Hennipin Canal again.

[Illinoisgiller]

I slipped off to the Hennipin Canal for a little ice fishing. The ice won't be lasting long here with the warming trend.:icon_mad:
There was 5" of good ice. The bite was slow. There was a light rain for a while. I was thankfull for the Shappell shelter.:icon_biggrin: I had to use the Vexilar also today. Not often I bother with it in 4 1/2' to 5' of water, but it was responsible for about half of my catch. I ended up with 70+ smallish gills and lost one crappie at the hole . The crappie was a nice one and I'm pretty sure it was a state record.:confused0024: [my story, I'll do the estimating] lol
I only took a couple pictures. One is a few shacks on the canal and one is most of the gills I got today. If you want to get on the ice , you better hurry. Mike

[jason454ci]

Good job Giller!! We ain't got no ice and it's still too cold for me to be fishin. :icon_biggrin:

[walt65]

I'm kinda new to ice fishing and wonder if you fillet all those little fish or just scale them and deep fry them. My back reall hurts when I try to stand up and filet blue gills. Thanks Walt

[Illinoisgiller]

Welcome to the WIF family Walt. :icon_cool: I fillet ALL sizes of gills. I have a place to do it in my shop. The fish cleaning bench is up high because I also have back problems on low benches. I use an electric knife. It is a Rapalla 110v-12v . I always run it on the little 12v Vexilar type batteries.
I was actually forced into learning how to use an eletric knife. I was at a small south Iowa lake and had a nice batch of big gills. The cleaning bench they had then was lower than my waist. :icon_mad: By the time I was done cleaning my catch with my regular fillet knife, my back was SHOT. I done the next mess of gills with eletric knife .The key is to start real slow, and work your way up.
There are a ton of things I would rather be good at ,but I can whip out gills at two a miniut on a regular. The smaller ones like I had on the canal would take just slightly longer. The coons will get the very smallest. The rest were filleted for a batch of gill soup.
If we get a chance to hook up on the canal somewhere, I'll bring along the knife and a board and show you how I do it .It's pretty simple when you see it done.
If we don't loose the Ice, I want to go up around the point from where we were and see if I can find some a little larger. Mike

[GOT_A_Fish]

Hey giller if ya don't mind me askin where abouts on the henipn do ya go in looking at a map it appears to be not that far from me in morris. It looks to be about the same distance from colona just west instead of east. maybe we could hook up sometime and fish it. Hopefully this rain dosen't wreck the ice before the cold air gets back.

[Rainman4u2]

I have a good idea where he's at, but I will not giveup a location for fear that he will never take me out.

Ray

[GOT_A_Fish]

I have a good idea where he's at, but I will not giveup a location for fear that he will never take me out.

Ray

HAHAHA:icon_biggrin: I would not want try and find it on my own nor fish gillers area without him takin me there.

I got some great panfish areas around me but might be a bit of a drive for you guys, I caught some great crappies and gills last year through the Ice. I've allways wanted to get over to the hennipin but haven't yet it would probably be 45 min to an hour drive for me.

[Illinoisgiller]

Rainman4u2I have a good idea where he's at, but I will not giveup a location for fear that he will never take me out.

Ray, Boy, that was a scary post Ray. Overheard a girl in the 8th grade saying that very thing.:confused0068: ROLF I sent Jeff a PM

[CrappieKeith]

You guys kill me.

[Schoe]

Well Walt, I too have problems when I lean over to fillet fish as I have that demon Dun Lapped Disease so I usually sit down and do the job. Schoe

[Rainman4u2]

LOL Schoe!!!! I had a nice afternoon yesterday, can't wait to do it again. (After I eat!!!!)

Ray

[walt65]

I must really be dumb never heard of gill soup! Ha Ha Walt

[Illinoisgiller]

Nope, your not dumb Walt.:confused0024: I thought the same thing till Schoe made up a batch for us up in Wisconsin.
When he mentioned it I was picturing this bowl of bluegill floating in hot water.lol Such was not the case at all.
It is a lot like chowder, and was deliciious.
Now keep in mind that Schoe knows his stuff around the kitchen.:icon_cool::icon_cool::icon_cool:
I might take a cruise tomorrow and see if a guy might sneak out a ways. If we get some ccold fast we might be able to refreeze the ice.

