SHORE-LINES

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#0099CC" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04100640ezuavc.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Flamme LET" ><I><B>FISHIN' WIT' OPIE</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B><B>|     </B></FONT><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FISHIN WIT OPIE"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A><B>          </B><A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SOLUNAR TABLES"><U><B>BACK</B></U></A><B>         </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SITE MAP"><U>SITE MAP</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WELCOME TO THE SITE"><U>WELCOME    TO    THE    SITE</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHATS IN IT FOR YOU?"><U>WHAT'S IN IT FOR 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width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <A NAME="op_bass__olson_lake__8_10_03"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B><IMG SRC="4718e6f0.jpg" border=0 width="142" height="111" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <B>STUCK ON     WEATHER ?</B></div> <div> <B>REFRESH TO RETURN TO SHORE-LINES  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Webdings" ><B>44</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FF3333" FACE="Arial" ><B>CHECK OUT </B></FONT><B> <A NAME="other_site_links"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>THESE OTHER SITES:</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://ifishillinois.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://ifishillinois.org"><U><B>Illinois Fishing</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://dnr.state.il.us./lands/landmgt/parks/ilstate.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://dnr.state.il.us./lands/landmgt/pa"><U><B>Illinois State Parks</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dnr.state.wi.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dnr.state.wi.us"><U><B>Wisconsin DNR</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.midwestoutdoors.com/home.asp" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.midwestoutdoors.com/home.asp"><U><B>Midwest Outdoors</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.in-fisherman.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.in-fisherman.com"><U><B>In-Fisherman.Com</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.fishandgame.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fishandgame.com"><U><B>Fish and Game Finder</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ebassin.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ebassin.com"><U><B>Bassin' Magazine</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.bassmaster.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bassmaster.com"><U><B>Bassmaster B.A.S.S.</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.flyfishamerica.com" 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News Items</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.outdooraction.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.outdooraction.com"><U><B>Outdoor Action</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.simplyfishing.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.simplyfishing.com"><U><B>Simply Fishing</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.lake-link.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lake-link.com"><U><B>Lake Link</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thefishingguideshow.tv" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thefishingguideshow.tv"><U><B>The Fishing Guide</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="shore_lines"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="CAC Moose" >SHORE-LINES</FONT>      <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="CAC Moose" >(REPORTS ON FISHING AND EVENTS)                          </FONT></div> <div>  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Webdings" ><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Illinois Map"><U>33</U></A></FONT><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Illinois Map"><U> ILLINOIS MAP</U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Webdings" ><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Illinois Map"><U>4</U></A></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>      <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#weather_report_july_anchor" TITLE="SHORELINES"><U>Current Weather Report</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>LINKS TO PICTURES FROM EACH REPORT ARE IN</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> BLUE </B></FONT><B>AND USUALLY UNDERLINED--CLICK LINK TO VIEW PICTURE (</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#990000" FACE="Arial" ><B>OLDER REPORT PICS MAY TAKE LONGER TO LOAD</B></FONT><B>).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WE WILL TRY TO REPORT TO YOU THE LATEST NEWS AS WE GET IT.   ALSO CHECK THE </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LOCAL EVENTS"><U><B>LOCAL EVENTS</B></U></A></FONT><B> PAGE.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="if_you_have_a_report_send_it_in"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the BULLETIN BOARD:"><U><B>IF YOU HAVE A REPORT SEND IT IN</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>July 30, 2004-</B></div> <div> Around 7 p.m. we went out to Olson Lake for some scum-poppin' bass action.  We didn't get it!  The only bass of the night came at around 7:20 p.m.  This  <A NAME="15_inch_largemouth_july_30_2004"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_15_inch_largemouth_olson_lake_july_30_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>15 inch Largemouth</U></A></FONT> grabbed my new mightmouse lure right off the shore at the first point in the back, past the first crib.  The rest of the night....I guess they went to bed early!?!  So did I.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 28, 2004-</B></div> <div> Today I visited a lake that is new to me anyway, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id95.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lake Victoria"><U>Lake Victoria</U></A></FONT>.  This is a large quarry-style lake in South Beloit.  The water is blue as the sky with pockets of surface weeds along the shorelines.  The lake also has cabbage-type weeds just below the surface on the north shore.  I decided to try a slow rolling Colorado-style spinnerbait.  I received one strike as I jigged the spinnerbait in and out of the weeds but I couldn't keep the fish on as I pulled through the cabbage.  My fishing buddy Joel went around to the south side of the lake and into the neighboring lake on the other side of the bridge which separates the two parts of the lake.  There are fallen trees in the water in this area and he used a buzzbait to land two 6 inch largemouth bass.  This lake doesn't have any shade along the shore and the sun was high today.  We decided around 5 p.m.  to head to Pierce Lake for some more fishing.  We fished the point across from the boat house to remain in some shade and fish the cove on each side of the point.  I used a buzzbait to catch my first 10 inch bass which hit directly across from the boat and bait house.  The next fish caught was a feisty bluegill that decided he could take a Bill Dance shallow-crank.  With the sun setting, we decided to head to our favorite bass hole, Olson Lake.  Using scumfrogs we were able to catch 5 bass today.  The first one was an 11 incher that hit my mightymouse lure (before the lillypads stole it).  The next bass two bass came at the same time.  I caught this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_15_inch_largemouth_july_28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>15 inch bass</U></A></FONT> and Joel landed a 14 incher off his favorite point.  Joel landed one more dink 9 incher before I caught this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_17_inch_largemouth_july_28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>acrobatic 17 inch largemouth</U></A></FONT>.  No sun. Dark.  Head for Sportscore!  We threw out carp bait (Uncle Josh's) and catfish bait (Sonny's blood formula) hoping we could stay busy tonight.  I had two nice hits on my catfish rod in the first 15 minutes of fishing; this would be it for the catfish bites tonight.  The carp were swirling around out there in the bay and we figured a few of them would end up here on the website.  Well, only  <A NAME="this_one_carp_july_28_joel"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_joel_carp_july_28_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>this one</U></A></FONT> tried to steal Joel's pole that night and he made it on the "Shorelines" page for you.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 24, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out to Olson Lake again tonight around 6 p.m.  The temperatures are dropping and there are no storms in the area.  With the weather being cloudy and overcast the fish turned on a little earlier tonight.  I landed a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_15_inch_largemouth_olson_lake_july_24_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>15 inch largemouth</U></A></FONT> with a buzzbait on the 4th or 5th cast.  The next fish was a little 11 inch bass that popped the buzzbait as it passed by a patch of lillypads.  Joel caught a 12 inch bass on his scumfrog about 15 feet away from where I caught the first two bass.  As you work your way back into the lake it is necessary to switch from a buzzbait to a more weedless lure, so I tied on Mightymouse.  Joel caught a 14 inch bass past the crib area.  I landed another dink on the mouse then moved around to the back of the first and second bend in the lake.  Joel stayed on the first point the whole night as the bass were making a lot of noise on the surface in that area.  His efforts paid off when he landed this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_joel_r__21_inch_largemouth_july_24_olson.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>21 inch replica</U></A></FONT> of the bass I caught yesterday; this is his first large bass of the season and his largest bass ever.  Joel caught one more dink in the 10 inch range.  Then at around 9 p.m. I landed this  <A NAME="15_inch_largemouth2_olson_july_24"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_15_inch_largemouth2_olson_july_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>15 inch largemouth</U></A></FONT> off the point he had been fishing all night.  This would be another good night of fishing!  Good luck to you and get out there and fish.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 23, 2004-</B></div> <div> I stopped off at Belvidere Park again today around 2:30 p.m.  and fished the area below the walking bridge and the area below the dam with my white 1/4 oz. buzzbait.  I hit one 11 1/2 inch smallmouth under the bridge and lost one nice smallie that hit off the rocks at the dam; <I>this fish wins the high jump contest</I>.  At around 7:30 p.m. I went out to Olson Lake with my fishing partner Joel and we caught 8 largemouth between us.  I caught two 12", a 14", and a nice  <A NAME="21_bass_olson_july_23_2004"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_21_inch_largemouth_bass_olson_july_23_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>21" bass</U></A></FONT>.  He caught two 10", and two 14" bass.  We fished until 9:20 p.m. and called it a good night.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 22, 2004-</B></div> <div> Stopped out at Belvidere Park and fished the Kishwaukee River below the dam and caught one rock bass about 5" in length.  Then I went out to Pierce Lake (~3:30 p.m.) and walked around by the dam using the same buzzbait I used at the river.  I hit one 14 inch largemouth bass.  The water has cooled from the rain and hopefully the cooler temperatures that are forecasted for this weekend should bring back the aggressive bite.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="july_19_2004_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>July 19, 2004-</B></div> <div> A two hour trip to Belvidere for some smallie fishing was on my mind when I woke-up this morning.  I called a friend and made the trip to Belvidere Park.  After catching a small rock bass in the spillway of the large dam, I decided to take a walk down to the other spillway at the end of that stretch of the river.  I was rewarded for the walk with this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_11_inch_smallie_belvidere_b_day.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>11 inch smallmouth</U></A></FONT>.  This was the only bass caught between the two of us.  The river is lower now and you could see carp holding in the current below the spillway.  As long as we were in Belvidere, we decided to make the trip out to Spencer Park gravel pits.  The last time I was there the water ran all the way around the edge of the pits making shoreline fishing very limited on space.  The pits have receded but I still haven't caught any bass from these pits that are more than 10 to 12 inches in length.  The catfish were nice and healthy last year, maybe I will give it a shot next time I visit.....After some dinner and a birthday cake, I made it out to Sportscore docks at around 9 p.m.  I was just in time to hear the final standings of the Anglers' Edge RBL 4 bass tournament held on the Rock River today.  There were 8 teams participating in tonight's tournament with the team of Derrick Dillion and Luke Berry coming in 1st place with  weight of 5.525 lbs.  The 2nd place team of Scott Johnson and Dan Degner caught 2.24 lbs of bass, and Harold and Steve Cox caught 2.10 lbs. to place 3rd.  The largest bass of the day went to Luke Berry and the 2nd largest bass belonged to <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id81_craig_adamson_july_19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Doras "><U>Craig Adamson</U></A></FONT><A HREF="id81_craig_adamson_july_19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Doras "><U> </U></A>with a weight of 1.40 lbs.  The river was tough on the 8 teams today.  A total of 10 bass were weighed in for the tournament; 3 largemouth and 7 smallies.  When talking to Craig Adamson after the tournament he stated, "the bass were short-striking today....you really had to work to get them to the boat before they spit the lure back out at you."  Hope to see Craig and all the anglers on the tour in future reports..........On with the fishing.  My brother and I were at Sportscore to do some fishing of our own tonight.  While the catfish poles, and the 1 carp rod were baited and waiting, I decided to take a trip around the shoreline with the buzzbait.  Casting across the rocks that line the dock area, I caught this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_11_inch_smallie_b_day2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>nice 11 inch smallmouth bass</U></A></FONT>.  