Shadow Lakes Sportsman Fishing Club

Enhancing the Environment and Fishing Experience at Shadow Lakes

Officers

President - Tom Lydon Cell (630) 776-1625 tlydon44@gmail.com

VP & IDNR - Fred Cowell

Treasurer - Jane Hill

Secretary - Lynn Schuler

Fund Raising & Activities Betty Lydon

blydon45@gmail.com Phone: (630) 469-6956

The next meeting is

JULY 21st Club meetings, of about one hour, are held the third Sunday of each

month at the

Shadow Lakes Amenity Center.

Meetings begin at 9 AM Free coffee &

donuts provided. A fun meeting!

Newsletter

Peg McQuarters Tom Lydon

Website/Sue Kielnik

Visit Us On The Web At: www.sportsmanfishingclub.com

Club Mailing Address: Sportsman Fishing Club

Shadow Lakes II 24727 W. Amenity

Center Drive Wilmington, IL 60481

June 2019 Financial Report:

Beginning balance $ 2,320.94

Revenues $ 932.00

Expenses $ 530.20

New Balance $ 2,722.74

Association Stocking Funds $ 12,097.22

Total Available Funds $ 14,819.96

Paid-out: 25th Anniversary benches $ 1,431.91.

Fish deposit $1,000, T-shirts/hats, $700, COMED $30.95, Stocking $5902.78,VISTAPRINT website, $103.50.

Switch from US mail to e-mail and save the

Club some funds. THANK YOU!

151 Members so far. Check with Betty to see if you are paid.

Thank you!

UPCOMING MEETING, JULY 21st, 2019

CLUB’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR!

AUGUST 10TH, ALL-RESORT FISH FRY & POT-LUCK

September 2nd, Kid’s Fishing Derby, FV Pond 2019 Paid-up members will receive a Commemorative “25th Anniversary Koozie”- Ask for yours!

1994-2019 JULY 2019 25 Yrs

CATFISH EDITION

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LATE JUNE—EARLY JULY FISHING ROUNDTABLE

LMBass seemed to have finished spawning. Big numbers of LMBass caught during the last month.

Many in the 14 to 16 inch range. Several in the 17 to 20 inch size group. The weights ran from 3 to

6 pounds. Mostly smaller males, females appear to have moved away from the beds. Rubber worms

are again starting to be effective baits: Wacky Worms, Texas and Carolina rigs and just plain rubber

worm & jig set-ups. At least two 20 inch LMBass caught in our Northern lakes on Wacky Worms,

Zara Spooks & Rattle traps. Many nice Crappie deep between 6 & 15 ft. Andy Kaminski and the

Serchuk family found nice schooling Crappie and caught over 20 Crappie each, around 9 inches.

Walleye seem to off the FEED cycle this month. Only 4 or 5 reported. 15 to 19 inches with one

around 20 inches. No pics, sorry. Can’t seem to get folks to remember to send in pics. Very easy

with cell-phones. John Kloth continues his Carp fetish with another around 15-20 pounds. Carb be-

ing seen all over the shallows, rooting around. Really nice Gills, after dealing with the minis. “Fish

of the Month” June winner: Greg Cholek (LHC) with a 38 inch Muskie. See pic below.

FISH OF THE MONTH CONTEST-2019

We will continue our Club “Fish of the Month” contest this year. The forms have been stocked in

our boxes around the lakes by Ron & Peggy. Monthly winners are announced in our newsletter. In

addition to their picture in the letter, they are on our website and bulletin boards. The contest is open

to ALL residents. Winners also win: Club members, a Club hat or t-shirt; non-club members win

Bass-Pro fishing caps. Enjoy great fishing and send in those pictures to the Office, especially Kids.

The “FISH OF THE MONTH” winner for JUNE 2019:

We continue stocking our interior waters with game/forage!

Lots of folks with nice catches on the Conservation Trail!

2019 TAGGED FISH CONTEST- 25TH ANNIVERSARY!

This Summer, we have tagged certain fish on both the Northern & Hawk Lakes.

The tagged fish will win a reward when caught. All the Angler has to do is write

down the tag number and email to tlydon44@gmail.com or (630) 776-1625 (Tom)

and an award will be left for you in the Office after 1 to 2 days. Please return the

fish to the water, so others may win. Folks can only win once, good luck & fishing!

