Smallies, largemouths, what a night

June 1st, 2011

i was not very excited about fishing tonight because the lake was really muddy. Then we got out and caught a crappie right away. Then my customers decided that they wanted to go bass fishing, so we tied on some wacky rigs and hit the inside weedlines of the northeast and east bays. We caught a few largemouths and one nice smallie over by the rock pile in the on the roadbed.

The we hit the dam face and caught several more smallies and a few largemouths. These are the two big smallmouths that we caught.

Caught using a leech.

Caught wacky rigging a Yum dinger.

The bass fishing is only going to improve, if you would like to book a trip, email me at dekalbfish@ yahoo.com

A good fishing story

Last weekend I was crappie fishing on Shabbona. My bobber went down and I assumed that it was another crappie. When I reared back to set the hook, my rod bent over double.

I fought the fish for a few minutes and then handed the rod off to one of my customers. He fought the fish for a few minutes and then we saw that it was a huge muskie.

The muskie came close and then just opened his mouth and spit something out. We brought the fish aboard to discover that it was a large gizzard shad. Look at this photo! what a mess!

This shad was a bloddy mess.

Great Fishing At Shabbona Lake

Sorry that I have not posted in so long, I have been spending most of my time on the lake lately.

Just look at all of these crappies. They were divided up three ways and we all went home with some nice ones.

This was a big fish. Deb had a great time with it!

Jim caught this bluegill using a beetle spin. It was a big one!

First nice bass of the season on Shabbona.

Big bass have been caught at Shabbona lately

Here is a huge bass that was caught by an angler casting a rattle trap in the shallow waters over the emerging weeds.

Here is another bass that was caught in hte last week.

Just look at this thing. They are everywhere on Shabbona nowadays. I can't wait to get back out there. If you want to book a trip, I have some openings coming up. Just email me! dekalbfish@yahoo.com

Let me help you pay for your gas during a guide trip with me

I hate paying for gas when it gets this expensive and I know that you do as well. What I am going to do is this.

From now until June 15, I am going to take $25 off of any guide trip that I book. This discount is not good with any other discount I have already offered and you must tell me that you are taking the high cost of gas discount when you book the trip.

Think about it, at $4/gallon, $25 buys you 6.25 gallons. In my Santa Fe, that will take me $120 miles. You wanted to fish anyhow, why not book a trip with me and not have to worry about controlling a rental boat, and have the benefit of my experience telling you where to catch fish!

I was on Shabbona Lake last evening

We got a break in the storms for a couple of hours yesterday. I didn't want to risk taking my boat out and having it rain another 5 inches while we are trying to trailer it so I fished from the shore.  I picked up my 10 year old son Matt from school and off we were to Shabbona for some early season crappie action in between storms.

One of my buddies (Jeff) was already there and he had the same idea that he didn't want to have his boat out ont he lake.

We fished in the no-motor zone over by what I call "crappie island." Jeff had hooked into a muskie using a Mini Mite just a few moments before I arrived so he was excited.

We caught a few crappies in the shallows by the island, but fishing was slow. Then we decided to move a bit east to the edge of the trees. There is a blown down tree by this edge that has held crappies in the early season for as long as I can remember.

We each caught several crappies up to 11 inches long and we managed to fill Jeff's 10 fish limit in a little over an hour. The wind was whipping around about 20 mph, the temperature was dropping rapidly, and it was raining off and on the whole time and we managed to catch 10 crappies that were over 9 inches long in a little over an hour, I think we did well considering the terrible conditions we were faced with.

Good News about Shabbona Lake

 Just look at this bass. It was 21.5 inches long and weighed 6.7 pounds. This was caught in the bay just south of the bait shop by this angler. Denny tells me that he was casting a spinner bait in the shallows. This bass was returned to the lake. So it is still in there! wow. Look at this HAWG!

Now for the good news! Denny also tells me that the crappies are shallow! I can't wait to get out there now! CRAPPIES IN SHALLOW WATER I TELL YA! What a thrill. This means that 100 plus fish days are here for the next 3 weeks!

YIPPEE!

