Sean F Posted July 10, 2019 Report Share Posted July 10, 2019 Hey guys, I’m a newbie here and have been enjoying the forum. I was wondering if anyone fishes hickory creek in the southwest suburbs. It is surrounded by lots of public land, and I have had some luck there both spin and fly fishing. I think it’d be a real gem if some cleanup was done occasionally. Anyone know of any future plans? I heard rumors of hickory creek dam in Joliet being slated to come down which would only help id think. Thanks again guys, Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Durham Posted July 10, 2019 Report Share Posted July 10, 2019 I've waded it several times and have caught some great smallmouth there. You are correct it is a real smallmouth gem and needs to be maintained. I'm sure we could get some members to help with a river clean up effort if it were arranged. As to dam removal I would want to make sure it didn't expose the creek to Des Plaines river predator fish and carp that could decimate the smallmouth population. I feel the same about the Channahon Dam for the Dupage river. Sometimes dams aren't necessarily bad for a river. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenS Posted July 13, 2019 Report Share Posted July 13, 2019 Fished Hickory this weekend and got my Hickory PB smallie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenS Posted July 15, 2019 Report Share Posted July 15, 2019 I actually did pretty well on the creek after work on Friday. The best one was just over 17". I started throwing a ned minnowz and switched to a rubber frog and stayed with it the rest of the time. Most smallies I caught were around 10" with a few rock bass . Water clarity was very good above the dam. The clarity of the water backed up by the dam was greatly reduced. The decreased clarity continued for miles past the dam. There are carp all over the creek below the dam but almost none above it. Another change in the creek above and below the dam is the gradient. The creek drops quite a bit more from the dam to Joliet also with more abundant rock compared to areas from Frankfort through New Lenox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted July 15, 2019 Report Share Posted July 15, 2019 11 hours ago, KenS said: I actually did pretty well on the creek after work on Friday. The best one was just over 17". I started throwing a ned minnowz and switched to a rubber frog and stayed with it the rest of the time. Most smallies I caught were around 10" with a few rock bass . Water clarity was very good above the dam. The clarity of the water backed up by the dam was greatly reduced. The decreased clarity continued for miles past the dam. There are carp all over the creek below the dam but almost none above it. Another change in the creek above and below the dam is the gradient. The creek drops quite a bit more from the dam to Joliet also with more abundant rock compared to areas from Frankfort through New Lenox. carp as in "Asian carp"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dodge Posted July 15, 2019 Report Share Posted July 15, 2019 On 7/10/2019 at 10:43 AM, Sean F said: Hey guys, I’m a newbie here and have been enjoying the forum. I was wondering if anyone fishes hickory creek in the southwest suburbs. It is surrounded by lots of public land, and I have had some luck there both spin and fly fishing. I think it’d be a real gem if some cleanup was done occasionally. Anyone know of any future plans? I heard rumors of hickory creek dam in Joliet being slated to come down which would only help id think. Thanks again guys, Sean Looks like there are enough folks interested in this creek to organize a small clean up crew. Any member (or not) can organize a clean up. Decide on a date, time and location, and post the info on the forums and see if you get any bites. Sometimes it’s best to just throw something together while the streams are in good safe condition to get the job done. May not be much notice but it only takes a few to make a difference. Hope to see something come together. Be the change you would like to see. (from Mike Clifford) ~ Terry Dodge ISA Conservation Director Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean F Posted July 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2019 20 hours ago, KenS said: I actually did pretty well on the creek after work on Friday. The best one was just over 17". I started throwing a ned minnowz and switched to a rubber frog and stayed with it the rest of the time. Most smallies I caught were around 10" with a few rock bass . Water clarity was very good above the dam. The clarity of the water backed up by the dam was greatly reduced. The decreased clarity continued for miles past the dam. There are carp all over the creek below the dam but almost none above it. Another change in the creek above and below the dam is the gradient. The creek drops quite a bit more from the dam to Joliet also with more abundant rock compared to areas from Frankfort through New Lenox. Wow ken that’s a great fish out of there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenS Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Sean, what areas did you see that needed clean up? The carp are all Common carp no Asian carp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean F Posted July 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 I always thought the Pilcher park area could use some help, but I’m open to anything. After googling, I found this group that’s dedicated to improving the hickory creek watershed. It might be a good idea if we asked them if there’s anything we can do. http://www.hickorycreekwatershed.com/ They have a really cool interactive map that pinpoints different parts of the creek and problem areas. It also lists their current projects. https://gisweb.gza.com/portal/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=4055d8bf754440c4a335ef96f820dc3e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenS Posted July 18, 2019 Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Thanks for the links. I didn't know about them. I am going to look into the group further. I could join you to do some cleanup in Pilcher park . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Durham Posted July 22, 2019 Report Share Posted July 22, 2019 I can join as well if schedule permits. May be a little high right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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