Observations of an old gray-bearded fisherman

[John Gillio]

Most of my fishing as a young boy in the 1960's was with my father. We fished the Illinois and Vermilion rivers, mostly for carp and bullheads. We did fairly well for those species. The best fishing however, was in the area backwaters. They were full of bullheads and bluegill. They also held some bass and bowfin. As I remember, every spring there would be hundreds of dead winter killed shad or river herring along the shores of the backwaters. The other fish didn't seem to be affected by these winter kills.

 

What I remember most about the Il. River, when I was very young, was all of the suds floating downstream on the rivers brown water. Giant formations of suds would form below the Starved Rock dam. The Vermilion was also usually muddy. Dad would have me look for hellgrammites and crawdads in the shallows for bait. I never did find these fabled hellgrammites, and the crawdads were scarce. Dad would tell me stories about the river being full of hellgrammites and crawdads when he was a kid. He would fish the Vermilion for crappie, catfish, smallmouth bass, and white bass and would do quite well. He said the rivers used to be full of American eels that would be 1-2 ft. long. I had never seen an eel.

 

As time passed into the 1970's I was old enough to go fishing on my own or with my buddies. The Clean Water Act was passed in 1971, and the rivers began to clean up. White bass returned to the Illinois river. The smallies and catfish became more plentiful in the Vermilion. Crawdads returned to the river and the rocks provided homes to all sorts of insect nymphs. The rivers filled with giant schools of emerald shiners, shad, and river herring. I would wade the Vermilion during a shad run and would have to take the shad out of my shoes so I wouldn't have smashed fish in them when I got home. Fishing for white bass and crappie became phenomenal on both rivers. I would even catch the occasional walleye or northern pike. My dad was amazed at the river's turnaround.

 

As we moved into the 1980's, the Illinois became a world-class white bass fishery and the state started stocking sauger back into the river and they took off. Simultaneously, the big yellow bullhead and then the brown bullheads disappeared from the rivers only to be found in the backwaters. I was told that baby bullhead were a favorite food of the sauger. The rivers were still teaming with whites, cats, crappies, herring, shad and shiners. While walking the sea wall at Starved Rock in the late '70's and through the '90's on any spring or fall day, you would see anglers with stringers of 100 or more white bass. The Illinois River had become a world-class sauger river. A two to four hour wade on the Vermilion River would produce 40-100 smallies, most of which were nine to twelve inches but were very healthy looking.

 

By the 1990's I started hooking some nice smallies on the Vermilion. Hellgrammites made an appearance in the river and the crayfish were plentiful. From the early 1990's to just a couple of years ago, the Vermilion was very good to me for size as well as numbers. Almost every year produced at least one 20" fish; three at 21" or better. Fish from 12" to 19" were common. At this time I got interested in flathead catfish fishing after hooking a few accidentally while smallmouth fishing. Through the '90's and early 2000's, I spent much of June through August dredging up big cats up to close to fifty pounds.

Live bait was my choice for catfish until a surgery didn't allowed the bait bucket to carried with me. I became quite good at luring the big cats with artificials. This led to another discovery. Some very large hybrid stripers were living in my favorite little river. For some time, I was fortunate enough to be able to fish a few areas that produced lunker cats, smallies and hybrids. I would carry a medium power rod for the big cats and a light power rod for the others. Crappie and bluegills were also in the mix from the same areas.

 

After 2000 large numbers of Asian carp began to enter the rivers. The shiner numbers dropped considerably and now very few emeralds are ever seen. The last few years have also seen a crash in the shad and river herring numbers. The white bass population has dropped tremendously. The sea wall at Starved Rock sees very few white bass being caught. Good catches on the Vermilion are ten to twenty fish when fifty or more were common. The sauger and hybrid stripers are still doing well but they are stocked fish.

 

The year 2006 brought an end to my fishing a favorite stretch of the Vermilion due to new regulations by the cement mill that owns the property. At this point, much of the lower part of the river is closed to even raft, kayak and canoe traffic. Most of my good catfish spots are lost to me so my focus is back to the smallmouth bass which has always been a major fish of interest to me. Finding public access to the lower Vermilion has become very difficult. Much of this is due to the mess left behind by those who have little or no respect for the property of other people who at one time so generously allowed their land to be used by the public.

 

Creek fishing can still be good in the area but the creeks often have problems too with pollutants and access limitations. The back waters I once fished as a child have silted in and are dry or only hold water for part of the year. Many new opportunities have arisen with the building of cooling lakes for power plants, the flooding of quarries and many more farm ponds which have been built.

 

2010 and 2011 have seen much lower numbers of bass in the stretch of the Vermilion between Streator and the river's mouth. A good smallie day is about a dozen fish. Asian carp have moved all the way to the dam at Streator. Could this be the reason for the sharp decline of game fish in the Illinois and lower Vermilion Rivers? Is it coincidence that the rise of the Asian carp population coincides with the decline of the white bass an smallmouth bass population or are there other factors at play? Or is this just me, an old gray-bearded fisherman losing his mojo?

