Hi All,
I joined at the show on Thursday. I also live in Schaumburg and shore fish mostly in Dupage County, although I have a decent knowledge of Shabbona and the State Park area of the Kankakee by boat. During the summer I fish 3-4 times a week and sometimes twice a day on the weekends. I have fished for LM with live bait most of my life but was introduced to wading by a friend late last fall in a small creek, I caught 3 crappie over 13" and had an absolute blast! Besides the fish, it was just a wonderful way to spend an afternoon away from everything and I can't wait to get back out there. I came across the SM Alliance while searching for wading spots on the internet and stopped by the booth at the show. The two gentleman(I believe one of their names was Tim, although he was wearing Don's name badge) were friendly, enthusiastic and seemed very passionate about what the alliance does so I decided give it a try. So far you guys have not dissapointed as Rich MC has agreed to let me tag along on Saturday and show me the ropes of ice fishing out at Shabbona. I plan on attending the Blowout and look forward to getting out for some outtings.
I'm usually a catch and release guy, but I did let my buddy keep the last 2 crappie I caught...only 2 fish we kept all year.