5/7 at Heidecke

Steve wishes that his first muskie would have been a little larger!

This was the typical size of the stripers we were catching.

Fishing guru John Mannerino told me exactly where to catch fish on Heidecke, and wow! was he right. There are lots of fish to be caught on this lake right now. We didn't catch any big ones, but we had a great time landing small walleye after small walleye with plenty of stripers thrown in! We also landed a small muskie. The action was so fast that I couldn't use 2 rods.

More fish caught at Shabbona Lake 5/7

Just look at these crappies. The big onr on Denny's right(your left) weighed over a pound. These crappies were caught fishing over a fish crib using minnows.

Bass like this one are not uncommon at Shabbona. Denny has caught lots of bass this size in hte last several days, and you can too! I know where they are, just contact me by email and book your trip soon, dekalbfish@yahoo.com

Big fish have been caught at Shabbona Lake today, May 6

This is a limit of crappie that was caught in the southwest bay by an angler today using minnows.

This guy had a really good day. He caught a 4 pound bass, this six pounder and he had another six pounder hooked. He was using a rattle trap type lure and casting it over the rock piles by the northeast bay.

Look for the fishing to improve at Shabbona soon.

Shabbona Lake May 5

This bald eagle sat very patiently while I took its photo. What a beautiful sight!

Denny and I were out on Shabbona Lake tonight. He is the "Old Master" of Shabbona Lake. He knows more about this lake than anyone else.

These are the first crappies I caught on Shabbona Lake of 2011. They weren't huge, but it was great to get back on Shabbona with a good friend of mine! I am looking forward to several hundred more of these in 2011. This is just the beginning. Crappies will be all over the place in a week.

Shabbona Lake muskie rescue 5/3/2011

The first muskie rescue of 2011 is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Clint Sands and I drove down to the lower creek barrier tonight to take a look at some muskies that were attempting to swim up the creek. when we got here we saw the two fish. They look like they were a little displeased with the barrier fence that was blocking their progress.

Clint quickly donned his waders, grabbed his muskie net and jumped in the creek and bagan stalking the muskie. He had that muskie in his net in no time and quickly released it upstream of the barrier fence so we can net it out tomorrow and release it back into the lake.

We spotted 3 more muskies on our way back up the creek. Sands thinks that the creek is full of muskies and that we are going to have a very sucessful rescue tomorrow.

If you would like to participate in the muskie rescue, please meet the guys around 5:15 pm at the park office. Bring your waders and large coolers.

The Crappies are in the shallows at Evergreen Lake

Look at these crappies we caught at Evergreen today, April 30th.

I love Evergreen lake because it has so many big crappies in it. The wind was blowing so hard today that we only fished for about 2 or three hours and we caught about 30 fish. They were up the the shallows with some fish being caught in 1 foot of water. If you would like to book a trip with me, I have next weekend free. Email me at dekalbfish@yahoo.com.

Product Review: Abu Garcia Soron SX10 and the Fenwick's HMXS 70M-F

I am always searching for the perfect rod and reel combination for a variety of presentations that I use for bass fishing. To effectively work a presentation you must have the correct equipment, which includes a rod and reel combination that are matched. If you are just getting into bass fishing, you really owe it to yourself to invest in some good rod and reel combinations.
Wacky rigging is a presentation that consists of a small do-nothing worm and a hook. The worm is usually between 4 and six inches long and weighs next to nothing. The challenge in finding a good rod and reel combination is threefold:
1)  You must cast this lightweight worm, sometimes in clear water you need to cast it a long way, and:
2) You need a rod that is sensitive enough to feel a bite in the weeds and far away.
3) The rod also needs to have enough backbone in order to drive a hook home using monofilament line at a long distance.

The rod must be long enough to cast a lightweight worm. I prefer to use a one-piece seven-foot rod. The difficult part is to find a rod that is sensitive enough to detect a strike, yet beefy enough to be capable of driving home a hook.

