Terry Dodge

I will be manning a booth at this event if anyone would care to join me...... Midwest Kayak Fishing Sympos By Kevin Versino Calling all anglers…….and anglers to be! Rocktown Adventures is pleased to announce the 1st Annual Midwest Kayak Fishing Symposium May 14-15 at Rock Cut State Park in Loves Park, IL. Rock Cut State Park is home to Pierce Lake and Olson Lake, providing plenty of opportunity to Gear Up and Head Out. We invite you to join us to learn the basics of kayak fishing in one day. Fishing kayaks will be available for test paddles from 9 AM – 5 PM on Saturday May 14 and include models from NuCanoe, Jackson Kayak, Native Watercraft, Wilderness Systems, and Eddyline. Kayak, paddle, PFD (life jacket) and some basic paddling instruction will also be provided. Bring your fishing gear and test out multiple kayaks in 20-30 minute paddles to learn what fits you best. Paddle around and make a few casts to see how a fishing kayak can help you get what we all want…..more fish! Learn how you would accessorize your kayak, where do you like to stage your rods, how does your tackle box integrate with the kayak? Can I fit a cooler or mount a fish finder? These and other questions can be best answered by going out and paddling a few different models. And you can’t beat the price for this experience…..it’s FREE! Fishing from the pier at Olson Lake is fun for all ages, so bring the little ones out as well. We will have tandem kayaks on hand, so you can take your child(ren) out on the water and show them what it is like. Along with the test paddles on Saturday May 14, we will have seminars on kayak fishing topics such as “How to Dress in Cold Weather,” Safety and Rescue,” and “Why I Fish from a Kayak.” Following the demo paddles and seminars, you can set up your camp site if you choose to camp on site. You will need to make reservations on your own as this area is managed by a third party. Visit Reserve America for fees and site availability. Why do you need a camp site? Because we are heading out on the water early in May 15! On Sunday May 15, the day will begin with a campsite breakfast that will be determined once we receive our campsite assignment so we can direct you wear to meet. Not camping? No problem as you can meet up with us at Pierce Lake. After breakfast, we will head out to Pierce Lake for a few hours of kayak fishing and allow you to practice what you learned the day before We will have fishing kayaks available for rent at a discounted rate of $20, single or tandem. Please call the store ahead of time at 815-636-9066 to reserve and pay for your rental. No walk ups for this will be permitted, so reserve your Yak now. More details will be announced as this exciting event nears, so be sure to check out our Website and Facebook page for updates. We look forward to the opportunity to Gear Up and Head Out with you on May 14-15 at the 1st Annual Midwest Kayak Fishing Symposium!

We need a Central Region Coordinator. Any member interested? Please post here and we will contact you.

Note to Ben, Tim and I may have had an encounter with your yak theft buddy's.

So we ended up floating a 5.5 mile section of the lower Kish, a section none of us had ever really floated. Before we put in we met at a local eatery and choked down some morning grub and gargled with a few cups of joe. The morning load up was a bit nippy (Tim wore a jacket) but by the time we put in it was warming up quite nicely. It ended up being a very nice day to float and pick up trash along the river. Of course we each wet a line along the way, and I am pleased to report that we all caught fish and happy to say that we all caught some good quality fish. I'll let Tim and Ben share their info with their numbers and size. I nailed a 19" smallmouth on a tube within 10 minutes of the put in and ended the day with a total of 4 smallies. I think Tim and Ben hit double digits but I'll let then tell you their sides of the float. More pics of the day.....

Tim, Ben, and myself. We are done. More of a report and pics coming soon.

academic? I don't get it.

Yes, Tim, I will send you back to Greenland.

I see I'm going to have my hands full......

Maybe skunks?

Well we didn't get much rain and the river is still dropping and in great condition for floating, so I'm thinking float.

It's gotta be shag carpeting. This is Jude were talking about. It's gotta be shag.

Anybody interested in a bass boat? If so contact (PM) me for more info and set up a viewing.

Did Tim scare everyone away?

The future forecast is looking pretty darn tootin' good for the 23rd. The Kish should be at a good level for floating. Let me know. April 23 (Saturday) at 8:00am River Clean Up - We’ll meet at the Cherry Valley Cafe for some grub and then head out to clean up the banks of the Kishwaukee River. Float or walk the shore line and of course a bit of smallmouth fishing.

Oh, I'll get those domestic ducks. You can count on that.

So then they are Sanders Attack Ducks.

So they are just plain old ducks?

What kind of birds are these?

Thank you all for the kind words. It means a lot.

Lost my dad on 4/6/16 so I will be unable to attend. The Idea of the meet was just to get together and shop, stock up on always needed fishing gear, and then maybe a few of us hit the river afterwards for some smallie chasing if anybody was interested. Pat Dodge 3/17/37 - 4/6/16 Last smallmouth he brought to hand. 17 inches.

Your best bet is to do as Ben said and get a hold of Rocktown Adventure and they will set you up to test whatever yak you want. They do deep runs in pools and they have a thing coming up in May > http://www.rocktownadventures.com/?tribe_events=midwest-kayak-fishing-symposium

More width. Even with a casting rod it'll take lots of practice with a Coosa or a Cuda. Sure you can stand in 'em, but do you really need to? If you like to carry a lot of gear (tackle, numerous rods, coolers, ect..) I would still have to recommend the NuCanoe. Otherwise you'll be buy new gear all the time. But that's just me.

if you plan to do any fly casting then you should probably take a good long look at the NuCanoe Frontier. If only spin/bait casting then Jackson Coosa Or Cuda or Wilderness Systems Ride are all worth taking longer looks at. As far a the Jacksons are concerned, if you plan to do quite a bit up-stream paddling then probably the Cuda is the best choice.

Are you thinking of standing?

I'm just going to try fishing on days that I normally would not fish due to bad conditions (water levels/weather) or what not.