WHAT A CATFISHING MONTH WE HAVE HAD AT SLKS!

MANY HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR BIG CATFISH- 15 LBS PLUS!

Greg Cholek (LHC) boated a 38 inch, very healthy Muskie. Returned alive. Nice “Catch, Picture and Release”, Greg. Our 2nd 38 inch fish this year. The first was through the Ice in March. Lots of sightings of our Muskie population. Several reports of a nice 48 in(approx.) sunning by a dock. We seem to have a good handle on our recent Muskie stocking efforts. We see very few small Carp, which are the main source of food for Muskies, those and ANY strug-gling fish on a hook, explaining why folks feel they are predators, eating every thing in sight……..

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CATFISH ARE BITING AND THEY ARE LOTS OF FUN!

Catfish are found in lakes all over the U.S. Depending on the body of water, a lake may contain some big specimens as well as plenty of smaller ones, and the subspecies can be varied. Channel, blue and flathead catfish are common lake residents, as are their smaller bullhead cousins. The record brown and black bullheads, in fact, came from lakes.

All of these species are fun to catch and good to eat. Smaller fish are preferred for cooking because bigger ones, ex-cept for flatheads, can get tough. For the most part, catfish are bottom feeders and usually hold in deep water, alt-hough they will move into shallows to feed, especially at night in our many channels & canals.

In most lakes as they move to shallower depths to feed at night, they are easy targets for bottom baits. Catfish will hold on any kind of bottom, from rocks to mud, but seem to have a preference for hard bottoms, including those of clay, rocks or gravel.

The depth of water can be critical. In winter and summer, catfish hold in the deepest water that has enough oxygen to support them, searching for temperatures in the mid-70s. In the south, that can mean very deep water. In the spring spawning period, they will move into shallow water with hard bottoms. They like cut-outs, holes or caves. We planted over a dozen weighted garbage cleans as Cat spawning beds. In the fall, they will move shallower as the water cools down to the 70s on top, then back to deeper water as it gets colder. Catfish can be caught in cold water, even when ice fishing, this is uncommon. But, our best Ice Cat was almost 10 lbs. They are usually most active in the warm waters.

Catfish will eat just about anything they can get in their mouths. Liver, live minnows, earthworms, crickets, and meal-worms are all favorite natural foods. There is a wide range of prepared "stink" baits on the market, too. These paste- and dough-like baits can all be molded around hooks and are popular for bottom fishing.

Cats have been caught on unusual baits, as well, ranging from pieces of hot dogs to soap, and they will hit all kinds of artificial baits, from plastic worms to crankbaits and spinnerbaits, though these are not as successful as a natural or prepared bait. Bread balls seem to be a favorite in our waters, see prep instructions on the next page.

Natural or prepared bait size depends on the size of the fish you want to catch. For small, eating-size cats, earthworms or small minnows are good. For bigger fish, a 4 to 6-inch Blue gill is best. Fish all baits on the bottom. In lakes, it often helps to pre-bait a hole (this is actually a form of chumming) to draw cats into a smaller area to catch them. This concentrates them and improves your odds. See list of suggested chums on the next page.

You should match your rod, reel and line choices to the size of the cats you expect to catch. Smaller cats are more fun to catch on lighter spinning or baitcasting rods, and they provide good sport with this equipment. But you need heavy-action rods, reels with a good drag and strong line to land the really big Cats.

For landing smaller fish, a 6- to 7-foot medium-action spinning rod, and a medium-duty reel that has a good drag, will cover most situations. Spool the reel with 10-pound nylon monofilament line, or a heavier braided line with a small diameter, and you can land cats from 1 to 10 pounds. You can land even bigger catfish with this tackle, too, if the reel drag is reliable and you play the fish right. Or, size up rod, reel and at least 20 lb test line & have a big net.

