The Chain of Lakes

Illinois’ Multi-Species
Mecca

By Darrell Baker

With a nick-name like Prairie State, Illinois has a surprisingly large number of highly touted fishing holes. Throughout the one hundred-two counties, one can find some of the Midwest's best fishing spots that are noted for one or more species of fish. Names like the Mississippi and it's numerous backwaters, the Illinois, Kankakee, Lake Michigan, Shelbyville, Carlysle bring smiles to the faces of thousands of anglers statewide. All of these have provided anglers with quality fishing year after year. One body of water in the 'Land of Lincoln' stands out, when it comes to providing the very best in multi-species opportunities. Consider the following: where in Illinois can the serious angler wet a line, target and expect to catch any and a!! of these popular species-walleye, large and smallmouth bass, white and yellow bass, muskies, white and black crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseeds, yellow perch, northern pike, channel and flathead catfish, warmouth sunfish, several species of bullhead, drum, and of course carp. Not only are all of these species available but many, thanks to aggressive fisheries management, are producing numbers of trophy fish in almost every category of fish that is present in this magical system.

Close your eyes for a moment and visualize a fishing trip to a body of water in Illinois where you can catch a five to thirty pound plus musky, boat one to five pound walleyes with ease with an occasional six to ten pound fish to raise the blood pressure, catch two hundred or more panfish in a mere four hours or less, fight with two to ten pound catfish all day long. For flavor, throw in one to five pound large and smallmouth bass, kamikaze white and yellow bass (we call them piranhas!). All of this within easy driving distance of Chicago, Milwaukee, and the northeast suburbs.

Indeed you say! No way—no how—-not ever. Well the secret is out sports fans. Thanks again to no nonsense, aggressive regulations and fisheries management, Illinois now enjoys one of the very best multi-species fishing destinations in the Midwest. State creel censuses verify that this bonanza for variety is most likely occurring much closer than you ever imagined. Major tournaments have and are being scheduled for walleye, musky, bass and crappie. Fishing pros from all over the U.S.A. are becoming more and more visible in this species diverse system. In April of 2005, the In-Fisherman will host a PWT tournament on this system.

"O.K.—O.K.—so tell me—-I want to know", you say,-—"where the heck are you talking about?" Well my friend, you probably already know the correct answer as to the whereabouts of this magic fish producing machine. But before I spill the beans to those of you who may not be familiar, consider the following results of a very recent outing. Recently two friends of mine and I ventured out to renew our incurable love affair with this mystical fish factory. The results were awesome, hardly believable. Keep in mind there where only three of us but the final score was staggering. During the course of the day we caught ( and mostly released) fifteen 'keeper' walleyes, seventeen channel cats, a truly trophy forty-nine inch, thirty-one pound musky (on six pound test!)—45 minutes of brute force which was unleashed on a two and half foot ice fishing rod, was almost more than the crowd that gathered 'to witness the title bout could bear. On the first pass through the hole, my partner Art Tang who had the honors, gasped and exclaimed in the same breath," It's a big one!" Not being one to exaggerate or embellish much, I took his word for it, and quickly looked down the hole to verify the fishes size. The top part of her head and jaw were so wide, that I could not see the opposite eye as she cruised underneath the eight inch hole. I quickly pointed out that we could not possibly bring the fish through the existing hole and that we would have to "add some dimensions" in order to C.P.R. (catch, photograph and release) and then carefully revive her. I grabbed the largest available auger and proceeded to add the necessary remodeling to accommodate Art's trophy fish. Art, who is an accomplished Musky fanatic, has caught larger ones but not in Illinois or for that matter never that huge through the ice. He demonstrated his skill, knowledge and experience as he carefully slipped the rod tip into the enlarged hole to prevent the predator from hooking the ice and winning freedom. She made slow wide circles beneath our feet followed by surging, powerful runs. Her tactics were reminiscent of a large shark's behavior of circling the boat towards the end of the battle. After dozens of circling maneuvers and several lunges and runs, the Musky finally yielded to Art's deliberate and experienced abilities. As I hoisted her through the hole, the crowd of fifteen wide eyed anglers verbalized the event in unison. Everything from "holy cow" to "wow" along with some unprintable exclaimatives! We carefully measured, photographed and gently released her, after noting two huge, but well healed scars that she had received in her earlier years. It made you wonder just how big the largest fish in this system are. As if to celebrate the victory and the temporary displacement of  the large predator, the walleye fishing picked up, almost immediately. As we settled down to some serious focusing back on the walleyes, Art reminisced to Dwayne Zimmerman, the third member of our outing that day about how yours truly had taken two very large muskies, back to back on the same day a few years ago. Catching muskies is not an isolated event. The rest of the day was steady with regards to the fishing, partly due to an overcast, dark atmosphere, with a falling barometer. By the end of the day we had added white and yellow bass, white and black crappies, bluegill, perch and one lonely sheephead (drum) to the tally sheet. Ten different species in one days fishing, and less than fifty miles from the city limits of either Chicago or Milwaukee.

