Sportsman Fishing Club

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Sportsman Fishing Club Enhancing the Environment and Fishing Experience at Shadow Lakes 1994 April 23 Years Officers President - Tom Lydon Cell (630) 776-1625 tlydon44@gmail.

1 Sportsman Fishing Club Enhancing the Environment and Fishing Experience at Shadow Lakes 1994 April 23 Years Officers President - Tom Lydon Cell (630) tlydon44@gmail.com Vice President and DNR Rep - Fred Cowell Treasurer - Jane Hill Secretary - Lynn Schuler IDNR - Fred Cowell Fund Raising - Betty Lydon The next meeting is April 23rd Club meetings are held the third Sunday of each month at the Shadow Lakes Amenity Center. Meetings begin at 9 am Free coffee and donuts are provided. Newsletter Peg McQuarters/Tom Lydon Website/Sue Kielnik Visit Us On The Web At: com Club Mailing Address: Sportsman Fishing Club Shadow Lakes II W. Amenity Ctr. Dr. Wilmington, IL MARCH FINANCIAL REPORT 3/31/17 BAL $2, INCOME $ EXPENSES $ BALANCE $2, ASSOC FUNDS $18, TOTAL $20, CASH POSITIVE BY $ This Month s Meeting is moved to April 23rd "APRIL 16TH MEETING MOVED TO APRIL 23RD" 2017 CLUB MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS IN THE ASSOC OFFICE Make checks out to:" SPORTSMAN FISHING CLUB"-THANK YOU!

2 NEW MEMBER The Club welcomes Shelle Willis, LHC 182 to our membership in THE FISHING CLUB IS A FAMILY While ours is a sports Club, it is also a social Cub that is more like a family to many of us. We get to meet new folks and see old friends. We laugh and spend time together talking and enjoying the coffee and treats. As a family, we look out and care for each other. And when we suffer a loss, it hits all of us hard. This was the case with Marie Green, wife of veteran Club member, Michael Green. Michael has some kind words for the Club. "I would like to thank the members of the Fishing Club for their overwhelming generosity. Together we were able to provide Hospice of Kankakee with 10 sets of baby monitors (these are used to aid caretakers to be able to move around freely with voice access to their ill family members). Speaking from personal experience, a definite shortage existed. Talking with members of Hospice, there are now always one or two units on their supply shelf. I am sure the monitors are greatly appreciated by those patients now being supported by Hospice. I surely appreciate all of the support, especially the prayers, God knows I need them." Michael & Marie Green WAYNE WALSH MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR 2017 The Club is sponsoring a $500 Scholarship in the name of Wayne Walsh, a former Club President, who passed away at an early age. This award is for any Senior who is graduating this year and is going on to a 2 or 4 year college. Applications may be picked up at the Assoc. Office or ask any Club member. Members, please mention this offer to your new neighbors with teens. We have our first candidate already. Final day for submission is April 15th, KAYAK CLUB STARTUP We have offered to hold an open portion of time at our June meeting to try and help jumpstart this effort. Talk it up with your Kayak friends and neighbors. This meeting will accommodate the Summer folks. We will see if there is enough interest in this activity. The Club has offered to help organize this as an independent effort that would probably only meet a couple of times a year, not as a part of the Fishing Club. We are thinking of setting up 10:15 as a time for Kayakers to join us at the Amenity Center Sunday June 18th to discuss the possibility of starting a Kayak club. We support "Catch Photo & Release" for future generations. BEST FISHING DAYS FROM ILLINOIS GAME & FISH SOLUNAR TABLES APRIL 2,3-11,12-21,22-29,30TH. MAY 1, 5-6, 9-12, and

