March 2007 What a difference a few weeks makes. In mid-January, the lake was open and Wally was ready to get his boat out again. Then came February and the deep freeze. Ice was made very quickly and now there is more than a foot. This will extend the ice-fishing season nicely into the spring. I think I will reschedule the Ice Fishing Demo Day for Saturday, March 11. Stop by to check it out. I will setup the underwater camera and Vexilar fish finder. Hopefully the fish will be around. They have been real sparse around the Beach this winter. As of this writing there are plans to create another artificial, underwater cinder block reef near the southwest corner of the lake on February 24. Details and photos will be provided in the April paper.   New item: I am going to construct a new web site specifically for the Fish Club and its activities. The goal is to provide the latest information on lake conditions and upcoming events as well as meeting minutes and past records such as fish stocking. As a reminder: Your Illinois fishing license will expire on March 31. You can easily renew at www.dnr.state.il.us or on the phone at 1-888-637-4648. Also many local establishments sell them. Remember too that all of your guests who fish here need a license as well. October 2006 At the last meeting we voted about stocking the lake. It was actually the longest meeting I’ ve ever been involved in. The consensus was to stock the usual 2800 walleye, normally about 8”, but there was also much discussion about what else to stock. In the end we voted to spend our much appreciated 2006 Pancake Breakfast profits on additional fish! The money will be equally split between small catfish and purebred muskies. There were strong opinions about spending money on more muskies because nobody really knows where they are. They may be 50” long just pigging out on pan fish but who knows. They cost 20-30 times more than cats and the cats have not been stocked in nearly 10 years so it makes sense to add some more. Also the cats will be caught and kept when they get in the 18-20 inch “cast iron skillet, Cajun blackening” range. (To change the subject I’m planning an ice fishing “learning experience” for fisherman who wants to “give it a try”. I will have a large heated icehouse set up. The dates tentative are Dec. 17 and Dec 31. Watch next months letter for more info and please participate in the monthly Fish Club meeting on Nov. 3 at 7pm in the office. June 2006 The first item I would like to address is the Carp tournament. To be honest I never have fished for carp although I did catch one by accident once. I admit it did fight really hard and was fun to catch. When the topic came up in our meeting a few months ago I had to ask the attendees what was “bad” about carp being in the lake, since I thought they were just bottom feeders and helped keep the lake clean (sort of like that little catfish in the aquarium at home when you were a kid).  I could fill the column with opinions but instead I will just submit a few quotes from the DNR, which knows more than all of us put together. Let me preface it by saying the vast majority of fisherman would rather protect the well being of sport fish vs. roughage fish. Quoting the DNR, “When stocked in ponds, they compete directly with bluegill and small bass for food. Large numbers of carp cause the water to become extremely turbid”.  Another quote, “Bottom feeding carp disturb aquatic vegetation and create excessive turbidity (murkiness caused by solids suspended in the water), rendering the water unfit for largemouth bass”.  When this article hits you doorstep the carp spawn will be in full bloom and there will be HUNDREDS tearing up the shoreline sand and destroying bass nests. After hearing the opinions from the attendees at our monthly meeting, I recommended the contest and the $1 “bounty” and it was approved unanimously. If a person thinks a dent will be put in the carp population out here I can only say “Wishful thinking”.   March 2006 Mark your calendars for this summers fish club sponsored activities. During the months of May and June there will be a Carp contest. Capture them any way you like. Fishing, spearing, bow and arrow, dip net, etc. There will be $1 CASH PAID for every carp removed from the lake. Just clip the dorsal fin and collect them in the freezer till its time to turn them in. There will also be prizes for most carp. More details to follow. There will again be a Kid’s Finish Clinic. Joe Harper will be the lead man for this and the date will be July 17, the Sunday after Father’s Day. More details to follow. The Pancake Breakfast will be Saturday morning, July 8 during Summerfest weekend. A second grill last year really sped things up. There was a slight hiccup with a shortage of OJ, but a cooler was simply misplaced and it won’t happen this year. December 2005 Winter arrived very quickly this year. About 4 inches of snow fell on Saturday, December 3, but the lake was still open. It was a pretty sight. I bet it looked great from the sky.  At the time of this letter, on December 7, I had just got back inside from cutting my first hole in the ice. There was already 5 inches. It was made in just 4 days but not surprising since it has been around zero for the last couple days. Actually about 5 guys just arrived at Beach 2 to go ice fishing. Ice fishing is supposed to be the best at first ice. For those of you who have never tried it, you should. For $50-75 you can get all the things you need to get started. I would recommend a 5” hand auger, 2 basic poles with a built-in spool reel, plastic scoop, some small glow-in-the-dark lures, live wax worms, a bucket and soft seat cushion to sit on, and a propane lantern (for light and heat). Also it’s a good idea to have some strap-on cleats for your boots. A great place to park and fish is at Beach 2. If you have any questions starting out I’m sure anyone on the ice would be sure to help. They would probably even lend you an auger to cut a couple holes if you don’t want to buy one right away. Ice fishing can be a lot of fun and once you find the fish you can get a bucket full very quickly.  I was lucky enough last year to catch a huge female Walleye measuring 29 inches and 9+ lbs. It was in late April, she was very healthy and full of eggs. Hopefully she will be around for many years to come and I will try to catch her again this year! Until next month good luck fishing, stay warm, and be safe on the ice.