About 15 minutes later the bells started ringing on the carp rod and I saw my brother Ian running for the prize.  When I saw him set the hook, I thought this was gonna be his <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="ian_s_first_carp_ever_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_s_first_carp.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>first carp ever</U></A></FONT>.  I told him to fight the carp and let it take some line when it got close to shore.  He was having a blast fighting this one.  From the picture you can tell how happy he was to have caught this nice 6-7 pound fish.  I was happy to be the net-man for this occasion.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 17, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went back out to Pierce Lake for some catfishing with my nephews tonight.  No catfish biting and the kids were getting discouraged.  I took the opportunity to tell them about different lures and baits and how they are used.  The kids are always interested in learning about new stuff in the tackle box that they have never seen or touched before; try it sometime.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 14, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out to Pierce Lake around 8:30 p.m. and tried mighty mouse on the floating vegetation in the bay next to the dam.  I caught one 13 1/2 inch largemouth off a nice 25 yard cast.  The next hit was from a bullfrog about as long as the bass.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 10, 2004-</B></div> <div> My brother and I went out to Olson again for some bass fishing in the heat.  The sun was still pretty high at 5:30 when we arrived and we had the soaked shirts to prove it.  The bass were not hitting around the scum patches until about 8:00 p.m. and then the action was slow at best.  My brother was able to catch 3 dinks on a spinner bait during the day and then he also switched to a scum frog type lure.  The results of the day were <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_olson_lake__14_75_bass_7_10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>one 14 3/4 inch fish</U></A></FONT> for me and 3 bass in the 8-11 inch range for Ian with one bass that measured  <A NAME="14_inches_ian_7_10_2004"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_14_inch_bass_olson_7_10_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>14 inches</U></A></FONT>.  The bluegill were driving the mighty mouse lure away with vicious hits to the top water bait.  The redear sunfish are bedding and being really aggressive out in the lake and along the shoreline.  One angler at the lake caught a 16 inch bass on a plastic worm rigged wacky style.  Good luck fishing and <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>send in your reports.</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>July 8, 2004-</B></div> <div> I headed out to Olson Lake for some fishing at around 7:30 p.m. and only used the mighty mouse lure again.  I was able to catch 4 largemouth bass.  The biggest bass was 14 inches, then the size became progressively smaller--13, 11, and 10 inches.  The last fish was caught at 9:45 p.m. and I think they would have kept biting if I had been able to stay longer.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 7, 2004-</B></div> <div> Tonight I spent some time at Four Lakes Forest Preserve in search of  another large bass with my friend Joel.  I was able to land a 14 incher near the fallen log in the back-left lake on the mighty mouse lure I had made and described in a previous report.  I used that same lure to catch a 15 inch bass near the corner crib in the far corner of the front-right lake.  Those were the only two bass of the night for either one of us.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 2, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out tonight for the NightBite 2004 and caught my <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_first_cat_2004_pierce_15_5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>first catfish of 2004</U></A></FONT> (a 15 1/2 incher)--finally!  I have been trying to catch one (halfheartedly) for most of the past 2 months.  My brother and nephews were fishing the Sonny's with me.  Ian Clark caught one  <A NAME="15_inch_catfish_and_one_catfish_around"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_clark_15_channel_cat_2004_pierce.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>15 inch catfish and one catfish around 13 inches</U></A></FONT>.  The catfish finally got on the bite at around 8:45 p.m. and we were still getting some bites at 10:50 p.m. when we had to leave Pierce Lake.  I stopped off at the boat launch at Sportscore Park on the way home and found that the water has receded quite a bit, but most of the docks still have water on the walkway planks.  Shouldn't be long before the ground around the docks is dry enough for picnic tables and nighttime catfishing.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 27, 2004-</B></div> <div> Headed back to <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id40_june_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Olson Lake"><U>Olson Lake</U></A></FONT> today for a days worth of fishing.  My fishing companion today was Joel Roussel, who has fished with me quite a bit in the past.  When we arrived at the lake, I started throwing my trusty scum mouse and Joel went with a weed demon.  The weed demon was able to get farther out in the water and that seemed to be where the bass were holding today.  The middle of the lake, which is weeded over, is holding a lot of fish in the 12 inch range.  We saw some anglers boating fish after fish using scumfrogs from their trolling motor driven boats.  The shoreline held many bass as well.  The total for the day was 5 fish for Joel,  <A NAME="including_this_15_inch_largemouth"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_joel_r__15_inch_largemouth_june_27_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>including this 15 inch largemouth</U></A></FONT> and one 14 inch smallmouth, and 4 largemouth for me.  The amount of misses that occurred were around 20 a piece.  This occurs on top water baits fished over weeds, but the explosions that occur make your heart jump off pace for a moment providing the adrenaline needed for the next few casts before the next one hits.  I would highly recommend fishing the weeds this way for an exciting day of fishing.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 26, 2004-</B></div> <div> I arrived at Pierce Lake at 5:45 a.m. and found the gates open so I went inside.  I hit the creek first, and caught 2 small 11 inch bass on a buzzbait.  Then I went over to the dam area and tossed that same buzzbait.  With all the weeds in that area, I should have been throwing the scumfrog or mouse.  I didn't receive any hits.  I then journeyed over to Olson Lake for the morning bite.  I have never been there in the morning, so I was curious what the lake offered to the early bird.  I ended up catching 5 largemouth, the biggest being  <A NAME="this_15_inch_fish"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_15_inch_largemouth_june_26_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>this 15 inch fish</U></A></FONT>.  The others were varied between the very small 11 inchers to the a nice 13 inch fish that broke the scum and swallowed my scum mouse with ease.  There were other misses (either my fault or bad aim by the bass breaking the surface) that kept me walking around the lake until around 10 a.m.   The lake is definitely good for a the morning angler.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 25, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out to Four Lakes late Friday night and spent around 1 1/2 hours tossing the modified scum mouse.  I landed a nice 16 inch bass from the end of the log in the back left lake.  The rest of the night I spent just tossing the mouse and landing nothing.  Not even a strike the rest of the night.  I saw a fisherman tossing a buzzbait with no luck and another gentlemen using live worms below a float.  He had one bluegill in 4 hours, but plenty of bites.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 22, 2004-</B></div> <div> On a tip from a fellow angler who has fished with Opie before, we headed out to Olson Lake with the information that "the bite was on again."  When we arrived, around 7 p.m., we threw 1/4 oz. buzzbaits near the beach area.  No hits.  Then we took the hike and moved on down the shorelines near the closest crib.  The buzzbaits wouldn't cut the weeds and lilly pads so we switched to the scumfrogs.  The bass weren't hitting the scumfrogs either!  Then we started throwing the white scum rat and modified scum mouse (the modification is:  Two twister tails threaded on the double hook of the mouse so that it resembles a frog with legs outstretched).  I was rewarded for my innovation with this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_19_inch_bass_olson_june_22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>19 inch bass</U></A></FONT>.  Shortly after I released the bass Ian, my brother, came walking over with this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_14_inch_bass_olson_june_22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>nice 14 incher</U></A></FONT>.  Then as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon, I caught my own  <A NAME="15_incher_olson_june_22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_15_inch_bass_olson_june_22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>15 incher</U></A></FONT>.  I missed 3 hits as I pulled the mousey across the mats of weeds.  When I pulled in the mouse the only thing on the hook was mossy weed.  If you're going to go out there and toss a frog or mousey of your own remember to match your tackle to the task and use a 10 or 12 lb. test line to muscle the bass out of the thick weeds and lilies.  My brother used 6 lb. test and wished he had used a stronger line when at 9:20 p.m. he had a nice hit right at the weedline and was unable to free his bass before it wrapped him and got loose.  We tried some catfishing tonight at Four Lakes and found out that the catfish just weren't hungry for Sonny's stinkbait this evening.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 21, 2004-</B></div> <div> I decided to try my luck during the last few hours of fishing at Pierce Lake.  The little scumfrog I have been using lately was the first lure I threw out there.  I tried the weedline near the dam--to the left.  The fish were not breaking through the weeds to get to the frog so I tried casting to some of the floating weeds farther out.  While swimming the frog back to the bank, I hit a nice 13 inch bass.  That was the only bass I caught today, but I did receive two more hits around 9:30 p.m at the creek on the north side of the lake.  Hope your fishing experiences have resulted in a few for you too.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>Send in your reports</U></A></FONT> and pictures and we'll put you on the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>Braggin' Rights</U></A></FONT> page.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 19, 2004-</B></div> <div> Headed out to Four Lakes Forest Preserve today for a little frog action and maybe a buzzbait bite.  I tried both of these, along with a plastic worm, crankbait, and spinner.  Not even a hit for me today.  I did see a few anglers who were using the plastic worm and having luck with it.  The catfish have been cooperating with anglers fishing the back-left lake. </div> <bR> <div> <B>June 17, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out to  <A NAME="spencer_park_sand_pits"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id93_spencer_park_sand_pits__belvidere.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spencer Park Sand Pits"><U>Spencer Park Sand Pits</U></A></FONT> today and fished for about an hour.  The front pit has stained water and the rear pit has clear water.  I saw several large bass in the front pit and bass in the 10" to 12" range in the rear pit.  The bass seemed to be lured most easily by a trout pattern shallow crankbait.  If I would have changed the rusty hooks on mine, I may have caught one bass today.  I did have a few rock bass follow the trout and a buzzbait but no hits.  The only hit was from a largemouth bass on the rusty hooked trout.  The pit has filled with water and walking around the edges has become impossible for the rear lake.  You are now limited to a small area of the shoreline to fish  The plus side of this is that the water has deepened where the cribs are to the right and the logs have piled in one corner on the left.  This should be more predictable habitat for the bass in the near future as the water levels fall off.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 16, 2004-</B></div> <div> Today I went out to Belvidere and fished the Kishwaukee River at Belvidere Park.  The river has flooded the banks and caused the park district to close the road that runs along the river.  I fished with a white Colorado-leaf spinner and a buzzbait in white.  The water is flowing pretty good from all the rain lately.  With the last week being rather dry in comparison, we should see the waters recede and the parks start to open up again.  No Strikes, No Hits, No Fish.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 12, 2004-</B></div> <div> Today, at around 5:00 p.m., I went out to Pierce Lake to see if I could get in on the fishing action.  With Free Fishing Days in full effect, I knew it would be hard to find a spot on the shoreline to fish.  I was happy to find that the shorelines were every bit as full as I thought they would be.  The #1 sportstown lived up to its name even in fishing.  There were families catching bluegill everywhere I looked.  I was lucky enough to land this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_16_inch_bass_pierce_june_12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>16 inch bass</U></A></FONT> from the cove left of the dam.  On the next cast I noticed a swirl to my left and decided to give my buzzbait a heave.  An 11 inch bass was my reward.  With the sun starting to set, I headed for Four Lakes Forest Preserve.  At Four Lakes I found many anglers in search of bass.  With the catch and release program still in effect in this forest preserve, the bass have had a chance to grow and flourish.  I noticed some young men watching a nice largemouth near the shoreline in the first lake to the left.  They were very excited to see the size, so was I.  I gave them a few tips on baits that had worked for me and off I went to find my own bass.  It wasn't until I switched to a bait that I had been using in Wisconsin last weekend that I landed my first bass from Four Lakes.  The 12 inch bass took my shallow shad in and gave me a nice leap or two before coming nicely to shore.  