Author Topic: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?  (Read 22294 times)

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #60 on: Jan 21, 2004, 03:39 AM »
Well-Squeeze my Peaches- Thank you Jesus and all the "ICE GODS"- Did you guys see the weather forecast for this weekend and next week?!!!!!!! Come on Ice!- If any of you guys get out before friday(when I'm DEFINATELY GOING!) please post a report on thickness and such- Hope that if any of you guys have been able to get out this week while I've been watching the ice form going to work(and DROOLING) have been having success! I Love to come home at night and check out the site for posts from fellow hardwaterer's- I wish there was one central lake here in Illinois we all could meet and have our own Year Round trap attack- the Ice would never leave and we could all enjoy the sport we all love so much!- OK,OK- I'll calm down- I don't even drink and I'm babbling- see what working 10 hours till 2 a.m. and little sleep and too much dreaming of hardwater will get you! Be Safe and tightlines and BULLGILLS!
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

Offline Pop

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #61 on: Jan 21, 2004, 09:57 AM »
KT, that is one thing that makes this sport great.  You can babble and we all understand.  I am needing some ants from custom jig and assorted small plastic.  It was picked over, when I was there 2 weeks ago.  I also need to pick up some 14 and 16 size hooks to tie scuds on.  I use these on my tight line rigs.  I have 3 green ones left and need to tie some brown/black and green/tan.

Pop

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #62 on: Jan 21, 2004, 04:16 PM »
Now I'm impressed, POP-you know how to tie flys(scuds)- I used to fly fish as a kid, but never learned how to tie-you'll have to show me if we ever hook up! I also haven't tightlined in the traditional way(still learning bloodknots, though my stepson says the bloodknot is real similar to the knot i use on my lures,having a helluva time doing it with two lines!) -, I simply have tried tying a short leader off a barrell swivel on the mainline with a fly-haven't had much success- Have you(with tightlining)? What's the ice like near you?
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

Offline Pop

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #63 on: Jan 21, 2004, 04:41 PM »
KT, when I first started ice fishing we didn't know what it was called but we didn't use bobbers.  We just sat and stared at the line all day.  With the kinky old mono it was a chore.  We would tie a small (00) split ring to the end of the line and tie a dropper off of it and another line down to a tear drop jig.  We called these dippies.  To the dropper, off of the spliit ring we would tie a small egg hook and put two acorn worms on it.  I have caught a truck load of fish on the drop line.  My sister lives in Michigan and when I was up there 3 or 4 years ago, I found out they called it a tightline system.  One of the guys there was telling me about using the wet flies.  It has worked out well here.

If we can find a time to meet I will show you how to tie the blood knot.  I will give you some of the scuds to try.  

We have some good ice on the small lakes and it is getting better.  Clinton Lake will be ready this week end for the areas east of the hot water discharge and north of the power plant.  I fished last Saturday but the ice was going away by noon or so.  The warm winds and rain were hard on it.

Keep trying the tight line, when you get it you will have another great tool to catch fish.

Pop

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #64 on: Jan 21, 2004, 05:37 PM »
thanks for the info pop-was clinton lake ever featured on midwest outdoors? hope the farm ponds are thick enough to fish friday- took the day off today, too damn tired to go in to work- thought about fishing tonight, but since i don't know what the ice is like probably won't risk it- had a friend of a friend chase a  goose(i think) they had shot out onto a local lake and break thru in 10 ft. of water this weekend- he got out luckily,- when my wife heard this my stepson said she got all nervous about us going icefishing- he told me he calmed her down by explaining how we check the ice every few feet and if there's ever any SIGN of danger we go home- had to pat him on the back for that- don't know if you hunt, but my dad's even told me stories of his buddies chasing downed birds on the ice in some of the stupidest places i've ever heard- one time he said a friend of his went after a pheasant, which had fallen on one of those mine lakes with 20-30 sheer banks, and he estimated there couldn't have been maybe 1 1/2- 2" of ice- they had no picks or tow ropes, nothing!
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

dusty t

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #65 on: Jan 21, 2004, 11:07 PM »
hey kim

there was 20 people or so on lake storey tuesday night they never quit ice fishing it

there were a couple people over the sunken bridge area also but i still think that area would be iffy

i dont know if there catching any thing but im going to little jon friday and more then likely lake storey saturday and if i get the urge lake warren sundy

but as of tuesday more people were on the ice then there had been combined all year

