Now that the Fox Lake Chain has reopened for boating, many businesses are breathing heavy sighs of relief.

And yet some anglers still haven’t realized the potential for some excellent fishing on Fox Lake and the surrounding Chain O Lakes.

I learned a long time ago that high water levels on a river or lake act like a green light for the various species of game and pan fish to migrate close to shorelines.

Take the Fox River as one example. Many years ago I got serious about bank fishing the Fox for smallmouth bass right after an extended period of heavy rainfall.

The fishing rigs I used were nothing more than a #8 hook, split shot and a small minnow. The other set up was a tiny Mini Mite jig tipped with the smallest minnow I could buy.

I found smallies within 6-12 inches off the bank, holding in slack-water pools. I also found bass suspended under drainage pipes, deadfall trees, concrete protrusions and chain link fences jutting out and over the water. I also discovered walleyes in these spots as well.

My experience has shown me that the average angler tends to stay away from high water conditions because some fishermen are leery about working the current, or they just don’t know how to tame the savage beast.

Our recent flooding conditions brought the Fox Lake Chain to a standstill, and yet there were quite a few anglers on the shorelines working pods of walleyes and crappie with great success.

Antioch angler Ron Hertzberg gets the Daily Herald at a local grocery store there and e-mailed me about this matter. Here’s what he asked.

“I’ve read some of your columns over the past year regarding high water levels and various successful outings. How can I catch fish on the Chain with very little public access areas?”

I answered him with some simple solutions. I suggested he ask some neighbors for permission to fish from their docks and piers (if they’re not under water) and drop a line right under the pilings. Use live bait with small jigs as well as a slip float and live bait.

Experience has shown that game fish like bass and walleyes have a tendency to tightly school up under these kinds of conditions. Pan fish like crappie and bluegill do the exact same thing. It’s not uncommon for a shore angler to fill a bucket with pan fish in a short period of time.

I also suggested that if the shoreline property owner refuses permission, then look to the various marinas on the Chain and ask the operators for access. I told Ron that I knew of a half-dozen anglers who hit the jackpot on Pistakee and Bluff Lakes while dropping lines all around piers and boat launch areas.

Another example is to try Barnacle Bob’s Resort and rental on Lake Marie. Buy some bait there and ask Tom the owner for permission to fish the back bay where he tethers his boats, that is if you’re not planning to rent a boat and hit the lake (847-395-2036).

One other suggestion: Use very light line, like 4-6-pound test, and tie on a flouracarbon leader in order to make the line more invisible underwater. Go small in your lure choices, like brightly-colored, one-sixteenth ounce jigs, and tip the jig (either a Lindy Fuzz-E-Grub of Mini Mite, with a tiny minnow or piece of nightcrawler.

The rest is up to you.

By Mike Jackson, content writer for the Daily Herald

Illinois Walleye Fishing Tips

When fishing for walleye in Illinois you will find that a number of lakes, rivers and reservoirs are available where you can find this particular species of fish. The Kankakee River is one of the most well-known for catching walleyes. There are several lakes where you can go to fish for walleye in Illinois such as Lake Clinton, Fox Lake, Lake Marie, Lake Shelbyville and Lake Michigan to name a few. The Carlyle Lake and Kinkaid Lake are also popular choices where many anglers like to try their hand at catching this elusive fish. Walleyes prefer the cold deep waters that these areas have to offer.

Since the opening of the Jake Wolf Hatchery, walleyes have become more abundant than ever in the history of Illinois. There are plenty of walleyes being found in areas where they use to be uncommon. This is great for the anglers that live in this area making it easier for them to go after this exciting and subtle species. It is also great for visitors that love to come to Illinois and fish.

The Fox Chain-O-Lakes is designed by a natural chain of fifteen lakes that are located in the northeast part of Illinois. You will find that the walleye swim in every one of these lakes, although you will have better luck fishing in some of them than with others.

You can check with the Department of Natural Resources to get a better idea of where the most walleyes are located in this area.