The next 8 hours were a blur of hotdogs, marshmallows, mosquitos and bug repellent.  We spent the night out at Trask Bridge Forest Preserve trying to catch either catfish or carp.  No hits the entire night.  My brother joked, "All we caught tonight was West Nile."  Around 5 a.m. we headed back over to Four Lakes.  I received 3 hits on the buzzbait.  One hit turned into this  <A NAME="nice_18_inch_bass"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_18_inch_four_lakes_bass_june_13_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>nice 18 inch bass</U></A></FONT>.  Tired from all the blood letting, we decided to call it an early day and headed back home.  Did you catch a nice one this past weekend?  If you did <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>send in your report and pictures</U></A></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="june_9_2004_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>June 9, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out to Pierce Lake tonight around 9:00 p.m. with EN and threw out some catfish poles.  While we were catfishing we decided to toss buzzbaits around the shore line.  EN caught this bass, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_june_2004_bass_pierce.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>around 15 inches</U></A></FONT>, on a 1/4 oz. buzzbait with a white skirt.  We were both getting a lot of follows that we thought were muskie at first.  Then I think we decided that they were shad following the buzzbaits all the way to shore.  The schools of shad are quite numerous out at Pierce.  Later that night my younger brother, Kyle, and I were out at <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id44_may_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trask Bridge Forest Preserve"><U>Trask Bridge Forest Preserve</U></A></FONT> doing some <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id44_catfishing_trask_june_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trask Bridge Forest Preserve"><U>catfishing</U></A></FONT>.  We had one bite on Whisker's blood balls.  No catfish, yet.  Still have yet to catch a catfish this year.  We may give it another go on Saturday.  Remember this weekend is  <A NAME="free_fishing_in_illinois_june_11_thru_14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Free Fishing in Illinois</B></FONT>.  Get out and catch some fish and send in your reports and pictures.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="june_5_2004"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>June 5, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went up to Wisconsin for some free fishing this weekend.  We started fishing at <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id74_beaver_dam.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wisconsin Trip"><U>Beaver Dam</U></A></FONT> around 1:00a.m. and threw out some cat poles with Sonny's blood bait.  Joel, my companion for the trip, tried throwing buzzbaits around the shoreline.  No luck there.  We headed for Madison and the chain that surrounds it.  Our first stop was Lake Wingra, behind Henry Villas zoo.  The far corner of this area was full of lilly pads and we figured we would land a nice bass or two.  Well, I did land two bass but they were 10" and 11".  Better than nothing.  We moved farther down the lake to the beach area.  We had caught bass from behind the rocks that stick up from the sand close to the beach before and figured we could pull a few more small ones from this spot.  Having caught the two bass earlier, I let Joel take the first few casts to the area.  Sure enough those bass were still hiding in this area.  He landed one and missed one.  I was fishing along side of him with a shallow shad Bill Dance crank bait.  I was casting past the rocks and over the area where the water changed from clear to darker green in color; which shows a depth difference.  After 5 or 6 casts to that area I got a big hit!  As soon as the fish hit I saw the orangish tail break the water and I knew I had a muskie.  Joel yelled, " You foul hooked a carp!!"  I told him to think again.  Then the muskie started heading for those same rocks that the bass hide behind.  I tightened the drag a little and started leading the fish toward the opposite direction.  The line just missed the rocks but as soon as the fish seemed to be under control it started toward the second set of rocks farther down the line.  I just kept pressure on the fish and hoped for the best.  When I started bringing it in all I could think was line don't snap!  Once the fish was on the beach,Joel reached down and gilled the fish.  This is my <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_35_inch__muskie__lake_wingra_wisconsin.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>first muskie</U></A></FONT> and I had a ball.  We left Lake Wingra and drove around aimlessly for awhile.  Then we ended up in Mount Horeb and visiting <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id74_steward.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wisconsin Trip"><U>Steward Lake</U></A></FONT>.  This lake was beautiful and full of nice sized bass.  I caught one in the 12 inch range and Joel caught one in the 9 inch range.  These are not the nice fish I'm speaking of.  From the bluffs that you can walk around the lake I saw many large bass in the water below.  The clear water and the polarized glasses kept me trying a variety of lures.  On my scumfrog I even caught a water mocassin.  Not recommended!!  We went on to  <A NAME="yellowstone_state_park"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id74_yellowstone_lake_state_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wisconsin Trip"><U>Yellowstone State Park</U></A></FONT> and decided that the $5.00 they wanted to fish in the park was more than we wanted to spend.  We went through the park and found a backroad that had a bridge over a 20 foot wide creek.  The parking area stated," Public Hunting and Fishing Area."  We decided to use this area to take a nap before the drive back into Rockford.  Well, my curiousity got the best of me and I decide to fish the creek while Joel slept.  To my surprise the creek was full of schooling bass.  Yes, Bass!  And the I saw large carp, catfish, bluegill, and crappie.  I caught two bass and one bluegill floating a red rubber worm down the creek.  A local fisherman showed up and asked if I had done any good.  I told him for a creek it was alright.  He stated that this was his "honey-hole" and that he was there to try and get the 4 foot muskie he had been watching for the past week.  I was shocked to hear there were also muskie in this fine creek.  When the local came out of the woods 20 minutes later with a 24 inch walleye I really started to believe that this was indeed a local "Honey-hole."  We decided to head home around 8 p.m.  Joel and I decided that this trip was well worth the day spent driving around county roads in Wisconsin.  If you had an adventure in Wisconsin this past month <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>let us know</U></A></FONT>.  Good fishing and I will have more reports from local waters this week so come back fishin' wit' opie.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 31, 2004-</B></div> <div> Went out to Four Lakes for the third day in a row to try some family fishing since I had seen so many bluegill in the water.  For the family, this lake can't be beat around these parts.  The bluegill are numerous and fairly good size.  I was also able to land a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_large_bullfrog_in_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>large bullfrog</U></A></FONT> from the shoreline while fishing with my scumfrog.  The big guy got a mouthful of metal for his bullying tactics.  Then a large  <A NAME="16_inch_bass_4_lakes_june_31"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_16_largemouth_4_lakes_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>16 inch bass</U></A></FONT> hit the scumfrog a little farther down the same shoreline.  My family had a good time and we all caught fish.  Make sure to take your family out on the water for the free fishing weekend coming up June 11 thru 14.  No license is required for these dates.  Have fun.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 30, 2004-</B></div> <div> I was out at Four Lakes again today, but the rain came and I had to go away empty handed.  I went down to Trask Bridge Forest Preserve and found it under water.  I have <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id44_trask_bridge_flood_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trask Bridge Forest Preserve"><U>some shots</U></A></FONT> here.  Find safe waters and Good fishing everyone.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 29, 2004-</B></div> <div> Tried Four Lakes Forest Preserve today for the first time since late March.  The bass seemed to be hiding under the mats of grass and right up along the shoreline.  The scumfrog approach landed these two beauties at 2.5 and 3.0 pounds-  <A NAME="may_29_2004_four_lakes"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_four_lakes_15__may_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>1</U></A></FONT>, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_four_lakes_18_may_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>2</U></A></FONT>.  I also saw a nice 18 inch bass landed on an 8 in. Zoom worm.  The fisherman was using no weight and deadsticking the bait.  He said it was a lot like catfishing; sit and wait.  The panfish are abundant in these waters still and the creek that runs behind the back two lakes is much higher than usual due to the rains.  Some fisherman were pitching baits along the riprap in the creek.  The trip gave me reason enough to go back to this forest preserve, which up until today, I had been neglecting this season.  Good fishing and send in your pics for the "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_bragging_rights.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>Braggin' Rights</U></A></FONT>" page.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 26, 2004-</B></div> <div> Welcome Back!!!   We have been able to keep the site going and there has been a lot of work tracking down a Web builder that we can use.  Finally.....Opie has been fishing since late March and around <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>85</B></FONT> bass have come and gone back into the water.  What a great year so far!  The early bait this year was the Willow leaf spinner with a white skirt.  The dinks over at Olson Lake loved them.  One windy day Opie was fishing the bay across from the tent campgrounds and pulled in this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_windy_day_bass_2004_pierce_lake.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>lovely bass</U></A></FONT>.  The other baits that have produced:  3/8 oz. buzzbaits with combinations of white, chartreuse, black, and yellow;  Colorado spinnerbaits in white and black;  Suspending Husky Jerks--silver with black backs; and Popper-style scumfrogs.  Opie has fished the Kishwaukee River at Belvidere Park, Olson Lake, Pierce Lake, and Spencer Park.  The  <A NAME="large_females_2004_olson"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_22_5_inch_bass_olson_lake_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>large females</U></A></FONT> came in on the flats at Olson around May 8th.  At dusk (8:00-9:00) they were very aggressive towards buzzbaits.  Let us know about your catches and send in your pictures.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>fishinwitopie@yahoo.com</U></A></FONT>.  Good fishing!</div> <bR> <div> <B>August 10, 2003-</B></div> <div> Went out to Olson Lake and threw the scum frogs around.  I landed a 13" Largemouth bass and Joel was unable to pull in his only hit of the day.  I tried throwing a buzzbait, but I found it too weedy most of the way around the lake for the bait to be presented correctly.</div> <bR> <div> <B>August 9, 2003-</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >The 12th annual Rock River Catfish Tournament was won by the following:  </FONT>1st--Michael Blue,South Beloit, Channel catfish class 7.6 lbs., 1st--Kathy Sparrowgrove,Rockford, Flathead catfish class 8.2 lbs--<B>Second Flight: 6am-12pm</B>.  Arthur Race, Rockford, Heaviest three fish stringer:  4.12 lbs.</div> <div> 1st--Todd Wolf,Rockford, Channel catfish class 5.8 lbs.,  1st--Dewayne Thompson, Machesney Park, Flathead catfish class 23.10 lbs.--<B>First Flight 12am-6am</B>.  Heaviest three fish stringer:  Andrew Lapp, Machesney Park, 10.14 lbs.  The event attracted 672 entries.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >  (2002:  522 entries).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>August 8, 2003-</B></div> <div> Fished Olson Lake with scum frogs and scum demons today and Joel came away with this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel__olson__8_8_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>16" Largemouth bass</U></A></FONT>.  No bass for OP today, but we did some night fishing at Spencer Park's Gravel Pit with a friend Dan W.   Dan, Joel, and I were able to catch around 10 channel cats.  I was able to land this  <A NAME="22_channel_cat"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_op_cat__spencer__8_8_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>22" Channel cat</U></A></FONT>.  Good night!</div> <bR> <div> <B>August 2, 2003-</B></div> <div> Walked the Kishwaukee River below the dam in Belvidere Park this morning.  While I didn't hook-up with any fish, Joel R. caught a 12" smallmouth bass, and a 25"-27" Northern Pike.  We were observing the Carp-A-Thon which seemed to have a pretty good turnout.  I will have results posted as soon as I get them.  Good Fishin', OP.</div> <div> The winners of the Carp Classic Top 3 Heaviest were all from the same family out of South Beloit.</div> <bR> <div> <B>August 1, 2003-</B></div> <div> Tonight we visited the Deep Lake Pit in Spencer Park to do a little catfishing with some friends; Jim H., Joel R., Ian C., Dan & Tonya W., and me--OP.  Jim Harmon caught this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >5 lb. 1 oz. Channel cat</FONT> on Sonny's Dip Bait in Blood formula. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><I> (Unfortunately, all the pictures taken were too dark to mess with so only these two are posted with this report).  </I></FONT>We all landed 8 to 10 catfish each in the 18"-22" range and kept the medium sized males only.  When we left we took  <A NAME="a_dozen_catfish"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_bucket_o__catfish.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>a dozen catfish</U></A></FONT> with us.  Everyone had a great time Fishin' wit' Opie.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>July 27, 2003-</B></div> <div> Went out to Pierce Lake again for some cat fishing and carpin'.  