A Concerned Reader on Asian Carp

A reader here at Great Lakes Angler had this to say regarding one of my prior posts on Asian Carp.

"For the past 10 years the Chicago Park District has stock the Lagoons with Catfish that came from fish farms that used Asian Big head Carp in there tanks. One can only speculate how many Asian Bighead Carp were accidentally stocked in our lagoons in the last ten years.

Now the greatest concern is two lagoons (Lincoln park zoo south Pond & Jackson Park that had direct access to Lake Michigan. Lincoln Park Lagoon had a Fish Kill, I believe that Jackson Park lagoon maybe next.

Now I previously tried to bring all of this on several online Fishing communities in Chicago, but unfortunately my actions were perceived as just spamming & many just plain ignored my postings. One website deleted my posting stating that "this was there house". I know for a fact one of the online-monitors of that site works for CPD.

I've even contacted bob "The Fishin' guy" from CPD & he gave me a well rehearsed statement that "the Asian Bighead carp in the Lagoons don't pose a great threat in the lagoon because the fact that they need fast current to spawn/reproduce". Which I feel is absolutely BS! Even though the Lincoln Park south pond was not connected to the lake like Jackson park is, it still had a drain pipe that went directly to the Lincoln park lagoon next to LSD."

Due to reading Dale Bowman's recent articles in the Chicago Sun Times detailing catches of Bighead Carp in these very lagoons I'd say that this "concerned citizen" is on the right track.

Thanks for the input my friend, I value all constructive feedback I get and do my best to read any comments or emails that I receive. I found this particularly detailed and well written comment to be important to bring to the attention of all the readers.

Thanks again.

-Great Lakes Angler

Milwaukee Area Trout Fishing Report : 12/06/2009

As promised, I made it up to Milwaukee today to find some Lake Run Trout.

I started at my favorite spot on Oak Creek at first light, and was able to snap up a foot long steelhead right away. It wasn't long until the weekend party of "fishermen" walking down the middle of the river went ahead and spooked the entire river. I couldn't take it today, I just got in my car and headed for Milwaukee where my friend Mike was waiting at the harbor. I should mention that I did count a dozen steelhead moving in holes and bedding in what little gravel there was. I would have had a chance at these fish and likely would have stayed for a couple more hours had I not had the river ruined rudely by these guys who don't respond to my questions or comments about their style of fishing.

I met a guy on the river last month and ended up talking to him for a long time, he told me flat out that he considers every last angler on the river just another "friend he hadn't met yet". I wish more anglers were like you Andy. (Andy lives near Oak Creek and is a regular there). His courtesy was great, we even fished the same hole, he asked my permission to move into the top of the hole and fish it and then to skip by me and continue making his way downstream. We hopped over each other for about an hour sharing the crowded river with no problems.

Now that the rant is over I'll continue. We did what is becoming a ritual for our crew, skipping from spot to spot in the harbor looking for active fish. We checked the sailing center, the slips, the discharge, the channel, and finally we found some players at the summerfest lagoon.

Mike managed to entice one of the bigger browns in the lagoon with a hand tied fly that I tied up last winter after salmon season. I got a spawned out female on a spawn sac.

I would recommend people skip the harbors for the time being and find players in tailouts of deep pools and in rapids in the front of them after the day starts getting on its way. If I could re-do the day I might skip the harbor all together and focus on the Milwaukee River, which I unfortunately didn't get a chance to fish. I did have a great day with Mike and somehow the sun made 30 degrees feel like 45.

Some rain or snow melt-off will kick things into high gear on the tributaries, so look for that in December and January, any runoff will push fresh fish into all your favorite holes and these fish are often ready to take a spawn sac dead drifted through those pools.

That might have been the last Steelhead and Brown Trout for me in 2009, I may shoot at some perch here from Montrose Harbor and Navy Pier in the mean time. I'm slowly ticking my way to 1000 fish for the year and Lake Michigan Yellow Perch might just seal the deal.

Until next time, enjoy the photos!

A Quick Note on the Asian Carp Fish Kill

A single bighead carp has been found, and it looks as though this huge endeavor may not have been as necessary as previously thought. The sky might not be falling out yet, there is still hope.

The Army Corps of Engineers is doing a study to decide weather closing the locks in Chicago is a necessity.

