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Illinois fishing trip April 12-15, 2013

Started by Guest_BenCantrell_* , Apr 16 2013 05:36 PM

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12 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 16 April 2013 - 05:36 PM

A former roommate and I made a trip through Illinois last weekend, and I've put together a short report with some of the highlights. A few of the locations were given to me in confidence, so I'll leave their names out of the report.

We left Madison, WI Thursday afternoon and stayed the night with family in Springfield, IL. Saturday morning we hit the road early to arrive at our first destination in southern IL. Hook & line fishing was our priority, with some of our targets being spotted gar, bowfin, flier, redear sunfish, warmouth, banded pygmy sunfish, and pirate perch. Our trip was probably a little too early in the season, because fishing was very slow. We got skunked in the morning, but in the afternoon we found a location with spotted gar sunning themselves near shore. Small gold or silver spinners were irresistible to them, and Ryan and I were each able to catch one. I was very happy with my 36 inch specimen.

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We still were having zero luck with the sunfish species, so before leaving the spot I used a dip net to see what was in the vegetation near shore. I caught western mosquitofish (not pictured), blackstripe topminnow (not pictured), juvenile bluegill (not pictured), male and female banded pygmy sunfish, and a cute little turtle. I was amazed at the density of invertebrates in the water.

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The locals were not fond of bowfin, which they called grinnel. We saw several dead ones on shore, including freshly run over ones in the road. It was frustrating to see, but at least there was a nesting eagle nearby that took advantage of some of the carcasses.

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#2 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 16 April 2013 - 05:47 PM

Horseshoe lake?

#3 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 16 April 2013 - 05:50 PM

Our next stop, a crystal clear stream, was a nice change in scenery. This was Ryan's first micro fishing experience, so there were plenty of new species to be caught. It's a little tougher for me to find new hook & line species, but I was able to catch one new one, bigeye shiner. As a bonus, a lot of the fish were showing nice spawning colors and permitted us to take some nice photos.

Bigeye Shiner
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Central Stoneroller (male)
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Central Stoneroller (female)
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Striped Shiner
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Orangethroat Darter (male)
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Rainbow Darter (female)
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Blackspotted Topminnow (female)
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Longear Sunfish
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The only fish we saw but could not catch hook & line was fantail darter. We camped back near the spotted gar location Saturday night. I was hoping to find pirate perch once it became dark, but dip netting and an overnight minnow trap only resulted in western mosquitofish and juvenile bluegill.

#4 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 16 April 2013 - 06:01 PM

On Sunday we dabbled in the stream some more, and then headed to a location with swamps and small spring-fed creeks. The very first rock we looked under contained quite a nice surprise, a rather large adult spring cavefish! We scooped it up by hand gently, took a few photos, and then released it next to the rock, which it quickly swam back under.

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Here's the rock that we found it under, the large flat one in the center of the photo.

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Later in the afternoon we found another smaller one. This fish was also quickly released after a photo.

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#5 Guest_BenCantrell_*

Guests

Posted 16 April 2013 - 06:28 PM

At this point we had given up on the sunfish species, so we decided to head north to Carlyle to fish for silver carp. This is one of the few locations where silver and bighead carp are easily caught hook & line in the mouth. Small green jigs drifted with the current below the dam discharge look like bits of algae to them, which they will actively hit. It's a unique experience.

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We each caught a few silver carp. I haven't caught a bighead carp yet, and disappointingly the only one we caught was one Ryan snagged in the tail by accident. He also snagged a very large smallmouth buffalo. Other people by the dam were catching white bass with small white jigs, and we saw one guy catch a walleye further down. Unfortunately, most of the silver and bighead carp caught here end up smashed on the rocks, despite several signs saying that it is not allowed. Now I'm not a big fan of invasive carp being in our waters, but there is absolutely no justification in leaving fish on shore to die. It's wasting a resource (yes, silver carp can be eaten and actually taste pretty good), and it stinks up the place. Not to mention that it does nothing to dent the population.

After camping the night at Carlyle, we drove north, making one more stop in northern IL. This is a tributary of the Rock River that I stumbled across last year. The water was high and turbid, but we still managed to find a few fish by putting pieces of nightcrawler on the bottom. Ryan caught the fattest northern hogsucker I've ever seen, a common shiner, and I caught a small silver redhorse.

