Andrew's Adventures

All Things Des Plaines: From Fish to Diverted History

Wed, November 09, 2011

If my local rivers didn’t get dumped on by unwanted rainfall at such an inopportune time, I’d be out fishing. But since fishing won’t be in my plans for the next few days, I will write stories during my available free time.

Not counting my next few article submissions for Heartland Outdoors and the others I dabble with, I have a lot of stories. Tons. For starters, this is an easy one that I will get out of the way first.

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Dam Nice River Gators:

Before all of this rainfall, the fishing was pretty good. My walleyes were on the move and chomping, while fish of other targeted species were active as well for other anglers. On my home river of the Des Plaines, the bass and pike fishing was fantastic, especially over the weekend.

It’s a shame that I missed out.

My pal, Dan Cahill, sent me a few photos from his weekend outing on 11/5. He floated the river on another bass boat suicide mission, this time with his friend, Joe Panatera. In a half-day outing, the two boated over a dozen northern pike with six at 30” with big fish of the day at 33”, and six largemouth bass. According to Dan, everything was caught on rattle traps in orange and shad patterns, and all fish were relating to downed wood, rocks, drop-offs, and channel edges. Feeding windows were short and sweet as the pike catches were scattered while all of the bass were caught from 2-3m during the warmest portion of the day.

At the time, Dan mentioned that water temperatures were holding steady at 49 to 52 degrees.

Could this have been the final push for good pike fishing on the river this fall? Whether it is or isn’t, these guys definitely hit the river at a perfect time!

Who knows what lies ahead in the coming weeks. Can the fishing be just as good when the water levels recede again, or were the last few weeks the official peak of fall 2011? This influx of rain likely got the fish moving again, but as usual, they likely won’t stay around for much longer as foraging and migrating towards their wintering areas are obviously their priorities.

Below are some of their images from Saturday’s bass boat suicide mission:

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Interesting Historical Piece About the Des Plaines:

Did you know that the Des Plaines River contains some pretty diverted history?

According to historical documents, it is one of the most history-filled waterways in the entire state of Illinois.

Proof = http://cpl.library.cmu.edu/

Up until Saturday morning, I was unaware that the course of the Des Plaines River was once altered, with its banks shifted, in order to accommodate the construction of the shipping canals, further development, and the urban sprawl that would take place for the next half-century. For the longest time it seemed as if something ws irregular about the river running perfectly parallel with the canals from Lyons all the way towards Lockport. Like most anglers, probably, I never paid much attention to it.

The great river diversion took place in 1893 as levee systems were built around the river in the present-day area of 47th street in Lyons, IL. The specific site where the levees were installed is from Stoney Ford towards the Santa Fe Railroad bridge. Today, original river banks and remnants of the levees may be seen.

Not only did this diversion shift the course of the river, but it also marked the end of Mud Lake - the former natural flood plain and thoroughfare that connected the Des Plaines River to the Great Lakes. Mud Lake, also known as the “Chicago Portage,” stretched for approximately six miles and ran its way towards modern day downtown Chicago where it eventually merged into the Chicago River.

My river winger, Dan Sims, wrote and extremely detailed documentation about this which can be seen here at his blog:

http://www.sims-spinners.com/spinnerblog/2011/11/a-history-of-the-des-plaines-river/

Dan isn’t much of a writer, but you can tell he invested hours of research in order to put this all together. For something like this, effort has more value over quality of writing. I was simply blown away by how detailed and informative his story is. You can bet I now have it saved in my bookmarks!

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Upstart Organization:

Before I conclude with this Des Plaines variety show, I have some breaking news to share:

Within the last week and a half, a group of friends and I established a fledgling organization that is dedicated to the Des Plaines River Watershed. We call ourselves the Des Plaines River Anglers Association.

This group was formally established in November, 2011, by a dedicated group of conservation-minded fishermen who serve as stewards for the Des Plaines River Valley in Northeastern Illinois. Their principles are conservation, education, and enhancement. The mission of the DPRAA is to promote, preserve, and enhance the recreational fishing resources and opportunities of the Des Plaines River and its watershed.

This group is being directed by Dan Sims, our friend Nick Doumel, and myself. We are still laying out the groundwork for all legal and administrative/organizational procedures. We will eventually build a website and make our presence be more well known (that’s my responsibility), but for now we are directing all interested anglers, friends, and potential members over to our group’s Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/DesPlainesRiverAnglersAssociation

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