Heartland Outdoors

Evergreen Lake spillway road closed

Mon, May 07, 2012

Starting today, the road over at the Evergreen Lake Spillway will be closed for bridge repairs for the entire week (weather permitting). 

You will not be able to get through that area.  People wanting to use the West and South sides of the Lake/Park are urged to use I-39 and use the Hudson Exit (Exit 5 – 2200 North Road) and go west to Ropp Road/1200 East Road. 

Click here for the map link.

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Cache River Nature Fest May 12

Sun, May 06, 2012

Make plans to attend the annual Cache River Nature Fest on Sat., May 12 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cache River Wetlands Center, 8885 State Route 37 South, Cypress, IL. 

The Cache River Nature Fest 2012 will feature a variety of events and activities featuring snakes, turtles, eagles, owls and hawks, hummingbird and finch banding, nature games and activities, interactive exhibits, wing board and identification by Ducks Unlimited, a life-size eagle nest and wing span chart, basket weaving made from native and invasive plants, and fried Asian carp taste testing.  For more information, phone 618-657-2064 or go online to www.cacherivernaturefest.org.

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Illinois pair wins PMTT event

Sun, May 06, 2012

The PMTT Chaos Tackle Spring Shootout on Cave Run Lake, Ky on April 28th & 29th, had over 150 anglers from all over the country compete in the 2 day event. An annual PMTT tournament hosted by the Morehead Tourism Commission had perfect weather and lake conditions that produced a record number of muskies caught in a PMTT event at Cave Run. Occasional small front moving through turning on the muskies combined with the shad spawning, had the muskies were putting on the feed bag after recovering from their own spawn. There were a record 61 muskies over 30 inches caught and released by anglers at the event, breaking the old record of 48 for Cave Run.

The current PMTT World Champions Chris (Crystal Lake, IL.) and Eric Burseth (Bartlett, IL.) ended up starting the tournament season the way that they ended it last year with a win. The Burseth’s used Medussa’s, the rubber swimbaits by Chaos Tackle in the firetiger & perch color patterns to entice their muskies into biting. The area that they were fishing was Zilpo Flats, the largest flat on the lake which had some nice weed beds and shallow sand bars that the shad were using to spawn. The Burseth’s incredibly registered six muskies between 34.25 – 42 inches.

The Burseth’s also took home the Ranger Cup prize for an additional $1,000 bonus, which could be won at all the PMTT qualifying events if they are registered for the Ranger Cup beforehand. Chaos Tackle, the sponsor of the Chaos Tackle Spring Shootout also had contingency prize for this event of $3,000.00 to the team that won the event and were using their Medussa swimbait lures. The Burseths total winnings were $15,750.00.

In second place was long time PMTT pro Kevin Nash of Aurora, IL. and Bill Fassig of Aurora. Nash has been known to be a favorite to finish near the top at Cave Run because of his success over the years at the lake. He has finished in the top ten many times at Cave Run in the past. The two anglers used Jake crank baits in the timber, being sure to fish tight to cover to entice muskies that were not active into striking. Their 5 muskies measured between 32.25 - 39.50 inches.

Third Place was won by the reigning Top Gun team of the year Matt and Dave Kircher of Cleveland, Ohio. Their team caught four muskies that were between 32.25 - 37.50 inches. The two anglers cast and trolled minnowbaits in 6 feet of water working baits near the weeds on Zilpo Flats also.

Fourth Place was taken by Mark and Adam Follerweider of Palos Heights, IL. Who used gold and white twitch baits near shallow weed patches to entice their fish into biting. The two anglers caught 3 muskies measuring 33 - 39 inches. Fifth Place was won by longtime PMTT angler and local fishing guide Gregg Thomas of Morehead, Kentucky and partner Dave Growchowski of Cincinnati, Ohio. The two anglers caught muskies that were 45.50 and 39.25 inches in length. They caught their muskies on tube jigs fishing vertically around boat docks in the marina.

Tournament Director Tim Widlacki thanked all of the PMTT’s fantastic sponsors, especially the Morehead Kentucky Tourism for hosting such an incredible tournament every year and Chaos Tackle for sponsoring the tournament. Also thanks to Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Musky Hunter Magazine, Keyes Outdoors Television, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce, Rollie & Helens Musky Shop, Musky Mayhem Tackle, Crash’s Landing and all the associate and contributing sponsors. Please let these fine folks know that you appreciate their promotional efforts in support of freshwaters most challenging fish … and those extreme anglers who chase her on the first, best and only truly National Professional Musky Circuit … the PMTT!

If you would like to enter our next event that takes place on the Eagle River Chain in Eagle River, WI, obtain more information on becoming a member of the 2012 PMTT, or to view event photo album, please visit them on the Web @ www.promusky.com or call PMTT office @: 815-478-4351

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Crappie shallow at Evergreen Lake

Thu, May 03, 2012

Here’s the May 3 fishing report for Evergreen Lake from Brad Wood.

Fishing has been good on Evergreen in the past week.  Crappie fishing is heating up with the warm weather.  Most fish are being reported along the banks in 2-4 ft. of water.  Minnows and light jigs are the ticket for the close to spawn fish.  Saugeye continue to show up in decent numbers, with most being keepers or just short of being keepers.  Bass have started to bite with most starting to be caught near the shore line.  Bluegill are starting to bite on wax worms and crawlers near weeds.  Some musky reports continue to trickle in.  No word on Catfish.