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#6 Guest_Casper_*

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Posted 17 April 2013 - 08:18 AM

Excellent report! Plenty of cool fish seen. Striped neck musk turtle i suspect. I like the bowfin skull shot. Agreed with your ethics views. Cook that buffalo next time, fine eating fireside. When it warms up put on a snorkel mask and watch those rolling stonerollers at work. Perhaps you will be in KY and i would enjoy meeting you, or visit Chattanooga sometime and i will put you in clear water.

#7 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 17 April 2013 - 08:44 AM

Matt, yes that was one of the spots Uland suggested we try. Ironically enough though, he did not mention spotted gar at that location, and we did not see a single one below the dam where he said you guys saw them stacked up. Too early in the year I suppose.

Thanks Casper! Snorkeling looks like a lot of fun, can't wait to try it. Warmer water for sure though. I can't make it to the convention due to too many other weekend trips, but I hope I can take you up on your offer in the future. You'll only be 9 hrs from me once I start my new job.

I can put you on some muddy water if you come up to central IL.

#8 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 18 April 2013 - 08:13 PM

What a cool report! The whole micro-fishing thing sounds like a way somebody with limited seine ability (me) could turn up some of the fish they miss with the dipnet. The lightest gear I've ever fished is ultra-light, the usual 5' rod and spinning reel designed for 2-4 lb test. How does micro equipment compare? Did I hear somewhere that the extreme microfishers make their own rods, and don't use a reel?

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#9 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 18 April 2013 - 08:31 PM

Matt, I agree, micro fishing is a pretty effective way to sample clear streams. I tried splashing around with a dip net at the end of the day and did not catch half the species caught hook & line. Muddy water and heavy vegetation are another story. Dip nets are much more productive in those situations.

If you're standing in the middle of the stream, then a short rod is fine. The fish get used to your presence pretty quickly. However, if you're standing on the bank, the longer the rod is the better in order to avoid spooking the fish. I use a collapsible 7 ft rod, but someday I'll upgrade to something 9 ft or longer. Most of the time I do not use the reel, but sometimes it's nice to cast a bit to reach the middle of a pool.

Here are the hooks I use. I almost exclusively use the Tanago hooks now. The rod has either 4 lb or 2 lb mono on it, but it's not very important since the Tanago hooks are presnelled with a leader of very light line.
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Edited by BenCantrell, 18 April 2013 - 08:33 PM.

#10 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 19 April 2013 - 09:14 AM

Thanks, Ben. I may have to order some of those Tanago hooks and give it a try.

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#11 Guest_Uland_*

Guests

Posted 24 April 2013 - 10:47 PM

Ben,
Cool trip report and information on micro fishing. Do you use a blood knot to attach the leader from the Tanago snelled rigs or something else?

Many years ago I had a long (10'?), ultralight, telescoping fiberglass "pole" I used for micro fishing and can't seem to locate or replace it.
Does such a thing exist anymore or may I ask what is preferred these days?

#12 Guest_BenCantrell_*

Guests

Posted 25 April 2013 - 10:09 AM

Thanks Uland! I don't actually use a knot to attach the leader to the main line. What I do is tie a bowline knot (thank you boy scout days) at the end of both sections of line and then feed the leader loop through the main line loop and cinch it tight. Here's a 10 second paint drawing:
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Micro fishing is such an unrefined sport that everyone is using something different as far as rods. I know Tenkara rods are gaining popularity over here, but I don't have any experience with them. I think 9 to 10' is common. My gear is working fine for the time being (the 7' telescoping rod and 5' ultralight), but once I have disposable income I'll probably look into getting something 9 or 10'.

#13 Guest_Uland_*

Guests

Posted 25 April 2013 - 12:11 PM

Ben, thanks for the connection info.
It seems I've been using poor search terms and found a similar telescoping pole on the cheap. Not sure it's a light as my missing equipment but Bass Pro Shops stocks this brand. I'll have to go take a look.
http://www.bnmpoles....ack-widow.aspx