Well, I am not sure where six months have gone this year, but here we are halfway through 2023. The weather has been so nice that we were fishing every weekend we could. Our first mission was to see if the crappie were spawning in the strip mines in Fulton County. Leah, Al, and I spent the day catching fish but were never really able to get a consistent bite on the crappie. We caught a few bluegill and some really nice size crappie, just not very many. We caught a few big females that had eggs so they were released to see another day.
The following weekend I wanted to hit the river. We were out of catfish and so were my grandparents, so it was time to start filling their freezer and ours and hopefully get enough for a fish fry this year. I was excited to get on the river with my son Gabe and his girlfriend Samantha. He has lived in California for about five years and is finally home to spend some quality time. Of course, mamma Leah was happy. She had her baby boy home for good and he was going with us fishing. We spent the day jumping around to different spots and we really never had a great bite all day. We ended up with eight fish, but that is a pretty slow day for us on the river. Usually, we get around 20-25 and I am ready to get home because I know I have an hour of cleaning to do. We may not have knocked them dead, but we had a good time as always. We are in mid-June now, so I assume the spawn is over. It will soon be time to get back out there and see if we put a few more in the fryer.
Usually at the end of May over Memorial Day weekend I spend it camping and fishing. This year as the date neared, I just wasn’t feeling it. As any camper knows there is a lot of work that goes into camping, and fishing for the three weekends prior and scheduled to go to Lake Michigan the first week of June, I decided to take the weekend off and get some things finished up in my yard. After 150 bags of mulch and 6 bales of straw I finished my yard obligations for the year other than mowing and harvesting my garden. Now it was time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor.
After finishing the projects around the house, I decided to give my son Gabe and his girlfriend Samantha a call to see if they would be interested in going to walk the creek with me. To my surprise everyone was up for it, so my wife, Ella, Sam, and Gabe all headed to Crow Creek. We arrived and headed to the creek to begin our travels. One of my main reasons was I have always wanted to walk this creek to look for arrow heads. Many Indian artifacts have been found in this area so I am sure there is some in the creek if I can just find them.
To say we had fun was an understatement. The water was cold and of course Ella thought she could take her dad down, but little did she know he isn’t that easy to tackle especially when the water is this cold. I of course had to show her who was boss and got her a little wet. I should have known my mini me would not give up until I was tackled in the cold creek water. Eventually she dragged me down the water and man alive was it colder than I thought. She always enjoys getting one over on her old dad. We walked the creek for quite some time. We saw thousands of minnows and millions of tad poles. The kids were catching them both and I just stood there with a smile. They were having a blast. I knew it would be fun, but I had no idea how much everyone would enjoy a nice nature walk in the creek. After an hour or so we were getting ready to go around a bend when Gabe said, snake. I didn’t see it for a minute and when I did, I realized it was a pretty good size water moccasin. Unfortunately, that became the end of our run. The women were not going to cross his paths, so we headed back to the truck and after it was all said and done, we had walked over two and half miles of the creek. We may not have found any arrowheads but the time with the kids was all I needed.
With the first weekend of June approaching, I rented our hotel rooms and prepared for our trip to Lake Michigan with Storm Force Sportfishing and Captain Blake Keulen. We spent many years going fishing for salmon and trout with my good friend Dale Florek. He retired a couple of years ago, so we have been going with Captain Blake for the last few years. We knew Blake from his time as Captain Dale’s first mate. Blake’s dad is also a Lake Michigan Guide so Blake has some of the best mentors a guy could ask for.
We headed up on Saturday June 3rd as we always do. We arrive in the early afternoon and check in then we head for one of my favorite spots, Giordano’s Pizza. Of course, we order the deep dish, and this allows us all time to sit around and chat. We always have a great time the night before eating, laughing, and playing some bags. It has become a tradition for us, and we all look forward to it every year.
We had a beautiful weekend to go fishing. It was in the 70’s and sunny and you just could not ask for better weather. We have been when it was very cold, windy and many times it has been raining. For once I was going to wear shorts and hope the bugs weren’t going to be bad.
We arrived at the docks at 4:45am and set sail for the open waters of Lake Michigan. We arrived to our spot and Blake’s new first mate Isaac starting setting the poles. As he prepared the fourth pole one of the first three went off. Our first fish in under five minutes. This had me thinking it was going to be game on. I was worried about the fishing because we had a full moon the night before and I know that they could have been feeding all night and not really hungry in the morning.
After our first fish it took about a half and hour and we had our second fish on which got off. We continued throughout the day as the bite got slower and slower. We had 12 strikes and we had 9 fish in the cooler all of this was before 9:00am. After about nine in the morning the bite just shut off. I could hear the captains talking and it seemed to be that way across the fleet. Some only had a couple of fish and the most I heard was 12. Captain Blake and Isaac worked hard all day. They changed lures constantly and was doing everything in their power to make is successful. I have been on this lake many times and you just never know what to expect. I will guarantee one thing you will catch fish it just depends on the final number. We have reached our limit of 30 a couple of times and most times we end up with between 18-22. So, if you are ever looking for a great charter on Lake Michigan, give Captain Blake a call at 224-730-4105 and he will take care of you and you won’t be disappointed.
After fishing for the last two months, it was time to spend some time getting things ready on the hunting grounds. The food plots need mowed. The ditches need to be cleared of beaver dams and one of our tubes is totally clogged by a beaver. As you know we fight beavers year-round. A couple of years ago we had a trapper come in and take several out and we didn’t have problems last year. Unfortunately, the trapper kept telling me he was going out there last year, but never did so now we start fighting the beavers again. I know over the last four or five years we have taken over 40 beavers off this property. Very hard to believe I know but trust me we must be beaver breeding grounds. So, if you know a trapper who wants some beavers this fall, you should probably give me a call if you are around the Peoria area.
Of course, I picked the three days to mow it was going to be over 90 degrees. It seems every time I go to work at the club it is hotter than blazes. I spent over four hours three days to get all of our food plots mowed and ready for spray. We have been trying for a couple of years to reclaim these plots and it looks like we are finally making good head way. The grass is not as thick as normal so hopefully after we get it sprayed off, we can get it disced and tilled so we can be ready to plant some food plots. Both of our plots are a few acres a piece, so we have quite a bit of food for the deer this fall. Fingers crossed it all works out.
Until next month. May your sunrises and sunsets be magical!