Hello Fellow Walleye Anglers!
I see most trips the club makes is out of IL.
I never catch walleye in Northern IL. Only 1 since May 1980, I was 6 then. I have pounded the Fox River Elgin through Batavia with no luck.
I have been to the Chain %26 Shabbona too many times with no walleyes. Go out of state to WI, MN or Canada and wallah...walleyes without a problem. Around here - seems to be a waste of time. I fish Deep Quarry Lake, walleye stocked lake in Bartlett, IL with minimal results.
Any local lakes or river sections I should try in the area, in-state? Any timing/seasonal factors I should observe to catch these local walleyes? Are they 3 am only feeders around here due to fishing pressure, etc? Any tips would be appreciated.

Please no WI/out of state locations for Walleye, licensing is too expensive and I hate being harrassed by WDNR when legal anyways.
Thanks to anyone who replied!

Steven
Bloomingdale, IL

We joined the "damn fools" out on the ice Saturday. Early afternoon was dead. Around 3 the sun briefly came out and the fish woke up. We ended up with a 17" walleye and 2 decent saugers. The 14 1/2" walleye went back down the hole. We saw a few others being caught. The late afternoon bite is definitely better. Marshall, Brian and I had an enjoyable day. What else is there to do until the endless winter comes to a halt. There were about 60 guys on the ice by the Dresbach dam.

Hi,

I thought I'd put up an up to date Petenwell report for all of you looking to come on the ice trip. We were out Saturday morning at about 8:00 a.m. We went off the East side of the lake and took the four wheeler about 1 mile off shore into the old river channel. We had a mixed bag, with a bunch of short Walleyes (with a few nice keepers in the mix), a nice 23" Walleye over the slot, several Crappies (including two right around 14"), and 4 channel cats (all caught on spoons).

We never really got the tip ups going, but caught a lot of fish jigging. We caught fish on spoons, jigging Rapalas, regular jigs, live bait set ups and more. The number of big Walleyes was not what we'd hoped, but we were kept busy most of the day.

I look forward to seeing your group on the ice, and plan on getting some good fishing in before your trip so we can hopefully get you set up on fish as soon as you get on the ice.

Thank You,

Marshall Wuensch
mwuensch@charter.net
608-792-0282

Ask the owner of the bait shop about the economic impact of the tournaments in Albany. The other towns nearby are benfitting from Albany's decision to charge a fee. Tornaments are just finding other more agreeable communities.

Many of us have been to Pool 14 of the Mississippi River and fished Pool 14 out of Albany. And, the bass guys hit it hard, also.

Well, the town of Albany has instituted a tournament fee of $350... The only local fee in Illinois that has been found. But, the fee isn't the end of the story. No, there was an article in the Illinois Outdoor News that quoted the Mayor, her husband and a council member... In effect, they made it clear that the tournament folks and the out of town fishermen weren't all that welcome... The Mayor's husband stated that it was of no economic benefit to the city of Albany... Then there was the inevitable side wisecrack about folks who own $30,000 boats being able to afford the fee. In all, a not so nice article. You can find it on the www.outdoornews.com website... find the Illinois edition button on the bottom right, then the "archives" button on the top right and go to page 11 (phew, I'm tired just typing that info)

Seems like no matter what or where the "us" versus "them" attitude can be found in the most unlikely of places. I have always tried to be a good guest. I am also a smart guest, when I pump a $100 worth of gas into my truck/boat I find a way to let the guy at the register know I am an out of town fisherman. But, I won't be doing that in Albany, IL for the forseeable future. At least not till some Mayor apologizes and I am sure that will happen the day after pigs learn to fly.

Nobody has complained loudly if a local community has a small ($2-$5) launch fee for maintenance. So, it isn't a money thing with us. Just don't take our money and then tell us to stay out of town.

If you want to see the article... Follow this link:

http://www.iloutdoornews.com/archives/ (Very, very slow to looad, but it will)

On the right hand side select the box to view the "Premiere Edition"... scroll through the Adobe Document to Page 11.

Hey guys,

I'm impressed with the site and the amount of dedication your group has to your club. I'm looking forward to the ice fishing trip. I thought I would post a few things on here for anybody who wants to attend.

Equipment,
Please let me know what you will need. Feel free to bring your own poles, shacks, tip ups, heaters etc..., or these items can be provided for you. We will be using a few different lure types until we find out what the hot bite of the day is on. If you have a special jig or spoon you'd like to bring to try, please do.

Food,
I think we have Greg talked into bringing his world famous HG Chili for that Saturday. We'll probably be cooking up some brats and venison bologna and maybe some beans or chips.

Transportation,
Depending on ice thickness, it may be possible to drive vehicles out on the ice, otherwise we will pick you up with the fourwheeler and trailer. I will be out the day before the group comes and will verify ice thicknesses everywhere I go.

Please let me know a little in advance what your needs are so I can make sure to have enough tip ups, poles and everything else to go around. I will probably have some helpers with me to make sure that you guys are taken care of. I'll have my dad Curt who many of you may have met, and my 1/2 brother Jackson who's a scrawny 15 year old that could really benefit from a day on the ice with a crowd like this. I told Jackson that his main job for the day will be setting tip ups and distributing the high fives.

I hope we have a good bite and can get some more good pictures to post on your site as well as mine. I'm working on my site and will provide a link once it's completed.

Again, I look forward to the outing and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Marshall Wuensch
608-792-0282
mwuensch@charter.net

Glad to see the public forum is up.

Had a very nice presentation today at the Riverside Fishing Club.

Had a lot of good review about my Illinois River Sauger presentation.

When fishing the Mississippi river anywhere near Prairie Du Chein, make plans to catch the fish fry (Friday night) at the Spring Lake Inn. Located a few miles north of Prairie at Highway “N” off the great river road. The Spring Lake Inn serves up what is arguably the best catfish in the state. The Cats come right out of the river. They are served staked instead of filleted and then breaded. All U can eat, with sides of fries and some of the best cole-slaw I’ve ever had. This feast will set you back the whopping sum of $ 8.95 Then when you come off the water Saturday, come back for the prime rib special. Three sizes are available to suit any appetite. Small cut for 10 bucks, medium cut for 14.95 and the extra cut for 18.95 I opted for the medium cut and it was almost 2 inches thick. When my dinner arrived, it was cooked exactly as I had ordered with just the right amount of fat along the side. The prime rib was so good that we came back for lunch the next day and had prime rib sandwiches. The Spring Lake Inn also operates a small motel next door. Rates are reasonable at 40 dollars a nite or 45 if there are 2 in the room. I can’t comment on the rooms as I did not have an opportunity to stay in the motel.

Restaurant wise, I try to make sure my fried/broasted chicken needs are met. Pipe Express in Pipe, WI on the east side of Winnebago has some tremendous fried chicken. One of my favorites. Plus they have a full menu, coffee, beer, ice, smokes, bait, and gas. All you can possible need.

Lakeview restaurant on near Chilton on 151 and Rte. 55 does a great breakfast. Fresh meats with sausage links the size of hotdogs. Good motel too if you need to get your Winnebago fix on. No launching facilities, but Stockbridge and Calumet Park are a few miles way. Note. this report was originally sent by a man who knows his broasted chicken, Eh Mark K.

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