3 FISHING ROUNDTABLE - CURRENTLY- OUR CRAPPIE ARE GOING WILD Crappie fishing exploded in the first week of April. Then a cold front and heavy rains turned fishing off just before Easter. Reports of great fishing included two anglers catching 150 Crappie and running out of both live bait and Gulp Alive (3 inch minnow). By the way, this pair of anglers said the Gulp Alive out fished the live minnows. One boat saw schools of 100 to 200 Crappie chasing minnow schools. Fish being caught were numerous sizes. Many were 11 to 14 inches, with loads of junior fish. It looks like great Crappie fishing in the years ahead. The high winds some days are driving anglers to the channels, where they are finding scattered fish. Meanwhile the Bass have started their pre--spawn feeding. Reports of 17 to 22 inch LMBass, with one 4 lber and a 5 lber, all very healthy fish. Sorry, no pictures turned in) Also an 8+ ponder lost on Third Shadow. Bass looking for live baits, larger minnows. Those folks putting in their boats already should do well. Still some reports from shore anglers say large Gill and Crappie catches are happening. Some nice Perch being caught. No news on Trout, other one or two regulars who are still picking up some at the handicapped pier. Fishing tip: as water warm over Easter, shore fishing in channels should also be picking up. Test the canals daily. MINUTES: MARCH 19TH MEETING - 46 ATTENDEES CLUB BUSINESS: Fishing Roundtable addressed above. Financial report recap above. DNR: All fish orders have been placed. Forage will be delivered April 11th, with our Red-ear and Cats coming the week after Easter. Thanks to Fred and his helpers for offloading fish. POAC meeting: The only action affecting the Club or waters is a possible vote on the use of chemicals on weed control in the FV canal under the low bridge. The company being considered has been working with Goose Lake for 8 to 9 years. A LHC resident discussed poaching in their area. Our Security staff will focus more on that area and respond to calls from LHC residents. The next BOARD meeting is April 15th at the Community Center at 9 AM. OLD BUSINESS: Corned beef dinner pot luck was great. Thanks to the chefs, volunteers and ladies Club box signs, with Jonny Dillon will be up by Easter, filled with Fish of the Month forms and Club applications. Included will be a schedule of activities. Kayak raffle, tickets on sale in the Association Office or from Sandi Kancler. May 6th is the village clean-up. Sign up sheets are in the Assoc. Office. Or, be at the Amenity Center Pavilion by 9 AM on May 6th. Cleanup will be from 9 to Noon followed by lunch for the workers, provided by the Association. NEW BUSINESS: NEW MAPS: Sample maps were shown to the Club. We voted to charge $15 to non members and $10 to Club members. The Office was advised of the new pricing. NEW ILLINOIS BILLS, considering 5 year fish and hunting licenses, costing about $63, half for seniors. CLUB VOTES: voted to move the Catfish/Oktoberfest tourney and celebration from the TMV point to the FV Rearing pond.

Spring mold/mildew clean up members drop off welcome kits to new families in their areaway reps. If you need help contact your village rep, as seen on the website.

4 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE, we will be having members drop off welcome kits to new families in their area. KAYAK CLUB: Our June meeting will offer a portion of that meeting to folks possibly interested in starting a KAYAK CLUB, see later article. MISCELLANEOUS: owner off loose boat in Hawk Lake was found. Spring mold/mildew clean up members drop off welcome kits to new families in their areaway reps. If you need help contact your village rep, as seen on the website. NOVY ROAD FISH BARRIER: HELP, we need our Northern Lakes boaters to help keep this barrier clean. The Association has agreed to try and keep it clean. But we must all try to help them. A plastic yard rake can pick up the weeds on the top of the barrier, you can come up from below them. Then just drop them inside the fencing. The current will take them out into the farm ditch where they will decay. We hope to get several more members to help on a regular basis. Your help will ensure that we don't risk having to remove the fencing and allow our fish to swim out. Over the years, before the fencing, we regularly lost Trout, Bass and even Musky out that drainage system. "FISH OF THE MONTH" MARCH 2017 Congratulations to Michelle Serchuk caught a 10 inch Bluegill. The Serchuk family are all good anglers. Michelle's Gill rounds out their catches of just about every species in our waters. See her picture above. FISH OF THE MONTH: Drop your pictures off at the Office for this year's contest! Some of our big fish winners in 2016 featured: a 24 inch Walleye; a 22 inch, 6.6 lb LMBass, and a 45 inch Muskie. These are some of our best fish last year. Let's see if we can do better in Fish of the Month winners get their pictures on our bulletin board, in our newsletters and on our website. They also get a Bass-Pro fishing Cap. This contest, along with EVERY event we sponsor, is open to ALL Shadow Lakes residents and their family members, whether they are a Club member or not. The Fishing Club is a Shadow Lakes social community organization.

