Cooling Lakes About To Open !

[Joe Hinton]

On March 1st, the first cooling lake in Illinois will open to fishing. All Winter I have been thinking about an article I read here (but can't find anymore) about spoon fishing for bluegills. I'm ready to go out and buy some (spoons) but I need to know if it is worth the trouble since I mainly fish from shore. Can anyone with bluegill spoon fishing expertise give any helpful advice ?

[Josh Milczski (Omaha)]

Curious as to what the heck a cooling lake was I did a search and found this - http://www.illinoisgameandfish.com/fishing/IL_0106_02/. Not sure if it's the article you're looking for, but pretty informative for your location. Pretty neat.

[Joe Hinton]

Hey Josh
Thanks for the reply and the link. I was aware of that article and Braidwood is the cooling lake of my choice. I fish there often. Best of luck on your next outing.

[Johnny wilkins]

I am wondering if because the water in the cooling lakes is heated if this heat is enough to keep the shore a little warmer?
Also, are either of the lakes still warmed by an active power plant? Just wondering and getting cabin fever.

[Johnny wilkins]

Thank you for the cooling lake link. I will do some reading and Googling locations from that information. My car may be headed out there to answer some of these questions- ROAD trip! First I need some fresh bait...

[Chris Salmon]

all i know about them is i know they work, i seen them used on videos and any new articles about them. But as for using them i've never used them so i don't have an answer other than that they work.

[Joe Hinton]

Thanks Christopher,
I'll do a posting after I try them for the first time.

[Jim Gronaw]

The man to talk to is Bill 'Musky' Modica... he is the spoondaddy of bluegilling and has numerous blogs, discussions and a group called North American Spoon Chuckers on this very site. He got me started last year spoonin for gills and it is very well worth your effort. And yes, you can do this from the shore.

Check him out, Joe, and I'll try to get back on here with the success that I have had with spoons after Bill get's it started!

[Joe Hinton]

Thanks Jim,
I'll go to Bill's page right after I'm through here. Hope I can have the same kind of fortune that you've had at spooning.

[Johnny wilkins]

Does the cooling lake have gills big enough for spoon fishing? Most of our gills in my region are very tiny near Chicago. i am curious as I would head there with only about a :30 minute drive for me to get to the cooling lake.

[Joe Hinton]

Thanks John,
Braidwood Lake is about an hours drive from where I live, I don't know just how big the bluegills have to be in order to catch with a spoon, I do know that there some pretty big gills in that cooling lake 6 to 10 inches easy.

[Joe Hinton]

Thanks 2lbgill,
Would I be correct in assuming that you catch 2 pounders pretty regular or is catching one your goal ?

[Jim Gronaw]

Hey Joe... I hope you checked out Bill Modica's spoonin info on this site. I started using them this year because his success just was too good not to give it a try.

Couple things...there is a learning curve to spoongilling and it takes some practice to get in the game. I would recommend you fish a lake that has lots of gills and at least some 8 inch or better specimens to try out the spoons. I have had my best luck on 1/16 th oz Rattlin Flash spoons tipped with worm pieces or Gulp baits. I fish them slow with the occasional twitch or pop, then anticipate a strike shortly after the twitch. The movement is the trigger. Any quality 4 lb test will do, but 6 lb Fireline Crystal, with an 18 in 6 lb flourocarbon leader, may aid in strike detection in cold water. Switch the treble hooks with the single hook that comes with it and put it on so that the hook point faces the opposite side of the rattle. I also use a small swivel so I can quickly change color/ or
sizes as needed.

All this is Bills stuff, not mine. He is the master. After tirelessly watching his videos and taking mental notes, I finally got to the point where I was catching up to 2 dozen gills on a good outing with the spoons.

I did notice that some of the larger fish, to include my personal best hybrid sunfish, showed a preference for the 1/5 oz Swedish Pimple...an old ice fishing standby for magnum yellow perch. This fish measured 11 1/2 inches and weighed between 1-10 and 1-12. I released the fish, and it may be a 2 pounder this coming year.

Joe, I hope this all helps. One thing I would advise is to not 'give up' quickly, as some anglers do, when trying out new and innovative tactics such as spoon gilling. Good Luck!