[Illinoisgiller]

Got out to the canal again today( went after wax worms and got lost.:confused0024:) I arrived to find a few shacks already there so had no concerns about the ice. I got set up and found the gills to be less than eager. I had to work them with the vexilar in most cases. I was using one of the Marmooska jigs in yellow-green tipped with wax worms, size 14. I found in two cases that crappie don't get solid hooked easily with those tiny hooks. I did manage to get one out of the hole. It wasn't too long till I started hearing people leaving with the light bite .I was still getting a few so held out, but moved a few times. Finally it was down to I and a fella up a ways that I have seen there often. He is a bucket fisherman and it must have been chilly there with the light wind. Finally he came by and asked if I wanted some crappie. He had to get home and get ready for Christmas so I took them off his hands. There were 5 or 6 gills nice size for the canal and 6 nice crappie. I left not too long after at 4:15. I put a picture of one of those "hand sized" gills and fillets.:confused0068: I sure don't regret taking a go at them today .Was nice to get out, but think I'll quit fishing till after Christmas.lol Mike

[cambridgefisherman]

I am going out to the canal tomorrow. I am the one with the brown coat sitting on a little lawn chair with a green bucket if anyone goes out there, so stop by and say hey. I can believe that crappie you had on because some guy caught a 17 incher out there last year and let it go after pictures. I myself have never had it hooked to my knowledge.

[Fishaholic]

welcome cambridgefisherman sure that ice is safe enuff????? you be carfull there!!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Should be safe if he is going where I think .I wouldn't trust it anywhere else though. :confused0024: Hope I can make time to join him for a bit. :icon_cool: Mike

[cambridgefisherman]

I ended up not going out today, too much of a snowy mess, I will hit it up tomorrow. The place I was speaking of is Isaac Walton and there was 6-7 inches of ice when I was out there on Wednesday. Today I am going to make those bead jigs that those guys out there speak of. They appear to be quite effective as I have seen many crappie and bass caught on them.

[Fishaholic]

I ended up not going out today, too much of a snowy mess, I will hit it up tomorrow. The place I was speaking of is Isaac Walton and there was 6-7 inches of ice when I was out there on Wednesday. Today I am going to make those bead jigs that those guys out there speak of. They appear to be quite effective as I have seen many crappie and bass caught on them.


where is this place???? there is NO SAFE ICE round here!!!!!!!

[cambridgefisherman]

It is north of the hopsital in Geneseo. The road that goes by the hospital on the right side and I believe Caseys on the left, just keep going north and there is good ice there. I dont know the directions from Sterling.

[Illinoisgiller]

The highway North out of Geneseo is hwy#82. Drop into the area on the right where the hwy.crosses the canal. Mike

[Fishaholic]

The highway North out of Geneseo is hwy#82. Drop into the area on the right where the hwy.crosses the canal. Mike


is that where the campground area is???? noticed that spot that was one of my points of interest!!

[Fishaholic]

It is north of the hopsital in Geneseo. The road that goes by the hospital on the right side and I believe Caseys on the left, just keep going north and there is good ice there. I dont know the directions from Sterling.


be coming I88 to hway 92 to south 82

[cambridgefisherman]

Anyone have any ideas as to how thick the ice is on the canal is now?

[Fishaholic]

should be plenty good thats for sure!!

[heath19]

I dont know how much is on the cannal, but there is at least a foot of ice everywhere on the mississippi backwaters and even a little more in some places. went today and didnt do so hot, caught one nice 16" bass and some small perch and bluegills. Uncle had one real nice 12 1/2"perch. Last saturday a guy caught a 16" perch out of that spot and i was sitting right next to him and didnt believe him when he said it was that big. Uncle said he talked to the guy that caught it and he was getting it weighed by the state today to see if it beats the state record!!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Those are some nice perch you spoke of .:icon_cool::icon_cool: We need to find a way to get a digital camera in your hands. That is a HUGE perch.
I'd agree that there should be lots of ice on the canal now. Mike

[cambridgefisherman]

keep me updated on the status of that yellow perch, i am interested to see if that is a state record. Where was this caught?

[john h]

i have caught a decent amout of 16- 18 inch yellow perch and most have ran from bout 1.8 to 2.1 pounds.. the state record is 2 lbs 8 ounces.. even so its a very nice perch i dont think its even in the vicinity of that

[heath19]

I have never seen a perch over 14" and i have never weighed one so i have no clue what a perch that size may weight. They said it was plum full of eggs and as big around as a football so i have no idea what it might weight. It was caught at the south end of spring lake at the hole in the dike.

