Paul Trybul

Well done Bill. That sums the 2019 ISA roadtrip. Scott does deserve a big thank you for handling all of the little details that go into making this happen and making it a success. There is pretty good value there considering the cost versus the quality of the cabin and its location.

Here's a few more non-fishing related pics from my wife's camera. Here is the best group pic I could find. We never did pose for one. We saw eagles pretty every day. One landed on the opposite shore and hung out there for a long time. She just happened to catch the tail end of a sturgeon jumping. I saw a bunch of sturgeon both swimming and jumping.

This was only my 2nd time fishing that section of river. You definitely had to work hard for the fish. I was able to establish a slow but steady pattern focusing on the middle 1/3 of the river. I only caught fish on 2 lures, the large sized chug bug and the big TRD in green pumpkin. There was a lot of grass floating down river the 3 days I fished and other topwaters like the whopper plopper would get fouled quickly. I could cast the chug bug perpendicular to the current and fish it slow drifting the same speed of the current. This kept it pretty clean and seemed to work. The average size was really good as most fish were 16-20". The best advice I can give someone fishing that section is to learn what mid river current breaks look like and how to fish them effectively. That could be some boils formed by boulders or a sudden change in depth or current speed. A lot of these spots are subtle but they hold quality fish. My best 3 went 20" ,19.5" and 19" which are pictured below and came within a 1/4 mile of the cabin. I was able to catch my wife a walleye for a fresh fish dinner. Its hard to beat the quality of a walleye coming from a clean Northwoods river and going from flopping to oven in 10 minutes. I had to pull out early for work the last day but was able to capture a nice sunrise behind the cabin. Slow fishing or not this is a pretty special river.

That's a lot of quality bronze. I can't wait to get up there this weekend. Leave a few without holes in their lip if you can.

This Saturday we had 11 anglers get together to fish the Kishwaukee River in search of smallmouth bass or anything else that would bite. We started with a hearty breakfast and then broke up into 3 groups to hit different areas. Stan led a group of 4 flyfisherman on the main branch, I led a group of 4 on the north branch, and Terry led a group of 3 that focused mainly on the south branch. The weather and water levels were perfect for wading and we found some smallmouth willing to come out and play. The action was slow but we would pick up one here and one there with a few decent sized ones to keep it interesting. When you add it all up our group caught about 2 dozen smallmouth with a handful in the 15-17" range and everyone caught a few fish. I did get 2 on the whopper plopper right away when the sun was still low but we never really established a good topwater bite. Dragging plastics like ned rigs and hula grubs was the most productive for our group. We did have 2 pike encounters as Jared had one follow right to his feet and Eugene had one bite him off under a tree. The section we fished was full of life as we could see quillback, suckers, clams, frogs, and minnow in the water everywhere we went. The highlights for me was helping Jared sight fish a nice 16" smallmouth. It followed my topwater but wouldn't commit to hitting it. I pointed it out to Jared and told him to cast a few feet in front with the ned rig. I watched it swim over and then flare its gills then the battle was on. The other highlight was getting back to my car and seeing a handwriting thank you note from Eugene. You're welcome and that means a lot to me as an unpaid volunteer of the club. Most of the time I fish alone on the river but I do enjoy the stories and comradery of fishing with others at times.

Eugene, bring you favorite smallmouth gear and be prepared to wade. The Kish smallies aren't that much different than the Rock smallies you know.

So what is the head count for the wade outing tomorrow....6 so far?

I scouted the river today. The north and main branch came up a few inches and had a little stain. The south branch was unaffected and is running very clear. Everything should be good to go for the weekend and very good wading levels.

For those of you coming up for Jude's visitation, Kishwaukee river paddlefest is also happening that day. Enjoying one of his favorite rivers after the celebration of Jude's life could be a good way spend the day in his honor.

On Saturday July 13th, the NW region had its first wade outing of the season. The group consisted of 5 of us: Kevin, Eric, Jeremy, Jarod, and me. It was a hot sunny day but the limestone bluffs provided some needed shade as we waded this gem of a river. The water level was good for wading but for some unknown reason there was a stain to the water. My theory is that cattle from farms upstream like to wade in the cool water on a hot day. Fishing started out pretty slow but heated up as the day heated up. Most of the fish were caught on those ned rig type lures and I got a good chug bug bite going late morning and into the early afternoon. Everyone in the group caught at least double digit numbers of smallmouth. No trophy class fish were caught but we did get a few in that 16" range. Those are always fun in a small stream. Thank you for all that attended. I enjoyed the comradery and the fishing in this beautiful setting.

yes, call me 815-540-7775

I typically do not wade in the State Park. There is no need to wade as the shore access is good and the one deep pool is too deep to wade. I do wade fish the river where there is some DNR hunting & public land lease land. I looks like the river was unaffected by last nights rain.