OK, you have been patient—if you have not yet been able to pinpoint this species diverse paradise, it is of course the Chain-of -Lakes and Fox River in Lake and McHenry counties in the Northeast corner of Illinois. This is an enormous watershed that technically starts near Burlington Wisconsin and actually connects to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers which of course have a confluence into the Gulf of Mexico (Yes Sir, you could literally travel by water from Fox Lake, Illinois to New Orleans!! You would have to Kayak or canoe though, since there are many dams that do not have locking systems). The lakes, which for the most part were naturally caused by Pleistocene glaciation, are specifically the result of ice blocks being left behind in the sand and gravel (glacial drift) during the recession of the last glacial stage known as the Wisconsinan.The system offers a wide range of habitat, structure and cover in just over seven thousand acres of surface area which does not count the river, tributaries and the dozens of interconnecting channels. For you seasoned veterans, especially those of you who knew the whereabouts by reading the title and first paragraph of this article, here is some trivia to add to your broad bank of knowledge. How many lakes are there in the 'Chain' and what are the names? Many of us have been fooled into thinking that there is only seven to nine because of undetailed maps and other misinformation. Here is a bet you can win with your friends who consider themselves "Experts on the Chain". There are a total of seventeen connected lakes that are navigable and another four that have flowage in but are not really accessible by boat, although the fish in some cases manage to get there. Hang on, here are their names starting with the northern, deeper lakes and working south:

Channel,Catherine,Marie, Bluff, Spring, Petite, Grass, Fox, Nippersink, Dunns, Pistakee lake,Pistakee Bay, Meyers Bay, Red Head, Matthews, Jerlyn and Lac Louette (A.KA. Mud Lake). Now add Long Lake and it's tiny smaller lake also called Mud Lake, Brandenburg Lake (Lake of the Hollow) and finally Griswald and we have a total of twenty-one. Some say that there is even a small drainage that still connects Duck and Wooster, but we haven't been able to verify that. The bottom-line is that there is ample water with a multitude and variety of fish awaiting the savvy angler.