Finding a rod that possesses all of these qualities is a dilemma. Most rods are either too whippy to effectively set a hook. Real whippy rods can fling a lure a mile, but they have no sensitivity or backbone. A nice compromise is a one piece, and medium power rod. I have owned many rods in my life and one of them that has preformed very well. That rod is Fenwick's HMXS 70M-F. With medium power, it has the backbone that is necessary to set the hook on even the largest bass. The combination of cork handle, fast taper, and IM7 graphite give this rod superior sensitivity. This has been my go-to rod as far as wacky rigging goes.

As far as reels go, you need one that is lightweight, smooth when you reel and has a very smooth drag system. Another problem I see is that many reels will be worn out in a year with as much as I use them. Abu Garcia has a reel called the Soron SX. This is a reasonably priced reel, yet it has many great features as well. When I evaluate reels I seek to balance price vs features such as ball bearings.The Soron SX10 has 6 ball bearings, a continuous anti-reverse system, and is constructed of a very tough alloy so it will not rust or break. I need a reel that can stand up to the elements, as well as being used every single day during the spring and summer. This reel has proven to me that it can do that!

If you are really beginning to get into bass fishing, or you are a seasoned pro, you will benefit from this rod and reel combo if you wacky rig. I have wacky rigged for a decade now and have used lots of different combos, this particular one will really help you with your wacky rigging.

Announcing the first muskie/walleye rescue at Shabbona of 2011

This is the first muskie/walleye rescue since the new lower creek barrier fence has been constructed.

It will take place on Tuesday, May 3 beginning at 5:15 pm. Meet the rest of the participants at the park office off of Shabbona Grove road.

Make sure that you have a good pair of chest waders, your largest muskie net, and a large cooler if you have one.

Muskie and walleye rescues take the fish that have swam over the spillway and are now trapped in Indian Creek. They used to either swim down to the Fox River or die in Indian Creek later in the summer when the creek stops flowing.

You should really come out to see the rescue. There are some really big fish in this lake, and this is the best way to see them first hand.

Shabbona Lake, my prediction

Water temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees and despite intense rains, water clarity is greater than a foot.

 

Several bass have been caught each day that anglers have been able to get out.

 

With temperatures rising into the 60's for the last several days, and some warm rain, water temperatures should be rising quickly and the crappies should be moving into the shallows any time now.

Some state record muskies netted at Shabbona by the IDNR

Check this thing out. It was netted by the IDNR recently at Shabbona Lake. In all,  55 muskies were netted in one day.  Two of them would have broken the current state record had they been caught by an angler. Hey muskie maniacs, these muskies are still in the lake! 

A Huge Thank You From Duane Landmeier

Here is a guest post from Duane Landmeier, a great muskie angler, a very active conservationist, and a good friend of mine:

Shabbona Lake Barrier Fence Project Completed

About a year and a half ago Clint Sands a concerned angler, member of Muskies Inc. and Shabbona Sportsman` s Club and co owner of Shabbona` s Lakeside Bait and Tackle had an idea. He thought that a way to keep the escaping fish from going downstream in Indian Creek never to be seen again. He shared his idea with his father Denny and a friend and fellow muskie angler Duane Landmeier. The three of them put some thought into the idea and thought of ways to make the project a reality and make it work.

In the past the local clubs had done muskie rescues that consisted of a mile and a half stretch of Indian Creek. This was a very physical job that needed a lot of people donating a lot of time and energy to retrieve the fish and get them back into the lake. The new idea was to try to contain the muskies that went over the spillway in a close proximity (250 yards or less) of the spillway.

Thanks to the State of Illinois for allowing us to go ahead and doing this project it will make our job easier in the future.

On March 12 we started the building phase of the project. Eric Peterson a local concerned walleye angler joined us by donating his time, knowledge and energy. Eric works with aluminum extruded materials every day in his job so we had him order us the parts and build the fence with different fishing club volunteers assistance. On March 19 the fence was completed. It took 24 hours of hard work by the contractors along with a lot of help from local fishing club members and concerned anglers. Thanks to the Shabbona Sportsman` s Club, Quad County Hawg Hunters Muskies Inc. and other concerned anglers who helped out. Without them this would have never happened. There are always other things that need to be done that the contractors cannot do and the clubs and concerned fishermen did that.