Terry, I think your typo of NE region is creating some confusion as my outing is in the far NW region of our state. I've been watching the gages on the Apple River and they look pretty good. There is some rain in the forecast but it shouldn't be significant enough to cause a cancellation. I'll keep everyone updated as the week progresses.

No doubt, bump boards and yoga pants don't lie. Congrats to you guys putting on a good competitive show in a month that did not offer very good fishing conditions. I'm not much for tournaments but I do like these kind of formats and would consider giving one a try in the future. I could put up some competitive numbers in the fall if conditions are right.

I found this sign the other day and it was a blast from the past. I grew up in DeKalb County which consists of the origin and 80% of what makes up the south branch of the Kish. Back in 1988, I was a Junior in High School who basically just got his driver license. That event expanded my fishing opportunities as I could now drive and explore more areas of the Kish. That year there was an unfortunate event, as a pig farm had an earthen levy break releasing thousands of gallons of manure into the south branch of the Kish. This resulted in a 100% kill all the way up to Rockford. This was more than a fish kill, as it killed everything down to the crayfish and micro organisms. With help from the farmer and local clubs like the Shabbona Sportsmans Club fish were stocked back into system. The fishery was fragile and just rebuilding so these signs were posted at all the bridges and parks and left up for several years after the kill. I feel these signs really helped as it created a culture of catch and release before catch and release was really that popular. The South Branch has recovered at this point. Let it serve as a reminder as to how things can change and just how fragile our waterways are. Something many of us enjoy can be taken away in the blink of an eye and take years to get back.

This Saturday the Northwest Region had it first fishing outing of the 2019 season. Conditions were far from perfect and that may have kept some away. It was me, Ken S and Eric G for breakfast at Cherry Valley. Eric had some morning plans but he was hoping to get out solo in the afternoon. So it ended up just being Ken S & I for the day. We ended up floating about a 5 mile section and then we hiked/waded another mile. The river conditions we pretty good from a water level and visibility standpoint. Our biggest challenges were the massive cold front that hit 3 days prior and the stiff wind that was in our face most of the day. The wind was so strong at times that it overpowered the current and blew us upstream. Some of the straight open areas had whitecaps on the river. Casting accuracy was inconsistent as a sudden gust could place your cast 6 feet off of target. Despite the challenges we faced, Ken and I caught a lot of smallmouth bass and they had a decent average size. Total numbers came out at 30 smallmouth and 1 largemouth bass. The best 2 fish were around 18" and only 1 was under 12". Most fell in the 14-16" range and were thick and healthy looking. The numbers sound good but to say we worked for our fish is an understatement. We worked hard for our fish over 8 hours of paddling, hiking and struggling with board control. I caught my first bass of the day on a jerkbait but every fish after that came on the ned rig. Ken also did best on the ned rig but caught some on a swimbait including his biggest. At the end of day I felt like I had a quality outdoor experience. We got plenty of exercise, fresh air, plus bird and wildlife sightings. There was one area towards the end where we saw 4 bald eagles. Here is a pic of Ken S with one of the better smallmouth of the day. He took most of the pics so perhaps Ken could add some later.

Yes, we still plan to meet for breakfast in Cherry Valley at 9am. It looks like we survived the rain. There is a slight uptick in flow. A little stain to the water could be good as it was running very clear earlier in the week. So clear that stealth and long casts were the key. Water temps will be mid to upper 40's. It doesn't look like we'll have a big turnout but it only takes 2 to work out a shuttle.

We can work out a shuttle

We would love to have you if it works out Joe. We can help with a shuttle so you don't have to ride your bike. We survived that awful weather event yesterday. One more shot of rain tonight so we'll see how it goes.

For those interested in floating the Kish this Saturday, the river is in great shape right now. It is at a good float level and running very clear fro springtime. I've been poking around here and there and have caught several smallmouth 17-18" range. The fish are spreading out which makes float fishing a productive way to go after them. There is some rain coming in the next two days so we will need to keep and eye on the river conditions.

I'll be there as the leader of this floatilla along with my father. River conditions are looking good for floating as the water is surprising clear for this time of year. Several 16-18" fish have been caught recently and things should get better as it warms up.

I'm interested. Are we planning to met at the Cheery Valley Café?

I'm going to wait and see on the weather too

I was pilling on. As a long time Bears fan, its part of my grieving process. The 2018 Bears was a very likeable team with likeable personalities staring with Coach Nagy. They were in every game and played a very entertaining brand of football. It's a shame the way it ended.

I heard Cody Parkey was in big hurry to get out of town after missing that game winning FG. I guess he just couldn't help himself. I heard he also send out 100 facebook apologies to Bears fans for missing the game winner. He only meant to send it once but he kept hitting post.