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Underrated Illinois fishing needs more of the spotlight

By Mike Jackson

Outdoor columnist

I encountered an old friend a couple weeks ago, and what he told me was akin to someone kicking me in the gut.

Jason and I used to roam, boat and fish many of the red-hot lakes in and around the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.). He taught me how to "helicopter" large spinner baits to hungry, suspended, smallmouth bass. He also shared his tricks of using a football jig and plastic baits for largemouth bass.

"Why doesn't Illinois fishing get any positive strokes or ink in publications outside your state?" he asked.

"How come your neighbors to the north (Wisconsin) get all the publicity for what's going on in Wisconsin?" he added.

I just mumbled an answer that avoided his probing and didn't make any sense at all.

We dropped the subject and went bluegill fishing, heading off to a large Cook County pond near the western edges of the county.

"I really enjoy bank angling and pond fishing," he said.

We separated so we had plenty of room between us in case we hooked some large bass in the process of searching for the big 'gills.

He brought the bait (minnows; nightcrawlers; wax worms; and some leeches). I brought hot coffee.

"Did you need a loan to pay for all this stuff?" I joked.

"I recently heard about the fabulous bluegill and muskie fishing in this state," he said, "and that fact was shared with me by a fellow who used to live in the western suburbs."

I climbed on to my soapbox and began my rant about politics in Illinois and how few elected officials take fishing and hunting seriously, unlike those lawmakers in Minnesota. I explained that several writers, including myself, have been telling readers for years that the outdoor sports we cherish can also be a "cash cow" for our state, like the dollars garnered from anglers and hunters in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.

And so we kept casting small slip-floats to what had earlier become a hot zone for the bigger bluegills. I had a nice fish on and was attempting to keep it from winding the line around a tree branch. I looked over to where Jason was standing and noticed his long spinning rod was practically bent over in a huge arc. I thought he had hooked a largemouth.

And then he lifted two jumbo bluegills out of the water. Each one was close to 9-inches.

He didn't tell me he tied a double jig rig on the end of his line with a different kind of live bait on each hook. It's not a new technique, and used quite often here by experienced pan fish aficionados. In fact, his method closely resembles the drop-shot bass rig used by Hall of Famer Spence Petros on Lake Delavan and Lake Geneva.

Hundreds of area fishermen depend on this setup when they look for suspended fish just a few feet off the bottom.

"Our bluegills and sunfish are a little smaller at home compared to what thrives down here," Jason commented.

I told him I distinctly remember going to some of his hot bluegill ponds near Minneapolis and wound up having some spectacular catches and meals.

"I'd like to help you out as well as the rest of northern Illinois anglers by writing a few columns about the great angling we've had these past few days."

I replied that helping my fellow anglers as well as myself will take more than a few columns. I suggested a big and heavy crowbar placed in some strategic places once this political arguing about a state budget gets passed.

My final comment to Jason was a shocker. Jason, I said, you wouldn't believe the number of Wisconsin fishermen who come across the state line to fish for walleyes and muskies months before their own seasons start. That in itself is enough to write about and send copies to Illinois state lawmakers, along with a picture of a crowbar, just for prying purposes mind you.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.

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