Fishing like it is 2006
Sunday reminded me of 2006.
That year, the final fishing trips on the cooling lakes and the final Sundays of the firearm deer seasons had to be planned around the time of the Bears game.
Not that Sunday started that way. At halftime, I started gathering my gear to take off and wander Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area, one of my favorite getaways near Wilmington.
But the second half grabbed me, holding me home to the end.
Even wandering some back roads at Mazonia didn’t quell the mix of emotions and feelings after that game. It felt like sorting tacks and nails.
I really needed some bluegill fishing and maybe a random redear or crappie to soothe me.
People were out on a beautiful afternoon, but no one was at the area where I went.
A couple of gray catbirds mewed (Bears fans?) as I walked back, then outwalked the sounds of traffic and others.
The phragmites had gotten even worse than I remembered, obscuring one lake where I usually make a few casts. I didn’t have a machete with me to hack a path, so I pushed on to my favorite little lake.
It took a minute or two to find the right depth to fish, then — bingo! — the first bluegill went on the stringer. I played with a couple of sizes and styles of jigs and found plain, white, black or chartreuse 1/16th-ounce jigheads with white or chartreuse Bluegill Chuck tails worked best.
I started like the Bears did in the first half, going 1-for-4, before I found my rhythm.
Bluegills rank up there for me for their aggressiveness, simple beauty and savage ounce-for-ounce fighting ability. I didn’t even bring a bass rod with me, so I could stay focused on bluegills (though I hoped for a redear or a crappie to fatten the stringer). It didn’t happen.
By the time I was against it to make it home for a late dinner, I said two more casts (no point in saying one cast when you know you’ll do at least two more) and caught my final bluegill on the second.
It was time.
I kept the three biggest for a lunch of baked bluegill.
Reminder: The area around Ponderosa and Eagle lakes at the south unit of Mazonia closed, effective Monday, for extensive construction.
Otherwise, the final day of fishing at Mazonia (Monster Lake is open year-round) is Oct. 15.
Wild things
Rob Abouchar has been seeing nighthawks around Island Lake. I’ve blanked so far. . . . I am still stuck on one monarch butterfly for the year.
Illinois hunting
Early Canada goose season ends Sunday. . . . Waterfowl hunters may submit registrations for The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, near Havana, through Sept. 23. Details are at
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Beer in the Woods
Friends of the Forest Preserves will hold its annual Beer in the Woods on Sept. 21 at LaBagh Woods on the Northwest Side. It’s a highly enjoyable mix of craft tastings, guided walks and fundraising to help the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Information is at
Stray cast
Bluegills are the screen passes of fishing.