[Paul F]

John, I am significantly younger than you but I begged my dad to drag me and a buddy of mine out to the vermillion every other weekend when I was growing up in the 90s. We averaged atleast one trip per month, I recall days of catching so many whites and smallies my thumbs were raw. When I became of driving age in the early 2000s and bought a car we were out there all the time and we were still experiencing the same productive fishing until just a few years back. I spent 2 weekends in a row fishing the river hard last year and I think i had only brought a dozen smallmouth to hand and probably a few dozen whites. I got into a whole bunch of sauger on one outing too. I only paid one visit to the river this year and it was a total bust, I caught only a few small fish. Its not just you.

[Myles Gautschy]

I also fish the vermillion riverin streator regularly. I have noticed that the smallmouth number are slowly decreasing. I was thinking either bad spawns or the carp issue.

[Mike G]

Nice tale, John. It is good that you published your thoughts so that our authorities can take note.

[mannym]

Very interesting read John.

 

We have been fishing the same waters all this time. I too started with bullhead. A catfish was a trophy fish in those early fishing days. On the way down to the fishing hole, my buddies and I would argue on who had the straight, right and left cast from the little open spot the backwater offered.

 

After that came the Illinois. I remember seeing dead gar bigger than me laying on the shores. Carp so stinky, Pepe would fall in love at first whiff. The first white bass was at Starved Rock with minnows on a jig. Creek fishing was a favorite when I couldn't ride my bike to the canal. There I first learned about the Smallmouth Bass. I fell in love with the way they fought so hard to get loose. When I heard the Big V had these red eye bass, I always brought a fishing pole to our after church park outings with the family. There I learned to fish for smallies and flatheads while inadvertently learning to swim. I learned of the deep spot right in front of that flat rock with fast currrent to the left as you look downstream. Crawfish was my choice back them. I always found enough to catch a fish or two and come back up to the shelter before dark. I think this is the place I first ran into you.

 

I too recall the days of many fish. 100 fish days were common for many anglers. Boy have the times changed.

 

On the last few outings, I have noticed lots of crawfish swimming around as I walked through the shallows in the evening. I dont think it is lack of food. Or at least not for lack of crawfish. Do the carp mess with the spawn beds? Should the DNR fight carp with stocking programs to get them when they are small and edible by other fish? I wish we would figure it out soon. I would hate to see this river turn into a dead stream.

 

If you are still open this weekend, let me know. I am still able to fish all day and anywhere.

[John Gillio]

Great write-up John. Would make a nice addition to the Bronzeback Bulletin.

 

I wonder if tighter regs should be put in place to coincide with the struggling gamefish populations versus the Asian carp problem. If anglers are still keeping 20 when 50+ was once common, seems like the catch and keep attitude / habit could be hurting the fishery in the long term as well.

 

Thanks for sharing.

I totally agree Eric. I once saw a fellow in a John boat pulled up along the shore of the Illinois River. He was catching whites one after another with a little pinky jig. Every fish went right into the bottom of the boat. I don't think one was over ten inches. He said he thought he might have over 500 fish in the boat and that he caught them all from the spot he was sitting in. I didn't doubt his estimate one bit. I asked him what he was going to do with all those fish. He said his wife was going to grind them up and can them to make fish patties.

[John Gillio]

Manny, I agree about the crayfish. The forage base has changed some but there is still alot of bait in the Vermilion. The river appears to be healthy in that respect, for the time being. Maybe they do mess up the spawn beds. They can sure kick up the bottom when they get excited. I also wonder if they suck up small fry or white bass eggs as they tumble along the river bottom. They seem to like to swim upstream with their mouths open.

 

Yes ,I am looking forward to getting together on Sat. I'll give you a call Tues. or Wed. and we can set something up.

[Rob G]

John and Manny,

just a little bit of info on the Asian Silver and Bighead carp. First, these fish have already proven to be able to displace many if not most other species in many rivers. They don't do it by disrupting spawning beds like the common carp or directly competing for the same food but rather they displace other fishes most common food source and that is the shad and other baitfish. You see when they are moving against the current with their mouths open, they are feeding on the plankton which are present, they are filter feeders just like a spoonbill or whale for that matter and they don't eat other fish. The problem is they can eat several times their weight in plankton daily which just so happens to be what feeds the small minnows and other baitfish. So guess who wins in that competition for plankton. The baitfish move off and of course then do the fish that feed on them. They grow too quickly to have true predators, gaining as much as 1 pound per month. They can spawn at least twice a year and so become extremely large and numerous very quickly.

