It's just as well we welcome the Wisconsin interlopers

Jim and I argued like a couple stray cats fighting over scraps in a garbage can. We never got physical and yet the shouting and face-to-face stuff, with drops of spit and flecks of our dinner meals, would come flying through each other's defenses. This was passionate stuff.

Can you imagine two good fishing buddies expressing so much hostility over a simple matter of Wisconsin anglers crossing into Illinois to fish for bass and muskies?

That's exactly what happens year after year on the Chain 'O Lakes a couple weeks after the ice disappears from these well-used waters.

In fact, once those famous cinnamon-colored skies greet us, trickles of Wisconsinites invade our lakes.

This materializes because our neighboring state has some very defined fishing laws with conservation cops more than willing to cost any violator an arm and a leg in the way of cash and gear if violations are inscribed on a warden's summons pad.

You see, we don't have closed seasons in this wonderful land of greed and bleed, or tax if you will.

In the past there have been conservationists working to convince lawmakers to institute new fishing laws which, in turn, would allow closed seasons on various fish species. The measures never saw the light of day casting its warmth and shining rays on Illinois lakes.

Jim and I sat in our boat observing the "foreign" boat registration numbers slowly creeping by on the various bows of Wisconsin watercraft.

We would offer a welcoming wave to the cheese pops as they pulled up to some of the best muskie water on the Chain.

I subsequently look over at Jim while he sat perched on the bow seat. His heavy jacket began to emit smoke. Jim didn't smoke so I knew he was rapidly heating up to the point of no return, with his anger transformed into a quasi-physical, outdoor BBQ cooking fire.

I, on the other hand, had yelled over to the "guests" and asked them if they were muskie hunting. There was some hesitation on their part. They finally admitted they knew about "our" excellent muskie fishing and because their season had yet to begin, they figured us students of the hunt wouldn't mind if they tried their hands at locating some brutes.

We watched for almost another hour, or at least when one of the Packer fans hooked a big fish but ultimately lost it close to the boat. Jim overflowed with glee and returned to sharpening hooks on his muskie lures.

After measuring water temperatures I ignored Jim's moodiness and suggested we look for bass and muskies.

In several hours we managed to catch and release five small largemouth, a walleye and one muskie. And it was still quite cold out.

As we started to leave the immediate area, one of the Wisconsin guys yelled a thank you to us for being gracious. I returned the shout-out and told them I hoped we would receive the same treatment when we got out to their lakes.

"No problem," one guy answered. "Just bring plenty of cash."