Although you can find a lot more walleye in the lakes of Illinois today than in the past, you still need to know which techniques work the best if you want to catch your limit of walleyes. Below are some techniques for catching walleyes in Illinois that can help you have a great adventure that you can talk about for many years.

Techniques for Catching Walleyes in Illinois

Now that it is easier than ever to find locations in Illinois that are filled with the walleye, you need to know the best techniques for catching them in this area. It is recommended that you use live bait, crawfish, spoons, small spinner bait, crankbaits and plastic worms to fish for walleye in Illinois. These will help you get the best results for your time and effort.

How you catch walleyes in Illinois will partly depend on the time of year you are fishing. From about May to the middle of summer it’s pretty simple. This is the time that the walleyes are feeding and all you really need to do is locate the area where they are spanning. Normally, when there is little light shining on the water you will find the walleye about six feet deep in the water. In bright sunny areas they tend to go deeper and can be found around twelve feet.

The best places to find them will be around inlets and around the breaklines near the banks. They also tend to stay around the shoreline, in grass, around trees or branches, large rocks and any other type of natural formed covering. In the spring you will need to use small jigs, crankbait and plastic worms to get the best results. The same is true for the summer months but you can also get some really good results with lures that resembles crawfish. This time of year the walleye are in search of food and this makes it easier to catch them than normally.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Dan Eggertsen is a fishing researcher and enthusiast who is committed to providing the best walleye fishing information possible. Get more information on Illinois walleye fishing here: www.askwalleyefishing.com/

Clothing
Naturally you should choose clothing that provides protection from low air temperatures, wind, and precipitation while at the same time allowing you mobility. But in addition, when you select clothing, keep in mind the possibility of falling through the ice. Clothing that would severely restrict your ability to swim or to stay afloat is not a good choice. Hip boots or waders should never be worn, as they can fill with water and restrict movement while adding weight. A personal flotation device (PFD) should be worn. This can be a vest or jacket, either inflatable or aturally buoyant.

Equipment
Include items for testing and measuring the ice thickness, as well as items for rescue or self-rescue. In the first category are a heavy ice chisel, an ice drill or auger (manual or powered), a measuring tape or stick that can be hooked under the bottom edge of the ice in an auger hole, and possibly a perforated ladle for cleaning ice out of the auger holes. In addition to the PFD, bring a rope or rescue throw bag containing a rope that floats. Ice rescue picks sold for ice fishermen are an excellent idea. They thread through your jacket sleeves like children’s mittens and are immediately available in an emergency for pulling yourself out of the water onto the ice.

Procedures

• Never go out on an ice cover alone, and never go out on the ice if there is any question of its safety.
• While you are planning the outing, obtain the record of air temperature for the past several days and continue observing air temperatures while the ice will be used to support loads.
• Always let someone know of your plans and when you will return.
• When you arrive at the water’s edge, visually survey the ice. Look for open water areas, and look for signs of recent changes in water levels: ice sloping down from the bank because the water dropped, or wet areas on the ice because the water rose and flooded areas of the ice that couldn’t float because it was frozen to the bottom or the banks. (If the ice is snow-covered, look for wet areas in the snow.)
• Listen for loud cracks or booms coming from the ice. In a river this can mean the ice is about to break up or move; on a lake larger than several acres such noises may be harmless responses to thermal expansion and contraction.
• Look for an easy point of access to the ice, free of cracks or piled, broken ice.
• If you are taking a vehicle or other equipment on the ice, go out on foot first. Vigorously probe ahead of yourself with the ice chisel. If the chisel ever goes through, carefully turn around and retrace your steps back to shore, and try again some other day.
• Near shore, listen for hollow sounds while probing. Ice sloping down from the bank may have air space underneath. This is not safe; ice must be floating on the water to support loads.
• After getting on the ice, others in the group should follow in the leader’s steps, but stay at least 10 feet apart.
• Only after you have learned the characteristics of the ice cover should any vehicle be taken on the ice.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ICE
Once on the ice it is time to begin more systematic observations of the ice sheet you want to use to support a load. There may be many variations in the structure, thickness, temperature, and strength of a floating freshwater ice sheet.

