Scott Ferguson

This article was forwarded to me. I think it is important to read. https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/04/17/let-epa-do-its-job-and-monitor-great-lakes/526259002/

I pulled that one out from the archives.

Your Illinois fishing license expired on Saturday. Get you new license online here. https://www.il.wildlifelicense.com/license.php?action=custlkup

If you are looking t to make money, you'll make more working at McDonalds or being a greeter at Walmart. A friend of mine was in the business for a while. He did a good job and made several rods for me and donated a few to the Blowout. His best education on the business came at the International Custom Rod Builders Expo. There you see all of the best builders, sit in on seminars and learn the business from the best in the business. I think that show was what caused him to get out of the business. The guys there don't waste time trying to compete with the mass produced rods most of us use. The guys who are making money are selling very high end rods. Finding customers who'll pay $300 to $500 and higher for a baitcasting or spinning rod isn't easy.

Cabelas has Z-Man Ned rig jigs and plastics on sale right now.

The hooks are good and sharp but they are brittle. They do break without a lot of force. I rig mine in advance. I hold the bait next to the hook and use an o-ring to mark where the hook needs to come out of the plastic. I also super glue the heads to the plastic. The plastics are extremely durable but after a bunch of fish they do get loose so glueing them to the heads helps a lot. As long as the Plano box has never held normal plastics before, it works just fine. Mixed with other plastics, the Elaztech material melts. I like throwing them into downed trees so the weedless 'shroom heads let you work through branches without snagging. I use straight braid and the braid will wrap around the wires of the weed guard though. There are a lot of ways to fish them. The traditional way the guy who came up with the rig does it is he slowly swims it along but dead sticking, hoping and dragging it along the bottom all work. The first time I showed this bait to a number of fishermen, they all looked at it at and were unimpressed. Once they saw the success I had with it, they changed their minds.

If I have a fish show himself, by a swirl on the surface, or a missed hit, I pick up a senko type bait and throw to that spot. “60% of the time, it works every time” Seriously, I keep a senko tied on at all times, ready for just such a situation.

I want to tell everybody who attended the Blowout thank you very, very much! Your generosity in not only buying a ticket to attend but buying raffle tickets and silent auction items made the Blowout a big success. We would be nowhere without you. I also want to thank all the volunteers, Pat Hirschtick, John Loebach, Eugene Collins, Forrest Miller, Paul Trybul, Terry Dodge, Craig Holderness, Ed Buric, Bart Durham, Jim Jozwiak and Cory Gale for coming early to set up, working throughout the event and staying late to clean up. Another thanks to those who donated to the family of Norm Minas in their time of need. Tammy Minas is getting $250 to help with her expenses. One more thanks to our featured speaker Chad Hoover who not only gave an entertaining talk, but also donated a NuCanoe kayak that we auctioned off. Also, to Jesse DiMartini for her update on the water willow and muscle plantings on the DuPage river. I hope we can count on you returning again next year. Set your calendars for Saturday, March 2, 2019. We'll see you there!

Only 3 more days! See you all there.

I'd like to include a little tribute to Ron at the Blowout so I need you guys to provide me with some pictures of him I can put into the slideshow. Send them to me at isalliance@sbcglobal.net

It is with great regret and sadness, to inform you that our friend and fellow ISA member, Ron Kurasz (aka Ron K) passed away this past Sunday 2/18. Here is a letter from his brother Alan. Hello to all of Ron's fishing buddies. I am Ron's brother, Alan Kurasz, and i regrettably am informing you that Ron passed away this past Sunday, 02.18.18. He suffered a massive stroke on Wednesday while at the Joilet Mall. He never regained consciousness and after consultation with the neurosurgeon, he was taken off the ventilator Saturday night. At first he was breathing on his own but on Sunday morning he passed. We are having Ron cremated and are looking into a possible memorial service later this year. i live in Indianapolis and am a CPA and we hare in the midst of our busy tax season. If there are other contacts that are not on this emailing list that you feel should know of Ron's passing, please pass this along. Also, while i too enjoy fishing, i am nowhere near the expert caster that Ron was. I am in possession of his fly rods and reels and while i plan on keeping a couple, i will likely try to sell these on ebay later this year. If anyone would have an interest in any of his gear, i would certainly prefer to sell to someone who knew him. If you have any questions, you can email me at: alan.kurasz@gmail.com or call my cell phone: 317-777-4884. I have accessed his email as part of handling the affairs of his estate but any further correspondence should be directed to my personal email or phone #. Alan Kurasz 317-777-4884 alan.kurasz@gmail.com

