Sportsman Fishing Club Enhancing the Environment and Fishing Experience at Shadow Lakes 1994 May 23 Years Officers President - Tom Lydon Cell (630) 776-1625 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 May 21st 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: www.sportsmanfishingclub. com Club Mailing Address: Sportsman Fishing Club Shadow Lakes II 24727 W. Amenity Ctr. Dr. Wilmington, IL 60481 APRIL 2017 TREASURER REPORT: Beginning balance $2,502.77 Expenses $ 172.83 Income $ 45.00 Ending balance $2,374.94 Association bal. $9,424.00 Total funds $11,798.94 Family Pan Fish Derby Saturday, June 3rd UPCOMING EVENTS: This Month s Meeting - May 21st June 3rd Family Pan Fish Derby July 23rd All Resort Fish Fry
BIG BASS FEATURE APR/MAY ANGLING! Michelle Serchuk, TMV, 23 inch, 6 + lbs, caught on a small perch, April 23rd, FOTM winner, Great catch Michelle! Pete Holtrup, TMV, 21 inch, 5.5 lb. Caught on a Gary Yamamoto Kreature in a Pumpkin/Black Green Flake. Fish of the Month Contest Open to all residents, families and friends fishing with them. Pictures on the website, BB, newsletter. Fishing cap for Fish of the Month Winner. Forms are in the Club boxes around the Lakes and boat ramps. We encourage Catch, Photo & Release to keep our fishery strong and healthy. All Spring fish this year have been in great shape. Mike Trinka, TMV, Main channel, Crayfish Jig & Pig. That s right ALL these big fish caught by TMV anglers..lol. Tom, TMV.
April 16 th Fishing Club Minutes 50 attendees Updates on Mary Kaminsky, Bill Coyle and Jane Hill Belated condolences to the Hein Family, Club member Ralph W. Hein passed away on March 31 st. Fishing roundtable for March & April: The cold snaps hurt our early Spring seasons Even though, we saw fantastic Crappie angling. Large schools chasing minnows. Some reported catches of 100 to 150 a day. Almost all returned alive. 4 to 5 different year growths, indicating several years of strong Crappie fishing. Many over 12 inch reported. Big Gills up to 10 inches and Walleyes up to 24 inches. Super fishing before the heavy Bass spawn, with many (20-30) LMBass over 19 in, up to 23 in. Demonstrated Jig & Pig Crayfish set-up along with drop-shot rigs. For Crappie, GULP ALIVE minnow imitations out-fished live bait. ASSOCIATION NEWS: Our Board voted in favor of testing chemicals in the FV channel. Initially, all fish left the area. We are watching for any issues in this area this Summer. DNR report, Fred advised the Club will have completed our Spring stocking of Forage, Catfish, Spawning Gills and Large Perch. We added 2000 Red-ear in Hawk Lake to reduce the Zebra Mussels. For three years now, we have added forage and game-fish to our lakes along the Conservation Trail for our golf cart anglers. Weed rakes are available as loaners from the Assoc. Office, Tom Lydon also has a loaner rake and cutter available for loaning. Newly printed contour maps will now be $15 for Non-members and $10 for Club members, based on the Club votes. May 6 th was a Village and Lakes clean-up attended by over 20 residents, many from the Fishing Club. Thanks to all. Fred and Bill McGuire cleaned off the Novy Rd fish barrier and cleaned up the Northern waterways, thanks guys. The recipient of this year s Walsh Scholarship Award is Kayley Grabowski, Granddaughter of Jeanne and Bill Grabowski. The award will be presented at the May 21 st meeting. We are planning to strengthen the Novy fish barrier this Summer. Our June 18 th meeting will have a dedicated session at 10:15 AM to discuss starting a possible Kayak group. Kayakers welcome. Crappie contest for the largest fish this Summer, win a Rod/Reel.