The fence looks very professionally done. It covers the area up to 48 inches above the normal water level and goes up on the bank quite a ways to prevent fish escapement. There is a roadway that needs a little touching up when the roads are not posted to get some stone in the park. That access road down to the creek bed allows a truck to get within 6 feet of the bank. This will allow members of a fish rescue to efficiently get the fish from the water to an aerated tank in literally seconds which will make fish survival very much higher.

A very big thank you goes out to the Hugh C. Becker Foundation. They took requests from two Muskies Inc. clubs for the fence project and approved $5,800.00 towards the project. They were a big part of the funds needed for this project. This foundation has grants available for any worthwhile project that benefits muskie fisheries or conservation. The Twin Cities Chapter of Muskies Inc. helps to manage this foundation. Hugh Becker Foundation is one of the great conservation minded groups in the country. We need more quality minded people like this in the United States.

A big thank you goes out to the clubs that donated their hard earned money towards this project. Those clubs were were Illinois Muskies Alliance Member Clubs the Quad County Hawg Hunters Muskies Inc., Fox River Valley Muskies Inc., Shawnee Muskie Hunters Muskies Inc., Mississippi Valley Muskies Inc, Midwest Musky Club and the Illinois Muskie Tournament Trail.

Other clubs and donators were Shabbona Sportsman’s Club, Shabbona` s Lakeside Bait and Tackle and Denny Sands. The total cost of the fence was about $15,000 all raised from muskie clubs with no money from taxpayers being used.

As many of you readers know there are a lot of special projects that are completed time and again that take a bunch of hard work and volunteers to get it done. Some of these projects benefit every angler (not just muskie anglers) in the area that the project is being done in. This often goes by without notice. If it were not for people like Denny Sands, Clint Sands, Eric Peterson and Duane Landmeier who put time in on projects like this one for the benefit for others many projects would just get talked about and never get done. These individuals live and breath for their favorite sport fishing. Thank you again to these four fine conservationists for their efforts.

Be sure to take a walk down below Shabbona` s spillway and see the nice job that was done. The area between the spillway and the barrier fence in Indian Creek will be a no fishing area.

This will make Shabbona Lake an even better place to fish in the future for all species of fish.

I am very proud of all of the clubs that helped in making this happen. It has been my pleasure and look forward to working with you in future projects. Thank you.

here is a photo of the completed barrier.

Fishing on the Illinois River with John Mannerino on 4/17/11

4/17/2011

Capt John Mannerino was nice enough to take my 11 year old son Matt and I out on the Illinois today. The waves were big, the wind was howling and it was cold, but of course, Mannerino was on the fish!

We were trolling by Clark Island, and it was rough!

John and Matt hanging out on the boat before we got started!

John teaching Matt how to fight in a fish with a trolling rod. Careful, Matt, nice nad easy now!

John hoisting a fish in the boat.

Are you cold Matt? Look at the whitecaps behind us.

One sauger we caught.

Hold on tight Matt!

Another one.

Patiently teaching Matt how to troll.

Hey, why aren't you catching fish.

If you would like to book a trip with John Mannerino, call him at (773)631-7684 or go to his website at rockysanglingpersuits.com.

Shabbona Lake Walleye Open results

The Shabbona Lake walleye open was held today. Despite high winds and cold temperatures, 25 anglers came out to compete in this annual event. Joshua Bloomberg caught an 18 inch long walleye that weighed 1.95 pounds. His walleye earned him a $200 gift card courtesy of Cabelas.

Apparently Bloomberg was pitching a perch colored shad rap in at the rocks of the dam face. Denny Sands has been telling us that the walleyes are on the dam face in the early spring for years.

Anglers who compete in the walleye open are asked to the walleye restocking fund. Monies raised are used to purchase walleyes that are between 8 and 12 inches long. These walleyes have a much great chance of surviving when they are stocked.

I would like to thank all of the brave souls who didn't allow a little thing like 30 mph winds and cold temperatures get in the way of their "fun". 

