From Kankakee to Wilmington

Last week I told you that me and dad were in northern Illinois…camping at Kankakee River State Park; I thought the first day on the river would be the worst, truth is-the river conditions my first day out were indeed the best. The second morning found the Kankakee River running at 11,000cfs (cubic feet per second); it should have been around 4,000cfs…the water was even higher than the first day and a darker shade of chocolate. I dropped my float tube (Voyager) in at the same spot and once again told dad that I would meet him in about 4 hours; shoved off and was flowing along with the river at a pretty rapid rate.

The only fly that I thought could be seen was once again the optic yellow streamer from the first day; I had only gone about ¼ of a mile when I made a cast just behind a grassy area that had an eddy causing the water to swirl and gurgle. My line came tight and I thought I had probably snagged…but through the years I have learned to set the hook and ask questions later. My ‘snag’ moved straight out into the current and it was quickly evident I had tied into something quite large. My only thinking was simple; if this was a smallmouth…it might just be a giant.

My 6 weight rod was bent double and I was quickly trying to assess the situation; could I even land a fish of this size in water that was flowing at a high rate of speed? I took a look over my shoulder, downstream, and could see that I was traveling on a long straight-away…good news, because there was no possible way I could maneuver the boat. The fish had not yet reared its head and it was becoming pretty evident to me that I had locked into a catfish of some kind…but I was still not positive. The next few minutes consisted of me holding my rod as high as possible-patience is for sure a virtue and the only way I would land this fish.

I am not sure how much farther I traveled but in a matter of a few minutes I was able to hoist the fish to the surface; yes indeed attached to my yellow fly was a large (and somewhat ugly) channel cat. Ultimately I was able to reach down and lip the beast…and slide the fish up into my lap. If you know catfish you understand that they have barbs on each side as well as one protruding straight up from its back. Not getting gored was now of utmost importance…but the fish not puncturing my good waders became critical. I wanted to get to a stringer in my backpack (behind me), I wanted to take a photo of the fish (camera also located in my backpack)…I wanted the fish to stop eating my hand! For the first time in my fly-fishing career the weight of the fish along with the elements of the river simply were too much. While I tried…in the end the fish flopped, taking a portion of the top of my thumb and I lost ‘the beast’ back into the coffee colored water.

Due to the speed of the river I was able to make it to the pick-up point in just less than three hours and did so just as dad was pulling in. We returned to the campsite, dropped off my blue boat and traveled west a few miles to the sleepy little town of Wilmington, Illinois. Our destination this afternoon was The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie located on Illinois 53 between Wilmington and Joliet. Because of the good map I bought the first day out I could see that there was a small creek that ran through Wilmington and dumped into the Kankakee. As I drove over the bridge I slowed and looked down to see an awesome looking drainage that screamed smallmouth; I started looking for a spot to gain access to the creek and had to go a couple miles upstream but eventually stopped, asked, and got permission to enter.

My second cast into a pool just below a riffle was successful as I hooked up with a nice 13 inch smallie. Wow, to say I love fly fishing small creeks such as this…a huge understatement! A couple minutes later and another dark olive smallmouth…I continued to cast and move downstream back toward dad and the Suburban. About halfway back I came upon an absolutely stunning scene of a set of three Catawba trees, in full plumage, dropping their white blossoms into the stream below; the blooms were swirling, coagulating before the current pulled them to the next riffle, all in a straight line. I took several photos, stowed away my camera and made a nice cast across the pool, started to strip my shad colored fly back to me, allowing the fly to ‘dawdle’ along the way, to die and spurt, trying to create a ‘dying’ look. I watched as a nice fish staged just in front of my fly, waited, then took my fly head on; I stripped set with my left hand, now we, me and this 15 incher, were one…the commotion from the fish sent the Catawba blossoms in all different directions. A few quick, powerful strips and I was able to lip, then photograph this true small stream trophy.

Rain began to fall even harder as I neared the Suburban…signaling an end to my fishing day. Dad and I would head north a few miles to read and peruse the information at Midewin, then on a few more miles north to have dinner with Harrison and Nicole. It had been a truly fruitful day…one that I hope to do over and over in the remaining years here on planet Earth. I guess it’s a pretty simple way to enjoy an early June day; the beauty of water, fish and all that goes with it has me eager to return to this area…to once again Enjoy the Great Outdoors.