New Member The club welcomes new member from EV Marcia Baumgartner Late Spring Early Summer Fishing When it comes to late spring, early summer fishing, you re in prime time for crappie and large mouth. The fish go through three stages of the spawn. Understanding each stage of the spawn is critical. In the first stage, males move to shallows to prepare beds. During this stage they are very protective of their territory and will strike just about anything. Try dragging a Crayfish pattern, dark, Jig & Pig lure through the nests. Second stage, the female moves on the bed to disperse eggs. This is the best time as the female bass and crappie are the larger of the two most wanted fresh water fish. However, they can be a little finicky at this stage. And then BINGO, once they have dispersed the eggs they become much more protective of the bed than the male ever was, and they will strike at just about anything. Lures, Rubber baits or live baits. A hot lure are those lizard or salamander imitations. Third stage, post spawn, out to the deeper water we go for a test of our patience and knowledge. Now we find out just how versatile we have to become in our fishing experiences. Don t be afraid to experiment with different lures and presentations. Just a quick rundown of ways to catch the critters. Stage One, crappie pre-spawn, jig color depends on water temperature, water clarity, and barometric pressure, but always be loaded with ole faithful, live bait (minnows) or Gulp Alive! For large mouth bass, use a variety of plastics, pig & jig combo, top water, such as buzz baits, pop r s, frogs and spinner baits. Stage Two: For spawning crappie, it is just like the first stage, with the exception of presentation. Stay away from the bed and present your lure or live bait with a four or five foot ultra light with four to six pound test line slip cork rig. Cast the bait past the bed and slowly swim the bait over the bed. For large mouth, the #1 lure of all time beyond a shadow of a doubt, the trusty ole lizard and then the craw worm. Both of these baits represent their most dreaded predator to the bedding area. This presentation is simply flipping with a seven and a half foot flipping stick. Stage Three: For post spawn crappie get out into the deeper structures, trolling live bait, and trolling three hundred series Bandit crank baits. Remember, color always depends on conditions. For large mouth, deep running crank baits, carolina rig, texas rig and pig & jig. Hope these tips help you catch some bass and crappie this season. FAMILY PANFISH DERBY JUNE 3 RD Our first Club event of the Summer will be an event that was very popular last year. This Derby involves the entire family present that day. Just fish all morning and tally your total panfish numbers and the largest in inches, by individual and the group numbers. Rules and a sign-up sheet are on the Club bulletin board in the Amenity Center. Be in at Noon for a free hot dog lunch, as we tally winners for trophies.
FACT OR FICTION: EXACTLY WHAT DO OUR PRIME GAME FISH EAT? We all have heard how fish such as Musky and Trout devour a forage base and other game fish in lakes. Often anglers, including myself, have said all these two species do is swim and eat. Well that may not be totally true. In a review of our stocking over the years, a lot of research was done on the exact nature of what Trout and Musky eat. We also researched what are the main food sources for every species in our waters. Some of that information was very interesting and may change some of our views on our stocking approach in the future. Let s take Musky as our first example. Most anglers have had Muskie s strike another fish that they were reeling in (bass, gills, crappie, walleye, etc.). This supports our belief that the Musky is a major game fish predator. A number of major Musky studies show that, yes, the Musky feed on a diet made up of 95-98% fish. However the preferred food source of the Musky is usually soft-finned, high protein based fish such as suckers, tullibee, ciscoes, bullhead and carp. In fact, the food sources they most prefer are usually species that most people would rather NOT have in their lakes. Why then, do we see Muskie s attack fish on our lines that we are reeling in? It s quite simple Musky and LMBass are natural predators, and as such they will almost always strike at a struggling fish due to their predatory nature. Major studies as far back as 1952 fully support these findings. In a study concluded in the 90 s, the stomach content of 1,092 Muskie s supported several major points. First, in about 75% of the fish examined, there was only ONE food item present, indicating that Muskie s are not voracious feeders, consuming a variety of species, as we have heard for some time. The second major conclusion was that Muskie s do NOT consume other game fish. In fact there were only about 3% of game fish found in these fish (bass and walleye), even from lakes where there were very large populations of bass, walleyes and Muskie s. So, much of the folklore about Muskie s does not appear to be supported by the reality of these studies. In fact, in Shadow Lakes, we know from our underwater DVD s that we have a very large population of larger carp, yet we see very few smaller carp. It is true that some of our carp are sterile, but carp have always been found in these waters. It just may be that our Musky feed heavily on the younger carp as indicated in these reports. The Second species that there is much discussion about are the Trout we stock in our waters. Here again, we find some differing evidence of what we have felt was the nature of these fish. Yes, they viciously hit a minnow on a hook. Why not? It is dangled in front of them. It is an easy meal and they don t hesitate to strike it. Again, we see the predatory nature of an aggressive species. But, the reality of the situation is that 90% of a trout s diet is made up of aquatic insects including: grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, beetles, worms, bees, wasps, ants, MAYFLIES, DAMSELFLIES, STONE- FLIES and more. A previous guest speaker who is a very knowledgeable trout angler said in his presentation that we have a very strong population of aquatic insects available in our waters for Trout. We researched this further and investigated what pond reared Trout used for stocking waters might consume. It was very interesting. It included all of the items listed above, as well as many other insects. It also included just about anything you can throw on a hook. Marshmallows, trout eggs, (Continued on next page0
