Bart Durham

Dupe is looking appetizing, with forecast of 40s, low wind and partly sunny tomorrow, not bad for mid December.

Great Pizza party last night! Thanks Ed for putting it together.   Perfect room for the party.

Great turnout last night! Really enjoyed the great food, camaraderie and smallmouth discussions.   Thanks to all that attended and special thanks to Tom Loo for hosting the dinner.  

yes!

ISA member Steve Schmidt called me to advise he will be joining us tomorrow as a spin fisherman.

Fly here.

The Vermillion is down to below 50 cfs and will require dragging our kayaks in a number of places.  Also, Wildcat will be even more difficult to get through at this low stage.  After consulting with John and Manney we've decided to make this a wade trip instead of a float trip.  We'll still meet at Canoe launch near the Lowell bridge at 7 am. and go to our fishing locations from there.   John will likely take the spin fisherman to his stretch and Manney will take the fly fisherman to his stretch.  We'll fish 4-6 hours and have lunch afterwards. Should be a fun outing.

Barring any major downpours this week we will be floating the Vermillion River next Saturday, September 15, 2018.  We'll float the stretch between the Rt. 178 bridge near Lowell and the boat ramp at the Rt. 23 bridge in Ogelsby.  This is a lengthy float (approximately 9 miles) and will take most of the day.  It will take us through the Carlson Nature Preserve and Matthiessen State Park.  There are 2 places we may need to portage around (Wildcat and the Mill) but we will have John Gillio accompany us to figure out the safest way through these two locations.  We will plan to meet at the Vermillion River Canoe Launch located at the Route 178 Bridge near Lowell, Illinois at 7:00 am to set up our shuttle. You will need to bring a lunch and drink as we will plan to stop for lunch along the way. Also don't forget PFD device and polaroid sunglasses, hat and sunscreen.  Please let us know if you can join us.

Good times on the Kish!

I returned late Tuesday night after spending 4 fantastic days at the ISA retreat on the Menomonee River.  John Loebach, Alan Sherman, Larry Creekmur, Ed Buric and I couldn't have picked a better 4 days for our north woods trip.  The weather was perfect, the water was at median flow and the giant smallmouth were hungry.  The topwater whopper plopper and weighted streamers  in current were the most successful methods for me.  We all caught a lot of big fish and no one left disappointed.  I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to spend the long weekend with. We had delicious homecooked meals each night we all enjoyed sitting around the fire pit each evening discussing our day's activities and solving all the world's problems.

The top water pike bite was hot during our trip as well and I caught this one directly across from the cabin.  They loved the whopper plopper as did the big smallmouth:

We saw several large sturgeon during our floats and I  couldn't believe I caught one when I was by myself and snagged one (about 4 feet long) by dorsal fin on way back to boat ramp from lodge on my last float of the trip. I was able to release it with my hemostats with no harm to fish

This last float on Tuesday may have been the best fishing of the trip.  Alan had given me a few of a barbless weighted fly he tied that was a variation of the Harry Fodder fly.  Please forgive me Alan but I don't recall the fly'sname.  The smallmouth loved fly and were slamming it on this trip.  I still have to get used to using the barbless hook as I lost several trophy sized smallmouths that threw the hook but I had a blast during the process

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Hopefully you can join us for float soon, how has the fishing been at the Canton ranch?

Today’s picnic menu: grilled brats, hot dogs and hamburgers, grilled sweet  corn on the cob, macaroni salad, cucumber salad, pat’s delicious pork and  beans, topped off with plenty of deserts and sweet cold watermelon, what a day! Thanks to those who came and sorry to those who missed.   Can’t beat great smallmouth talk and delicious food on a hot early August day!

Thanks for posting Tom, really enjoyed it, a lot to learn from these two legends.  

Glad to see the IEPA  issued a violation notice.  Hopefully Vista will come up with a satisfactory remedial plan soon.

Yes I spoke with him this evening and he can't make it (35th wedding anniversary) so his spot his open for anyone that is interested.

Scott, is spot still open for Aug 11-14 slot? If so it’s a great opportunity for anyone that can go,

Jim, you’ll have to join us for the next one, do you still have your kayak?

looks like perfect conditions for tomorrow's float, looking forward to seeing everyone at Seil Rd park around 7 am to set up shuttle.  Don't forget your topwater lures! Let us know if any questions or need help.  Bring plenty of water, a snack , sunscreen, sunglasses hat and fishing gear!

Im looking forward to seeing everyone at the picnic, should be some great eats, camaraderie and smallmouth discussion had even if the fish aren't biting

It seems certain this won't help the Middle Fork coal ash issue:

ELVIS BARUKCIC/AFP/Getty Images

Acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, just signed his first major regulatory amendment — making it easier for corporations to discard coal ash however they see fit.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule that rolls back standards for disposing of the toxic ash produced by burning coal, The Hill reports. The amendment was in the works for several months, but when Wheeler took over for Scott Pruitt earlier this month, he took the reigns. Pruitt resigned as EPA administrator following a string of ethics scandals.

The amendment backpedals on regulations put in place by the Obama administration, which mandated strict federal standards for coal ash disposal in 2015. In a statement, the EPA said relaxing the standards would save $31.4 million a year in regulatory costs, as states are given authority to loosen or waive requirements for companies.

"These amendments provide states and utilities much-needed flexibility in the management of coal ash, while ensuring human health and the environment are protected," said Wheeler in the statement. Environmental groups disagree, reports The Hill, and immediately condemned the measure as dangerous to groundwater and air pollution.

Companies with lax standards may not be required to monitor whether coal ash leaches into surrounding groundwater and will have extended deadlines to reduce coal ash disposal. The EPA has also loosened pollution standards on acceptable levels of lead, lithium, cobalt, and molybdenum in groundwater. Read more at The Hill. Summer Meza

The rain shower we received early Saturday morning was all we needed to help cool things off for this years water willow planting on the Dupage River.  13 ISA members volunteered their time and elbow grease at this year's planting that took place at the Garys Mill Rd bridge near Warrenville.  ISA members, with the help of Jessie DiMartini, planted 11 flats of water willows and other water plants.  ISA members joined for a hearty breakfast following the activities.  Thank you to all that helped out. Here are some pictures from the event.  Hopefully others can supplement with photos they took.

We hope to get this rescheduled soon. 

Hot and sweaty is probably the best way to describe it.  Our team, including ISA members Mark L and VanH fished the Kankakee in the morning and Dupe in the afternoon.  We sheared off one of the three blades on my prop in our first run up river on the Kankakee and it pretty much doomed us for the  day.  Fishing was very difficult for everyone and all teams as I later learned .  I think it was the heat.  Most of the teams struggled fishing wise with some of the teams getting skunked.  We caught 5 fish, two dinks, a 9 ", 11.5." and 13" for the day.  Only a fish over 12" qualified so we had only one qualifying fish.  I caught a 1 lb rock bass on topwater on the Kankakee that was the biggest rock bass I've ever caught.  VanH caught his 13" on the proverbial, "last cast of the day".  The winning team, a brother group from Woodridge that floated the Kankakee in a raft and also caught the largest fish at 19.5" not sure what their team total was.  The second place team was at 31" I believe so we weren't far out of the running if you counted all our fish!.  The barbecue at the award  presentation was delicious.   Mike and Kurt put on a great event.  Met a lot of great guys at the presentation and look forward to next year's event.  

John, these double barrel poppers look great and will be interested to hear how these work  after the water gets back down.

As feared the rains hit hard last night. The CFS is at 11,000 this morning and rising. Tomorrow’s float is cancelled due to conditions and we will try to reschedule before season is over..