[Ed1979]

Had a great time this evening out on the river with my brother and my dad. We got into some really nice fish and the weather was great. We invited 6 of the eyes back to my house for dinner later this week. My brother also got a REALLY nice smallie. Had to be 18-19" and 3-4 lbs. An absolute hog. He was, of course, released. The picture of the smallie is terrible because we forgot the camera, and took it with the crappy camera on his phone. But, you can see the girth on it. Next time, the camera is the FIRST thing packed.

All in all, we got around 10-15 fish. Released everything below 15-16" and above 20". Not bad for our second trip out on the river looking for walleye. I hear the drawdown turns the fish on even more? Is this true?

Special thanks goes out to Larry, who really helped turn us onto these fish. You are the man. Any time you want some company out on the river, let me or my brother know.

 

[Misster Tiny]

Nice Eyes!!! I was out that evening too. Caught alot of small smallies, but no eyes. Were you using minnows?

Again really nice eyes!

 

[ringneck]

very nice eyes - well done
gotta watch the 18-24 slot if you're north of Algonquin

 

[Legend075]

Great job guys and remeber Nick/Ed hush hush on the area I trust you guys with my honey hole. One more important note PLEASE keep the harvest down. That stretch of the river is short and the walleyes are hard to come by. I get consistant action there every year in the fall and want to keep it that way. So just do me a favorite and please keep the harvest down guys.

Some really nice eyes fellows. I see the smallies are still biting out there VERY NICE.

Thanks guys

 

[fishkid]

:shock: wow nice eyes!

 

[pezdek1]

Thanks again Larry, had a blast out there last night. The harvest will stay down, this is our only one and will be the only one. Just wanted to get one dinner to make it worth the ever-rising amount of cold ass hours spent in the river lol Definitely know where you're comin from. don't worry larry, your secret is safe with us

 

[Ed1979]

Nice Eyes!!! I was out that evening too. Caught alot of small smallies, but no eyes. Were you using minnows?

Again really nice eyes!

The walleye were caught on a variety of different things. I was using jig/twister/minnow. My brother and dad were using jerkbaits.

very nice eyes - well done
gotta watch the 18-24 slot if you're north of Algonquin

Wasn't aware of that. Thanks. What's the reasoning? Mercury levels? We don't plan on keeping any others so it's not a big deal . This is the end of year fish fry. Very, very rarely do we keep anything we catch. Maybe once a year, if that, we'll keep enough crappie, bluegill, walleye, or perch for a fish fry. So no worries on the harvest.

 

[WrenchingnFishing]

Thanks again Larry, had a blast out there last night. The harvest will stay down, this is our only one and will be the only one. Just wanted to get one dinner to make it worth the ever-rising amount of cold ass hours spent in the river lol Definitely know where you're comin from. don't worry larry, your secret is safe with us

I was thinking about heading out there last night. Good Job Guys... Thats a lot of walleyes to harvest though... :shock:

 

[koolaid2313]

I was thinking about heading out there last night. Good Job Guys... Thats a lot of walleyes to harvest though... :shock:

:shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Legend075]

Ed dont worry man. Where you were fishing there is no slot.
14" mininum and the limit is 5.

 

[ringneck]

very nice eyes - well done
gotta watch the 18-24 slot if you're north of Algonquin

Wasn't aware of that. Thanks. What's the reasoning?

The reasoning is the DNR I'm not trying to give you a hard time - just don't want to see anyone get into trouble.

Fox Chain O'Lakes (including the Fox River south of the
Wisconsin-Illinois boundary to the Algonquin Dam and the
Nippersink Creek upstream to the Wilmot Road Bridge) (6)),
(Applies to Grass Lake and Nippersink Lake Managed Blind Areas Only
(19)), State of Illinois (Lake and McHenry Counties)
Walleye, Sauger, or
Hybrid Walleye . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14" Minimum Length Limit with an
18-24" Protected Slot Length Limit
Walleye, Sauger, or
Hybrid Walleye (14) . . . . . . . . . 2 Fish>or=14" and <18" &/or
1 Fish>24" Daily Creel Limit

 

[WrenchingnFishing]

That one at 18 5/8" makes me sad...

I think that was a big mistake to keep all em, but they are legal. I would have said something if I was out there, luckily I wasn't... If there would even be room for me to fish...

That's one reason why I keep my Gems (Honey Holes) to myself... :?

 

[nsselle]

everyone with there secret spots geeze...good thing I got my own.

There is a daily creel limit of 5 walleye 14in. or better. Why would the DNR have such a limit if there werent enough walleye to harvest? Im just asking so dont jump all over me like some of you are thinking. I practice catch and release and I am a firm believer that we must preserve this great fishery.

 

[Ed1979]

lol, thanks. I wasn't aware of that regulation, since anything north of Algonquin is way, way too far of a drive for me.

I was thinking about heading out there last night. Good Job Guys... Thats a lot of walleyes to harvest though...

With how many were being caught, I didn't really think so. Three of us, 4 hours, 2 walleye per person. I know the limits aren't always a good indicator of the state of the fish population in an area, but the limit is 5 over 14". We threw a lot of fish back, and missed a lot too(unfortunately). :wink:

As I said, it's not even once a year we keep anything we catch. Just figured with the size and quantity we were catching, we could pick out a few of the betweeners for a nice fish fry. We took no more than we needed for that. We're also not taking any more, so no need to worry. I appreciate how fragile and rare good fisheries are in Illinois... especially for eyes. I would much rather go out and pay for a nice fish dinner, as opposed to having to do all the friggin work to clean, scale, prepare, etc. lol

P.S. I knew we would catch some crap for keeping a few of them, and was hesitant to post because of it.

 

[WrenchingnFishing]

lol, thanks. I wasn't aware of that regulation, since anything north of Algonquin is way, way too far of a drive for me.

I was thinking about heading out there last night. Good Job Guys... Thats a lot of walleyes to harvest though...

With how many were being caught, I didn't really think so. Three of us, 4 hours, 2 walleye per person. I know the limits aren't always a good indicator of the state of the fish population in an area, but the limit is 5 over 14". We threw a lot of fish back, and missed a lot too(unfortunately). :wink:

As I said, it's not even once a year we keep anything we catch. Just figured with the size and quantity we were catching, we could pick out a few of the betweeners for a nice fish fry. We took no more than we needed for that. We're also not taking any more, so no need to worry. I appreciate how fragile and rare good fisheries are in Illinois... especially for eyes. I would much rather go out and pay for a nice fish dinner, as opposed to having to do all the friggin work to clean, scale, prepare, etc. lol

P.S. I knew we would catch some crap for keeping a few of them, and was hesitant to post because of it.

Well I think it was more Disrespect more than anything!!! I just won't get into it. It's not worth my time anymore. Now since more people know. someone is gonna say something sooner or later on where its at. That's how it always happens...

 

[Ed1979]

You have nothing to worry about. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Legend075]

Ed, dont worry about Wrenchingnfishng. i'll talk to him. He wouldnt be fishing there if it wasn't for me. Anyways it all cool to keep a few for the frying pan I do it myself sometimes but only the 14-16" range.

 

[WrenchingnFishing]

Ed, dont worry about Wrenchingnfishng. i'll talk to him. He wouldnt be fishing there if it wasn't for me. Anyways it all cool to keep a few for the frying pan I do it myself sometimes but only the 14-16" range.

That is correct

 

[Ed1979]

Ed, dont worry about Wrenchingnfishng. i'll talk to him. He wouldnt be fishing there if it wasn't for me. Anyways it all cool to keep a few for the frying pan I do it myself sometimes but only the 14-16" range.

I understand where he's coming from completely. It's all good. Hell, I feel bad myself whenever I keep any fish. As I said, we kept the 'tweeners. I really had no idea those two fish were 18+ until we got them home, as they weren't the biggest we caught out there. And, as I said before....me keeping fish is a once a year thing, if that...

 

[Ed1979]

The "spot" is no big "secret". TRUST ME, it gets pounded religiously.

Thanks for releasing the smallie and letting this site know who NOT to share a fishing spot with LOL!! :wink:

:?