I would love it if the walleye fishery at Shabbona recovered to its late 1990's and early 2000's levels. The walleye fishing back then was fantastic.

The next event in the series of summer " openers" is the crappie open which will take place on May 21st.

Best Bets for fishing this Weekend: April 16-17

Best bets for catching fish this weekend include  white bass and saugers on the Illinois River or walleyes on Heidecke Lake.

Illinois River: :Look for white bass around Plum Island or in the Vermilion River. Best baits for white bass include blade baits, small swim baits, or Gulp alive minnows.

Saugers are still being caught by jigging from Spring Valley all the way up to the HWY 178 bridge.

Heidecke Lake: Look for walleye action to improve as the water warms. Walleyes are being caught on the drop offs by anglers dragging crawlers or minnows.

I was at Shabbona tonight

I didn't fish tonight, but I stopped by to talk to Denny Sands. We walked around the shoreline by the baitshop and saw minnows and bluegills in the shallows. It won't be long now!

Big crappies already at Shabbona

I love it. My buddy Danny Raih from DeKalb already caught some really nice crappies at Shabbona.

I hope that theses crappies are the average size for this year!

Check these out!

Water temps are right around 50 degrees. Shabbona is always the last lake in the region to warm up.

Shabbona Lake

With forecasted temperatures in the 70's this weekend, Shabbona Lake should begin to warm.

Water temperatures were hovering around 40 degrees all week last week, but it really wasn't that warm, now, watch out! I bet the water warms by 10 degrees this week. That will push the bass up shallow, and the crappies will not be far behind.

Illinois River Fishing Report 4/6/11

I was out on the Illinois tonight. There were lots of boats up by the 178 bridge. We got some bites there using jig and minnow combinations, but caught nothing. We saw a couple of fish caught.

We the floated down the south side of Plum Island and casted jig and soft plastics. We caught 5 saugers, 1 walleye and a nice sized white bass on one drift. Most of the fish were caught on the downstream half of the island. These fish were all cauhgt in less than 5 feet of water. I went there expecting to catch white bass, but I will take nice sized saugers any day!

One of the saugers was over 18 inches long! What a night!

Here is a photo of Steve Vesta from Plainfield, IL. He caught this sauger while we were fishing together this evening by Plum Island.

Shabbona Lake Walleye Open

Here is the press release for the 2011 Shabbona Lake Walleye open.

Press Release                                                                            April 4, 2011

2011 Shabbona Lake Walleye Open

Sponsored By Cabela’s Outdoors

Cabela’s Outdoors has generously agreed to sponsor the 2011 Shabbona Lakeside's Walleye Open on Saturday April 16th, 6 AM - 7 PM.  The huge female, 10+ Pound, Walleye at Shabbona are typically up spawning around the 3rd week in April. Water temp is near 45 degrees and the Walleye are shallow.

Cabela’s will be offering $100. for the heaviest legal Walleye caught on April 16th from Shabbona Lake. We will have a Walleye stocking donation jar, set up at Lakeside Bait, Tackle & Boat Rental, for each event. If you donate $5.00 or more to the Walleye Fund, and you place 1st in the event, Cabela’s will double your prize to $200.

Lakeside will award an additional $100., if the Walleye breaks the current lake record of 9.9 pounds. (This could very easily happen!).

If that Walleye breaks the current State Of Illinois Record of 14 pounds, Lakeside will award an additional $500., making a potential payout total of $800!!! Note: The Walleye Open begins at 6 AM.

Remember!!! No entry fee and no pre-registration required. Just show up and fish!!!  Weigh your fish in anytime during the Open!

Pokanoka's Cafe will also be offering its famous "Dollar Day Specials" on April 17th. This has become equally as popular as the Fishing Open!!!

Lakeside is now taking reservations for Bass Boat, Pontoon, Gary Special, Motor Boat or Row Boat!!! Go to http://www.shabbonalake.com/online.html NEW FOR 2010 - $5.00 off on all day boat reservation at Lakeside, if made in advance 24+ hours.

Lakeside opened for the season on April 1^st.

