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gordon p

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Everything posted by gordon p

  1. Had a cool 'lil experience yesterday. I do most of my fishing in Wisconsin but in the Spring I like to make a few casts locally to get the dust off the gear and get the 'ol arm warmed up. I live just west of the Des Plaines River and there are several forest preserves along the river adjacent to Des Plaines River Rd. In between the preserves are dense wooded areas along the shore. Now I can access the river and fish from these preserves but I am always looking at "alternate" access points. From just south of Milwaukee Ave to just north of Lake/Euclid there is a concrete flood wall. At one spot the river is less than 75 ft from River Rd. This wall is 4-6 ft. high but at a couple of places there is dirt ( with grass ) that has been piled to the top of the wall on either side, I'm guessing this was done to get in or out of this area in an emergency. The land to the east of the wall is the heavily wooded FP land. Last Spring I got on the "other" side of the wall and walked to where the river is close ( maybe a 200 yard walk ) and on two different days I hooked a pike. So yesterday I wanted to see if there were any other ways to get to the river. Last year I tried to bushwack through the woods but the undergrowth of brambles and other foliage was too dense. Enter Google Earth, I use this all the time while scouting areas in Wisconsin. A quick look and, lo and behold, in between two areas of dense woods, right next to Camp McDonald Rd. is a large area that looks like an open field or prairie. I says to the girl "I'm off for some adventure". This is like 3 minutes from where I live. So I grab a coupla rods and my vest and I'm off. I park the car, cross the wall at one of the high points and walk a couple hundred yards. At the entrance of the "open" area there is about a 50 ft deep section of 10 ft high foliage but no brambles and there is a narrow foot path. Beyond this is an open area that is predominately high reeds, 4-6 ft. tall. These have not greened up yet and are still semi flattened from winter. It's another 200 yards to the river. But, the most striking thing is that the DNR or FPD has erected a 75 ft tall pole with a raptors nest on top. As I walked toward it the inhabitants made themselves known, a pair of Ospreys. They were not too happy with my presence and called out. As they flew overhead I could see the female was holding a fish. I continued on towards the river and the male flew to a nearby tree and remained there for a good while while the female went to the nest. I got to the river and started casting. I moved down the shore and was really not expecting to catch anything. At about the time when my attention starts to drift from lack of action, I looked down and a large pike took a swipe at my swimbait but did not grab it. I continued to fish for a while but no takers and I headed back. I have driven past this nest a thousand times and never noticed it but it's clearly visible from the road. I'll be back.
  2. I believe you are on to something, Paul. 🤓
  3. Ha ! That would be a first for a prog topic.
  4. https://youtu.be/cTL59_kHfCk
  5. 1, no 2, I must have set it up correctly because I got an email saying you had responded.
  6. First, I had not been getting notifications of new postings for about 5 months. Thought it was because my membership had expired ( renewed it yesterday ! ) but it was actually because I had somehow inadvertently routed the emails to my spam folder. 😞 Fixed that. This morning I woke up a 5 a.m. coming out of a vivid dream. I was fishing from the shore on my property in Wi. though as is the case with dreams the shoreline did not look like the property but I "knew" it was. I was fishing with a Mepps spinner and I hooked a Northern Pike about 20" in length. When I went to unhook the pike the Mepps had magically sprouted a set of three treble hooks. The pike was hooked bad and I had to do careful removal through both the mouth and gills. The fish did not thrash about but was still. After a minute or two and before I was done I put the fish back in the water so it could breathe. I then resumed the hook removal. After all 3 hooks were out somehow one of them had ever so slightly pierced one of the pikes eyes. I carefully removed that hook and released the fish which swam away. If you read this and want to do some Freudian analysis, respond and I can see if I get a notification.
  7. I've been out of touch here for awhile. Are we not participating in the show this year ?>
  8. That's almost 10 times the normal flow. I suppose it depends on how skilled you are and how comfortable. I assume there is no fishing :-)
  9. http://ecojusticecollaborative.org/middle-fork-hearing/
  10. Wish I could help but Sat. is my busy day teaching kids how to play the rock.
  11. Good news in an otherwise grim environmental scene. https://www.americanrivers.org/2019/02/dam-removal-in-2018-another-successful-year-of-freeing-rivers/?fbclid=IwAR0dkv1DjQe7wrVrqh-an2OrEWh8tXDWe0MC6Xviqfty2QVHQ6Bl9WCzHW4&utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_content=Dam+Removal+in+2018+--+Another+successful+year+of+freeing+rivers+|+American+Rivers&utm_medium=American+Rivers&utm_source=facebook_page
  12. Steve, good question. I admit to seeing if I could find something about Mr. Morrissette and I found him on Facebook, He belongs to the political party which currently seems hell bent on reversing years of progress in safeguarding the environment so your second theory could have some validity. I do think he was not happy that the American Rivers set up the form that went to his office. He probably had to do this more than once. Pity.
  13. Here is an email I got after I sent the form for support of Dam removal on the Kinni. It's from Scott Morrissette an Alderman fro River Falls Wi. Am I being overly sensitive or do i detect a slight hint of condescension ? "This decision was made on February 28, 2018. The City Council took into consideration comments from ALL interested parties with specific attention to the residents and tax payers of the City of River Falls. This decision and plan to move forward represents those wishes. While I appreciate your email and position, I make my decisions with the residents and tax payers of the City of River Falls in mind, not those of Prospect Heights, IL" I then replied: " . Scott, Thanks for your response. I don't know what the "decision" was however. As an avid canoeist, fisherman and..... property owner in Wisconsin since 1950 I could say I contribute to the economy of the State. The water belongs to no person or entity, The Kinnickinnic is a gem. We should do all we can to keep it that way. Cheers, Gordon His response ( less condencension here ) "The decision made was to remove the dams over a period of time. The lower, Powell dam, is scheduled to come out in 2026. The upper, Junction Falls dam, is scheduled to come out between 2035-2040. This decision was reached after 2 1/2 years of community involvement/listening/education. While the rivers are an asset for everyone, the tax payers of River Falls will directly bare the costs of removing the dams and well as other river restoration projects in the Kinni Corridor. As an elected official, my responsibility is to the citizens of the City of River Falls. It is a balance between all points of view, ecological concerns, public use and financial consideration. This decision took into consideration all those who wanted the dams removed immediately to those who wanted them to remain in perpetuity as well as all points of view in between. The Council decided, that the decision I mentioned earlier, best represented our community’s desires with regard to the dams and more importantly, the Kinni Corridor. I would invite you to view the February 27, 2018 city council meeting. It is available on YouTube. You will be able to see the culmination of the hard work the Kinni Corridor committee, community and council put into this decision" I sent him a thank you email. The dams will come out. Just wish it was sooner.
  14. Read this: https://www.milespaddled.com/2018/06/kinnickinnic-river-ii/ The Kinnickinnic is a trout stream but being a trib of the St. Croix I would imagine smallies visit the lower sections at some time of the year. Either way after you read the article please do this: https://act.americanrivers.org/page/4994/action/1
  15. I always look forward to the increasing daylight.
  16. Beware the phrase “promoting economic growth”. Code for allowing more pollutants. The EPA and Department of the Interior under this Administration is a horror show.
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