NIGHT-FISHING: there’s just something about casting for catfish after dark that defines the perfect summer night. It could be the thrill of not knowing what kind of monster is sniffing your bait. Since Catfish are warm water fish, by midsummer they’re feeding heavily to gain back the weight they lost during the spawn. Prime time is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. when fish move out of the deep to feed. Just before dark, find a 5- to 15-foot-deep channel or shoreline near a drop-off that may hold cats during the day. Size up your rod to a medium-heavy action and spool it with a min-imum of 20-pound-test line. No expensive lures here—just a simple Carolina rig with an egg sinker above a 3/0 circle hook tipped with a large balled up crawler, cut-bait, shrimp, homemade blood bait or a small gill for the more adven-turous. Once you’ve cast this out into the dark, sit back and relax; for you never know what may go splash in the night. A lighted bobber at night for fishing adds a lot of fun, watching it disappear into the depths. A new type of lighted bobbers are the THILL “SPLASH BRITE” series. They have a self contained battery and only light up when they hit the water. The light goes out when they are out of the water. A slip bobber type runs about $7.50 and lasts about 30 hours. After the battery dies, the are a great day float. Found them at BASSPRO or in Catfish Connections.

Try for cats, if you want to fight a BIG FISH in Shadow Lakes, the next page focuses on rigs and baits for Catfishing.

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CATFISH RIGS, BAITS AND CHUMS BREAD FOR BAIT: Actually, bread is a great bait for fish like catfish, suckers, and carp. Many anglers use “dough balls,” which is simply rolling bread into a ball around a hook and fishing it under a bobber or on the bottom. While some people add scents to the bread to make it more attractive, plain old bread often works great. Experiment with different scents and maybe you can create your own “secret sauce” to catch the big ones.

TERMINAL RIGGING: Here are several examples of rigs to be used for Cats (A). All focus on the bottom feeders, which covers most cats. Although at night, some fish will take floating or surface baits under a bobber. A variance of the bottom rig is to use a 3 way swivel instead of a plain swivel (B). Then tie a bottom weight to the 3rd opening on the swivel. If you use 6 pound test, the weight will break off if snagged. This rig allows the Cat to not feel any initial resistance and the 6 lb line may break off if it gets caught up.

OTHER BAITS & CHUMS: Aside from the many baits mentioned in our articles today, the ONE bait that stands

our for BIG cats is a 4 to 6 inch Bluegill (C). This attracts the larger predators. CHUMMING: Catfish are oppor-tunistic feeders with keen senses of smell and taste. You can use a wide range of materials to chum cat-fish, including kibble or shrimp pieces or ground fish meal. Some experienced Cat-fishermen create their own chumming mixtures by fermenting grains or soybeans, usually with added ingredients like scents (anise, vanilla, etc.). Scatter chum loosely into the water to attract catfish to an area for a longer period of time. Once the chum is in the water, bait a hook with chicken liver or other catfish bait and cast it to the chummed area. As the Sun sets and about a hour after that they should begin moving in.

B A

C

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BEST FISHING DATES FOR JULY-AUGUST 2019

July 13-19 (good), 29-31 (best): August 1-4 (best), 12-18 (good), 27-31 (best)

One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one’s fishing

experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one’s

fishing companions. - John Ashley-Cooper

25TH CELEBRATION

CAKE HELIUM BALLOON

RELEASE/AWARD BY

PEG MCQUARTERS

GREAT IDEA-FUN

OUR NEXT GENERATION OF ANGLERS YEAH-LUKAS AND ROMAN

NICE CATCHE ANGLERS!

CRAPPIE UP TO 15 INCHES ON LIVE MINNOWS TO

MIKE WITH A 21.5 INCH LMBASS MBASS

25TH ANNIVERSARY HELIUM BALLOON RELEASE AWARD

LUKAS 18 LBS 32 3/4 INCHES CHANNAHON

ROMAN TAYLOR 5.2 LB LMBASS ON THE

CONSERVATIONTRAIL, HIS 2ND BIG ONE, WAY TO GO!

RICH MALKOWSKI 20 INCH LMBASS WACKY WORM DINOSAUR LAKE

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CLUB GOLF-CART SCAVENGER FISH HUNT-SAT JULY 6TH

A super event, many thanks to ALL of the gang who did a great job on this event! The feedback indicated a lot of fun and laughs, with new folks really getting into it.

The hunt for objects and escaped fish proved to be a challenge. The funny pictures and qualifying events were extra special this year, thanks to Sue Kielnik who designed and

worked SO HARD to have a very special day. Sue always does a super job! - 44 players signed up - 21 golf carts -15 raffle baskets

-15 final ties resolved by a SKITTLE straw suck-off (LOL) - picture on previous page. - $600 raised for the Club & Stocking, minus food $150 & 1st place prize $50

One of our best events every year, guess we will have to put it on the 2020 schedule!