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #66 on: Jan 22, 2004, 04:05 AM »
Very cool dusty! where's little jon at? if it's at lake storey maybe I'll see ya-don't know though- go some friends comin' over and we may fish elsewhere
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

Offline fooman

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #67 on: Jan 22, 2004, 09:40 AM »
Does anyone have any info on Banner Marsh or Eureka Lake? How thick the ice is? Any fish being caught? ...THANKS

Offline Pop

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #68 on: Jan 22, 2004, 09:49 AM »
KT, I fished last night for 4 hours.  The pond I was on had 5 - 6 inches of good ice.  The warm wind made the edges look a bit funny.  I don't think Clinton was ever talked about for ice fishing.  If people ever find out what a hoot the sunshine bass are to catch through the ice I am sure it will be talked about.  It has some nice walleye, but they normally roam the open water humps in the winter.  The crappie move under the ice and the bluegill fishing is ok in the cold water areas.

My wife is great about this sport, she even likes to go if it isn't to windy and cold.  She also knows I won't take any chances on the ice, it takes me too long to heal anymore.

I grew up hunting the old gravel pits in this part of Illinois.  We carried weighted treble hooks and an old spincast reel.  Push the button and swing that hook around and let it go.  There were pits that never froze solid and I didn't want the dogs on them.

We are going to Homer Lake this week end.  There are some nice crappie in there and a true bull bluegill ever once in a while.  Not much real pressure in the winter.  Same ten guys fish the same little flat every year for the last 10 - 15 years.  I think they would get tired of catching the same 4 inch bluegill and 5 inch crappie.  When one of them catches a 12 inch crappie they do what we call the bucket dance.  They all get up and run over to the guy that caught it and since they have been setting on the bucket for 8 hours, without moving, they can not walk very well.  Then they all look around like chickens, to make sure none of us saw the fish and then stumble back to the same hole they have fished for the last 5 days and set down on the  bucket and start the funny little shaking presentation.

Pop

 

dusty t

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #69 on: Jan 22, 2004, 04:22 PM »
kim

little john is south of victoria it is south of snakeden hollow just east of oak run its a private club with 30 strip mine lakes but i think a few have dried up or are very small

now if this dang wind would die

Offline toph2o

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #70 on: Jan 23, 2004, 07:03 PM »
hey Dusty, do you fish snakeden hollow?  been there a few times. never ice fished it. I'll be at hook and bullet Sunday fishing with a buddy who belongs to the club. I hope it wont snow till late sunday or I'll have to stay home to plow it. If you do fish snakeden do you go to the smaller lakes . :'(         toph2o

dusty t

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #71 on: Jan 23, 2004, 07:17 PM »
top

i dont think i have ever ice fished snake den i think alot of the winter the main lake is closed cause of duck and goose season but im not totally sure

if i was to ice fish it id go to the north gate and walk the half mile to the big lake back there caught good gills in it years ago in the spring plus not all the standing timber to drill and hop you found the right tree

we caught 20 or so today but only 6 were even worth keeping so we set them free hopefully better luck tomorrow

snow sunday? bout time lol

Offline bucky93

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #72 on: Jan 23, 2004, 07:27 PM »
Hey bluegill, I went to mautinos earlier this week and we (my brother and I) Found anywhere from 31/2 to 8 inches of ice. So I'm sure anywhere you would want to fish there is safe now.  If you ever want to go sometime drop me and line and maybe I will be able to meet up with you and show you some of the better spots to try

Offline bluegill63

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #73 on: Jan 23, 2004, 08:28 PM »
Cool thanks bucky just might take you up on that offer!!!!!!!!!1

