Sauger about to be released
Jim wasn't about to be outdone and pulled another good one from that spot. As a barge passed us, I noticed lots of silver carp jumping out of the water next to it. I picked up the video camera and made an attempt to capture it. During the warmer months, boaters have to be very careful because the vibrations from outboard motors will send the Silvers flying into the air and they've been known to break windshields and injure boaters and skiers.
Another nice Sauger from the IL River
Jim wanted to show me one more spot before we headed back. Again he was right on. We caught fish, but I think the brief appearance the sun made, and the fact the wind died down helped to slow fishing. Even though it slowed the fishing (or more likely moved the fish), it was enough for me to unbutton the jacket and life vest I had put on the stay warm. We still managed a few nice fish though. I even caught a small Bullhead to make for our fifth species of the day. The Spirit of Peoria steamed by and we discussed running to one more spot to try for a Bass but decided we'd better hit the road instead. It was going to be an equally long drive back.
Another good Sauger
The day had gone from a cold cloudy morning in the mid 40s, to a partly sunny afternoon in the mid 60s. We drove through a brief rain shower as we left, but by the time I got home, it was still nice enough for me to wash down my boat from the last trip I took with it. My dog was glad to help with that task.
Afternoon Traffic
Thanks to Jim for inviting me out. It was a great day of fishing and conversation.
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.
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:
The outdoor world is an amazing place. It changes everyday, and sometimes from one minute to the next. You don't have to go far to find the beauty of nature. Sometimes all you need to do is open your eyes and take a look around. The photos I take while outdoors allow me to share that with those who migh never get to see such things.