Minutes from the June 16th 2019 Club Meeting (abbreviated due to lack of space)

Opening: 50 members present,152 paid members with13 new folks, exceeding our goal of 150 members.

Welcome: Happy Father’s Day; New members Andy Pellicione, Dave & Dennis Kunz, Larry Hughes, Bill & Bob Kirby and returning Mike Albano. A big welcome & thank you to our many new members.

Fishing Roundtable: Crappie starting to school up in 6 to 15 foot near weeds; two parties said they caught 15-20 Crappies between 9 and 10 inches. A number of very healthy LMBass between 12 and 15 inches. Another angler caught 4 LMBass between 16 and 17 inches. Dark colored Jig & Pig combos bounced along the bottom doing well. Some reports of Wacky Worms and Zara Spooks being used.

Financials: See page 1 for Jane Hill’s report.

DNR: Tough year. Northern ponds still had late ice. We may test SMBass from 2 different vendors.

Board/POAC topics: Chemical weed control impacted by rains, delayed. The Club will monitor water clar-ity with two Secchi Disks and PH monitoring. Board election was an exact tie between the two Loris’, run-off will be mailed out soon; VOTE!

Old business: 50/50 and donated 50 inch VISIO Smart TV will be raffled off at the Aug 10th Fish Fry. New Box covers were installed by Ron & Peg, and Ron has a supply of welcome kits.

New Business: Water quality, Secchi tests. A PH monitor will allow us to better track our water quality. New weed (algae) Chara, (Musk grass) identified as spreading, research discussed at meeting (call Tom with ?’s). Cutting tends to spread the algae. Billymac and Don raised concerns as they saw it on the weed boat. Removal by pulling out at the root may be better. We will watch this new spreading problem.

Family Pan-fish Derby suffered with rain, thunder & lighting early AM. Winners: Family, Schuler (Lukas) and Big Fish Juniors Emma Sammons; Grand-daughter of Ron & Peg McQuarters. Don S. & Sue K. volunteered to distribute Club Welcome kits to TMV new folks. Volunteers needed to remove Lake Bottom Blankets at EV boat launch; clean and replace. Don B. (LHC) said he would co-ordinate. Job finished July 13th with the help of a group, Maintenance and the Kubota. 25th Anniversary cake was served, helium balloons were filled after one popped by Woody, tags attached, and released in the parking lot by the members. Lots of laughs and some adjustments of the string and away they flew; straight East! One went 88 miles to Knox In, see other article on this event on page seven.

UPCOMING EVENT: Aug 10 the All-resort fish fry and Pot-Luck-50/50 and 50 inch TV raffles! Noon to 2 PM. Event is open to everyone; only admission is pot-luck family passing dish. Please tell all

your NEW neighbors to join you for a fun luncheon. Hot dogs for the kids. A FREE great Cod lunch with a 100 or more fantastic home-made sides.

BETTY WILL BE LINING UP COOKS AND VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS!

The raffle was held and the meeting adjourned

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25 YEARS OF SERVICE TO SHADOW LAKES WATERS, FISHERY AND COMMNUNITY

At our June meeting we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the SHADOW LAKES SPORTSMAN FISHING CLUB. Our Club has supported our waters & fishery for these 25 years. this year we have:

• Donated the four (4) blue commercial benches to be installed on the trail in July & August.

• A tagged fish program going on all Summer in all of our main Lakes.

• Anniversary cake at the meeting attended by 50 members. New bulletin board & fish collage.

• Members launched 12 helium balloons with a prize note attached for the farthest balloon.

• At our Kid’s Derby on Labor Day weekend, we plan to place a time capsule near the rearing pond. That balloon winner was Ms. Erica Wagner of Knox Indiana, 88 miles due east of SLKS, we called her and got her address and sent her a prize for camping, her favorite outdoor sport, along with horse-back riding. She found our balloon in a hay-field and had fun helping us out. 88 miles in one day for that balloon. Not bad. Next time, we will write the name of the person who released the balloon.