No fish, lots of wind.  Went out to the Sportscore boat launch on the Rock River and threw out the carp line again.  Joel threw out the Sonny's on a catfish rod.  We both hooked up the bells and glo-stix and walked with our bass rods around the rocky shoreline.  No carp or catfish hit our baits all night.  I was fortunate enough to land a 14" Largemouth off the rocks.  OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 25, 2003-</B></div> <div> Picked up Joel and headed off to Belvidere Park for some smallies.  Joel caught 3 smallies the largest being 13-14" and I caught three smallies the largest being 6-7".  We were throwing buzzbaits w/ white skirts.  We decided to head out to Pierce Lake for some catfishing and carpin'.  We only caught 1 channel cat; 3 lbs. 3 oz.  The fish was thrown back.  I was fishing for carp with Uncle Josh's carp bait and caught a nice 15-20 lb. carp but was unable to get the net over it in time.  SNAP!  I'll have to try again.  OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 24, 2003-</B></div> <div> Went back out to the gravel pit tonight.  Did some catfishing and came away with 3 channels.  We are still using Sonny's Dip Bait and tube worms.  We decided to throw them back.  The fun is in the catching.    OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 2003(various)-</B></div> <div> We have been receiving reports throughout the month that smallmouth and hammer-handle sized northern are hitting at the dam in Belvidere Park on the Kishwaukee River.  Throw a buzz bait along the shore all the way from the dam to the rapids where the river widens again.  Oh yea.....hold on.  Good luck.  OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 22, 2003-</B></div> <div> Went down to Shabbona Lake again.  This time we decided to throw for bass.  Joel threw a weedless stick bait and threw a scum mouse.  I modify my mice to look like a frog spread out on top of the water by cutting a french-fry worm in half and pegging the halves onto the hook like a pair of legs.  Though Joel had a few good strikes at the bait, not to mention one that was obviously a muskie, he was unable to catch a fish.  I landed a small 13" bass to the right of the concession area in the bay.  We worked our way all the way down the point towards the earthen dam, but never caught another fish.  We hope to be on the water again July 24.  Hope to see you....wherever we decide to go.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 21, 2003-</B></div> <div> Went out to Pierce Lake for an hour, or so, of bass fishing.  We threw buzzbaits around the dock area and walked toward Island View.  The only strikes happened within five minutes of each other.  First, I landed a 18" Largemouth that was hiding in some brush along a fallen tree.  Then, as I walked the fish over to show Joel, he landed a 15-16" Largemouth.  I'm loving this, classes are almost over for the summer semester and I'm visiting the water more often. </div> <bR> <div> <B>July 19, 2003-</B></div> <div> Today we went down to Shabbona Lake to fish for some of the huge Channel cats known to be lurking in the muskie infested waters.  We also threw buzzbaits, though the shoreline has grown over with plants and lilly pads.  Jim and Joel landed the first and second, and eventually known as, the only two bass of the night.  All three of us landed channel cats, but they were not of the epic proportions Joel and I had told Jim about.  We threw them back and headed for home.  Well for my birthday what else would I do?!  Went fishing with a few friends out at the pit.  We went in a little later and as a such, we caught 3 fish.  What could be better?  The fish thrashed around enough on the stringer that 2 got away when the metal clasps opened.  Better yet, the last one on was the smallest one.  Since he was still full of life we released him too.  No meat, but lots of fun.</div> <bR> <div> <B>July 16, 2003-</B></div> <div> Today my brother, EN, and I went out to the gravel pit again.  We caught <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_en_with_six_spencer_cats.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>6 fish</U></A></FONT> between us and used all the same tactics as Joel and I did July 15.  One  <A NAME="spencer_channel_cat_26_inch"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_op_channel_cat_spencer_pit_26_inch.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>channel cat was 25 1/2"</U></A></FONT>.  Now that's a catfish.  The average size for most of the cats would be 18-19".  Sonny's Blood Catfish Dip is doing the job this year.  Only channel cats.  No bullheads, No blues, No flats.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>July 15, 2003-</B></div> <div> For anyone who is new and doesn't know me or the site, being a college student fulltime really limits my time on the water.......but for anyone who knows me, they know I try my hardest to make time to go fishin' (or I tend to freak-out).  With that in mind....I took time last night to visit Spencer Park (deep gravel pit) in Belvidere for some catfishing.  Look at the  <A NAME="fruits"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_joel___op_7_15_03_spencer_cats.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>fruits</U></A></FONT> of Joel (my fishin' partner), and my labor.  We landed 8 Channels and decided we had better stop catchin' them and get to cleanin' them.  All the cats were caught on Sonny's Blood Catfish Dip and a dip tube.  The weight was pegged 18"-20" above the tube.  Find the car in the water and drop er' deep.  After filleting them out we ended up with about 3.5 lbs. of catfish.  We might go back on Wednesday.  Hope to see you there.  OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 14 - 28, 2003-</B></div> <div> Last weekend all I was able to pull in was this  <A NAME="channel_catfish_6_21_03"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_op_catfish_6_21_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>channel catfish</U></A></FONT> from Pierce Lake.  It made some nice fillets though.  Small Largemouth Bass coming from Pierce Lake, 2 Smallmouth Bass from Belvidere Park, and a small Northern Pike from Belvidere Park were all reported during the week ending the 21st.  All of these fish were caught on a medium sized buzzbait with a white skirt.  Thanks for the reports.  Also, on the 27th four largemouth (small) were caught at Pierce Lake out of the bay across from the campground (tent side).  While fishing Four Lakes F.P. on the 28th, 1 (small) Largemouth Bass was caught out of the back right-side lake.  Didn't try any catfishing this weekend so let me know if you've caught a mess of them.  OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 13 & 14, 2003--</B></div> <div> Started fishing on Friday evening at Olson Lake and Pierce Lake.  The bass in the creek at Rock Cut are dwindling in number.  Joel caught two and I landed one.  When we went over to Olson, I continued to have poor luck.  I didn't catch a thing.  Joel caught 5 bass out of the farthest pond.  One bass (the last one of the night) was 18 1/2" but Joel didn't think about getting a picture until after we measured it and released it back into the lake.  Oh well.  On Saturday morning I set out with my oldest son at around 5:45 am to Four Lakes Forest Preserve.  We fished until 8 am and still never had a bite.  So, we headed out to Olson Lake.  I wanted Brett to catch a nice fat largemouth like we were catching last week.  I noticed a few bass on their beds and told him to pitch a worm into the bed to see if they would hit it.  When he was reeling the worm towards the bed another bass had other ideas.  He had a light set-up with 4 lb. mono.  This <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_brett__olson__bass_6_14_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> was a lot of fun for him to bring in.  I was ready to leave for the day when he reminded me that all I had caught today was a large bullfrog (it jumped on a worm I was crawling along the shoreline).  I had to try wormin' it one more time.  Lucky enough, I landed a  <A NAME="op__olson__bb_bass"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_op__olson__wormin.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>little bass</U></A></FONT>, but it's a bass.  We will have to see what next weekend brings.</div> <div> .................................OP.    </div> <bR> <div> <B>May 10-June 6</B><B>, 2003--</B></div> <div> Visit <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>Bragging Rights</U></A></FONT>, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Opie's Fish</U></A></FONT>, and <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>Joel's Fish</U></A></FONT> to see what we've been up too.  The pictures are from Four Lakes, Trask Bridge Forest Preserve, Kishwaukee Forest Preserve, Belvidere Park, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_baumann_joel_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>Baumann Park</U></A></FONT>, Olson Lake, Pierce Lake, Kilbuck Forest Preserve, and Shabbona State Park.  Once the Opiemobile had some new tires put on, we headed to Shabbona State Park to try our luck.  The lake was pretty crowded, being the weekend and all, and we split up to find places to fish the shorelines.  I headed into the woods at the "no motor zone" with my brother EN, and Joel fished the bay and point in the same parking area (I forget the name of the bay).  Joel was using a large willow leaf spinner with a white skirt when he landed this 20" <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_shabbona_20inch_joel.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>largemouth bass</U></A></FONT>.  Unfortunately En and I were not so lucky that day........For the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_smallmouth_joel_belv__pk_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>smallmouth</U></A></FONT>, we have been using buzzbaits with white skirts, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_smallmouth_belv__pk__firetiger.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>firetiger skirts</U></A></FONT>, and chartreuse/white to catch the bass you see in the pictures.  The <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_smallmouth_kilbuck_op.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>smallmouth</U></A></FONT> are from Kilbuck Forest Preserve and Belvidere Park.  The <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_rockbass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>rock bass</U></A></FONT> is from Belvidere Park.  The nice sized largemouth are from Olson Lake before the moss covered the water (June 1st-6th).  I was lucky enough to meet a few anglers who enjoy also enjoy catch and release fishing.  Jay M. had been fishing in an area down shore from where I caught a few <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_olson_bass_op_3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>picture perfect bass</U></A></FONT> out of Olson Lake.  He was kind enough to take a few pictures for me.  I found out he had been trying to catch a bass for a few hours with no luck.  Since he was nice enough to take my picture, I turned him onto the buzzbait pattern I have been using.  He caught his first <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_jay_s_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> of the night on it.  A day later while fishing at Olson again, I ran into Sid.  Sid has been visiting Olson Lake for a few years now.  He has been using the texas-rigged worm put out by Yamamoto tackle (black).  After working a shoreline for about a half-hour (I knew the bass was there but he wouldn't go for the buzzbait),  <A NAME="sid_s_bass"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_sid_s_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>Sid</U></A></FONT> walked up and caught two nice bass on the worm.  I'm always glad to meet anglers who enjoy catching big fish, and returning them to the water for the next guy.  Thanks to Jay and Sid for fishin' wit' Opie!    ...............................OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 9, 2003--</B></div> <div> With the water higher from the nights rains, we headed out to Pierce Lake again.  We figured the creek has been good to us so far.  I walked down to the cement bridge that crosses the creek and tossed in my new ugly spinnerbait (see April 28 Shorelines) only this time the skirt was much prettier (yellow-white) and tossed into the opposite corner.  As I slowly rolled the bait back to me, figuring "the first cast just gets the kinks out" I was surprised by this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_op_bass_1_pierce__5_09_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>hungry guy</U></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ></FONT>.  The next few fish I caught were the usual size bass caught in this area over the last week or so.  Then I heard Joel's drag starting to work.  He landed this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_bass__pierce__5_09_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> on a white skirted willow-leaf (med.) spinnerbait.  We only had an hour to fish before I had to leave for a final exam, we left the area for about an hour.  When we returned, I figured a cast to the same spot should bring in at least one of the smaller bass.  I was more than surprised when this  <A NAME="pregnant_beauty_5_09_03_pierce"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_op_bass_2__pierce__5_09_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>pregnant beauty</U></A></FONT> decided to slam the slow moving spinnerbait.  We fished for the rest of the day and even tried a little catfishing but you've seen the best of the catches from that day.  We will be fishing more often and moving around a bit over the next few weeks.  Also, remember FREE FISHING DAYS are listed on the "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LOCAL EVENTS"><U>Local Events</U></A></FONT>" page.  So have fun this Spring.......and <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>let us know</U></A></FONT> about your catches.....OP.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 8, 2003--</B></div> <div> ............I stepped out of the school and the sun shone down upon me.......I knew then.....I have to fish today........And I'm glad I did.  I caught a really nice  <A NAME="bass_op__pierce__5_8_03"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_bass_op__pierce__5_8_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> on my second cast into the creek at around 7:15p.m.   The creek that runs from Olson Lake into Pierce has been a lot of fun over the past few weeks.  The water level has really risen since the rains started coming last week.  The bass are supposed to be staying close to structure during rising water conditions.  I don't know about that, but I have been catching the bass as the bait comes in closer to the shoreline.....gotta fish tomorrow too.......I gotta........OP.