[john h]

full of eggs it will still prob be right at 2 lbs or so.. its a great fish tho

[heath19]

Well that 16" perch was caught last saturday and the guy frooze it until it could be weighed by the state on thursday...it ended up being 3/10 of an oz. off of the state record of 2lb. 8.75oz.:confused0068: Im thinking that if it had been weighed the day he caught it before he frooze it we would have a new state record yellow perch!!! He called the state the day he caught it but they couldnt get out to weigh it until thursday..

[zim-cat]

THose are some nice perch wish we had some that big around here There probally is just have not lucky enough yet lol.

[gofish]

definately woulda been a new record.....freezin definately dehydrates em,thats a shame

[thorontheborder]

Hello fellow anglers, new kid on the block here. I'm really excited about joining this site, hoping I can learn a thing or two about fishing. My 14 yr old son got me hooked on bass fishing 2 years ago and it's been a riot. We fish the Hennepin and Lake George and have had some fantastic adventures.
We fish March to November , usually from Colona to Geneseo, and we've met some really great people and learned alot. I'll bet we've crossed paths with a few of you at the Hennipin. We're looking forward to the end of this long winter and the month of April. Last April got us fired up when my son caught 17 bass and I caught 13 in about 3 hours. It was cold, windy and raining but we had alot of fun. We do the "catch and release" thing for the most part, waiting for the 10 lb. wall-mounter.
Anyway, we're happy to be a part of this site and look forward to sharing stories & tips. Good luck to everyone and have a great day.

[hnd]

Hello fellow anglers, new kid on the block here. I'm really excited about joining this site, hoping I can learn a thing or two about fishing. My 14 yr old son got me hooked on bass fishing 2 years ago and it's been a riot. We fish the Hennepin and Lake George and have had some fantastic adventures.
We fish March to November , usually from Colona to Geneseo, and we've met some really great people and learned alot. I'll bet we've crossed paths with a few of you at the Hennipin. We're looking forward to the end of this long winter and the month of April. Last April got us fired up when my son caught 17 bass and I caught 13 in about 3 hours. It was cold, windy and raining but we had alot of fun. We do the "catch and release" thing for the most part, waiting for the 10 lb. wall-mounter.
Anyway, we're happy to be a part of this site and look forward to sharing stories & tips. Good luck to everyone and have a great day.

nice to meet you. what do you fish for out at loud thunder? had any success lately?

[Illinoisgiller]

Welcome Mike ,from Mike. :icon_cool::icon_cool:lol If this gas insanity keeps up I'll be out on the canal often. :confused0024:I and the wife get out there with some regularity already, but we target the smallish gills. Glad to have you aboard, Mike

[capt.kirk]

Welcome to the WIF family Mike,looking forward to hearing from you often
just hang around and take it in.You no what just hit me is that among
the present membership there is over 10,000 years of fishing experence :confused0068: Kirk

[john h]

and 5 fish.................j/k lol

[thorontheborder]

nice to meet you. what do you fish for out at loud thunder? had any success lately?
Hey HND, nice to meet ya. We did pretty good at Lake George, biggest largemouth was 7.5 lbs, and rumor has it that the lake is full of 10 pounders. We bought a map of the lake at Gander Mountain last year, it really helped locate the hot spots.
I was shocked when I accidentally caught my first Muskie on a Rapala X-RAP. 38 inches and 11 lbs. Night time cat-fishing is pretty good in the summer, we use G & S cheese dip bait.
We'll be there as soon as the ice breaks, good luck to ya.

[harpenter]

Welcome aboard!

If you fish the Hennepin & Lake George a lot, there's a good chance we've run into each other already. HND & I fish both spots quite a bit. We're easy to spot at Lake George. HND will be the goofy looking guy getting excited about catching 5" bluegills, and I'll be the guys telling him to shut up & catch some real fish...:evilgrin0039:

[hnd]

you forgot about the part where you are sitting there catching no fish...


i have the hotspots map, i'm not sure where i got it...as for bass fishing i used to have good luck out there....i had more luck live bait fishing for bass than lure fishing....or i would just throw white crankbaits at the points...

there are some very large bass in there....i've seen them...i was young but i went out with an older gentleman from church one time and he showed them to me on their beds....

[Fishaholic]

Izack Walton park, still iced over or is it fishable by shore??
gatta head up to webers tommmorow in geneseo and pick my deer meat, was ganna wet a line if its possible off the bank!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Jason, Even though I haven't been out there recently, I'd think it would be devoid of ice. Mike

[Fishaholic]

thanks Mike!! ganna be up there around 8ish fish fer a couple hrs then go get my deer meat!