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #74 on: Jan 24, 2004, 02:51 AM »
ok got a question- went out today and had 4" of ice on the lake, but it had white, spiderweb looking lines running all over the surface. the ice looked "crystallized" also and the shavings when i drilled looked like a snowcone around the hole. the ice inside the hole appeared layered horizontally and had vertical cracks in it. I thought I had read somewhere that this type of ice forms under frigid wind chills and can be only half the strength of good clear ice. is this true? I must admit it scared me enough to leave the 1st lake I was at and go fish another one(though i probably could've died just as easily there because the ice looked just the same!)
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

dusty t

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #75 on: Jan 24, 2004, 11:09 AM »
kim

i had the same thing it was cracking where the cracks allready were and it didnt sound good we was spooked off one lake but fished another same situation i think its softer ice

i think what happend was it got hot rotted the ice then it refroze and the rotted stuff is still in the mix and it dont freeze as hard  when plus where ti was cracked before it opend now the cracks have froze back but not sealed together

P Gottshall

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #76 on: Jan 25, 2004, 09:55 PM »
Fooman,

I was on Eureka Monday 1/19, & ice was a good 5in.  I fished a couple hours past dark, & heard the ice cracking a lot.  I hear that's a good sign, but it's kinda' scary when sitting in my Scout huddled over a lantern, seeing the water hicup out of my hole.

I was there for a couple hours, & only caught one Crappie.  - a little disappointing, but I was without bait.  I saw quite a few fish on the Vex, but only two bites.

Interesting too, all the fish, but one were near the bottom in 12ft.  That one was three feet under the ice, & was the only Crappie I got.  Roaming through I guess.

I didn't get out until after dark, so didn't drill much.  Next time I'll get out early enough to scout a bit to make sure I'm on fish before I huddle up to keep warm.

Paul

Offline toph2o

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #77 on: Jan 28, 2004, 09:34 PM »
Went Sunday to victoria, Fished 4 differnt lakes  had 4 to 5 inches of ice  Most of the ice was clear  but ran in  to the soft white ice. lots of small gills , one nice crappie and had to fight off 2 inch crappie that were almost jumping out of the hole to get the float.the small jig could not sink fast enough with the wind blowing so the 2 inch crappie kept getting caught and in the way     yesI fish without a shelter. but Sundays wind  may change my mine about buying one                     toph2o :'(

dusty t

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Re:Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #78 on: Jan 28, 2004, 10:36 PM »
dont look good for me this weekend saturday ill go but 4 inches of snow super bowl sunday and nex 2 days under 10 with wind chills below zero i have a hut but id freeze before i got to the lake

dusty t

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #79 on: Feb 04, 2004, 10:29 PM »
yeeha its back

i got out 2 times this week caught 2 good crappie at lake storey but lost 6 of what felt like solid fish  in the middle of the day on saturday my lantern broke so i didnt stick it out to late

went to lake warren (private) on monday during mid day hours the crappie ran small but had solid gills but lost more then i caught

in conclusion i got my medium dimond lap file out and sharpend hooks for 4 hrs monday night  hopefully this wont happen again

fish seem to be moving deeper at lake warren no bites where old holes were drilled  went on to 22 foot of water near a flat and a big hole and fish were suspended 10 to 18 foot down only one came with in a foot of the bottomn

alot of the fish i caught were on the fall raised my depth and it didnt work seemed they wanted that fall alot better but i lost one gill that id say was close to 11 inches i got a side view of it before it hit the ice and hook poped out

Dr. Dan

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #80 on: Feb 09, 2004, 07:14 AM »
 ;D Got out yesterday on a private pond north of Bloomington with a couple of buddies. Overcast when we started. Caught bluegills and a couple of nice crappie before the skies cleared and the sun came out in the afternoon. That really slowed things down. Stayed out until after dark, thinking they would turn on again, but that didn't happen. So, all in all, the fishing was great, but the catching was just so-so.

Good fishing!

Offline toph2o

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #81 on: Feb 10, 2004, 09:29 PM »
went to Banner Sunday. Didn't do any good . Just small gills. I cut hole near trees and dropoffs but could not find a crappie.  I'm out of luck going this weekend so hope the ice holds up  for a few more weeks   A lot of people were down there but they were having trouble also   toph2o

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #82 on: Feb 11, 2004, 03:58 AM »
how thick's the ice been fellas-haven't been out for two weeks-that's why I haven't posted my usual report here. hoping to get out this friday. Has the ice started to "rot" yet?
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

Randy B

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #83 on: Feb 11, 2004, 06:21 AM »
Hey Kim,
Been wandering what's happened to you.  Miss seeing your posts for the cent. IL area.  Don't worry the ice is in excellent shape, just hope we can keep a while longer.  Seems like the sunshine has slowed the fishing some.  Just need to add some cloudy days.
Randy B

dusty t

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #84 on: Feb 11, 2004, 08:16 AM »
i got one lake in the area it seemes theres a layer of snow then water then ice  this ice is 6 to 8 inches in this area and the other areas are 10 inches of goo had clear ice under the snow

is this water on top where the ice is starting to rot?