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 4, 2003--</B></div> <div> Before the rain.......At around 2:30 in the afternoon OP and EN arrived at the creek that runs into Pierce Lake.  We fished for about an hour before EN caught this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_bass__pierce__5_4_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>bass</U></A></FONT>.  Not another bite was had in the creek for about 2 hours, so we moved to the Red Oak area for some fishing around the rip-rap in the water.  Not a bite.  I even had a catfish pole out.  Nothing.  We left that area and fished the Bay View area for about an hour and still nothing bit.  We didn't even see any bluegill in the water.  So with the wind getting pretty bad and the rain coming soon, we headed back to the creek.  The wind had picked up there too.  After tossing buzzbaits and spinners all day long, I decided to try a slow worming technique with a 7" white and black speck worm.  I could feel the fish nibbling on the worm, suck...spit...suck...spit.....then when I pulled I had no tail left on the worm.  So I switched to a medium willow leaf with a white and yellow skirt.  I moved around to the cement bridge.  I decided to focus on a spot that has an overhang of brush on the right side of the creek.  Finally, I landed a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_bass__1___pierce__5_4_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>bass</U></A></FONT>.  I released the bass around the bend from where I caught it and went back to see if another bass was in the same spot.  Sure enough, there  <A NAME="op_bass_5_4_03_2"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_bass__2___pierce__5_4_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>was</U></A></FONT>.  We fished for about an hour more............then the rain came and when we were nice and soaked, we went home.........OP.</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 2, 2003--</B></div> <div> When the wind is blowing and you need cover, Pierce Lake is usually the first lake that comes to mind.  Around 3:30 pm we arrived at the lake and decided that the creek might be the best place to start out.  On the fifth cast to the other side of the creek shoreline with my ugly spinnerbait (see the April 28 shore-line report) I landed a nice <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_bass__pierce__5_2_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>bass</U></A></FONT>.  Little did I know at the time, but that would be my only bass of the day.  I lost about 6 lures that day, including the ugly spinnerbait...I'll have to make a new one.  My fishing buddy, Joel, caught about five small bass on a small slilver willow leaf spinnerbait with a white skirt and a black skirt.  They were all caught off the cement bridge that crosses over the creek.  Joel caught two nice <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel__pierce__5_2_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> on the black.  Right before we were ready to leave for the day, we noticed a fish splash on the other side of the creek.  Then we spotted a belly.  Then some stripes.  Then it flopped out from under the brush and I was able to snag onto it with a spinnerbait.  An algae covered  <A NAME="algae_walleye_03"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_walleye__pierce__5_2_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>walleye</U></A></FONT>!  We figure when the rain came it finally freed the walleye from whatever creek, low spot it was trapped in.  The walleye was weighed and measured and returned back into the lake.  Six pounds and 26" long.  We always knew Pierce Lake had some nice walleye.............OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>April 28, 2003--</B></div> <div> Out fishing with EN today.  EN is OP's brother.  Anyhow, we went out to Pierce Lake to give the lake another shot at us--well me anyway.  This time we went into the creek, where it empties into the lake and found some bass just hangin' out waiting for us.  The first <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_first_bass_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> was caught by EN and when I heard, "O-O-O-P-P-P" I knew EN had landed a fish of some sort.  We were throwing two different colors.  He was using a chartreuse buzzbait and I was using the the white skirted buzz.  When I hit a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_bass_1_w_en.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>little bass</U></A></FONT> off the rocks, I decided to tie on a spinnerbait.  In the meantime, EN had caught <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_2nd_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>another one</U></A></FONT>.  I cast a medium, willow leaf, silver spinner with a frog green skirt into the shoreline on the other side of the creek and slowly rolled it back.  I was hit <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_two_times_w_ian.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>two times</U></A></FONT> on that ugly spinnerbait.  Once we even pulled a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_bass_3_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>double</U></A></FONT> and had to take pictures while holding a fish in one hand and a camera in the other, all while trying to be speedy about getting the shot and releasing the bass back into the water.  Sounds like a complaint, but really we loved it.  We left Pierce for Four Lakes at around 5:30 p.m.  When we arrived at the lake we decided to use some of the worm given to us by some kind guys who were raking up leaves.........anyway, we tried them and still never even got a nibble.  After we had worked the heck out of the shorelines of Four Lakes, we decided to do some catfishing at Trask Bridge Forest Preserve.  We used worms and cast out into the darkness.  A set of bells were attached to the ends of each rod and we settled back for some take-it-easy fishing.  Ian heard his bell first and pulled in a little <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_ian_s_bullhead.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>yellow bullhead</U></A></FONT>.  About 45 min. later I heard my first bell.  It was an even  <A NAME="smaller_yellow_bullhead_2003"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_s_bullhead_03.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>smaller yellow bullhead</U></A></FONT>, but we didn't care.  We caught fish today. </div> <bR> <div> <B>April 26 & 27, 2003--</B></div> <div> Went out to Pierce Lake to try and buzz or spin or spoon or jig or just about anything to try and get the bass to bite.  Started out in the sand of Olson Lake (the swim beach across the interstate from Pierce) trying to spin or buzz a fish our way.  No luck.  Did find one dead bass on the shoreline.  The bass was about 19" long and, although bloated, still pretty good size.  We drove over to Pierce and tried the area across from the camp grounds tent sites.  No fish and the wind was blowing pretty good.  So we motored around the lake in search of another fishing spot.  If you haven't been to Rock Cut State Park on the weekends, you're the minority.  The park was packed and we couldn't find a spot to park the car.  So we left the Cut and headed for Four Lakes Forest Preserve.  When we arrived, we knew spring fever had hit hard this weekend.  The parking lot was pretty full and we were both saying it's a good thing for limited parking to keep the lake from being overcrowded.  We knew we were early for the bass bite and decided to stick to the shady side of the lake for awhile.  After around 6:30 p.m. the wind died down and the sun started setting.  We picked every bit of shoreline apart with cast after cast.  My fishin' buddy had started the day throwing a white skirted med. buzzbait and finished the day off with that same bait.  Guess what.  He finally hooked-up with a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_2003_bass_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> from the shoreline of the back, right lake.  Then he made his way down to the back corner of the front, right lake and caught another <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_bass_2003_joel_2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>bass</U></A></FONT>.  I never got a strike.  I tried a buzz, spinner, jig, and husky jerk.  No luck.  The preserve closed 1/2 hour after sunset, so we headed back to Pierce Lake to do an hour of catfishing.  After about 30 min. I hooked a small <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_channel_cat_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>channel cat</U></A></FONT> on some Sonny's.  That finished off our day.  On the 27th we went back out to Pierce Lake and didn't hook-up with any fish again.  Off to Four Lakes we went.  Again, we started working our way out of the shade and around all four lakes.  This time I tried Joel's idea and used only a white buzzbait.  We both worked every lake pretty well, but no fish.  It was around 7:30 p.m. and the sun was really starting to settle into bed when I saw a nice swirl in the water about 30' away from the point I was standing on at the front, right lake.  I tossed the buzzbait about 3' past the swirl's ripples and started buzzin'.  I watched as the  <A NAME="northern_pike_2003"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_northern_2003.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>northern pike</U></A></FONT> bit into the bait.  A few seconds later and I had my first northern of the season.  This was all the catchin' done that night.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>April 23, 2003--</B></div> <div> Went out to Four Lakes Forest Preserve around 5 p.m. today and tossed a few different lures to try and hook a bass or northern......Started with a willow leaf spinnerbait in yellow.....changed to a black skirt.....when I got to the back left lake around the fallen trees, I switched to a husky jerk and twitched it around the fallen tree.....when I passed the new cribs, I tossed out a silver spoon.....as I made my way to the left shoreline of the front left lake, I tried drop-shotting a soft plastic....finally to work my way back to the car, I tied on a buzzbait for the kicks.....no bites....2 swirls......and no fish, for me anyway.......I did see a fisherman catch a small bass on a live bait bobber rig on the left front lake, near the back cement wall corner area.....also, a family was fishing at the front of the right and left lakes where the two flow together, using live bait (no minnows allowed at Four Lakes) and catching bluegills.....there were also two fisherman using live bait in the back right corner of the first lake, around the crib, catching bluegills.....guess I'll try again this weekend....maybe...I'll try some live bait.....maybe.......OP.</div> <bR> <div> <B>April 11, 2003--</B></div> <div> Finally caught my first fish of the year.....not so much to brag about though.....about a 8"-9" channel cat out of the Pecatonica River (where the Sugar and Pec meet)......But it was nice to catch something.......floated the tiny cat down the river about 150 yards or so under a lit bobber.......No takers............OP</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>March 2003--</B></div> <div> Well, since there is snow and ice covering all the water in town I haven't been out to the waters around town and no reports have found there way onto the site, I have nothing really to report for you.  I do want to tell you about the 2003 <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Boat and Fishing Show at the Rockford Metro Centre</FONT>.  The event took place at the end of February.  About three years ago I attended the show and was quite pleased with the amount of vendors at the show.  There were homemade lures and bargain bin lures.  New baits were found here and there, and the soft plastics were setup everywhere.  That was three years ago!  This time the boats took up the entire floor area and the vendors were limited to five or six booths setup on the mezzanine with the guide service vendors, charter boat captains, and vacation lodge owners.  Disappointing to a guy who just wanted to see some new baits and catch a few deals.  The "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Hawg Trough</FONT>"  was a large fish tank inhabited by Bass (large, small), walleye, catfish, carp, drum, and crappie.  This tank was used for <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >fishing demonstrations</FONT>.  The highlight of the show was really the live speakers in the balcony area.  Working with an old slide projector and a lot of knowledge, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Professor Dave Johnson</FONT> gave an insightful lecture on where to find big bass.  If you learned nothing else from his lecture, you learned to "sharpen your hooks" before, during, and after your fishing adventures.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Denny Sands</FONT> of Shabbona Lake gave his lecture on the history of Shabbona Lake and covered most of the "no motor zone" found at the lake.  His insight into the pre-lake history of Shabbona, along with pictures of the cribs and muskie hiding spots pre-water, gave a wealth of knowledge to the Shabbona fisherman.  Another advantage to going to the show.  The IDNR had a booth setup with 2003 fishing regulations, maps of Illinois, maps of the Mississippi, and various other fishing publications put out by the IDNR for the Illinois fisherman--Free.  Love getting a new map every year.  After making another round through the vendors and captains, I purchased a log of summer sausage, some cinnamon pecans, and left the show strangely disappointed considering I was among fellow fisherman and had attended some great lectures.  Maybe the group that brought the show to the Metro Centre forgot to tell the tackle vendors?  Oh well.  Spring is coming and I have too much tackle already.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >Hope you enjoyed the pictures from the show</FONT>.  Until next time.........See ya, OPIE</div> <div> P.S.  This is the One Year Ago Fishin' Wit' Opie Started Right Here......HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!! </div> <bR> <div> <B>Oct 2002--</B></div> <div> Not sure when I'll get back into my rythm...haven't caught many fish in my few outings ot Kishwaukee River and Pierce Lake.....but my fishin' buddy Joel has been catching a few more than me....The  <A NAME="northern_pike_oct_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_northern_pike_from_kish__oct_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Northern Pike</U></A></FONT> are attacking the buzzbait in the Kishwaukee river down from the dam....also some small bass hitting at Baumann Lake in Cherry Valley.  