Sure, why not?

The weather was nice, and most of the lakes in Northern IL are thawed out. Too bad I didn’t bring a rod along for a car ride this morning. It was a good thing Keith came to the rescue. He too wanted to get a line wet, so he met me at my office after work and gave me a loaner rod and loaner trap. Game on.

We hit Independence Grove in Lake County. This has always been a favorite of mine for post-work fishing because of its location and convenience. Upon arrival, we saw that nearly 80% of the lake’s surface still had a layer of ice on it. This meant that we would only be able to fish 20% of the lake

Keith hooked into a nice bass at one point, which he classified as a “toad,” but it came unbuttoned after a brief fight. Soon after I felt a little extra resistance during my retrieve, and gave a set. At first I thought I had hooked into a glob of weeds, but it turned into a healthy little chunky bass.

First IG bass of 2010!

We moved on to a point, and started casting out as far as the receding shoreline ice would allow. After clunking my trap against the edge of the ice and letting it fall briefly, I felt a quick thump, and gave a hookset. I immediately yelled to Keith for assistance, thinking I had hooked into a monster bass or even one of the legendary Independence Grove Muskies, but turned out to be a huge carp.

I estimate this fish around 15 lbs

After an hour or so of casting, we called it an evening and hit bass pro shops to find a couple of replacement spinner baits I had lost this past weekend. Tomorrow’s agenda – Normal IL!