2013 Inland Trout Season

2013 Inland Trout Season

I love inland stock trout season again, now that I have a kayak and no longer have to deal with the hordes of fisherman shoulder to shoulder.  DuPageAngler.com members Darkstar, Brim, JC  Crappies, and myself met at 330 to be at Loon by 430 a half hour be the start time at 5. While we were waiting to launch I noticed some one quietly drop pieces of something in the water. I did not think anything about it at the time. With our kayak rigged with lighting for night fishing, it was pretty cool to yak fish in the dark until sunrise. For the first time I could not hook up with a trout on opening day. I was not alone. Almost everyone was skunked with a guy here or there with a trout. All four of us yakin on opening day and we had nothing. On the way back to shore I noticed some guys pulling trout one after the other in a six foot area, the guys around them nothing. Funny it was the same place were I saw the guy throwing something in before we launched. These guys obviously chummed, but with what? I have no idea. Is that even legal?

Day two JC(Chunsum), Darkstar, and I went to Blackwell. DS did not have his paddle sticker yet on his yak and could not launch in the forest preserve. He went home back to his warm bed. It was cold but the trout were biting. Guys up and down the lake were getting some. JC had two when he had to leave for another obligation. I continued to fish hard for a couple of more hours until I had my limit.

I was armed to the teeth with every lure and live bait I could think of for these slippery fish. Four out of my five fish came on minnows only 2 feet under the surface in 17 feet of water. That was pretty cool, one fish surfaced and I made a cast to that spot and he hit it immediately!!! That never happens.

 A bonus, I was marking some deeper fish as well on my Lowrance. They ended up being crappies so I caught a few of them as well. This was the first time in all my years that day two was better then day one. It was a blast and I cannot wait until spring.

Fall Trout Fishing 2013

Excitement took over the tired as 330 came and the alarm screamed in my ears. Brim Reaper and JcCrappie met me with their yaks in tow ready to hit the water. We had planned on Silver Lake but a forecast of high winds made us change locations. We chose Loon Lake at Silver Springs because it is a long narrow lake that runs east to west and the winds were out of the south. We did not realize just how windy it had gotten until we were finished and pulled out of the park and my van was blown all over the road!!

Loon was the perfect choice it totally shielded us. The south shore has a high ridge and block of forest which completely saved the day for a group of addicts in small yaks!

We arrived at 530 and a score of shore angler were already pounding the water in the dark. The shoreline was riddled in night bobbers and head lamps. We were unaware that you could start at 5.

Once on the water we had space for ourselves and only had a handful of other watercraft to share with.  The trout were grouped in schools. All swimming from 2-5 feet down I tried spinners but no luck. I watched a group of anglers score several trout quickly from shore. I paddled out of their casting range and dropped anchor. The school I marked on my Lowrance was much thicker here. That’s when the fun started, my floats disappeared quickly as minnows were attacked at 4.5 feet. At one point I had 2 on at once! Chunsum hooked a couple as well.

At one point I lost feeling in my ass and needed a break. Brim and I headed to shore. The great thing about Loon is that they were prepared for fisherman. Bathrooms, bait, and food were available. We enjoyed a hot dog and shot the shit as we watched the guys fish for a while.

Later Sooner bass joined our DuPage Angler Kayak Trout Party and scored a large trout.  I believe it was fooled by a sassy shad. We found a fish crib and managed to catch some crappie off of it before the wind was too bad on that end of the lake and had to move.

Back were we started, I finally got a Loon yellow bass! This was my first yellow in years since the die off in the Fox River and Chain. It didn’t matter how small it was, I was excited.

It was pretty cool to four guys from DuPageAngler.com on the water all in kayaks!! I had a blast and cannot wait until the 2013 fall opener.

THIS WEEKS PODCAST FALL CRAPPIE

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Fall Trout Opener 2012 - 2 Days of Fun.

1am, crap, 2am sh-t,  3am come on, 4:30 woohoo lets go!!! I had not fished in-land trout for at least 4 years, tired increasingly of un-sportman wanna be anglers that break rules and seem to have no character as they cast over your line. I had not thought about it in some time but since I now have a kayak in my possession, why not? I will now have some space to breath. After our DuPage Angler Podcast on trout, my plans were made to return. Since I had a yak I got there a half hour before open instead of an hour and was met with at least 30 guys that had the same idea. 

This line of tail lights instantly made my stomach turn as I remembered why I had stopped doing this. I got on the water and it was still dark and somewhat quiet considering the amount of people that were somewhere around me in the darkness. I rigged up two slip float rigs and cast my minnow out into the night. My locator was covered with fish from top to bottom so I set it at seven feet and said a prayer. Where in the hell is my float? GONE? HOLY....... I had my first trout in sometime, yes I rock! LOL! I was actually shocked to score in 5 minutes. My first three fish came in a hurry with me missing fish as well, my minnows coming back covered in teeth marks and ripped.

Once the sun came up the ballgame changed completely. I moved my yak up wind, and then would drift back over a lot of water to cover as much ground as possible looking for active fish. I hooked a few more, and lost a few more including the biggest of the day. I played them longer than I needed to. I was excited to be catching a species I had not battled in forever. I could of cranked them in and been on my way home in the first 2 hours. The higher the sun got the slower the trout bite became. I had four and needed to land one more to tuck away a limit. Now I was thinking that I should not of goofed around with those other fish! I got a couple crappie and bass before I managed to catch the last one.

I now looked up and saw just how many people had arrived. WOW! It was worse than I thought! I was happy to be surrounded by a few boaters, all of which I must say were nice guys and kept space between us.

Look at that dock!! I know right?? I would not fish there as a ghost. I got my limit earlier then I thought, so a packed up and went to a soccer game. Day one was fantastic.

I woke up on day two with plans to hit the fox but with no wind I had to go back and hit it again. I got there later by a half hour and was shocked at the lower turn out. The water was perfect.

The trout had very different plans today. The only active fish were over by that dock and the hordes  I really did not want to go over there. I fished trout hard for the first quarter of my morning. I used the same drifting technique and only hooked and lost two. However I noticed when ever I started a drift In the shallower water I would catch a crappie off the weed line in 15-20 feet of water. At this point I said the hell with the trout, parked on the edge, and I was handsomely rewarded!! The crappies came in fast and I caught over a dozen with some bonus bass!! A few trout would of been great, but I had a great day. I only saw two guys with a limit and many guys went empty handed or only had a couple. Since I have the kayak and had such a good time, I will continue going back for the inland trout angling adventures.

PODCAST Yellow Bass & Inland Trout

DuPage Angler Marty Rogers and Daniel Byrne (aka Pond Boy) discuss their DuPage yellow bass and trout fishing experiences on the DuPage Angling Network.DuPage Angler Marty Rogers and Daniel Byrne (aka Pond Boy) discuss their DuPage trout fishing experiences on the DuPage Angling Network.

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