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Early spring aids Wisconsin fishing

Thu, May 03, 2012

By THE WISCONSIN DNR

Wisconsin’s general inland game fish season opens this Saturday and state fisheries managers say the early spring that arrived this year should result in some excellent fishing conditions for anglers. In the north, ice-out was early and water temperatures have climbed into the low to mid-50 degree range even on northern lakes. Most lakes across the north are about three to four weeks past the main walleye spawning period, so the fish should be fully recovered and getting back to active feeding. Northern pike should also have recovered from their annual spawning ritual and look for them to be active near any new green weeds that are starting to grow in the shallows. In addition, crappie, bluegill and perch have been starting to get active near the shallow and warm bays

Walleye fishing activity was picking up on Lake Winnebago, which is open all year to walleye fishing, and limits of fish were being caught by anglers. Lake flies have emerged along the shoreline and while these flies can be a nuisance they are non-biting and harmless, and are an important food source for sturgeon and other fish. The walleye bite has also been exceptional so far this year on the upper Fox and Wolf rivers.

Water levels have been coming up on the Mississippi River with the recent rains. Fishing has been slow in some areas but picking up in others. Anglers were still catching a fair number of northern pike and smallmouth bass action seems to be picking up near La Crosse and Genoa, but walleye action has been slower.

High winds again in the last week have continued to slow fishing activity along Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Some good walleye fishing was reported off Oconto on the west shore of Green Bay and a few nice walleye were caught at Little Sturgeon Bay in Door County. When trollers were able to get out on the lake, they were catching a mixed bag of chinook and coho salmon along with, rainbow, brown, and the occasional lake trout.

Musky season opens May 5 in the southern zone and new this year the statewide minimum length limit has increased to 40 inches from 34 in order to help boost natural reproduction. Just in time for the opening day of the 2012 inland fishing season, anglers have a new and easier way to figure out what fishing regulations are on their favorite inland lake. A new searchable database allows anglers to search by lake, by county and by multiple counties to pull up an interactive map and a listing of the fishing regulations for that water. Go to the DNR website and search for “fishing regulations” to reach the database.

As boaters head out for the opener this weekend, conservation wardens are reminding them to check safety equipment. This includes a life jacket for each person on board, make sure batteries are covered and tied down, and that navigation lights working. Fisheries managers are also reminding people to help keep Wisconsin fish and lakes healthy by following rules to avoid spreading the VHS fish disease and aquatic invasive species like Eurasian water-milfoil and zebra mussels.

Turkey hunters continue to report hens have been nesting for a while, thus a few toms are searching pretty hard for hens. More and more gosling and duckling broods are being seen. There were about 30 bluebird chicks growing in boxes at Perrot State Park.

Birders reported a major migration event for Neotropical birds in the last week, which stalled out over southern Wisconsin due to recent storms, resulting in 18 different species of warblers seen at the State Capitol in Madison on Tuesday

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Fish salvage allowed at Woods Lake

Wed, May 02, 2012

This year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville will start rehabilitating Woods Lake, which is a 30-acre impoundment located adjacent to Lake Shelbyville approximately 5 miles south of Sullivan, IL on IL Route 32. 

According to Mike Mounce, Fisheries Biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the fishery at Woods Lake has deteriorated tremendously over the last decade. The last time Woods Lake was drained and restocked was in 1981. Plans for Woods Lake include draining it, removing all fish, reshaping the bottom, adding fish habitat structure, replacing the drain tube in the dam, sinking pylons for a handicap accessible fishing pier and restocking the lake with Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Redear Sunfish, Black Crappie and Channel Catfish. 

After the fish are restocked, Woods Lake will be closed for a period of two years to allow the fish population to reach adequate size. 

Fishermen are asked not to introduce any fish or dump bait buckets into the ponds around Lake Shelbyville including Woods Lake.  While well intentioned, this practice often degrades the fisheries population quickly due to an improper balance of species. 

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has issued a fish salvage permit for Woods Lake that will be in effect during daylight hours beginning at sunrise on May 1, 2012, through sunset June 30, 2012. Any citizen of Illinois possessing a valid Illinois fishing license is authorized to salvage these fish according to provisions of regulations governing this sort of situation.  Legal methods for taking any species of fish shall include pole and line, hand capture, seining, dip or cast netting, spearing, and bow and arrow device.  There are no daily limits on any species of fish. 

No fish shall be cleaned at the site or dumped at the site. Fisherman in possession of fish from Woods Lake will be restricted from fishing Lake Shelbyville while the fish are in their possession, so as not to create confusion concerning possession limits.  Any questions can be answered by calling Natural Resources Specialist Lee Mitchell at (217) 774-3951 ext. 7012.

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ICF Sportsman’s Raffle underway

Wed, May 02, 2012

Tickets are available for the 2012 Illinois Conservation Foundation Sportsman’s Raffle. 

Tickets are $100 each and prizes – including a grand prize of up to $100,000 – will be presented at a drawing in Sangamon County on Dec. 6, 2012. Additional “early bird” prizes will be awarded for tickets drawn in Sangamon County on June 7, August 2 and October 4, 2012.

Proceeds from the raffle will support youth conservation education and outdoor recreation programs at the ICF Torstenson Family Youth Conservation Education Center in Pecatonica, IL. The raffle is being conducted in accordance with the Raffles Act.

All business operations of the raffle take place exclusively in Sangamon County. Raffle tickets are available online at www.ilcf.org and by mail at:  Illinois Conservation Foundation, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271.

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