So on your way back from the Kishwaukee Dam stop at Baumann and either keep the buzzbait on or switch to a suspending husky jerk....I haven't heard much from the Four Lakes area in awhile.  Seems like the Northern should be hitting out there again, they tend to follow a spinner bait in and hit right off of shore......Remember to send in your reports to <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONTACT US"><U>fishinwitopie@yahoo.com</U></A></FONT> or put them right onto the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the BULLETIN BOARD:"><U>Bulletin Board</U></A></FONT>......Good Luck.....OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>Aug 10--25--</B></div> <div> Would sure like to have time to do some more fishing, but school started up again and the new semester is taking its toll on my research time (i.e. fishing days).....the waters of Pierce Lake have produced some nice bass in the last few days caught mostly on white buzzbaits....early morning is exceptional in most of the area waters, but if your not an early riser pick em' up again in the evening around 7:30.....pick the bass off the shoreline with small suspending jerkbaits and toss a few colors of buzzbaits.....check the deeper waters with a colorado double-bladed spinner.....remember the fish are hungry and ready to put on some fat, so don't be shocked at the aggressive strikes you'll probably get..when the sun starts to set throw out a catfish rod and wait for the tug.....get out there and keep fishing.....I could go for some catfish nuggets right about now...............OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>Aug 9--</B></div> <div> Today was spent in search of the bass and anything else that would bite a buzzbait in the afternoon and evening hours.  The <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_aug_9_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>first bass</U></A></FONT> to hit was a largemouth out of Pierce Lake.  The fish was across from the tent area of the campgrounds in some structure I built back in late June.  I figured if I build it, they will come......lol........but we also fished every other area of the lake we could and came away with only that one bass.  We decided around 5 or so to find some new spot, new water, unexplored Opie territory....lol...anyway....The Kishwaukee River moves through Belvidere and since Dam fishing sounds pretty good.....you guessed it......the areas below and above the dam both look impressive....I'm sure we will visit again......Joel caught a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_aug_9_bass_close.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>nice bass</U></A></FONT> out of some shoreline rocks below the right side of the dam on a buzzbait (white skirt) and a small <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_aug_9_northern.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>Northern Pike</U></A></FONT>.  I was able to do some cat and  <A NAME="carp_aug_9"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_aug_9_carp.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>carp</U></A></FONT> fishing from a nice little area below the dam--I'm sure it would be good for walleye and other float style fishing--where I caught two carp using a long shank hook and Uncle Josh's carp bait.  The pole was a bendin' and I even got a jump from the first one I hooked.......enought about me.....what about your fish?......Send in any photos and fishing reports to fishinwitope@yahoo.com and I'll post em' on the<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" > <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>Bragging Rights</U></A></FONT> page of the website.......Good Luck.......OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>July--August 7--</B></div> <div> I told you all I wouldn't be able to keep up......lol....but anyway......We did go fishing a bit (even with finals going on) and caught some nice fish......<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_bass_shabbona_jul_aug_lite.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>take a look</U></A></FONT>......I finally caught my own <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_7_8oz_channel_shabbona.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>big cat</U></A></FONT>.....a few nice bass too--from <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_shabbona_bass_close_op_jul_aug.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Shabbona</U></A></FONT>.....the buzzbaits are still working pretty well.....With the hot weather, the good ole' largemouth has to keep eating to match its increased metabolism........some nice fish coming out of Olson Lake this year, just get through the weed or hit a nice pocket and the big guy is there waiting for a meal.....Pierce Lake is still giving up bass in the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_rock_cut_largemouth_joel_jul_aug.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>14 inch range</U></A></FONT> on buzzbaits and spinners (white skirt).....The far end of Trask Bridge Forest Preserve has provided a few <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_greggs_catfish.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>fellow anglers</U></A></FONT> with some nice <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_val_s_catfish.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>channel cats</U></A></FONT> in the 2-3 lb. range on dipbait and worms.......Four Lakes produced one bass for me last week in the 15-16 inch range.  The bass came out of the corner wall on the back of the front left lake.....I am still encouraging everyone to send pics of their catches for the "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_bragging_rights.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>Bragging Rights</U></A></FONT>" page....Dora's baitshop--the  <A NAME="new_building"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id81_dora_s_new_building.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Doras "><U>new building</U></A></FONT> is coming along well, for those of you who don't know, they had to tear down their building for road improvements and a new building is in the works.  They hope to be in the new building by Labor Day.....till then I'll try to keep up................later OP.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 28--July 5--</B></div> <div> Well, we've been doing as much fishing as we can and....we have a few pic's for you to take a look at....but first....as far as we can tell the bass at Pierce Lake have gone deeper.....the bays are warm and full of bluegill...and the big boats are using the new horsepower limits to full advantage......swapping out buzzbaits for spinners and jerkbaits and then back to buzzbaits is the approach we have been using on the lakes....we tried Baumann and Four Lakes...Trask Bridge and Sportscore boat launch....the bass are finally refusing our buzzbaits...but <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_early_july_on_joels_page.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>we got a few</U></A></FONT> before they turned off...and probing the deeper water with a spinnerbait gave <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_early_july_opie_s_page.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>us a few more</U></A></FONT>...The livebait anglers (of which we are not) are having a lot of good luck finding all the fish they need for a meal or two....Finding the action slower in the Rockford area, we headed to Shabbona Lake....The bass were refusing us there too (crowded shorelines limit the close fishing prospects.)   Settling in for some  <A NAME="catfishing"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joels_catfish.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>catfishing</U></A></FONT> with good ole' Sonny's blood formula did the trick at Shabbona to make for a good night for us and the fishermen who took the catfish off our hands and into their frying pans.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 21--</B></div> <div> We headed for the campground again.....an hour or so into the trip we were asked to leave...the park official said Olson was hot today so we headed over.....we did catch a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_few_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>few bass</U></A></FONT> in there...until we were kicked out of there next..that area closes at 7pm....The guy was nice enough to give us a ride out, which saved us a long, long walk....we headed for the dam and caught a  <A NAME="few_more_bass"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_few_more_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>few more bass</U></A></FONT> before calling it a night......Next weekend I wonder how they will be biting?????</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 20--</B></div> <div> Joel and I headed to Pierce Lake again....nothing like evening fishing for <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_6_largemouth_bass_opie_2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Largemouth</U></A></FONT> when they are hitting buzzbaits.....We were able to fish the campground area without getting kicked out this day.....<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_10_largemouth_bass_opie.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>10 Largemouth Bass</U></A></FONT> for Opie and  <A NAME="6_largemouth_bass"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_6_largemouth_bass_joel.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>6 Largemouth Bass</U></A></FONT> for Joel...Whatta day...Whatta day....The bass are really hitting the buzzbaits at Pierce and Olson this year.....Tie one on....steady...steady....don't overreact and the bass is yours.....</div> <bR> <div> <B> </B><B> <A NAME="june_11__"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>June 11--</B></div> <div> My Pops went up to the boundary waters of Canada for some walleye fishing.....He got a lot of rain along with it.  They had 17in. of rain that week which created some <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_new_lakes_canada.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>new lakes</U></A></FONT>.....The water was so high you can see the debris in the background of this <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_debris_on_the_water.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>shot</U></A></FONT>....He said whole trees were floating by....sometimes they would have to cut the motor till one went under the boat....He caught a  <A NAME="3_12_lb_walleye"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id76_canadian_walleye.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bragging Rights"><U>3 1/2 lb walleye</U></A></FONT> and a couple smaller ones.....I'm looking forward to hearing how his Balm Lake, MN trip goes.</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 9--</B></div> <div> My wife and I went out for some late night fishing....she really wanted to catch a catfish... <A NAME="i_caught_one_instead"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_bass_and_catfish.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>I caught one instead</U></A></FONT>...I also caught this bass while fishing the bottom for cats....whoodathunkit.....what a nice channel cat...I gave it to an old timer who said he had been fishing all night for one....traded the fish for a bunch of old fish stories.....I know he and his wife ate good the next night......</div> <bR> <div> <B>June 8--</B></div> <div> Went out to Rock Cut State Park to fish Pierce Lake with my wife and we found plenty of fish in the pool after the Olson Dam where it flows into Rock Cut, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_11_inch_crappie_6_8_02_2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>canepoles</U></A></FONT> are working really well in this spot.  The Bluegill, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_11_inch_crappie_6_8_02.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Crappie</U></A></FONT>, Bass, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_channel_cat_6_8_02.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Catfish</U></A></FONT>, and  <A NAME="bullhead"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_bullhead_6_8_02.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Bullhead</U></A> </FONT>were biting from 2:30p--5:00p, which is when we ended our trip.  This weekend is <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >free fishing</FONT> and if you haven't taken advantage of our <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AT THE WATERS EDGE"><U>area waters</U></A></FONT> then get out there with the family and have fun.  Remember the kids want to catch any fish, so make it fun and slip a bobber on, get a small hook and a piece of worm and have fun (the kids will be done fishing before you are, so know when to call it a day).  OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 26 thru June 7—</B></div> <div> This is a brief overview of the last week or so, try to keep up......Memorial Day:  The lakes were packed and we took some pictures at the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AT THE WATERS EDGE"><U>area lakes</U></A></FONT>.....we did some catfishing, but have yet to catch a catfish.......we tried <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wisconsin Trip"><U>Wisconsin</U></A></FONT> fishing on the free fishing days, and were disappointed (catching only one <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_opie_s_wisconsin_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> myself, I don't remember if Joel had <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_s_wisconsin_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>three</U></A></FONT> or four)......we came back home and had a flip-flop of skunk days over the 5th and 6th......Joel caught <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_5_on_the_5th.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>five</U></A></FONT> on the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_5_on_5th.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>5th</U></A></FONT> and I had three on the 6th (no pictures for me), all from Pierce Lake.......we went out to Trask Bridge Forest Preserve for some more catfishing.  No catfish, but we almost got stuck in the park by rising flood waters.......My reports may become less frequent.....summer semester is next Monday, so send in your reports................Good luck                OP</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 25—</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >We ventured out to Rock Cut State Park again during Memorial Day weekend.  The park is packed and the campground is full to capacity.  We went out for a relaxing day of cat fishing and carp fishing.  After about 3 hours of no bites on the Sonny’s blood bait we decided to cast a few times at the shoreline.  