How thick is the ice?
This is determined by drilling holes with the drill or ice auger. The technique is to drill a hole and check the ice thickness every 150 feet or so along the intended path. This should be done more frequently if the ice thickness is quite variable. Note whether the ice in each hole is clear (sometimes called black ice) or white (due to air bubbles—sometimes called snow ice). Measure the thickness of both kinds.

On rivers the ice thickness and quality can change a lot in a short distance; be particularly alert to variations in ice thickness due to bends, riffles or shallows, junctions with tributaries, etc. For both rivers and lakes, warm inflows from springs can create areas of thinner ice. The ice near shores can either be thinner (due to warm groundwater inflow or the insulating effect of drifted snow) or thicker (due to the candle-dipping effect of variable water levels).

Measure the snow cover thickness on the ice cover; significant variations in thickness may mean highly variable ice thicknesses.

How thick does it need to be? A simple formula to estimate the minimum ice thickness required to support a load is

If the air temperature has been abovefreezing for at least 6 of the past 24 hours, multiply the load by 1.3 before you use the equation (or use the lower dashed line on the graph), obtaining a larger minimum ice thickness to account for any possible weakening. If the air temperature stays above freezing for 24 hours or more, the ice starts losing strength, and the equation, figure, and table no longer represent safe conditions. Stay off the ice!

You are likely to encounter cracks in the ice. Cracks are either wet or dry. If they are dry, they do not penetrate the ice sheet and are not a concern. If they are wet, multiply the load by 2, as shown on the graph, before you use the equation to obtain the required minimum ice thickness.

If you plan to leave a load on the ice for extended periods, usually more than two hours, multiply the load by 2 (as shown by the upper dashed line in the graph) before you use the equation to find the required minimum ice thickness.

SAFE OPERATIONS ON THE ICE COVER
If using an enclosed vehicle, alwaysdrive with the windows or a door open for quick escape.

If you drive across wet cracks, your path should be as close to perpendicular to them as possible, instead of parallel to them.

A load deflects the ice slightly into a bowl shape. When you drive on floating ice, this moving bowl generates waves in the water. If the speed of the waves equals the vehicle speed, the ice-sheet deflection is increased and the ice is much more likely to break. The problem is more serious for thin ice and shallow water. In general you avoid this danger by driving below 15 mph.

When there are two loads on the ice, the safe distance between them is about 100 times the ice thickness at the required minimum thickness. This is shown in the third column of the table. When the two loads are different, choose the spacing shown for the larger load. At ice thicknesses greater than the required minimum, this spacing can be reduced.

A loaded ice sheet will creep, or deform, over a long period of time, without any additional load. If an ice sheet has to be loaded for a long period, drill a hole near the load. If the water begins to flood the ice through the hole, move the load immediately. Remember this if your vehicle ever becomes disabled: if left for a few days, it may break through the ice as a result of long-term creep.

IN CONCLUSION…
Be sure you understand this information. Don’t hesitate to seek the advice of others whose experience you trust. Be safe out on the ice!

Also I never go out there without a set of ice spikes, they are life savers if you ever fell through.

Paul

Paul Jones here, An active  fisherman  living in Fox Lake Illinois, one of the best lake and river fishing spot in , er,, hehe Chicagoland.

This place will be for chatting about stuff that has to do with fishing whether it is from a boat or on the shore or ice.

I’ll also add some stories about vacation fishing trips I’ve taken with family and friends and fishing derbies I’ve hosted.

Later we’ll add a place for my fishing buddies to share their fishing pictures and stories from around the world.

Don’t forget about fishing tackle, did anyone get a new rod or reel for Christmas? Know any hot lures or fishing rigs? What do you use for bait?

We will have to talk abut what fish are in Fox lake and the surrounding Chain Of Lakes. Bass, walleye, Muskie, Crappie etc.

We can include links:

• Women Fishing on Fox Lake, 1926
• Chicagoland Fishing
• Ice Shanty.com

And photos too: 

Well, welcome aboard and I hope you stop back for updates, just bookmark my site FoxLakeFishing.com below.

Paul

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