Take a quick read through this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has sent a letter to the bosses at the Army Corps asking (demanding actually) them to take a quick hard look at the costs and benefits to closing the locks.

Some Great Tarpon Fishing for a Cold Winter Night

It's getting cold on the fifth coast, warmer waters and blue skies are looking nice. This video is full of great footage of Tarpon grabbing up big flies, breaking a few rods, and jumping clear out of the water.

Slam by WorldANGLING fly fishing South Florida for Permit, Bonefish, Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish from WorldANGLING on Vimeo.

Enjoy.

Today's Chicago Sun Times : Asian Carp on the Front Page

I suggest picking up a copy, or at the very least read through some of the article online here. The article speaks of the "boondoggle" that is the barrier, and of the poisoning of the channel tomorrow (Wendesday). Just under 7 miles of the river is going to be poisoned to prevent the advancement of Carp, although Dale Bowman does bring up some good points in his column, citing half a dozen or so cases of carp being found or caught in Lake Michigan already.

Photo from John Patsch/Sun Times

"The economic costs of these fish to the ecosystem would be tremendous - unquantifiable and irreversible."

Classic Great Lakes Angler : Fossil Edition

While reading through this issue of LIFE Magazine on Google books I ran across this article.

Text as follows:

"The fossil skeletons of a fish within a fish give 90 million-year-old record of a glutton"

"Ninety million years ago a 14-foot-long tyrant fish called Portheus swam through the great shallow sea that covered what today is Kansas. Like its distant modern relative the tarpon, Portheus was a fierce predator, armed with a bulldoglike lower jaw for lunging at prey from below. It came upon a 6-foot-long herring-type Ichthyodectes and proceeded to swallow it whole. This huge wriggling repast may have been too much for the ravenous Portheus. At any rate, it died with its belly full. Then it sank heavily into the sea ooze, where it became fossilized in the clay while the Cretaceous American Sea vanished about 70 million years ago. Uncovered under the dry land of a cattle ranch near Quinter, Kan., this skeleton-within-a-skeleton, vivid evidence of the reward of gluttony, is believed to be the most ancient fish-eat-fish record ever found intact."

The fossils were discovered by Walter Sorenson of the American Museum of Natural History.

It was a fast swimmer, as the forked tail and streamlined body show. Probably would have put up one hell of a fight on a 12 weight fly rod.

St. Croix River, Bayport Power Plant : Photography

I had the wish to photograph the Bayport Power Plant in Minnesota from across the river in the darkness on black Friday. I set out in search of a proper spot along the bluff across the river to capture this steam expelling stack that I used as a compass throughout my childhood, as it could often be located through the trees of even the denser woods of my home town.

I started off in North Hudson and captured it from an angle I wasn't pleased with, but it was a good warm up.

I then made my way to an abandoned rest stop, pulled the car far off the road, and hiked to the edge of the bluff. I had a friend with me and after a minute of conversing and shining a headlight into the brambles at our feet we decided this wasn't the spot. I then unfolded my tripod for a quick capture with my Nikon and realized that this actually was the perfect spot and that we would have to make it down the bluff to the water's edge.

It was maybe 100 vertical feet down a leaf covered decline. After a few minutes of slipping and tangoing with burrs we found ourself standing on the stones at the foot of the St. Croix river.

After making a few images and completing a panoramic it was time to go. Having little feeling left in my hands I slung my tripod onto my shoulder and called for my friend Doug to follow me up the hill. As I made my way over the fragile piles of drift wood I reached my foot out for a board, an even surface to find a footing.

As I soon found out this board had a series of 3" long nails sticking out of it's surface and the ball of my toes found it's way to the point of one of these rusty spikes. I felt pressure as the nail punctured my shoe and my thick wool sock like they were butter, I instantly reeled and rocked back to my other foot, careful not to fall. I felt a pang of pain shoot into my foot as I lifted the 8 foot long 2x4 clear from the ground, hanging from my foot. I shook it loose and consulted with my friend. We decided to high tail it up the bluff and investigate in the car.

Upon reaching the top of the slope we entered the car, turned on the lights, and I took off my shoe. To my surprise the nail hit a callas and was stopped before entering my bloodstream. A half an inch either way and it would have stuck straight into my foot. A Tetanus shot was narrowly avoided and I was thrilled for the rest of the evening. The adventure, the cool crisp air, the time with a friend, and the images were worth a Tetanus shot in my mind but I'm happy to be without one as well.