Joel pulled two male bass out of a stand of reeds along the shoreline near the dam.  He then made a few casts into the bay on the right hand side of the handicap fishing pier and hooked two more males from the shoreline.  We reeled in the cat-poles and went to the creek for some action out of the wind.  When we arrived at the creek we couldn’t help but realize we were out numbered.  I was able to catch one small bass with the buzz bait.  Joel tried out the area where the creek meets the lake and caught one bass there.  With all the casting areas being full of bobbers we headed to the campground.  The first stop was in the boy scout area in one of the secluded bays.  I hit a </FONT><A HREF="id56_may_25_opie_and_bass_camp.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>nice bass</U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" > on the </FONT> <A NAME="2nd_or_3rd_cast_may_25"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="id56_2nd_3rd_may_25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>2nd or 3rd cast</U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >.  After working our way down the bank and hitting the timber, Joel caught another 12incher.  The local DNR was out and told us we had to leave the campground area if we didn’t have a site for the weekend.  This is a huge pet peeve of mine.  If we walk the shoreline and put back everything we catch and don’t interfere with the campers why can’t we fish in the campground?  But we went on the dock area since the water was like glass and most of the boats were gone for the night.  Joel hooked 5 more bass on a spinnerbait.  One bass off the shoreline rocks and the rest of the bass were caught running the spinnerbait along the docks.  With night comes the end of another day of fishing………………………..OPIE</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>May 24—</B></div> <div> Joel and I went fishing today (for the first time in a week for me).  Four Lakes Forest Preserve was our first stop.  The wind had picked up some over night and the bulk of the lakes were in the wind, which seemed to be blowing at around 9mph-14gusts.  Joel started the morning using a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_spinnerbait_northern_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>spinner bait</U></A></FONT> and fished the right hand lake.  Joel hit his <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_northern_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>first fish</U></A></FONT>, a pretty <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_with_northern_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>northern pike</U></A></FONT>.  The rest of the morning was spent in the back part of the right hand lake.  A few northern hitting small fish along the shoreline and one nice looking female digging her nest.  Wanting a change from the windy and weedy lakes, we headed to Rock Cut State Park.  Pierce Lake had a nice strong breeze blowing right down the center of her into the rocks and dam.  The rocks and island along the dam is where we saw the most boaters (this weekend is going to be busy).  Opting for a cove out of the wind we went to the Red Oak area and hit the stumps and fallen trees with buzz baits and spinners.  Joel pulled <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_bumping_buzz_bass_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>this fish</U></A></FONT> off the inside stump by bumping the corner of the stump with a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_with_bumpin_bass_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>buzz bait</U></A></FONT> repeatedly.  After releasing the bass, Joel made an open water cast and two cranks into the cast the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_landing_bass_may_24_a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>second bass hit</U></A></FONT>.  This <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_bass_may_24_waist_level.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> came up and over the top of the water and looked <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_joel_holding_big_bass_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>graceful</U></A></FONT> doing it.  After going down the shoreline and Joel pulling another bass off the end of a down stripped tree we headed back to the car.  We talked on the way and figured the creek from Olson Lake may be holding some bass in the pools to the right and left of the concrete bridge.  Joel went toward the highway, and I went to the left (down from the parking area).  After my first cast from the shoreline toward the bridge pool, I knew I might have a chance at some bass action.  The bass hit the buzz as it moved through the middle of the creek.  Off the shoreline across from me and down in the corner of the bridge where it meets the shoreline.  Then from the middle hole under the bridge, the bass were attacking the buzz bait to the tune of 11 bass total.  All the bass were in the 9-11 inch range.  Joel was across the bridge catching his own bass.  For a short while we were holding the bass up one right after another across the bridge via the "Hey" (smile, fish in the air).  Joel headed to the back part of the creek where it runs into the lake.  He pulled 2 more bass from that area that were in the normal range for this area of the lake, 12-14 inches in length.  We tried a few more parts of the lake and decided to head to a body of water which was more protected from the wind.  Trask Bridge Forest Preserve is an enclosed forest preserve area with fluctuating water levels.  The structure is built up on the opposite shoreline, but the rocks and fallen small trees in the water along the near shoreline are still nice for holding fish in the stained water.  The buzz baits still on, Joel and I started casting along the shoreline, and making long casts to the opposite shoreline.  When we notice the sun setting we moved the car outside the gates; then cast the corner shoreline and rip-rap.  Joel had a nice hit right at the shoreline.  After I climbed down the shoreline to the mud below I was able to get a cast across the rip-rap and in the backwater area to the left of the logs in the water.  Thinking there was a nice fish in there I stayed with it awhile and then with no results for my efforts I turned to my right and threw under the tree along the shoreline.  I hit a nice bass, about 15 inches.  I turned to my left and cast along the rip-rap as close to the shore as possible.  Another bass hit right along the shoreline as the bait crossed the submerged log.  This bass was in the 11-12 inch range.  Joel walked farther down the shore and pulled this  <A NAME="bass_may_24_trask"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_big_bass_trask_may_24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> off of a few large rocks along the shoreline (coming off a cove area).  I caught one more dink off the shoreline a little farther back from where Joel was doing his fishing.  With night settling in we need to replenish for tomorrow……A nice day of fishing….Joel had 13 fish one being a northern……a 5+ pound bass….3 pound bass….and with my 11 fish and the 3 fish at Trask Bridge….we made good weight and a nice 12 hour fishing trip…..wonder what we’ll do tomorrow………..OPIE</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 19--</B></div> <div> Spent about seven hours at Rock Cut State Park today doing some bass fishing.  Decidedly going for the buzzbait as a choice of lures, Joel (my fishing partner) and I tossed at bays containing structure.  Whether it was a submerged limb or a lonely rock, the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_buzz_in_camp_cove_1_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>bass</U></A></FONT> were agitated by our constant <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_buzz_in_camp_cove_2_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>buzzing</U></A></FONT> and wanted to eat the nuisance.  The  <A NAME="bass_rockcut_report_may_19"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_buzz_at_olson_pierce_creek_1_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>bas</U></A><A HREF="id56_buzz_at_olson_pierce_creek_1_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>s</U></A></FONT> varied in size from what looked like last years spawn to a little under 3lbs.  The buzzbaits were doing the trick for us all day.  We left after hooking a dozen or so....(and running out of buzzbaits).  Throwing a buzzbait as close to structure as possible seems to be the key to a nice day of fishing right now on Pierce Lake.  The low point of the day was when I saw a 5lb. bass caught on worm and bobber.  Into the bucket it went along with her genes.  Please practice C.P.R.------------------Opie</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 6--</B></div> <div> After the rains sunday night Four Lakes was a prime target for some fishing action.  Casting a white tandem blade spinner my fishing partner landed a  <A NAME="nice_largemouth"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_four_lakes_female_sp.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>nice largemouth</U></A></FONT> from the stumps and logs in front of the down tree in the back lake on the left hand side of the preserve.  This was one of the two fish caught that day.  The other was a small male largemouth.  While walking the shoreline my fishing partner watched a 7' carp sun itself in the shallows.  Now that's a fish to test your gear.  Remember no keeping the carp!  If your gonna tangle with one of these I hope I'm around to watch.  Also the bluegill seem to be hanging close to shore..............Good Luck!</div> <bR> <div> <B>May 5--</B></div> <div> <B>While fishing at Rock Cut State Park's Pierce Lake......10 year old Barry Pease of Rockford, ILL., landed an 11" Largemouth Bass while fishing a 6" powerbait worm texas rigged. "Dad went home skunked," said Barry.  Ahh....they learn young.  Thanks for the report Barry.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>May 3--</B></div> <div> We headed out to <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Apple River Canyon State Park"><U>Apple River Canyon State Park</U></A></FONT> in hopes of hooking into a nice smallie or two.  When we arrived the first thing that hit us was the canyon waters were way down from the last time we visited.  The pools were not quite as deep, and the water was a little faster than usual.  Despite the water conditions we decided we were there so let's fish.  A shallow water hit right down from the parking area urged us on.  Throwing a variety of spinner baits and grubs, we headed for the pool.  One member of our party was going at it with a powerbait 6" worm in purple and smoke colors.  For the 2 1/2 or 3 hours we were there the only catches were on a jig'n'twister-tail rigged with a spinner.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_apple_smallie_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>Two</U></A></FONT> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_apple_smallie_1close.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>pre-puberty</U></A> <A HREF="id57_apple_smallie_2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>smallies</U></A></FONT> and a overgrown chub were all we could rile up.......Later that day we decided to try Pierce Lake.  Fishing the rocks along the dam area, we landed a total of 10 fish.  Throwing a small suspending husky jerk parallel to the rocks, I was able to land 3 dink largemouth, 2 small largemouth,  <A NAME="1_smallmouth"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_smallmouth_5_6_02_pierce_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>1 smallmouth</U></A></FONT>, 1 black crappie, and 1 slab bluegill.  My partner, throwing a jig'n'twister-tail spinner combo, landed 1 white crappie and one largemouth bass.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>April 30--</B></div> <div> Pierce Lake was not producing much for us today.  The water was nice and calm, but maybe the coming storm has pushed the bass back into deeper haunts.  We were able to pull 2 small largemouth bass and one black crappie from the shallow flats of Red Oak.  So many boats and anglers out today, I thought I had the days of the week wrong.  Seemed like a weekend..........Great to see so many anglers anxious for the spring.</div> <bR> <div> <B>April 28--</B></div> <div> Illinois might just have a new record muskie...Back in 1997 at Shabbona Lake the record fish weighed in at 37 lbs. 13 oz., now five years later a possible record has been pulled from Lake Shelbyville.  The fish is 50.75" and weighs in at 38 lbs. 8 oz.  The lucky angler is Matt Carmean of Mattoon, IL.  As soon as the tissue samples are verified as true muskie (not hybrid), the record will go in the books........Don't forget to check the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LOCAL EVENTS"><U>local events</U></A></FONT> portion of the website for tournaments and other going-ons in the area........Two local youngsters caught a 2 lb. 3 oz. Japanese Koi this week from the mouth of Spring Creek near the Rock River.  Ryan Leeser 14, and Alex Rieger 13, thought the fish was a "...ten pound carp...."  Guess the Japanese Koi fight pretty hard......the Rockford News station 23 made a short blurb out of Largemouth Bass disease making its way into the area.  I'll try to find out more.....May 4 is the day that Pierce Lake will no longer be under the 10 h.p. rule--<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >also Wolf Lake (Cook county), Dawson Lake (McLean county), Washington County Lake and Mermet Lake (Massac county).</FONT>.....W<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >isconsin inland gamefish season opens on May 4, includes bass, walleye, sauger, northern pike statewide..... also muskie season begins May 4, for the southern zone and May 25 for the northern zone with highway 10 as the dividing line</FONT>..... The spawn will be on soon!.....Good Luck!!! </div> <bR> <div> <B>April 23--</B></div> <div> Four Lakes was producing some nice bass on Wednesday for us.  The water was churning pretty good on most of the lakes due to the wind.  One spot shielded from the wind was the down log in the 2nd lake on the left.  After a loud splash near the end of the log I casted toward the ripples.  The ripple occurred right in front of my fishing partner, so he made a cast to the same spot.  A nice female was the cause of the ripple.  After my partners spinnerbait hit the water, she hit the spinnerbait.  He was using a light rod--he needed to borrow one and that's all I had with me--and he got a nice fight with the<A HREF="id57_four_lakes_nice_female.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U> </U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_four_lakes_nice_female.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>husky female</U></A></FONT><A HREF="id57_four_lakes_nice_female.