(For more info contact Denny Sands at denny@shabbonalake.com or 815-824-2581)

Please put money into the Walleye Restocking fund. When the walleye restocking program was going strong we had some fantastic walleye fishing in Shabbona. Every dollar that is donated helps us stock more walleyes. I love the fact that we have walleyes right here in Illinois.

The Illinois River

The Illinois River:: April 3

Water temperatures were hovering around 50. The best action for sauger was around Spring Valley on the drop off on the south side of the river by the boat club. There were several saugers caught in this location with my personal largest today being  19.5 inches long. Most fish were caught using jig and minnow combinations.

Some saugers were caught upriver by Mertel's barge terminal. Plum Island and the Starved Rock dam area were slow.

White bass fishing is improving with fish being caught in the Vermilion River. Most fish were at leat a mile upstream of the mouth by the 30 foot hole area. They were caught using a jig and Berkley Gulp alive minnow combinations. White bass were running small, like they usually are in the Vermilion. They averaged aruond 10 inches long.

Lots of gar were also caught.

Look for sauger fishing to slow down and white bass fishing to improve as the water continues to warm.

fishing report

I have not heard anything about LaSalle in the last week because everyone has been going to the Illinois River.

Illinois River:

Water temps are in the mid to upper 40's and the saugers are done spawning forthe most part. The saugers are in the process of moving downstream and they are being caught in large numbers in the Spring Valley area by anglers jigging  and pulling crankbaits.

Shabbona Lake:

Water temperatures are in the high 30's. A few crappies were caught today by anglers fising deep in the deep water structure.

Fishing Report

Illinois River:

Fishing Guide and illinois River expert John Mannerino told me that the saugers should be hanging around the Starved Rock dam and the dam area for a couple of weeks before they disperse. This means that the fishing will be great here for the duration. Once they move down, the fishing will still be great for those who are good enough to follow them.

LaSalle Lake:

Fishing will be great at LaSalle until it warms up. Once the weather breaks and air temps stay above 50, the fishing will slow down at LaSalle.

Heidecke Lake:

Don't forget that Heidecke Lake opens for the season on April 1st.

MWC Spring Valley Illinois Day 2. the results

WOW once again is all I can say. Once again these boys caught some fish and proved to the world what a great place to fish that the Illinois River is.

Here are the top five finishers:

1) Mark Meravy (Shorewood) and Tom Brunz (Madison Lake Mn) 24.05 pounds

2) Tom Giachetto and Tom Giachetto (both from Ladd, IL) 23.51 pounds

3) Ronald Levin (Beach Park, IL) and Nick Ingoglia (Beach Park, IL) 23.24 pounds

4) BJ Liebe and Brian Ernat (Both from Ladd) 23.12 pounds

5) tom and Lorraine Miller (Yorkville, IL) 23.04 pounds

Big Fish

Tom Giachetto 5.26 pounds on day one

Brian Ernat 5.96 pounds on day 2

Now for the photos:

This is Lorraine Miller of Yorkville with a nice walleye caught on day two.

This guy was in my graduating class.Scott Hogland

John Balla is a good friend of mine.

Tommy Skarlis is always on the fish.

Brian Ernat waiting to see how big that P I G was. This was a 5.96 pound walleye. Congratulations guys!

LOKK AT THIS THING! OMG

It takes two days of catching fish like these to win at Spring Valley.

Nice check guys!

Hey, didn't that guy on hte left just win a tournament?

Sunday Day Two Illinois River MWC PART 1

This is part 1 of two posts about the MWC Spring Valley day 2. I was out in the camera boat this morning with the film crew and tournament directors.

Cehck back later for photos of the weigh in and for the top five finishers.

Take off day two. This was about 15 minutes before the official take off.

Here are the Dan's. Dan Palmer and Dan Johnson.

Frank Zator and Barry OFlynn handlining.

Randy Carroll handlining.

Come on Tom, Give us a smile!

Tom Sr with a fish

Tom sr with another fish.

Tom jigging.

Tom with fish.

Look closely, the guy towards the front has a fish.

There it is!

I will have photos of the weigh in later because it hasn't happened yet!