Otter17 Posted October 24, 2018 Posted October 24, 2018 I remember reading this article back in 2012, and was kind of blown away by it then. And finely stumbled across it again. It was back when they were restoring the Dupage River(SW Chicago suburbs) and its smallmouth bass fishery. It is pretty much a stream, averaging just 25-30yards across in most areas. At that time in the Warrenville area, the DNR released 100 20” smallmouth Bass that averaged 4-6lbs.!! I was just completey surprised they were introducing 6lb. Smallmouths to this small river. Never heard of that before. Has anyone who fishes the Dupage, ever even caught a 6lber.?! And has anyone around the country heard of Smallmouths of that size being stocked in their waters? https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailyherald.com/amp-article/20120531/news/705319958/ Quote
Super User Scott F Posted October 24, 2018 Super User Posted October 24, 2018 Those fish that were stocked were former brood fish that were past their prime as breeders. At 20 inches long, it is doubtful any actually weighed 6 lbs. The restoration of the river, which was brought about as the result of a Superfund cleanup site and the extra ordinary oversight by the biologists of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. The improved habitat will insure that smallies will flourish for years to come. My club, the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance, has been working with the biologists planting water willows and other plants in the reconstructed sections of the river to further benefit the habitat. I've been fishing the DuPage for close to twenty years. 20 years ago, 18 inch bass were pretty common. Increased fishing pressure, mostly as a result of the spread of information available on local fishing forums, saw numbers of big fish decrease. Those "6 pounders" were caught and kept by those who didn't practice catch and release. 1 Quote
Otter17 Posted October 24, 2018 Author Posted October 24, 2018 Thankyou Scott. That was very informative. ? I grew up near the Dupage in Joliet my whole life, and was a river rat. It meant a lot to me when they cleaned up the river, and put bans on taking any smallmouth from it. It’s a beautiful and bountiful river today, because someone cared enough about it back then to do something about it. Thanks for describing that 6lber situation as well.? Quote
Super User Scott F Posted October 24, 2018 Super User Posted October 24, 2018 The Illinois Smallmouth Alliance had a lot to do with the catch and release regulations in Illinois. It also used to be illegal to wade the DuPage in the county but the ISA met with the director and got that rule changed. If you’ve seen the yellow signs along the DuPage and other rivers in Illinois educating people on the benefits of C&R, the Smallmouth Alliance puts them up. Quote
Otter17 Posted October 24, 2018 Author Posted October 24, 2018 That is Super Awesome that you guys are Proactive in educating people about catch and release like that. That is huge. I also fish for Flathead catfish on the Rock river and sometimes the Kankakee. The Rock used to have a good number 40- 50lbers. These fish are becoming rarer and rarer because there are no effective regulations to stop people from eating them. A person can “legally” set out a trotline with 50 hooks on it. No fish on a trotline lives. That’s destrying the sport fishery on that river. They need to learn from what you guys do. Quote
I/MBasser Posted October 25, 2018 Posted October 25, 2018 5 hours ago, Otter17 said: I remember reading this article back in 2012, and was kind of blown away by it then. And finely stumbled across it again. It was back when they were restoring the Dupage River(SW Chicago suburbs) and its smallmouth bass fishery. It is pretty much a stream, averaging just 25-30yards across in most areas. At that time in the Warrenville area, the DNR released 100 20” smallmouth Bass that averaged 4-6lbs.!! I was just completey surprised they were introducing 6lb. Smallmouths to this small river. Never heard of that before. Has anyone who fishes the Dupage, ever even caught a 6lber.?! And has anyone around the country heard of Smallmouths of that size being stocked in their waters? https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailyherald.com/amp-article/20120531/news/705319958/ Oh man would it be awesome to catch a 3# smallie, much less a 6#er on the DuPage. Most everything I’ve caught is less than a pound. Biggest is 1.5. Pretty new to the DuPage so still learning about it. 1 Quote
Super User Scott F Posted October 25, 2018 Super User Posted October 25, 2018 The fish in my avatar is a 19 inch smallmouth and was taken while I was standing in the DuPage. It was well over 3 lbs but I have no idea exactly how much it weighed. I've never weighed a bass that I've caught. 2 Quote
Otter17 Posted October 25, 2018 Author Posted October 25, 2018 Awesome smallmouth Scott! That would make me pretty darn happy to catch anything near that size. Quote
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