[dipper69_2000]

well jason did ya get to geneseo? just woundered if ya did any good. candy n i talked about checking the camp ground out down there this summer. we seen it on r way down there to get my lab pup. looks like a nice place

[Fishaholic]

Yes we made it up there mark!!! Fished about an hr with nothing!! was my first time on open water there!!! fished it twice on ice!! was pretty windy out there and cold, fished right by the boat ramp and the docks. Did pretty good on ice up there but was ferther off to the right of the ramp.
Alot of dead fish along the bank though!! not a good sign, is a very nice place and I plan to take a weekend tent campin up there this summer, and take a canoe!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Not good news Jason, It was in the lower stretch of that pool that I reported the fish kill in. I'll call the Hennipin Canal Parkway office tomorrow and see what they determined. They told me they would send someone down to check it out.
You will enjoy using a canoe on the placid waters of the canal. That pool has been one of the best bass pools in this area....Sure hoping that hasn't been lost. Mike

[dipper69_2000]

what is the boat n motor size down there n is there access to the green river from there? jason if ya decide to go call candy n i would likely follow if ya did not mind. I have a 14 foot boat n 25 horse motor that needs a water pump n the trollin motor is shot but by the time we camp i should have a new tollin motor. i may just forego the gas motor i only use it for lake n back waters now i have the new boat.

[Fishaholic]

illl def let you know, looks like a nice area to fish and camp!! Giller knows more about the area then I do!!

[dipper69_2000]

well we will have ta plan on it this late spring.....hopefully giller can joins us??????? giller? do a camp dwn there n then come up here ta fish the miss..

[Fishaholic]

sure will, maybe get a few memebers down there and have a little fish fry!!!

[heath19]

That sounds like an idea to me jason. I have never fished the area you have been talking about but im always up for new areas and would like to give it a try with you guys someday maybe. Keep me informed if you make any plans.

[Fishaholic]

will do sounds like a plan guys, now we just gatta wait for the weather!!!..lol...
We also do a couple fish frys at our campground near lyndon a yr, ill let you guys know your more than welcome to come out, and fish too!!!

[dipper69_2000]

good fish out there. just shallow. lots of smallies and eyes down that way to at larry's ponderosa that is.. fished that for years when ma n dad had trailor out there

[Fishaholic]

I have a trailer out there, so does my mom, and grandma!! do a lot of night fishin out there on the boat and bank fishing too!!

[flatheadhunter32]

Is there any big flatheads in the canal?

[dipper69_2000]

i don't know about big but back in 87 we had a real hot spell n my dad n i hogged a mess of 10 to 20 pounders outta there. have ta find those pics now got me woundering where they r lol

[Dave]

I know that there has been 50#ers caught at the lock area at Geneseo. I think the DNR office at Sheffied has a replica of a 55#er caught by a fella from Geneseo.

[Illinoisgiller]

Jason and Mark, Sorry, I somehow missed your post about camping. I can't make any long range plans this year. I haven't quite figured out what I will be doing yesterday, let alone tomorrow.:confused0024:lol
I and the wife done an enjoyable loop trip gilling with my van during the one warm day we had. I haven't started it since and don't have any plans to for a while if I don't absolutely have to. Mike

[dipper69_2000]

Jason and Mark, Sorry, I somehow missed your post about camping. I can't make any long range plans this year. I haven't quite figured out what I will be doing yesterday, let alone tomorrow.:confused0024:lol
I and the wife done an enjoyable loop trip gilling with my van during the one warm day we had. I haven't started it since and don't have any plans to for a while if I don't absolutely have to. Mike

you know it is sad to say that as often as i hunt and fish it is most often spur of the moment. it seems as tho every time i make long range plans something comes up. usaully the river or a snow storm :confused0056: lol. if it works out that would be great tho think it would be a good time.

[Fishaholic]

well that kentucky trip here in a week or so sure isnt ganna save you any money on gas!!!lol...
we def wont be planning anything far in advance mark when the weather warms we'll make a weekend campin out there!! chris sounded interested too! got a buddy thats interested too.

[Illinoisgiller]

Kentucky Lake is the result of planning far ahead. Times change rapidly. I gave my word that I would go. Mike

[dipper69_2000]

well that kentucky trip here in a week or so sure isnt ganna save you any money on gas!!!lol...
we def wont be planning anything far in advance mark when the weather warms we'll make a weekend campin out there!! chris sounded interested too! got a buddy thats interested too.
sound good jason will be a good time i am sure