This fun event was suggested by our own Peg McQuarters. It was a great suggestion, Peggy

researched it and ordered the BIO-degradable balloon and twine. Sher Sohol donated the helium.

We are assembling a list of ALL of the volunteers and Vendors who donated door prizes or baskets. For the Scavenger Hunt event. That list will appear in our August newsletter, along with more pic-tures, as we gather them. Everyone who helped or donated made for a GREAT day of fun…...

TIPS & TIDBITS

• Amenity Center has Ice and Worms for sale inside in the hallway, on the way to the Pavilion. Also two bait shops; one in Wilmington and one in Braidwood.

• This year’s chemical treatments were difficult and delayed due to the heavy Spring rains. Watching results. • The Club is monitoring the lake clarity issue using two Secchi disks. Greg Cholek & Matt Virgili have volun-

teered to handle these important checks. Also have PH testing equipment and will begin getting temp readings. • The Lake Bottom Blankets at the EV boat ramp have been removed to be cleaned and reset. They appear to be

in good shape. Many thanks to Don, Greg M., Greg C., Angel, Jake and several other helpers, along with John Kloth, the Kubota tractor and Mike Colavecchi for the maintenance assistance.

• The Hawk Lake & Novy Rd. drainage pipes need continuous cleaning by our anglers & Maintenance crew. Many thanks to the folks who have made a habit of cleaning them out. We still see weed build-ups due to the cuttings.

• Our Shadow Lakes Fall stocking will include the following: Walleye, Perch and Black Crappie (also, next).

• This Fall, we will again test stocking Smallmouth Bass from two different vendors to compare sizes and pricing.

• Trout have gone deep with the warmer waters, Walleye are slow. Crappie are schooling; drift and test depths to find them suggest 6-15 foot, live minnows. Big Gills 15 foot deep on outer weed beds. Bass; males mostly in the 15 - 20 in range. Big & small cats most active. A large number of 8 to 10 inch Cats, these fish are new juveniles.

• Your village and lot numbers should be visible on the Lakeside for water emergencies, this past years’ situation with a possible missing lady, raised issues for the Fire & Police dive & rescue teams.

• “TASTE OF SHADOW LAKES” ladies cook books for sale for $5.00. Sign up for a book at the Office. One of the ladies will deliver your book to you & collect at that time. Profits have been used for 2 benches at SLKS.

• The “Cook Book Gals” donated the two purple commercial six (6) foot benches with backs to the Association for the sports area in front of the Amenity Center. Look them over. FISH LIMITS will be back in Aug newsletter.

< some of the craziness with 15 ties at the Scavenger hunt, more pics to follow in next issue.

Two events raised almost $800.

The golf cart wash fundraiser was another FUN event. Lot’s of laughs, but a lot of hard work….raised $200. >

A REAL TRIBUTE TO A FANTASTIC GROUP OF

FOLKS!

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The Sportsman Fishing Club 24727 W. Amenity Center Drive Wilmington IL 60481

Sportsman Fishing Club-25th YEAR OF SERVICE

Membership Application for year:_______ $35.00 for Individual or Family Household

RENEWALS: Just list names, village/lot and check renewal if no changes.

Please provide the following information for Club records and newsletter mailing purposes:

Date: _____________________ Renewal: _____________ New Members: _____________ Name (s): __________________________________________________Lot #: ___________ Home Address: _____________________________________________________________ City: ____________________________________ State: _____________ Zip: __________ Home Phone: ____________________ Shadow Lakes Phone: _____________________

Mail address (only needed if you wish to receive the Club Newsletter by e-mail

E-Mail: __________________________________________

I will view Newsletter on Web Site __________ Please mail newsletter ___________ Membership dues cover the calendar year 2019

• Bring this form to the next meeting and make check payable to: The Sportsman Fishing Club

• Mail to: Sportsman Fishing Club, 24727 W Amenity Center Drive, Wilmington IL 60481

1994 to 2019 25 years of service to SLKS

AUG 10TH ALL-RESORT FISH FRY 12 NOON @ PAVILION (GATE 3). FREE, WITH A PASSING FAMILY

POTLUCK DISH, KIDS - HOT DOGS 50/50 CASH RAFFLE PRIZE &

50 INCH VISIO SMART TV. DRAWINGS AT 2 PM JULY 2019 ISSUE