Portland Oregon this week for work, back to fishing this weekend as soon as I can. Seeforellen Brown Trout are invading the harbors and rivers, and last weeks rain and snow pushed clean Steelhead into all my favorite holes.

Black River Falls Dam : Photography

I took a slight detour today on the way home from Hudson, Wisconsin. The Black River looked beautiful from the I-94 bridge and before I knew it my turn signal was on and my car was leaving the fleet of angry post-thanksgiving drivers.

I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the the river, the dam, the swinging rope bridge that connects it to the adjacent plant on the river, and the quality of the pools below the dam.

There was one orange clad fisherman shooting sweeping casts out well below the falls, and I hear the river is a good fishery when it comes to walleye, musky, and bass. If I had a rod and a box of spinners with me I would have given it a chance to be sure.

I love Wisconsin, and the whole Great Lakes region, but I am still falling deeper in love with these places as I find more and more perfect spots. It seems that over every one of Wisconsin's rolling hills there is a spot more beautiful than the last.

Asian Carp : "Monumental Government Screwup"

From Freep.com, this article details the Asian Carp invasion even further. Delving into what it might do to our Great Lakes fishery and ecosystem, terms like "a potential desaster for many of our sport fisheries".

The carp have become the dominant species in the water systems they have intruded upon and show no signs of slowing down at the great lakes.

"I'd plan for the worst"

Read the article here, a part of the article follows:

Anglers in the Great Lakes watershed better fish as much as possible in the next decade. Chances are that yet-another monumental government screwup has let Asian carp into the world’s biggest freshwater reservoir, auguring a potential disaster for many of our sport fisheries.

The carp were 8 miles below Lake Michigan with only one upstream lock between them and the big lake, but the lock opens regularly. So there’s no reason to believe the fish detected above the barrier are the first to reach that spot, especially since they were discovered the first time that area was tested, or that others didn’t pass through months or even years earlier.

Truthfully, no one knows what will happen once Asian carp reach the Great Lakes. But looking at the Illinois River, where they’ve become the dominant fish species in a mere 10 years, I’d plan for the worst.

Milwaukee Area Trout Fishing : 11/22/2009

My morning began in the dark, standing in the cool waters of oak creek under a thick blanket of still fog. The air temperature was 34 degrees and it was 4:30 a.m.

I had driven up from Chicago, rolling out of the covers at 3:00 a.m. The drive up to my favorite tributary was short and sweet, with only a few other tail lights racing through the November night with me.

I stood there with my hip boots and felt the water with my fingers, cool and swift, just the way I remember the November conditions to have been in years past. I walked back to the car and strung up my float rod first, followed by my fly rod. I leaned them against the side view mirror and walked back down to the river to take a look through the darkness at holes I planned to fish in the hours to come. I sat with closed eyes, listening for the tell tale sound of Steelhead advancing through the rapids.

After I was content with my selection of water I returned to the car, with 20 minutes left before it became legal to fish. I turned on the heat and reclined the drivers seat and shut my eyes to let my imagination bend my 9' 6" float rod to the water with chrome and pink Steelhead buttoned to the end of my line.

When I opened my eyes it was 5:45, 5 minutes until fishing. I locked the car and grabbed my rods and hiked through the stretch of woods to my first hole. In the time that I had shut my eyes another angler had snuck in in front of me and was walking back and fourth on my favorite bend with a net in his hand... looking for Steelhead staging on redds to net. It was too early in the morning to start a fight with an immoral angler so I chose water a little up stream of this fellow. I hiked the two or three minute only to be greeted by no less than six men walking with waders and fly rods THROUGH the water, not along the bank with stealth as this sport demands. At this point I was near panic. This tributary isn't long, and real estate is valuable, especially on a Sunday. I wasn't going to be bested by meat hunting fools with no sense of sport. So I turned and ran. I shot through the woods, jumping downed trees and ducking low branches, trying to keep my rod tips clear of hangups. I went downstream of the aforementioned angler with a net in hand and shot across the end of the pool below him; keeping careful not to spook the hole below. I tossed my bag to the stones and dug out a bag of spawn sacs. It was now first light and getting a look at the slightly stained water from last Wednesday's rain I decided chartreuse was the color of netting I would choose, being that I brought both orange and chart. spawn sacs with brown trout eggs in them.

