Terry Dodge

WOW! Great looking smallmouth, ronk.

Make all the jokes you want. I WILL land Brutus. sooner or later.

Anybody can go any place else and catch big smallies.

We are the ILLINOIS SMALLMOUTH ALLIANCE, so only Illinois smallies should count. The ISA; Out to prove that the Illinois waterways are not such a bad smallmouth fishery.

I'm the "expert" my dear boy. I'll let you know when you need to worry. See ya Saturday.

Paid Membership comes with 5 issues a year of the Bronzeback Magazine.

Not sure what you are hearing but I'm not hearing what you are. We should be okay from what I'm hearing.

The cover photo looks magnificent in print.

I'm in.

You got that right!

Unfortunately I have to go out of town after work tonight so I will be unable to be at this kick-off event. Sorry.

That statement is true. I remember it well. I thought the bite would be HOT but it turned out to be a BAD thing. I suppose if you can be on the river the first couple days of the hatch, then you'll probable experience a magical time. Those damn bugs were so thick that year. I remember standing in the middle of the river fly casting top waters and one of those evil sounding bastages landed on my ear. I through my fly rod in the air and stated smacking myself in the side of the head until I realized that "I THROUGH MY FLY ROD"!!! I ended up finding it a few feet down stream. Luckily at the time the water was low and clear.

Feathers, HA!

But with feathers!

I'm glad that some folks got into some fish. I believe Samantha and myself were the only two who didn't. An 8 hour float skunk SUCKS! But it was fun. After we put-in we all kind of floated and fished at our own paces. Bart was the first to exit the river, which must have been around 5:30pm/6:00pm, followed by the rest of us (except Tim) around 7:00pm. The fishing was tough on this day due to what Jude believes to be a post spawn slump. I'll buy that. (I caught nothing, so I have to agree with him this one time) I believe Jim S managed one fish on the day with his fly rod. I can't believe I got out fished by a gentleman (Jim S) who fishes with feathers only. It was nice to meet new members Allen & Samantha and I hope they return to give the Kish another shot on one of our NW Region wade outings. The fact being that we all kind of split up contributes to my failure of taking lots of pictures. Sorry. But here is what I did get.... Pics from Jim S.....

Get Outside! Kick-off event June 7th Join us for a fun day of refreshments, games, activities and exhibits at Hononegah Forest Preserve from 12:00 until 3:00. Learn about all the different activities on the menu for Get Outside! and get sneak previews of the recreational opportunities with guided hikes and tips from GO activity leaders and hosts. This is the ideal time to pick up your GO passport and get all the information you need to take full advantage of the many opportunities and activities happening in forest preserves this summer. Drop in and visit all the stations that will be offering displays and learning materials on golf, camping, fishing, canoeing & kayaking, wildlife study, bird watching, river study, and outdoor safety. Bring your tent and stay for free family camping in Hononegah’s beautiful campground! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will be at this kick-off event with a station representing the ISA. I will have ISA Membership information handouts, displaying river kayak, and will be answering questions about the ISA and the 'River Seining Clinic' we will be conducting on July 26th. for this WCFPD Summer activities program. I plan to float about a 2 1/2 mile stretch of the Sugar River after the Kick-Off event. Anyone wanting to join me, please feel free to do so. Read more info here > http://wcfpd.org/homepage-articles/get-outside/#more-6082

The float has been completed. There were 7 of us altogether in 6 boats. A few fish were caught but not a lot. We all kind of separated from each other and fish at our own paces. I hope Tim made it back (?). Full report in the works.

Thanks Eric! I was a bit concerned that I may have scheduled the rain we received earlier this week a little too late, but things worked out good. I managed to scatter the storms pretty well where as one area didn't get hit too hard. It takes some planning but I do have to admit that I learned a lot from the mistakes Jude had made when he was coordinating our outings, most of which got rained out. The things I do to please people. The Kish will be flowing at about 6.30ft. for tomorrows float. That's PERFECT!

Also, don't forget to bring a tub of Icy Hot for your arms later in the day.

I would like to also suggest that you hold on to the little info sheet that proves you purchased a sticker, keep it with you fishing license. My 2014 stick on my yak has already faded to the point that it's unreadable. They need to work on that problem. Also make sure when you get your sticker to get the instruction booklet. You kind of need it, right Tim?

For those who may not know..... Breakfast map it https://plus.google.com/108624718606602667345/about?gl=us&hl=en Here's how we stand.... 1) Myself (Terry Dodge) - yak 2) Tim Goodman ii - yak 3) Jordan (?) - yak 4) Jude - yak 5) Allen Rupp & Samantha - canoe 6) Vernon P- yak Current river level as of Friday, May 30th @ 7:18am. is -----------> PRY12 Gage - 6.52ft. and dropping. Perfect! Everybody got their Illinois Water Usage Stamp on their boats?

Don't forget this is an ALL DAY float, so pack a lunch or something to munch on. I just bought a big bag of Depends, so if you ain't gots none then I gots ya covered. -------<*(((>{

Allen - Thanks! Feel free to share a name, unless you'd rather us refer to your "plus one" as Plus One. Tim - Thanks for the info. Do you know if he is in yet or not?

Eric, Sorry to hear that. Not sorry that you have to spend time with the wife, just sorry that you can't make it. Don't let your wife read this.

If he does, will he be floating solo or with you in a canoe?