Everybody deserves to know where to find the best fishing

I have been very fortunate to have access to quite a few private ponds and lakes with excellent fishing.

And even though these places have jumbo bluegills and hefty largemouth bass, I have never written about them in this column or any other magazine simply because they are private sanctuaries friends and acquaintances had made available to me.

But public lakes and rivers are another thing.

Several years back a virtual hailstorm rained down on me for telling readers about the great smallmouth angling on the Fox River.

E-mails poured in asking for more details, so I gave out a general area where I believed good smallie action could be had.

My critics slammed me for opening the door to overfishing on this ever-improving river.

Over a 40-plus year career in this business I have learned that I can't win if I don't share the good, the bad and the ugly about fishing locations.

Several years ago while shopping in the Gurnee Bass Pro Shop for a certain spoon to be used on an upcoming Canadian pike trip, my fishing partner and I were confronted by one of the clerks who proceeded to lambaste me for writing about the good muskie fishing on the Chain's Lake Catherine.

He claimed that I said "numerous 50-plus inch muskies had been raised and hooked on that lake."

I countered by telling this extremely rude character that I had written about several, not many, big muskies over 50 inches that had been spotted and hooked.

He then went on to tell me I shouldn't be promoting the muskie fishery there because he's out there all the time putting in many hours fishing for those toothy critters. Maybe he thinks he owns the lake.

Another time I caught some grief from a reader who said I should not reveal the fact there are jumbo crappies to be had just outside the no-motor area of Shabbona Lake.

And still another e-mailer suggested to me that "I keep my mouth shut about the apartment-complex and industrial-park ponds that hold big fish."

And then this latest e-mail missive recently arrived from a person calling himself Charlie Reel.

"While I enjoy your articles, your overpromotion of Bangs Lake in Wauconda, Illinois, has got to stop. Call it a northern Illinois lake. It's a wonderful lake, but it is starting to see way too much pressure.

"I have fished this lake for my whole life. I am 46 years old. What once could arguably be called the premier lake of northern Illinois is not any so more.

"I know you outdoor writers have to tell it like it is, but report on some other northern Illinois lakes, please. Thank you for your time."

You're welcome Charlie, but once again, I disagree.

I have fished many of our local lakes and rivers most of my life, save for the years when living in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

I spent quite a few years learning the "tricks of the trade," if you will, under the tutelage of the likes of the late Bill Binkelman, Ron and Al Lindner and Spence Petros.

I gathered knowledge as to how to find and catch big fish on highly pressured lakes and often was quite successful.

Chicago-area anglers like to daydream about catching a 5-pound bass from Busse Lake.

Many fishermen enjoy telling their pals they "clobbered" jumbo crappies on Channel Lake. Others regale their exploits on Bangs Lake after braving the night cold to lay into some 6-pound walleyes.

Biologists in Cook, Lake, and DuPage Counties work their tails off trying to provide all of you with better opportunities to catch big fish.

Even the ever-struggling IDNR and its biologists work hard to give the Fox Chain what the people want: better fishing.

I will continue to promote the local and area fishery and even tell readers in general terms where they can avail themselves of decent angling.

That's something you can take to the bank.