(Continued from page 5) cheese, bread and a few fun items such as chicken bones, cigarette butts, tear-tabs from cans and much more. Pond reared stocking trout are used to responding to just about anything thrown into the water. This was how they were raised. In reviewing countless hours of underwater video of our various species, we have yet to film a fish eating another fish. So, as a Put and Take lake system, we know one thing for certain. We do need to proactively continue our stocking programs to support our game-fish populations, no matter what they eat. How to Clean Your Spinning Reel As the weather warms up and fishing season approaches, it's time for every angler to start getting their gear organized. One of the things that should be done every year is to clean your fishing reels. If you take the hour or so to clean your fishing reel before the start of the fishing season, it will add year's to the life of the reel. I've got fishing reels that I paid less than $25 for and are over ten years old and still work like new. Why is that? Because I try to take care of them and take the little bit of time it actually takes to clean and grease them every year. Cleaning a fishing reel is very simple, here's a list of what you need : 1 Small Phillips Head Screwdriver 2 or 3 clean towels 5 or 6 Q-tips Some Paper Towels WD-40 or a small tube of Reel Grease Begin by removing the fishing reel from the fishing rod. Now find a nice clean area to work, such as the kitchen table (with your wife s approval) and lay out 2 of the clean towels. One of the towels is to work on and the other is to place parts so they don't get misplaced. The first thing that must be removed is the handle of the reel. It will either be held on by a screw that you unscrew with your fingers or you simply turn the handle counterclockwise and back it out. At this point, take a clean towel and some warm water and wipe the entire reel off well. If you're using WD-40, you can spray a bit on the outside of the reel before wiping. You simply want to clean the reel and remove any debris that might be present. Now turn the reel onto the side that the screws are visible. There are normally three or four small Phillips head screws. Simply remove the screws and place them on the clean towel so you know where they are. Once the screws are removed you should notice how the screws were holding the reel together. Simply remove the plate and place it on the clean towel as well. Now the inner workings of the reel are exposed. You should notice a couple of gears and such. At this point you want to use a couple of your Q-tips to remove any sand, dirt, or debris that can be seen. Once that's done, you want to grease the gears in the reel. Just add a couple of drops to each moving gear. If you're using wd-40, simply spray a small amount on each gear. Now simply reverse the process. With your fishing reel back together, you're done! It's that simple to clean your spinning reel. It should work as well as it ever has after being cleaned, and will work like that for the entire fishing season. As I said, if you do this before every fishing season, your fishing reels will last for years. If your fishing reel was acting up before cleaning and continues to not work properly after cleaning, it may be time to think about getting a new one. On many occasions, just giving them a good cleaning solves many fishing reel problems. Also, check your rods. Look for loose eyes or reel seats and run a small piece of cloth thru the eyes to see if there are any burrs that may cut your line with the first big fish of the season. Check your line by pulling out about 2 or 3 yards and pulling on it while holding one end. If it breaks, remove the first 5 or 6 yards, try again. If it breaks, replace all the line. Ready, set, GO FISHING!
Tidbits Don t forget April 1 st requires new 2017 licenses for anglers 17 and over. 2017 DAILY FISH SIZE AND LIMITS LIMIT LARGEMOUTH BASS DAILY KEEP 6 FISH 12 & UNDER SMALLMOUTH BASS CATCH & RELEASE ONLY BLUEGILL NO SIZE/ NO LIMITS CATFISH NO SIZE, DAILY LIMIT 2 FISH CRAPPIE/REDEAR NO SIZE, DAILY LIMIT 10 FISH MUSKIE, DAILY LIMIT 1 FISH, MINIMUM KEEP 52 & OVER TROUT, NO SIZE LIMITS, DAILY 2 FISH WALLEYE, SIZE, SLOT 15 TO 18 INCH, DAILY LIMIT 1 FISH PLEASE ADHERE TO OUR LIMITS TO KEEP OUR FISHERY STRONG. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * -Community Center raffle: A $400 kayak fundraiser to work on the Community Center door system. See the Office or Sandie Kancler for tickets. $5.00 A TICKET. - TASTE OF SHADOW LAKES ladies cook books for sale for $10.00. Sign up for a book at the Office. One of the ladies will deliver your book to you and collect at that time. -Tried the Conservation Trail lately.it is a big improvement. -120 tons of quality sand spread on the beach and v-ball court. -Villages and Lakes cleaned up May 6 th. A turn-out of more than 20 residents tackled the roads, villages and waters.many thanks to all for a great clean-up this year. -Pool is painted and ready to go villages looking super for the season, Thanks to our maintenance crew. -For your mold/mildew issues on your residence, a product called Wet & Forget at Ace is a great solution that lasts for years. -HELP KEEP OUR PROPERTY NEAT, PLEASE DON T LITTER AND PICK UP AFTER YOU, ESPECIALLY ON OUR WATERWAYS!
The Sportsman Fishing Club 24727 W. Amenity Center Drive Wilmington IL 60481 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: E-Mail address (only needed if you wish to receive the Club Newsletter by e-mail) E-Mail: 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, 24727 W Amenity Center Drive, Wilmington IL 60481 Drop off the application and payment in the Association Office