Yeah, yeah, some of you are groaning," The Chain, the heaviest recreational boating waterway in the world. Is this guy nuts?" Believe it or not times are changing. In the past few years the boating traffic has simmered down to bearable, even on the weekends with the exception of 2:00 pm until 5:00 or 6:00. Blame it on the economy, loss of jobs, inflated marine gas or whatever, the big boats aren't nearly as bad as they use to be. In fact you're more apt to have a near miss with an overzealous bass boat than a twenty-four foot runabout. This is particularly true during the week, when boating is down to a near standstill until the after work crowd digs in. How do I know all this? First of all I grew up in this neck of the woods or should I say lakes. I have witnessed the changes, both good and bad. I have been an active guide in this area since I was eleven, and although I love the memories and reliving the many adventures it is many more years than I care to count. My full time occupation is teaching science in high school and junior college, so I am blessed with a fair amount of time available during prime fishing months. When I am not teaching, it's "Gone Fishing" for me, and I see it firsthand, day in day out. If you dislike crowds, steer clear of afternoons and weekends or holidays and make your pilgrimage during the week. With the exception of a few pesky jet skiers and perhaps some out of school student water skiers, the lakes will be shared mostly with other fisherman. Many of us don't have that luxury—we must fish the weekends because of the four letter word-work. In that case hit it early, fish hard and then head for the numerous no wake fishing areas, smaller lakes, channels and tributaries. There is peace and quiet on some portions of the Chain, even on weekends. By the way when it rains, drizzles, snows or is just plain miserable, hook up the boat and grab the rods. Boaters on the Fox-Chain are notorious fair-weather enthusiasts. And of course, there is always hard water fishing, no boats but you will encounter a few snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

One other common complaint I hear repeatedly is," I have fished the Chain several times and just don't do well." Well might I suggest the time is at hand to spend a little time and maybe a small amount of money to make the Chain a place where you do more catching than fishing? Attend local seminars, read articles, look at maps, talk to the resorts and bait shops and consider investing in a few eye opening, knowledge gathering guided trips with one or more of the Chains highly qualified and experienced guides. You will not be sorry! Two very helpful sources of information are Triangle Sporting Goods (847-395-0813) whose owner Greg Dickson and the entire staff are all knowledgeable area fisherman and are willing to share most on their secrets and updated information. The other info source is C.J.. Smith Resort on Grasslake road (847-395-2753). The owners, John and Melanie Hartl are unequivocally the nicest and most professional resort owners that I know of in these two Hemispheres. It is for this reason, that I have located my guiding service at their first rate resort. You may also reach John and Melanie at their E-mail address: info@cjsmithresort.com. I may be reached at Midwest Guide Service, 847-731-0159.

Earlier in the article we had mentioned aggressive fisheries management. Check these glowing efforts by our D.N.R., specifically the Fisheries Biologists. I was enlightened and eager to learn from Frank Jakabicek, one of our local fisheries biologists, the following yearly stocking goals for the Chain. Frank is a knowledge state biologist whose dedication and eagerness echo in his expertise and sharing of the local program. Keep in mind that these stocking numbers of fish are going into just over seven thousand acres of water. Yearly goals are as follows: walleye—seven million walleye fry per year (almost 1,000 per acre per year!) arguably many become crappie or striper food but this is partially offset with the additional yearly stocking of two hundred forty-three thousand, two inch fingerlings to offset high fry mortality. Some years the stocking is even higher. Largemouth bass stocking each year is normally one hundred thirty-nine thousand fingerlings. Partly due to their voracious nature, muskies are normally stocked every other year but are much larger at eleven to thirteen inches to insure a much higher survival rate. The number varies some, since local Musky clubs have supplemented the states efforts, but is usually somewhat over two thousand of the head start fish. The emphasis of these predator stockings has definitely been good for the Chains panfish and whitebass and other species growth rates and overall sizes. Virtually all species have shown good size increases, much to the delight of area anglers. What else is the state doing to make a great fishery even better? Intelligent limits coupled with slot limits that protect the proper, most desirable sized reproducing fish. Cribs are being added to offer strategic fish holding cover in concert with the right depths and structure (hopefully the topic of a future article with maps and GPS coordinates!), adding additional no wake areas, working on exotic non-desirable aquatic flora and trying to encourage desirables such as lotus, cabbage etc. Aeration attempts in a few areas. The list goes on. We are indeed fortunate to have dedicated men such as Frank Jakabicek and his colleagues working for the overall improvement of one of the greatest fishing areas in the state. Their efforts will insure future fishing and improvements for years to come on this wonderful species diverse fishery.