I could see two boulders in the hole and, being that I have not fished this hole when water was so clear, decided to exploit them for what I hoped would be nice trout holding in their eddies. On my first drift my float passed to the south of the second boulder in the deeper part of the pool and was untouched until it fell a few more feet down stream, where it twitched once, then violently twitched again. I swept my float rod sideways to check for pressure and felt something writhing on the end of the line. I retrieved it quickly to find a beautiful little creek chub on my size 6 octopus hook. I welcome life in the river, even if it isn't the quarry I intend to catch. I snapped a quick photo and returned it to this beautiful pool. I then heard the gaggle of men wading through the pool above me and knew it was time for defense, I shot my line long and diagonally up the riffle above my pool, as that would not only prevent them from crossing into my water, but also put my float through the riffles and into the first boulder's eddy.

The first and second of the six men diverted their path and walked behind me as my float drifted. I watched closely as it swung around the boulder and hung in the eddy for just a sliver of a moment, it then continued making progress downstream and suddenly shut underwater and moved to the side. It has been a long time since I last saw an orange float tip retreat to the murk of a river and thrilled to see it quickly set the hook and was instantly greeted with pressure on the end. The fish pulled quickly across the hole and the men stopped behind me. It surfaced and showed its silver side, filled with large spots. It may not have been a Steelhead but it was certainly as good, a gorgeous lake run German Brown. I landed the fish in under a minute as it was short of two feet long and no match for the line weight I was using. I grabbed the line and moved it onto the gravel in the shallows. I snatched my camera and photographed the fish as it calmly laid in inches of water and posed for a shot before I coaxed it into the depths, only touching its tail once to maneuver it toward its holding water.

I drifted this hole several more times, and seeing no signs of life, I thought it was time to move on. I know had to deal with these six men rudely tromping through the water looking all over for fish to snag with their fly rods that held only heavy monofiliment and treble hooks with a bit of yarn on the end...

I was turned off to a major degree, and having friends waiting in the harbor in Milwaukee I was happy to leave what was quickly becoming a zoo behind, and head for greener pastures, or bluer water as it were.

John clearly has some hours under his belt swinging a fly rod. He had a mean roll cast and was belting out these beautiful shots, cast after cast.

I met Mike P. and a new friend John in Milwaukee where they were floating spawn and jigging tubes in the slips. The action had been slow and there were very few fish moving so we agreed it would be to our advantage to move to the discharge. As we arrived there were no other anglers there, but upon peeking our heads over the rail we saw no less than two dozen brown trout holding in the current. Although they were easily spooked by us it wasn't long until I hooked and landed my first ever Seeforellen strain Brown Trout, pictured below.

A Seeforellen Brown Trout, note the fewer spots, he fought like a King Salmon as well.

Mike later hooked the biggest German Brown he had ever landed, a new personal best at just over 20.25 lbs. Way to go Mike. He was fishing a tube jig deep, near the bottom, jigged slowly.

Mike and his 20+ lb German Brown Trout

As the sun raised in the sky and the temperature shot into the 50's, not normal for late November... the fishing slowed and nearly halted. Fish retreated to darker, cooler water and even on the Milwaukee river we found no takers.

It had been a good day and sunset was approaching, we thought Kenosha would be a good bet for sunset and evening fishing and we boarded our vehicles and made our way down there. Float rods in hand we walked to the water in the Harbor and pitched spawn sacs and tube jigs under lighted slip floats out into the depths. Although I had 5 take downs in the first hour we were unsuccessful in even hooking any fish and after 14 hours of straight fishing we packed it up and headed for home in Chicago.

A wonderful day with two great fisherman. I feel lucky that 3 fish between 3 guys, including a first time Seeforellen, a beauty silver river German Brown, and a personal best Brown Trout over 20 pounds is a slow day!!

I'll be up north in Hudson, Wisconsin for the next 4 days and will not be fishing, but I would have you know that I'll be at it as soon as the opportunity presents itself upon my return.

Until then, good luck and I'll see ya out there.

Truly Great Lakes Anglers.