5 MONTHLY FISHING SEMINARS Several years ago, we had a number of demonstrations on various aspects of fishing. We tried to get outside speakers to make presentations. They charged any where from $150 to $250 for an hour. So, this year, we will redo many presentations by our various Club members. We have a wealth of anglers, who are very knowledgeable about our waters and fishery. Here are a few of the topics we hope to cover in the coming months. Some of our veterans will be seeing these brief presentations again, but many of our newer members are asked to come and see how to fish our waters. For those who have never fished, we especially ask you to join us. don't feel bad, we all started from scratch when we got our first rod and reel. JOIN US! Fifteen to thirty minute presentations depending on inputs and questions. APRIL: Drop Shotting, rod & reels, terminal tackle and how to fish the drop-shot concept with hand-outs. MAY: Ultra-light, rod & reel comparisons, terminal tackle, presentations and fighting fish, hand-outs. JUNE: Wacky Worming, gear, set-ups, when to set the hook, handouts. JULY: Crappie fishing, tackle, options for rigging and finding fish, hook setting, limits and a hand-out. AUG: Setting your drag, choosing the right terminal tackle, lines, weights, bobbers & hooks. SEPT: Fall fishing patterns, Lake turnover, changing tactics for success. We hope that some of our more proficient anglers will offer to share some of their methods with us, as they have done in the past. More to follow, as we prepare for Winter, boats, batteries, tackle and getting ready for ice fishing with demos and full set-up information. Loaner tackle for first timers. DROP SHOTTING FOR BEGINNERS Since we did a live demo of Drop Shotting at our April meeting, I thought that we would include this article for those of you that did not make the meeting. As you know, many of our members support the Club and our Lakes without ever coming to a meeting. We deeply appreciate their support and try to provide them with lot s of tips as well. Here is the first thing you need to know about drop shotting, it is EASY. Some say it is hard to learn, hard to do and only works in clear lakes. But they are wrong and besides OUR lakes are very clear. When drop shotting was first talked about there was really only one way to do it. Look for deep-water fish on a depth finders then drop the rig right in front of the fish. Either they would bite or not. The hard part was finding the deep fish that would hold on the cover long enough for us to catch them. All that has changed over the years. Now we know that you can use a drop shot rig to catch most any fish including bedding fish, post spawn fish and even tough winter fish. We can catch them out deep and we can catch them shallow. We can catch suspended fish or we catch them in deep cover. This can work for every species in our waters.

6 Here's why it works so well. Prior to the spawn most bass are more bottom oriented. They live on crawfish as much as anything. After the spawn sunfish fry become more of a mainstay in their diet. Consequently, the bass will suspend more so they notice a drop shot better than a Texas rig or even a Carolina rig. They may only suspend a foot or two off the bottom; they are looking for baitfish more than things crawling on the lake floor. Suspend your bait about 14-inches or so off the bottom and the drop shot rig makes it easy. Simply tie the hook on leaving at least a foot and a half from the tag end. Use a Palomar knot or several NEW drop shot hooks for this presentation. These new hooks include VMC Spinshot and Blakemore Standout among others. These and other specialty hooks are available at Cabelas, Basspro and other tackle shops. You always want the point of the hook up so it will stick the fish better and won't get hung up as much. To make sure it's pointed up run the tag line back through the top of the eye of the hook. Drop shot weights are available everywhere now. I only use 3/16-ounce tungsten most of the time. If the water is deeper than thirty-feet I'll use a 3/8-ounce just because I get tired of waiting for it to sink. These drop shot weights just clip to the line. Run the line's tag end through the eye of the weight and wedge it in place at whatever depth you want. A split shot or two can work as well. Bait selection is important but it shouldn't give you a headache. Here are a couple of rules. Nose hook baits three inches long or smaller with a number one mosquito hook and with baits any larger than that rig weedless on a 1/0 straight shank hook. Some anglers use Berkley Gulp! exclusively because they catch more fish. It can't be more simple than that. Green pumpkin and watermelon colors are best. The size and shape of the bait takes some experimenting and even guessing but mostly I use Gulp! Wacky Crawlers and Shaky Worms. Fish bite them and set the hook... simple. When first starting out, drop the bait vertically and work the bottom and up the water column. You can use a drop shot anywhere you think there is a fish. Around points, shoreline weed beds, docks, deep water weed lines, Anywhere you think there might be fish, you can catch them on this rig. Rig heavier set-ups for Bass, smaller for Crappie, panfish and go deeper for Walleye & cats. This presentation can be used for any Shadow Lakes species. Still cast it out (or drop it) and lightly shake the rod or use a dead drag just like a Carolina rig. More often than not dragging along the bottom will get more hits. This is particularly effective with Gulp! baits because they disperse scent and flavor better than anything we can buy. Fish will travel to get to these baits. This set-up can even be used with a bobber. This whole drop shotting technique is not rocket science. Keep it simple and pay attention to what the fish are telling you. Drop shotting will open up a whole new way of catching fish.