 

Unfortunately you can't put the genie back in the bottle. When will we learn not to upset the delicate balance of our own enviroment by bringing in species not normally found here, and yea, I know the Brown trout worked out well but too many others didn't. You could do like I, and include bowfishing for the Asian carp in your list of things to do. Last weekend we shot 48 down on the Kaskaskia and of course didn't even make a tiny dent.

 

[John Gillio]

Rob, I believe that is true. I've read that about them. Shad and shiner populations in both rivers are way low from what I can tell. I am seeing more gobies in the Illinois, though they are invasive also. As I had mentioned crayfish pops seem to be way up, but that could be due to a drop in the smallie population.

 

I never thought I would like to see the return of commercial fishing in the area, but it may be the only thing that puts a dent in the carp population. They can grind as many of those things into patties as they want. I hear they are a fairly good tasting fish when you get past the bones. Much less fishy tasting than the European carp. It would be nice to find a profitable market for them. Fish patties ,fish meal, fish oil, the Chines fish market,fertilizer, pet foods, etc. should be able to turn a profit for someone.

 

Nice action shot with the carp jumping out of the bucket. Or, was that two carp with one shot? I've been seeing quite a few bow fishermen in the area. Spring Valley even has some sort of bow fishing/Asian carp festival. Do you have any good recipies for Asian carp? I'm always snagging the things accidentally. I may as well give one a try. I did taste a smoked one and it was quite good.

[Rob G]

John, yea, that shot above happened to be a lucky double with two fish with one arrow. The meat is white, quite mild, and flavorful, nothing like a common carp. Remember, these guys aren't bottom feeders. The problem is as you have alluded to, the extra bones, although there are ways to clean them to avoid that. If you are going to keep one for tableware, you must gill and gut the fish quickly, don't wait long. They go bad very quickly. I normally will fillet out both sides and throw on ice almost immediately. Later on then I can skin and debone them and remove the reddish meat along the lateral line and all the belly fat. Don't leave any reddish meat behind as it has a terrible flavor. You will end up discarding a lot of meat but because the fish are so big and numerous, you'll still end up with more white flaky mild meat than you can probably handle. If you're in to smoking fish, I like using apple and alder wood and there are numerous marinades out there. Really good, but don't hesitate to just fry them up as you would any fish, as the meat is very good and mild. I have included some links to videos showing how to clean them. The gentleman who produced these videos is probably the foremost authority on the Asian carp here in the states.

 

 

[Rob G]

[John Gillio]

Thanks Rob, I think I'll give it a try. I have an Asian friend that tells me they are quite good also. He says they can be caught with hook and line using boilies. There are many recipies, but a simple effective one is made with chicken feed and flour. Make a thick paste with the seed and flour then roll it into small "pinky nail" sized balls. Drop these into boiling hot water a few minutes and they get rubbery. They stay on a single hook much better than doughball does.

 

For those who prefer the fly rod, they can be taken inconsistantly with a size 22 hook,scud-like flies, and a very fine tippet. The problem is that here in the states they are under fished and reach much larger sizes. In Asia they are a major food source and rarely reach five pounds, from what I'm told.

 

I know for a fact that they fight like a salmon, with long hard runs. If things keep heading in the direction they seem to be headed, I'll be fly fishing for flying fish.

[Bterrill]

With development, sediment in the water can be a major issue involving spawns.

[SKollmann]

Just for the record . . . "old" is not in my vocabulary at this point in my life. Prefer "aging" like a fine red wine . . . the longer it ages, the better it tastes.

[John Gillio]

With development, sediment in the water can be a major issue involving spawns.

Not much development happening on the lower part of the river. Actually sedimentation seems to have slowed considerably. Farmland isn't plowed right to the river's edge like it once was. The river has cleaned up fairly well.

 

Steve, cut the beard off and I'm back in my late thirties . I guess I like the "aging fine red wine" look. Aside from a few summers, I've had the beard since about 1982.

[Jim Kast]

Just for the record . . . "old" is not in my vocabulary at this point in my life. Prefer "aging" like a fine red wine . . . the longer it ages, the better it tastes.

 

Thus spoke Papa Smurf!

[Norm M]

Just for the record . . . "old" is not in my vocabulary at this point in my life. Prefer "aging" like a fine red wine . . . the longer it ages, the better it tastes.

experiened works as well

[Bterrill]

Not much development happening on the lower part of the river. Actually sedimentation seems to have slowed considerably. Farmland isn't plowed right to the river's edge like it once was. The river has cleaned up fairly well.

 

Steve, cut the beard off and I'm back in my late thirties . I guess I like the "aging fine red wine" look. Aside from a few summers, I've had the beard since about 1982.

 

 

Sorry, meant during the spawn. Late May-June.

[John Gillio]

I imagine the high waters the last few springs could have had an affect on the spawn. The river can be like chocolate in the spring after a good rain.