Local fishing clubs are a great resource for suburban anglers

It’s between fishing seasons, due to the weather, right now. A great way to help fill that void is to attend a meeting of a local fishing club. As a matter of fact, fishing club meetings are beneficial to attend the entire year around.

There are plenty of choices available if you care to attend a meeting. There are general interest clubs, as well as clubs that are species specific, like for walleyes and muskies. Some large companies have their own fishing clubs for interested employees. All the clubs are attended by good people who are interested in the sport of fishing.

The meetings are usually a couple of hours long. Food and beverages are usually available for purchase at reasonable pricing. The meetings normally begin with business matters followed by member reports on current fishing conditions and activity. Last on the agenda is a presentation by a speaker who is a pro angler or someone who has valuable expertise on some technique or body of water worth knowing about.

I have attended meetings for most of the area clubs and I have never been disappointed. Please note that all the clubs invite everyone to attend. You need not be a member to attend your initial visit. Please don’t be shy or hesitant to attend, you will be made to feel welcome by all.

In addition to the meetings, the fishing clubs may offer fishing trips, club competitions and tournaments. None of the fishing is of the high-pressure type. I am talking about events that draw a lot of average weekend fishermen and there are plenty of men, women and children who attend.

Joining a fishing club and attending an outing is a great way for a person to hook up with a new fishing partner, and who couldn’t use one of those? You don’t have to own a boat to join a club, and this is a fine way to find somebody who needs a boat mate.

A couple of clubs I recommend are the Lake Geneva Fishing Club, Walleyes Unlimited and Fox River Valley Muskies, Inc. These are good groups who do a great job, and the meetings are always worth attending. Like most fishing clubs, these organizations hold events and raise funds for youth fishing and conservation projects.

Walleyes Unlimited meets monthly and rotates locations between two sites. The Feb. 28 meeting is being held at American Legion Post 771, located at 749 Milwaukee Ave. in Gurnee at 7 p.m. On March 26 the meeting moves to The Hideaway Pub, located at 9643 S. 76th St. in Franklin, Wisconsin, at 7 p.m. It’s back to Illinois in April, and so forth. Some of the biggest names in the world of fishing have been speakers at this club. For more information, please go to www.walleyesunlimitedusa.org or call Bob Clark at (815) 527-5109.

The Lake Geneva Fishing Club meets monthly on Wednesdays. The March 13 meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Poplar Creek Bowl on Higgins Road in Barrington. For more information, please go to www.lakegenevafishing club.com or call Bob Clark at (815) 527-5109.

The Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies, Inc., holds its monthly meetings at Chandler’s, at the Schaumburg Golf Club, located at 401 N. Roselle Road in Schaumburg. For more information, go to www.foxrivermuskies.com or call Dan Koniewicz at (847) 682-9238.

I’d highly recommend joining a fishing club to everybody. Attending a meeting will help you catch more fish, and isn’t that what it is all about? If there’s a club you’d like me to mention, please let me know and I’ll try to do it in the future.