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>.  </U></A>After he released the female he admitted that he didn't know he had a fish, "I thought I was on the log...so I paused....then I saw her belly."  Casting to the same spot, he caught a nice dark <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id57_four_lakes_nice_male.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>male</U></A></FONT>.  Since I was having no luck in this spot, I moved to the 2nd lake on the right side for some casts into the wind.  About the 10th cast brought a hungry  <A NAME="largemouth_4_23_02"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56_hungry_bass_4_23_02_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>largemouth</U></A></FONT> right up to shore in the chop.  A pause and flick of the rod tip brought this one into the viewfinder of the camera.  Throwing spinnerbaits at Four Lakes tends to produce bass on most days.  A few other baits that work well are:  The jig n' twistertail with a small spoon (very similiar to a spinnerbait, yet may take a crappie or two as well), The 4" and 6" plastic worm (purple and black, maroon and black) remember to work the worm s-l-o-w-l-y, and the scum frog in mid-late summer (when the lakes start to "grow-up").  </div> <bR> <div> <B>April 21--</B></div> <div> Rock Cut Boat Rental and Bait is expanding its inventory at the park's newly renovated concession stand.  More live bait and tackle options will be in the mix.  If you want to show your support for the park, the concession area will also offer "Rock Cut" State Park T-shirts and hats..........Shabbona's early season is starting rather well this year.  Denny Sands of Shabbona's Lakeside Bait and Tackle reports anglers are catching 22"-25" walleye at the lake, some in the 3-4 lbs. range.  They have also had reports of 7 and 13 lb. channel cats, several largemouth bass over 18", and about 14 muskie---the largest almost 40"............Mississippi fishing seems to be starting out pretty good this year as well.  Rose Breekha fo Big River Bait & Taxidermy in Mount Carroll says the panfishing is "great" on the Mississippi River around Savanna and Lock & Dam 13.  The Largemouth bass are chasing bait, crappie have been biting in the river.  No reports of Walleye yet??..........<B>Fish Reported last week:</B>.......Bluegill:  Joanne Pozzi of Loves Park caught a 1lb. 14oz. bluegill from Pierce Lake...Channel Catfish:  Michael Green of Rockford caught a 271/2" channel from the Kishwaukee River and Steve Pozzi of Loves Park caught a 4lb. 6oz. channel from Pierce Lake....Crappie:  Patricia Cole of Belvidere went out of the state to catch a 2lb. 12oz. crappie in Kentucky Lake, KY,  but right here in Illinois Bob Lockett of Rockford caught his 1lb. 8oz. crappie from Baumann Park (Cherryvalley)....Largemouth Bass: Joanne Pozzi of Loves Park caught a 14" bass from Pierce Lake......Smallmouth Bass:  Victor Terronez of Sterling caught his 4lb. 5oz. smallie from the Rock River and Dave Hulsey of Machesney Park pulled his 3lb. 12oz. fish from Pierce Lake.....Walleye:  Joe Alden of Rock Falls caught his 9lb. 8oz. fish out of the Rock River and Dan Allen of Rockford lifts 23 1/4" walleye out of Pierce Lake....The largest report was Michael Forrest (Michael looks to be maybe 14 yrs. old), of Rockton caught a 75 Pound Dusty Shark while in Florida.  The fight lasted 40min.  Good Job!!......The fish are biting and you need to get out to any one of the area fishing spots found here or "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AT THE WATERS EDGE"><U>at the waters edge</U></A></FONT>".   </div> <div>   </div> <div> <B>April 20--</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >Heading out today to Pierce Lake (Rock Cut State Park).  Wind is blowing from the North, Northeast at around 14mph with 30mph gusts.  Time to find a cove!  Started out at the handicap pier area.  No luck and wind blowing right at us.  Tossin' spinnerbaits into the wind can be productive though.  We wanted to get the wind off our faces.  Tried Red Oak area.  Hit down timber and shorelines.  Made our way around the bay towards Island View.  My fishin' buddy was throwing a white colorado spinnerbait and I was throwing a Willowleaf style white (also tried black skirt with willowleaf, and white combo tandem).  My fishing partner caught</FONT> <A HREF="id57_joel_rockcut_early.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joels Fish"><U>four Largemouth</U></A> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >6"-13" and about 1/2 to 1 lb. each, throwing toward a pole stick-up.  I fished the brush piles and pulled one fish. </FONT>  <A NAME="largemouth_bass"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><A HREF="id56_4_bass.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>Largemouth Bass</U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U> 4+lbs.</U></A>  approx. 22".  This female came from out in front of the brush.  She has been returned to the water.  The wind picked up and sent us headed for home.  Crossing the creek that runs out of Olson we decided the wind should be blocked pretty well by the trees and decided to fish the creek heading toward Pierce Lake.  There were three anglers in this area.  We were informed about the crappie bite that was on.  One guy said 1 hour 60 crappie!  We wouldn't have believed it either except for the fact he was plucking them from the water as fast as his jig hit the water.  We walked farther down and ran into the other two anglers.  They had a nice stringer of crappie and two channel cat's (16" & 20").  Making casts parallel to the shoreline we were standing on, my buddy caught three more Largemouth bass.  Same lure (white colorado spinner,3/8oz.).  Approx. weight 1.5 lbs.ea.  Great day fishing for Pierce.  Happy 4-20.    </FONT></div> <div>                                                                                        --------------------------------------------------------OPIE</div> <bR> <div> <B>April 19-- </B></div> <div> Trask Bridge Forest Preserve was full of movement on the water.  The fish were also feeding off the rocks.  One fish was caught and released.  Small largemouth Bass.  Three strikes on a spinner off the rock shoreline.  A lot of movement on the water =/= A lot of fish.  Tried a wide variety of lures and presentations, even some dehydrated minnows (rare for us to use livebait).  Not what we hoped today.  Still a nice relaxing day. </div> <bR> <div> <B>April 6--</B></div> <div> Headed out around 1:30 p.m. to Four Lakes Forest Preserve for a few hours of fishing with my 13 year old son and one of his friends from the neighborhood.  After a stop at Dora's for some crawlers for the boys we found ourselves at the lakes.  After deciding on a grey-bodied, white-skirted, 3/4 oz., silver Colorado bladed spinner bait I began to toss the lure out in the first couple lakes with a slow retrieve, or <I>slow-rolling</I> the spinner.   I left the boys to float wormy offering to the fish in spots they thought might produce as I continued to walk the shoreline.  The wind was blowing North that day and switching to the West from time-to-time.  I decided to try the back two lakes, casting from the walk bridge.  One of the first things I noticed was the absence of the fish crib that was usually on the left side of the bridge.  It seems they have moved it on the right side of the bridge now.  So I started casting to where the crib used to be, deciding that the moving water (this is where the overflow of water moves into the marsh land behind the preserve), the depth of the lake at that spot, and the wind at my back all made for good indications that fish might just be here--and I had a nice cast coming off the shallows over the shelf of 5 or so feet of water.  It was about the 10th cast into the spot where the crib used to be when I felt the familiar tug.  The<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" > <A HREF="id56_four_lakes_largemouth_april_6_2002.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OPIES FISH"><U>largemouth was 15"</U></A></FONT> long and fatter than I thought it would be this time of year.  That being my first fish of 2002,  I was happy for the day.  I went and got the boys from their fishing spot and told them to try the crawlers over the open water area where I had caught the largemouth.  After I described the catch they were more than willing to try it out.  They didn't have any luck, nor did I, for awhile anyway.  I decided to cast parallel to the shoreline past the overflow area.  With the boys watching I was able to pull in a  <A NAME="small_pike"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Four Lakes Small Pike April 6, 2002"><U>small pike</U></A></FONT>, and from the picture you can see this one has been eating.  I released the little guy and was more than happy with my outing in those four hours.  After casting and not catching for awhile we headed to Trask Bridge Forest Preserve.  I threw the same spinner out there, but was unable to hookup with any fish.  Finally a fishing report involving me catching fish.  Good Luck !!  </div> <bR> <div>  <B>April 5--</B> </div> <div> Interesting outing at Pierce Lake.  Actually---Spent about four hours on different parts of the lake from shore.  We were casting a variety of baits at each location:  Colorado blade spinners (dark and white), willow-leaf spinners (gold and sliver), inline spinners (white and gray), and jig-n-twister.  We started at the far side of the rocks at the dam and worked are way around to the far end of the boy scout camp area of the campgrounds.  We tried casting parallel to the shoreline and open-water casting.  We tried the cover and submerged trees.  No hits, just enjoyed a nice walk in nature that day breathing fresh air.  Maybe the other end of the lake was producing?  Do you know?.......Let us know:    <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.hotmail.com"><U>fishinwitopie@yahoo.com</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>April 2--</B></div> <div> New Bait shop to open up.......Rock River Times reports....."Lot-A-Lures" is opening soon at 1908 Jonathan in Rockford.......we'll have to check the store out and give a review.</div> <bR> <div> <B>April 1--</B></div> <div> New rule is that you have to show proof of social security number when applying for this years fishing and hunting license--all designed to catch dead beat dads delinquent on child support ...... A couple of nice walleyes were caught over the weekend.... Bob Leonard of Oregon caught a 28 1/2" , 9 pound 9 ounce walleye in the rock [location not given] using a homemade blue and white deer hair jig.....John Backus of Belvidere caught a 28 3/4" eye weighing 9lbs, 5ozs in the Rock {location: Rockford?}. He plans on having the fish mounted......Now for the ones that were released.....Dan Reiss, Belvidere 8lbs,12oz.....Mike Beck, Sterling,7lbs,11ozs......and Danny Thomas, Rockford,7lbs, 8ozs...... all from the Rock River........Went by Levings Lake the other day it sure is looking good by the dam!! </div> <div>                                                                   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Joel</div> <div> <B>March 17-23, 2002-- Big Fish Submitted</B></div> <div> Mack Evans of Rockford, IL., caught 22 1/2 inch largemouth from Baumann Lake, Cherry Valley, ILL.......Dennis Merwin of Machesney Park, IL., caught a 38 inch Muskie out of Pierce Lake in Rockford, IL....Kerry Schairle of Cherry Valley, IL., caught three smallmouth bass:  15", 14", and 13" from the Kishwaukee River, IL......Tony Semen of Machesney Park, IL., caught one BIG Walleye 10lbs 12oz. as well as 2 others measuring 22 1/2" and 18", Tony says this was his first outing on the Pec. River.  His buddy took him out in the boat where they spent about 4 hours that day  where the Sugar River meets the Pec. The jig and minnow presentation worked great that day out at the Pecatonica River, IL......and John Backus of Belvidere, IL., caught his own Whopper Walleye 9lbs. 5oz. out of the Rock River, IL.</div> <bR> <div> <B>MARCH 13, 2002-- </B>WE COULDN'T STAND IT ANY LONGER WE HAD TO TRY OUR LUCK AT THE WATERS WHERE THE SUGAR RIVER AND THE PECATONICA RIVER MEET.  WE BOUGHT SOME MINNOWS AND HEADED OUT AT AROUND NOON.  WE HAD TWO RODS EACH AND TRIED FOUR DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS TO TRY AND GET THINGS STARTED.  THE FIRST HALF-HOUR WE SPEND JIGGING A TWISTER TAIL/MINNOW COMBO ON THE SUGAR RIVER SIDE OF THE SHORELINE.  SINCE WE HADN'T RECEIVED EVEN A TIC WE THEN HEADED ACROSS THE ROAD TO SET-UP.  WE USED A FLOAT AND WEIGHT PEGGED TWO FEET ABOVE A JIG N' MINNOW.  A 3/4 OZ JIG ON THE BOTTOM.  A 3-WAY; BELL SINKER TIED WITH A 30 INCH LEADER ON ONE SIDE AND A 1/4 OZ JIG N' MINNOW 18 INCHES OFF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE 3-WAY.  AND A 3/8 JIG N' MINNOW IN THE CURRENT FREE.  WE WERE THERE FROM 12:30, 1:00 TO ABOUT 5:30.  NO STRIKES, NO HITS, NO MISSES.  NOT ONE MINNOW BECAME THE VICTIM OF THE WALLEYE......WHILE THEY WERE ON OUR HOOKS ANYWAY.  WE TRIED HOOKING THEM THROUGHT THE LIPS, THROUGH THE TAIL AND THROUGH THE DORSAL....IT DIDN'T MATTER.....NO FISH.  WE WEREN'T THE ONLY ANGLERS OUT THAT DAY.....WHEN A BOATER PASSED BY WE ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS LUCK....HE HAD BEEN OUT SINCE 10 A.M. AND NOT A BITE TO BE HAD...WE SAW HIM COME IN AT AROUND 5:00....THE SHORE ANGLERS DOWN FROM US DIDN'T HAVE ANY LUCK EITHER....JUST THE WRONG DAY I GUESS......BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME......WE'LL GET EM'.</div> <bR> <div> <B>MARCH 12, 2002-- </B>WENT TO QUITE A FEW <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AT THE WATERS EDGE"><U>AREAS</U></A></FONT> TODAY.  <B> </B>MADE A FEW CAST AT BAUMANN WITH A MEPPS, AND JIG N' PIG.  NOT MUCH HAPPNIN'.  WENT OUT TO THE SUGAR RIVER AND SPENT ABOUT 30 MIN. JIGGIN' A TWISTER TAIL FROM A BRIDGE JUST PAST A PRIVATE CAMPSITE IN SHIRLAND.  ASIDE FROM A NICE CONVERSATION INVOLVING SOME TRADING OF FISHING STORIES WITH ONE OF THE TOWNSFOLK, NOT MUCH ELSE GOIN' ON.</div> <bR> <div> <B>MARCH 2002--</B>  THE HEAVY SNOWFALL HAS SET SOME OF US BACK A BIT.............</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > THE</FONT> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walleye and Sauger"><U>EYES'</U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > ARE BITING IN THE ILLINOIS SOON.....AGAIN....HIT STARVED ROCK AREA.</FONT></div> <div> A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME .....THE OREGON DAM......AND STILL CLOSER......THE ROCKTON DAM</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="weather_report_july_anchor"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A> <script src='http://voap.weather.com/weather/oap/USIL1013?template=DRIVH&par=1002890058&unit=0&key=1f767591aa8f7461efa7a2f10627b9bf'></script>  </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#shore_lines" TITLE="SHORELINES"><U>Top of Page</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>