A hot time fishing at Twin Lakes in Palatine

The noise from the semis racing by was ever present, but I wasn't paying attention to it.

I was far too engrossed in what I was doing, concentrating on the spinning rod tip, watching for those telltale signs of a hit.

I looked over at my friend Roger Pulkka as he was wiping the perspiration from his head and neck. It was one of those summer days where I usually have to be turned over and basted in order to survive the heat and humidity, which always seems to come in waves.

And then, a gentle breeze suddenly arrived.

"That's just we needed," I informed Roger, "now I don't have to keep using the electric motor."

Roger and I sat in a 14-foot aluminum boat on the Twin Lakes recreation area in Palatine.

Granted, the hot sun created an open air, oven-like environment for us, and yet we were content knowing at any moment we'd be back into locating fish.

You can easily see this eight-acre, Salt Creek Park District Lake from Route 53. I've fished this suburban gem several times in previous years.

In fact, right after it was constructed in the mid-1970s, I decided to give it a few years before I tested the waters. My decision to wait paid off handsomely with catches of smallmouth bass from one the lake's three fishing piers.

Thirty years later, this postage stamp size reservoir is a playground of the highest order.

The southern lake is off limits to angling because it spans a golf course, but it's the northern water that continues to amaze visiting fishermen.

Some time ago, tiger muskies were planted and have managed to thrive in some of the lake's deeper spots. Bass, pike, yellow perch, bluegill, catfish and crappie were also added.

Pulkka and I targeted largemouth bass.

Chuck Towner is one of the part-time facilities managers at Twin Lakes. He explained to me that the park district had planted fish for a number of years, including one seeding of 500 pounds of big channel catfish.

The gear of the day for me was a 7-foot, medium light Grandt spinning rod. I tied a No. 8 red bait hook on and affixed a single split shot about 12 inches above the hook.

Even though I brought along Little Action Mac pre-rigged, plastic worms in the tackle bag, I also had a hunch that live bait, like big, fat leeches, would work well. We had two dozen squirmy devils in cold water and shielded them from the hot sun.

It took me about a half-hour of searching the lake with my FL-18 sonar until I found some fish. but it wasn't until that light wind arrived when the action really started.

Both Roger and I had big fish on as we drifted across a 15-foot depth. Neither of us could bring our fish to the surface. They felt like typical largemouth, but both fish could have been jumbo catfish as well. Maybe they were muskies at that depth.

Minutes later we started catching bass slightly over 2 pounds. The leeches had worked their magic.

And then the dark clouds arrived. I suggested that, since we caught eight bass already, we'd better exit the lake before it got nasty. Just as we docked the boat, the sky opened up.

Chuck Towner told me there are two rental boats that can be equipped with an electric motor if one desires. One needs an Illinois fishing license, and there is a lake-use charge as well.

I commend the Salt Creek Park District for giving locals a place where they can fish close to home.

Contact the district at (847) 934-6050. I recommend you bring some fresh fishing line and get in shape for the battles.

angler@mikejacksonoutdoors.com