Scott Ferguson

I got more hits on a #4 Mepps on the Menominee than any other lure, many times some very large smallies. Unfortunately, I also lost a very high percentage of those fish. If the bass jumped, he was gone. I tried better hooks, but it didn’t matter. I never had that problem with pike, just big smallmouth.

The fish in my avatar was 19 inches and caught on a Mepps several years ago on the DuPage. I posted about it here and the Mepps rep who used to be a friend of the ISA, sent me a Master Angler patch for my catch.

There was a one-eyed smallmouth that was caught several times by me and at least 2 other anglers that I know of from the same spot on the DuPage. I once caught the same small northern pike 3 times on 3 consecutive casts. I was on a remote lake in Canada walking the bank between two lakes. I stopped to fish a pool below a small waterfall and caught the little pike. When I released him, he stayed in the clear water right at my feet. I made a second cast to the pool. When my lure was coming back, I saw the pike shoot out and grab the lure again. After he did it a third time, I left the obviously starving little guy to find other fish to harass.

For those of you familiar with the Faithorn boat landing on the Michigan side of the Menominee, a tornado cut a path over the river and directly through the landing. The outhouse is gone, but the toilet made it through. The heavily forested road in and down to the river, is now kindling.

2 full days on the books. The new owner, Jason has done a nice job making improvements to the cabin. Two full showers now, one upstairs and one down, new refrigerator, new deck chairs and internet now works upstairs. Fishing has been pretty good. Several 19+ inch fish but as of now, none have cracked 20 inches. I know others have a lot more photos than I do but here are a couple to start off. The first is Ken Santefort with a 19.5 inch smallmouth The one above is me with a 19.75 inch fish. The weather has been great and looks promising for the rest of the week. More fish stories to come……

The value of this trip cannot be beaten. 3 nights at the Tinkers Dam cabin costs less than a single night at a motel. Plus, the location, right on one of the best stretches of the entire river literally right out the back door. Within 15 minutes of the cabin are any and all amenities that you might need, grocery stores, restaurants or shopping. My favorite part is the camaraderie. Sharing the experience, and sitting around nighttime camp fires you will always remember.

Great job tonight guys! Great food, great speakers, great prizes, great company. I really enjoyed seeing all my ISA friends.

The DuPage and Fox are both wadeable and have good smallmouth numbers. Make a point of coming to ISA get togethers this winter and you will meet guys who are generally happy to help you learn access points and good locations.

This has always been one of my favorite nights out. Now that I’m 100 miles away from there, I’m afraid it’s too far for me to travel. ☹️

What kind of boat do you have? There is an abundance of very shallow water. I was using a jon boat with a jet motor and still had to be very cautious. There is water where bigger boats can run safely, but not near the cabin. There is no dock at the cabin. There is a launch 2 miles north of the cabin and it is often so shallow, launching off a trailer isn’t possible. The other close launch (3 miles)lets you boat downstream, but not upstream more than 1/2 mile. The photo below shows the sandy shoreline directly behind the cabin.

After breeding season, male mergansers change from the white body and dark head, to looking the same as the females.

Alan, I’d like to book the week of August 5-11 too. Deposit being sent.

There is a new owner, but I have to assume that the linen situation is still the same.

Those are mergansers.

We had a member drop out and now have an opening for 3 days, Saturday August 6 to Tuesday August 9. This spot won’t be open long. If you are interested, let me know right away. Full payment of $105 is required to secure your spot.

Due to a lack of interest in the September 10-17 week of the Road Trip, I am canceling that weeks reservation.

Same price as it is now. Trout stocking is funded from the sale of trout stamps.

I’ll check with everyone who has signed up for you.

I’ve every intention of making the drive up. Looking forward to it.

If the county or state declares the DuPage a navigable river and allows the public access, lawyers for the riverfront landowners will request compensation from the state for taking private property for public use. I wonder how this will play out.

Wow! Looks like it was never there.

Please remember to send your deposits to Alan to hold your spot. Without a deposit, you risk giving up your reservation.

Sorry, I’ll fix that.

I'm booking the Tinkers Dam Cabin again for next year, with a change in dates. I'm splitting up the two weeks. Week number 1 will be from Saturday, August 6-13, 2022, and the second week will be from September 10-17, 2022.. As was this year, There will be a choice of a 3 or 4 day trip, or you can combine and stay as long as you like. The price will remain the same, $35 per person per night. The choices are; Arrive Saturday, August 6, leave on Tuesday, August 9 (3 nights) $105 SOLD OUT! Arrive Tuesday August 9, leave on Saturday, August 13 (4 nights) $140 SOLD OUT! Arrive Saturday, September 10, leave Tuesday, September 13 (3 nights) $105 Arrive Tuesday, September 13 leave Saturday, September 17 (4 nights) $140 Non-refundable deposits are required to hold your spot. If for any reason you have to cancel, I'll make every effort to fill your spot and refund your deposits. ALL ATTENDEES MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED AGAINST COVID. If you have any questions about the cabin or the location, the VRBO website has details. Contact me with any questions you my have about the trip or for reserving your spot @ 630-209-9452. You can also send me a PM. Deposits can be made with a credit card via PayPal or a check made out to ISA sent to ISA 895 Garden Lane, Wheeling, IL 60090. email address for PayPal payment is isalliance2@gmail.com https://www.vrbo.com/612837?noDates=true Here is the schedule with the available dates. I'll update as the schedule fills up.

What did you mean by “the googan squad has a lower pitch”? Do you mean the prop blade has a different pitch? Different sized Whopper Ploppers have different blades. The 110 and the 75 share the same blade and the 90 has a smaller blade than those two.