The winds blew through the opening days at LaSalle Lake. It didn’t stop the shore anglers, though boaters were out of luck.
“My arm is sore from holding these up for selfies,” Darryl Turner said Saturday on opening day at the cooling lake southwest of Seneca.
For shore anglers like Turner and Adrian Medina, it’s been good.
On Sunday, Medina took his father-in-law, Moises Sanchez Marin who was visiting from Mexico. In brutal conditions, Marin caught his first hybrid striped bass
“Great hybrid for sure!” Medina messaged. “But weather did not help, a lot of people cursing [coming] back from the path 25 minutes after the opening.”
On Saturday, Turner, the great blues angler at LaSalle, loved the opener being on a Saturday. He works Monday through Friday, normally missing the opener.
His scorecard read like something Tiger Woods posted in his early years. Turner caught 21 blue catfish: 28 pounds,18, 14, 12, three 10s, four sevens and 10 fives.
When he caught the big one, another angler took the photo for him.
“With the wind at my back, I could cast it way out,” said Turner Saturday, who generally uses bluegill.
On Sunday, when he emailed photos, he added, “Good day with a little help from the wind, some patience, skills and the right equipment to bring those big boys in. Released all the big fish.”
He fished both the hot (70 degrees) and cool (63) sides. He pointed out, “That’s where the electric bike comes in handy.”
Wild things
The ground must have completely thawed. I picked crawlers for the first time this weekend after the rains while walking Lady, the family meathead. Picking up night crawlers and earthworms from the warmer sidewalks and roads after rain is a tradition. (Just pay attention so you don’t get clipped by drivers.)
First reports of morels should start this week in Illinois, later than recent years.
Stray cast
Too many coaches in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament feel as slimy as those fish some boat owners don’t allow in their boats.