Wait is over: spring angling has started

Posted March 18, 2009 11:00 pm

Mike Jackson

I didn't pay too much attention to the half-dozen robins flitting in and out of my back yard.

Even though their voices stood out from the din of nearby vehicular traffic, I tried ignoring the melodies of the visiting red cardinals.

The real harbinger of spring appeared before my eyes when I got to one of my favorite local ponds.

Silky, slightly rippled water lay before me. A stack of 20-dollar bills couldn't have pleased me as much as this sight.

My longtime fishing pal Roger was with me on this early foray. We were armed with two dozen tiny minnows and two containers of wax worms we prepared ourselves for another glorious season of angling.

The pond level was a bit low, and at one end fertilizer run off was already making its presence known with a thick, greenish surface cover.

Had this been May or June, I would tossed SnagProof frogs into the soup, knowing full-well that ravenous largemouth bass would be in their submerged, commando phase waiting for critters to skitter across the surface.

On this day, live bait would do the trick, I assured myself, and it did.

I brought two light spinning rods along and a tiny bag of hooks, floats and split-shot.

Having fished this particular pond a number of times, I had a good idea of where the deeper holes were. But on this warm afternoon, I figured fish would tend to be holding in the heated, shallower sections.

There was a clump of dead coontail weeds poking through the surface about 15 feet in front of me. That's where I made my first cast.

The light float glided down to the surface and was immediately moved along by a newly arrived breeze. The float didn't travel more than a couple of feet when it disappeared.

I waited a microsecond before I set the hook. My reel was spooled with 4-pound Trilene. I had tied a No. 8 hook on the end. The last element was a Lindy Shy-Bite float.

Up came an 8-inch bluegill that refused to quit fighting. My little tape measure confirmed my estimate after I unhooked this scrappy participant.

I made a second cast to the same spot and was rewarded with another battler. On my sixth attempt, the float barely had time to settle in when it headed south and then down to the bottom.

This sudden surprise was a 12-inch crappie that never hooked itself. The fish's broad lips were clamped to the minnow.

A few more casts to the very same area produced a couple more crappies.

And then Roger called out, "bass." I looked over as he held up a fish he said went slightly over a pound. He was tossing a minnow to the end of point that jutted out from shore. The fish had been right at dividing line of shallow and deeper water.

For those of you who have followed this column over the years already know about my passion for fishing ponds.

I've scoured residential areas, industrial parks, municipal grounds, golf courses and corporate campuses for some of the best bass and panfish angling in this part of the state.

And even when fertilizer run off makes fishing these waterways difficult, I'll use those frogs I mentioned and other weedless baits to make lemonade out of a lemon.

On this day, Roger and I spent a couple of hours clearing the cobwebs from our heads just by having a good time and feeling the warm caresses of the incoming season land gently on our faces.

angler@mikejacksonoutdoors.com

Perch plentiful at Calumet Harbor Maybe those famous Friday night, Chicago-area lake perch dinners could resurface in a grand style right now. Paul Rangel e-mailed that he and two friends literally "went wild" on the South Side fishing for perch. "All of us live in the Northwest suburbs and usually fish for perch at Wilmette, but this week we drove to Calumet Harbor and caught our limits in slightly over an hour," he said. "And the majority of these fish were jumbos as well." The Fox Chain is off to a gangbusters start with the last remnants of skim ice disappeared with minimal fanfare. Guide Darrell Baker caught his first muskie this week. A 44-inch bruiser signaled the start of the new soft-water season. Baker also said the crappie action is starting in full force. Fox River: The walleye picture below the McHenry Dam has not stabilized yet, but a few fish have been taken. Look to the backwater channels for decent crappie and bluegill action. Lake Michigan: Lake perch activity is very good at 95th Street, while a few fish are being taken at Waukegan. If you have patience, try the main harbor at Waukegan for both rainbow and brown trout. • Mike Jackson's outdoors radio program can be heard 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.

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