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It hasn't been a good year for ice fishing

Trevor Janes was optimistic about McHenry and Lake counties' ice fishing season after Christmas weekend's cold snap.

The subzero temperatures built 7 to 8 inches of ice on Johnsburg's Pistakee Bay. A few dozen fishing shacks were on the ice by Dec. 28. Even with higher temperatures forecast for New Year's weekend, Janes thought overnight lows below freezing should keep the ice stable.

By the first week in January, however, the ice didn't cooperate with Janes' plan. His company, Wet N Wild Outfitters, had to take his ice fishing clients to Wisconsin lakes to find enough ice to safely fish until early February.

Janes was back on the Chain O' Lakes last week, though, and anglers have also returned to The Hollows, 3804 Route 14 in Cary, McHenry County Conservation District Marketing Director Caitlynn Martinez-McWhorter said.

"It is never closed, per se. It is always at your own risk, with 4 inches of ice or more,'" she said. "Most of January the ice was not good enough."

When the ice is thick enough, anglers are allowed to put up a shack, but those must come off the ice every night, Martinez-McWhorter said.

This winter was not a good year, Janes said.

"It is something we haven't experienced before," he said of the terrible ice conditions. "I have never had to wait four or five weeks just to get in."

Most of their guests were willing to travel to Wisconsin, but the ice has been tough this year throughout the region.

"Illinois has a shorter ice season than other areas in the ice belt," said Janes, who has been a full-time fishing guide on the Chain O' Lakes since 2019.

"We just don't have the ice that the old timers talk about."

When there is ice to fish on, his five-person crew starts its days at 5:30 a.m., loading gear into trucks, getting fueled up and packing snacks. Crew members are at a lake by 6 or 6:30 a.m. and have their first clients on the ice by 7 a.m. From then until 10 a.m., they are running shuttles to bring clients - many from Chicago but others from around the country - into one of their fishing shacks on the ice.

"It is such a unique thing that we have with Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Rockford" all close by and with people wanting to fish here, Janes said.

Anglers don't just want to go ice fishing, he said. "The destination is, 'I want to go ice fishing on the Fox chain.'"

There are 37 species of fish in the Chain O' Lakes, including bluegill, crappie, catfish, walleye, northern pike, white bass and "Chain-famous yellow bass," Janes said.

But with so many homes and private docks surrounding the lakes, access to the water can be a challenge.

One of the easiest spots to get on for ice fishing is Pistakee Bay from the launch at Oak Park Lounge in Johnsburg. Other access points include Turtle Beach Marina at Chain O' Lakes State Park and the channel in Antioch.

Anglers need a resident or nonresident fishing license, "warm clothes and a good attitude," he said.

Kyle Goddard, 27, of Crystal Lake teaches ice fishing classes for area parks and recreation districts. He stopped in the Oak Park Lounge recently to hand out business cards and build clientele.

Goddard grew up in Hoffman Estates and said he could fish before he could walk.

He found many families wanted to get out of the house during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ice or open-water fishing was one way to do that.

Janes said his customers are booking for the 2024 season now.

"There are a lot of lakes here and tons of tourism ... shopping and venues and great lodging. Everything about this area is world-class and underrated" for fishing tourism, he said.

Trevor Janes, who owns Wet N Wild Outfitters, ice fishes on Friday on Petite Lake near Fox Lake. Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network
Two fishermen change locations while ice fishing on Friday on Petite Lake near Fox Lake. Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network
Trevor Janes, who owns Wet N Wild Outfitters, drills a hole in the ice while ice fishing on Friday on Petite Lake near Fox Lake. Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network
Trevor Janes, who owns Wet N Wild Outfitters, ice fishes on Friday on Petite Lake near Fox Lake. Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network
Trevor Janes caught this yellow bass while ice fishing on Friday on Petite Lake. Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network
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