Randy B

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #85 on: Feb 11, 2004, 09:52 AM »
Hey Dusty,

How are things going at Storey?  Think I might try to meet my son up there Thusrday afternoon as he drives home from Davenport to try the late afternoon easrly eve. bite.  I know you fish some clubs in the Victoria area but wanted to ask if you have ever fished any of the Snakeden Hollow lakes.  Also wnted to let you know that we had similar ice conditions that you mentiioned in you post on to different lakes I fished this past weekend but went back to one of them yesterday and it is now froze from top to bottom.

Randy B 

dusty t

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #86 on: Feb 11, 2004, 10:10 PM »
i havent ice fished snake den  i fished it a couple times with out the ice and done best at the farthest north gate  its about a half mile or longer walk to  the big lake i fished caught descent fish on years ago

i dont know what there rules are sence it is a goose place in the fall and winter and is closed to fishing the big lake this time of year i believe

the big lake has alot of standing timber so the fish could be on one tree at any depth right now

as far as storey goes i might swing out and catch ya  before class  (twin 125's are on so i wont be out till there over and i got class so i cant fish )

the dam area still looks like a shanty town  and there are people fishing the normal places again but no one  has flocked to the bridge in great numbers that i have seen

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #87 on: Feb 12, 2004, 04:38 AM »
Thanks so much guys for the info-good to hear the ice is ok-what a great way to stay "on top" of things-sorry 'bout the poor pun! also, it's good to hear that you missed me randy and that everyone seems to found their way back to the board ok-I was jones'n without it-well, with your good info I'm hardwatering Friday and Sunday! Gonna hit the honey hole, gonna have a new computer soon-maybe I'll have pics to put up soon. What I meant about the ice "rotting" is what happens usually to late ice when it turns white-ish-gray and gets filled with bubbles. I've had way,way,way too many scares trying to "read" or judge this stuff and it freaks the !#$%^ out of me! This new honey hole I've got is fillled with barely keeper blugill, but it's also 16 ft. deep with shear banks and creek fed-so you can see my concern for ice safety! Last time I went to my other honey hole I slayed them( in this lake the blugill are all 10" or better, some at least 1lb., I think! I can't wrap my hand around them any way!), but as you guys probably already know from my other posts , this is my catch and release lake, so I put them all back-maybe this weekend I'll keep a few(LOL)! Don't know if any of you dedicated outdoors types like me who tend to carry an old soft heart when it comes to killing things, have ever "raised" blugills at home in you fish tanks(mine is a 55 gallon), but once you've had one as a "pet", sometimes its a little hard to put them on the plate or the wall. Anyway I'll post my report as usual, and if any of you guys want to go, drop me a message.
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #88 on: Feb 13, 2004, 04:48 AM »
just a quick post to let you guys know how the trip went-went to the new hole-good 7" of ice-caught 15-20 barely keeper 'gills and 1 nice crappie( crappie caught on 1/64 jig tipped with plastic tail, no bait,-Very hard strike!) the trip was a little unique in one respect- fish bite was very active up until  1hr. before sunset!-very odd. well going out this morning to the honey hole with the 1lb. "Bullgills"- looks like high winds-also, maybe a warm up this upcoming week-hope the hardwater lasts! P.S. all the fish from yesterday were caught scattered throughout the water column, and came on either genz worms, fat boys, ant jigs, and jigging spoons.
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

"There are things known and things unknown...in between are THE DOORS." --- Jim Morrison

Offline jepik

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Re: Any fellow central Il. hardwater fanatics out there?
« Reply #89 on: Feb 13, 2004, 08:18 AM »
kim tanner....do you or any body else ever fish mautino? ....is it safe ,where would you try,what is in it,gills, crappies, etc...only been there once in the summer, never fished it....mainly fish the miss.river, 12+13 +14 pools, very slow now....any help would be appreciated..... ???

 



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