As you all know, the ISA has booked the "Tinkers Dam" cabin on the Menominee River for the last two years and we are booked again for next August. The owners of the cabin have offered a 10% discount to any ISA members who book a stay at the cabin . The cabin is very modern and has all the amenities. Besides being in the middle of a great stretch of smallmouth river, it has 3 bedrooms, wifi, satellite TV, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer and free long distance telephone. It would be a great place for a family vacation. There are restaurants and grocery stores nearby as well as other sight seeing attractions. If you want to book, contact the owners directly and tell them you are with the ISA. gprange3@wi.rr.com Here is a link with more info. http://tinkers-dam.com

In addition to the Flint kayak, Jeff Tallis is returning with another of his special raffles. This year, he'll be bringing 10, new, St. Croix fishing rods. The excitement always peaks when the numbers are being pulled on one of Jeff's raffles

Funny you should post right now. I'm working on the slideshow and incorporating the picture in your avatar right now. I'd like to update the slideshow with more recent pictures so I do need new ones or at least some of your more recent photos.

During the Bronzeback Blowout, we run a slideshow featuring fish photos from our members. If you'd like to have some of your pictures as part of the show, please send them to me @ isalliance@sbcglobal.net.

Ed, If you are going to schmooze all over the place, please be sure to clean up after yourself.

My guess is that $6 barely covered the administrative costs to run the program.

According to a conservation police officer I just spoke to at the Tinley Park Fishing Show, as of June 1, all non-motorized watercraft will no longer even require registration. No stamps or 3 year sticker. Technically, a water usage stamp is still required until June 1 but the DNR is not going to write anybody a ticket for not having one when the requirement will end in another month or two. If your boat has a motor, gas or electric, it will have to be registered.

If you've got room, I'd like to tag along. One question, is schmoozing required?

Thanks Dick, I’ll see you there.

Just over 4 weeks away, the Bronzeback Blowout is coming! Highlights include; From the WFN TV show, "Kayak Bassin", host Chad Hoover will be the featured speaker. Jeff Tallis wil have 10 St Croix rods for his special raffle. Jeff's raffle is always one of the highlights of the night Firewater BBQ & Grill will provide award winning BBQ including pulled pork, brisket, cole slaw, potato salad, mac & cheese, and tossed salad White Iron Beach Resort in Ely MN (http://www.whiteironbeach.com) will be offering another 7 night cabin rental as a silent auction prize with a value of $1,200 The Blowout is a full day of fun, food, smallie talk and a great way to socialize with a room full of smallmouth fanatics. Seating is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance. Click on the 2018 Bronzeback Blowout tab on top of this page to purchase your tickets

Mike, we're excited to have you. We have a number of other kayakers here so I'm sure you shouldn't have much trouble finding someone to help you with shuttles. The fly fishers here, also called the "Bassbuggers" are pretty active. I'm sure you can pick their brains for lots of help.

You've had to have noticed the changes we've made to our web presence over the last few months. It started when the old forum software, that was obsolete, had to be replaced. Now in the past week, we've been working with Cartwright Designs on getting everything fixed up. We can again accept payments, new membership sign ups, renewals and you can purchase your Blowout tickets all here in the same place. There may still be a few bugs we haven't found yet so if you have any issues, or trouble navigating, you can click on the "Staff" menu above, send me a message or post here and I'll try and help get things straightened out. Scott Ferguson

Mitchell Schwarz is going to help out on Sunday, so I could use someone on Saturday.