and Tidbits 2017 Fishing Licenses: New licenses are due April 1st, 2017, don't forget. They can be bought online at ILDNR.com or in the local bait stores and Big K gas station.

7 and Tidbits 2017 Fishing Licenses: New licenses are due April 1st, 2017, don't forget. They can be bought online at ILDNR.com or in the local bait stores and Big K gas station. While we rarely see DNR enforcement on our lakes, several new Conservation Officers have been hired in our area. ANGELOS SOLD: The bait and tackle store will be operated by new owners. CONSERVATION TRAIL:The first weeks of November saw a reworking of the Conservation trail with new gravel and a roller to flatten it out and several cart by-pass areas. Try it out! COMPACTOR RULES: Our compactors have new signs indicating new electronic disposal changes. No more electronics may be left at the SLKS maintenance site, See the Association website for the Will County drop-off sites, days and times, listed in the "In the news " section. EROSION ACTIVITIES: The committee will focus on the TMV common point in 2017, starting with shoreline stabilization efforts. SHORELINE WEED CONTROL BLANKETS: These blankets can be bought and used by homeowners to control weeds around their shorelines. Order one at: lakebottomblanket.com Several of these blankets were used to try to open up the EV boat ramp area. WILMINGTON VFW FIRE: Update: the Club is being rebuilt to open hopefully in COOKBOOKS: The ladies who developed the "TASTES OF SHADOW LAKES" cookbooks have them on sale for $10. Any profits generated will be used to enhance the SLKS environment. The books will be sold at the Club meetings, other events and you may list your name, village and lot number on the order form in the Association Office. One of the ladies will contact you to fulfill the order. Or, you may contact, Sue Kielnik(EV), Sher Sohol (EV), Pat Hintzel, Betty Lydon(TMV), Jane Hill (FV), Marcia Baumgardner to get your copy. This book was a volunteer effort by a number of these ladies and Marie Green. Community Center Raffle: This fundraising effort is raffling off a Kayak to work on new doors for the Community Center. See Sandi Kancler or the Association Office for tickets. Hopefully you've found some things here to help you kick start your early season fishing on Shadow Lakes. So get out there as our waters have opened up very early this year.

8 The Sportsman Fishing Club W. Amenity Center Drive Wilmington IL Sportsman Fishing Club Membership Application for 2017 $35.00 for Individual or Family Household RENEWALS: Just list names, village/lot and check renewal if no changes. Please provide the following information for Club records and newsletter mailing purposes: Date: Renew: New Members: Name(s): Lot #: Home Address: City: State: Zip: Home Phone: Shadow Lakes Phone: address (only needed if you wish to receive the Club Newsletter by ) I will view Newsletter on Web Site Please mail newsletter Membership dues cover the calendar year 2017 Bring this form to the next meeting and make check payable to: The Sportsman Fishing Club Mail to: Sportsman Fishing Club, W Amenity Center Drive, Wilmington IL Drop off the application and payment in the Association Office

Sportsman Fishing Club

Sportsman Fishing Club Enhancing the Environment and Fishing Experience at Shadow Lakes 1984-2016 July 2016 24 Years Officers President - Tom Lydon Cell (630) 776-1625 tlydon44@gmail.com Vice President