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Promise made; promise kept

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  busse bass man 
#1 ·
To keep a promise I made to myself last year I spent Sunday & Monday nights camping at Morrison Rockwood State Park. Took my solo canoe and spent 1/2 day Sunday, all day Monday & 1/2 day Tuesday fishing & exploring.

The campground is really quite good considering the state of the DNR's finances. No 'hosts' were on duty yet and the showers weren't open - these probably don't happen until after Memorial Day. There are 2 large loops of sites and most are set up for trailers & RVs. The challenge is for tent campers like me to find a site with a suitable tent area. I lucked out in spite of the fact that I reserved a spot sight-unseen via Reserve America. This turned out to be completely unnecessary since there weren't more than 10 sites occupied. The loop I was in was deserted except for some folks in a trailer who pulled out on Monday. My guess is the place fills up on weekends during the summer.

Other than the horn of the freight trains that go thru Morrison regularly the campground is quiet. The only thing that got me up was the sound of something being eaten off in the woods Sunday night. It didn't go down easy. Lots of coyotes. And while the night sky isn't like being in the desert, it's a lot clearer than around the city. Great to be out & away from it all.

The main feature of the park is Lake Carlton. While I won't say my fishing experience was great - caught 6 bass in 2 days - overall I think it's a real gem. Especially again, considering it's in Illinois & the DNR probably doesn't spend a lot on its upkeep. The deepest parts are 20 - 25 feet deep. The Western end is really shallow - you'd never be able to get a bass boat in there - but the rest of the lake holds interesting opportunities.

Pressure is what I'd call 'moderate' - considering the proximity of Morrison it's surprising it's not more crowded. Engines are limited to 10 hp and while most of the bass boats I saw had much larger engines, they only used their trolling motors. The most boats I saw was Sunday afternoon & there weren't more than 7 or 8 on the water at the same time. The majority of anglers fish from shore & most of these are confined to the area around the concession. They rent kayaks so you see a few of them out on the lake too.

Resident fish are LMB, Muskies, 'gills and they say, Walleyes. I had a brief encounter with a Muskie Monday AM - it bit off half of a Keitech & went on it's merry way. Bastard...

There are a number of small coves on the lake - most on the South side. These are where I spent most of my time fishing. There's one fairly large cove on the NW side of the lake that I decided should be called "Stinking Cove". There was a dead coyote or dog (it was beyond identification) floating in it and if you got anywhere near it it got pretty ripe. The Canada geese didn't seem to mind (most birds can't smell) and there was a pair of Black Vultures hanging around waiting for it to drift up to shore. Not sure if they ever got their wish. There were lots of birds - even a pair of Pelicans made an appearance. Must have dropped by from over on the Mississippi.

I threw a variety of baits. Tried lipless in the deeper water, buzzbaits, square bill & some other floating or shallow-running hard baits. Very little interest. So I tied on my go-to jig & twister with a safey-pin spinner. Bingo! I fished the coves along the South shore & caught 6 bass over the 2 days. Like I said, not great but enough to keep my interest. None were big and 3 absolutely qualified as complete dinks. Better than a sharp stick in the eye!

Locals told me there are many 2 - 3 lb LMBs in the lake and some good size Muskies. I spotted at least 2 BIG snapping turtles. There's no swimming in the lake and who would want to with those monsters in there? Locals also told me it gets really weedy in the summer. The winning approach then is to crank your trolling motor up (no need for this in a canoe or kayak) and get yourself as far into the weeds as possible. Drop fish the holes.

The weather couldn't have been better although I spent considerable time Monday fighting the winds. They were brisk but uncommitted to a specific direction. Sometimes they gusted from the East, sometimes from the West. Thank goodness for those coves. Even so I was a bushed old puppy Monday night.

Got on the water early Tuesday & got skunked. Had one hit the lure but it jumped & spat it out. After a few more futile hours I headed home.

All-in-all it was an outstanding time.

PS. In my original post I neglected 2 important things: 1) This was my 1st extended use (with the exception of 2 hours on the Kish on Friday) of my new President XT & Fenwick Elite Tech Bass rod. WOW! This is the best balance between rod & reel I think I've experienced. The PLine on the Pflueger lived up to its billings here on WCF.

And b) (in honor of the late, great Tommy Magliozzi of Car Talk) is there a better way to spend nights in the outdoors than sitting by a campfire, listening to the sounds of night coming on and imbibing in Glenmorangie? Come on - you know there isn't.
 

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#5 ·
mack said:
Sounds, and looks nice. Did you bust out that new fly rod?
Nope. Not sure I could fly cast sitting on my butt in a canoe. And there's no way I can stand up in the thing without going for an unintended dip.

Rich D said:
Need to start making some similar ones to myself these days...
It gets more important as the years go by...
 
#7 ·
Nice adventure Rambler. My first musky fishing experience was on Carlton about 25 years ago with a gentleman from the local chapter of Muskie Inc. 1 follow all morning but I remember it being a beautiful clear water lake full of bass and crappie. As a young lad I could not understand why we were throwing all those giant lures with other fish swimming everywhere around the boat.
 
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