Vermilion River Country


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LARRY SMITH, Editor
Vermilion River Country
P.O. Box 787
Danville, IL 61834
lsmith@dancomnews.com

Fishing

Smaller Locations Offer Great Fishing

By Sam VanCamp

Choose a smaller location to cast your line.

Choose a smaller location to cast your line.

If you come to Vermilion River Country to fish and you want to try somewhere other than Lake Vermilion, Lake Mingo or Kickapoo State Park, here are four smaller bodies of water you might want to try.

Each of these sites have a single concrete boat ramp and each has limited horsepower or electric trolling motor only regulations.

Adrian's Pond is a small pond of about three acres located inside Kennekuk County Park north and west of Danville. If you plan a day on Lake Mingo and it's too windy, Adrian's Pond is not very far from the Mingo Boat Ramp.

Adrian's Pond is nestled back in a hardwood forest setting and this pond is not fished as often as most. Don't let the three acres fool you, as the pond has many little fingers and lots of shoreline. It has deep water, shallow water and lots of cover and it supports a population of largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and channel catfish.

Anglers must use electric motor on Adrian's Pond. Being a smaller body of water makes Adrian's a great place to take a short-day trip, such as a morning or evening trip during the summer.

Tilton Lake (Lake Herschel) can be found by taking Interstate 74 east to the Georgetown Road Exit. (Illinois Route 1 south). You will only go about a block after leaving the exit and then take the 14th Street exit. Take 14th Street east to the UPS building on the right. The lake sits directly behind Schultz Nursery. Look for the road that takes you back to the lake.

Tilton Lake is about 10 acres and has a very nice boat ramp. The lake is full of crappie and supports a nice largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill fishery as well. You won't be bothered by a lot of traffic on the lake, which has an electric motor-only regulation.

The Georgetown Reservoir or Georgetown Dam can be located by following I-74 to the Georgetown Road exit (Route 1 south). It's about 10 miles to Georgetown and, once you get through the entire town, you will cross a bridge as you are going south. Once you cross the bridge, there is a road to the right ó Old Dam Road. Take that road, heading back toward the river. You will make a turn to the left, which takes you back to the dam.

The reservoir has a concrete boat ramp and a 9.9 hp motor limit. The reservoir is nothing more than the Little Vermilion River being backed up by a small overhead dam.

This lake is a great crappie lake in the early spring and fall. The reservoir is filled with carp, which stir and muddy the water during the late spring and summer, making fishing a little more difficult. There also are channel catfish, bluegill and largemouth bass in the fishery as well.

Willow Pond is a six-acre lake located inside Forest Glen Preserve east of Westville. This is a pretty little lake with a very nice campground on its east side.

Willow Pond has an electric motor only regulation and is filled with largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and channel catfish. The pond has a shallow south end but some deep water as you move toward the dam.

Like Adrian's Pond, Willow Pond is nestled among the hardwood forest of the park making it a beautiful setting to both fish and camp. This pond, although small in size, houses some monster bass that will test the best of tackle.

While you are visiting Vermilion River Country, search out these four bodies of water for your shorter fishing trips.

 

Lake Mingo A Muskie Fisherman's Dream

By Sam VanCamp

Fishermen enjoy the day out on Lake Mingo.

Fishermen enjoy the day out on Lake Mingo.

If you are planning a visit to Vermilion River Country you might want to bring along your muskie rod and some good muskie lures. And don't forget your camera.

Lake Mingo, located inside Kennekuk County Park, has been stocked with muskie since the fall of 2002. The musky (or muskellunge) are part of a research study by the Illinois Natural History Survey to determine the growth rate and diet of muskie living in Illinois. The study is trying to learn which strain of muskie will survive best in Illinois waters.

About 600 fish are released during each stocking, which occurs during the fall of the year. The fish are small, about 10 inches in length.

There are three recognizable strains or stock of muskie: Ohio River Drainage, Upper Mississippi Drainage and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Drainage. The muskie stocked into Lake Mingo come from the first two sources along with fish raised from the Jake Wolf State Fish Hatchery in Illinois. The fish from Jake Wolf are a combination of all three strains of muskie.

Lake Mingo offers anglers a 150-acre lake with standing timber, deep water points, rocky banks and shallow water areas. The lake supports populations of bluegill, largemouth bass, crappie, channel catfish and carp as well as the muskie. The lake also has a tremendous gizzard shad population, which makes up about 90 percent of the muskies' diet.

Recent surveys have shown the largest musky group in the lake to be between 41-42 inches in length. The legal length limit for the lake is 48 inches. Although you may not catch a "keeper" muskie this season, 50-inch fish, weighing in the 40-pound range, is an expected goal by those doing the survey.

The survival rate for muskie stocking in the lake is relatively low, being only 20-40 percent. The larger the fish gets, the better the survival rate for the adults. Anglers are asked to carefully release the fish when caught. Certain fin clips should be noted as they, along with the length, will help provide data for the survey. When noting the fin clips on an individual fish, remember to use the fish's right or left, not the right or left as you are viewing it.

Anglers should not only have the proper muskie rod, reel and lures, but you might want to have some extra gear such as a large landing net, heavy or leather gloves, needle-nose pliers or cutters, a strong pair of scissors, a good camera and maybe a few Band-Aids for those less experienced in handling a muskie.

When you peer into the mouth of a muskie, you will find it has more teeth than one can count, so great care is needed to release the fish unharmed.

A musky should be kept horizontal, if at all possible, while taking a picture or when trying to remove the hook. Try to avoid holding it vertically as this puts excessive strain on the vertebrae and can seriously injure the fish.

Enjoy the musky opportunities here in Vermilion River Country but do practice catch and release so others can enjoy the thrill that your muskie gave to you.


More Fishing:


These Vermilion County locations sell Illinois fishing licenses: