Emiquon has led a rather precarious existence from the outset due to its proximity to the Illinois River. As an angler, I had concerns about how long the incredible fishing would last in the face of a collection of natural and man-made challenges.

Originally posted 8-15-10

One need not look far in the regional outdoor news or for that matter even the national headlines to find reports of the latest scourge to hit the waterways of Illinois. Often grouped together as Asian carp, a pair of prolific exotics known more specifically as silver and bighead carp has currently invaded a number of the state’s river systems. There’s plenty of information out there on these fish written by those much more knowledgeable than yours truly. Therefore, I’ll leave the particulars and the debates to someone else.

Only a narrow levee separates Emiquon from the burgeoning population that now calls the Illinois River and the Spoon River home. You only have to look about eighty miles upriver to the Hennepin-Hopper complex to get a feel for the disruptive nature of some members of the carp family. This similar wetland/backwater lake restoration project was undertaken in the early 2000’s and by 2004 was open for limited public fishing. However, by 2009 the common carp had so significantly disrupted the habitat that a total rehabilitation was warranted.

I’m not big on gloom and doom (see global warming) but it doesn’t take much of a leap to see that the carp next door certainly have the potential to foul things up in a hurry. (2019 note: the Hennepin-Hopper complex is back in business with positive reports on the fishery, particularly for northern pike).

Nature does its thing when given a window of opportunity. For as long as I can remember I’ve been repeatedly punctured while wading through the natural hedge known as multiflora rose. More recently I trample the ever growing groves of garlic mustard in search of my already elusive morel mushrooms and spy the purple traps hanging around in local ash trees.

In addition, Dad and I had a strange day on Emiquon a few years later that was both puzzling and alarming.

From my 7/8/2013 Emiquon Report

Carp Flotilla – The lake was literally littered with carp carcasses in varying stages of decay. Everywhere you looked there were bloated floating brown and white fish of the common carp variety. For my money, any dead carp is a good carp on this relatively new restoration project so I can’t say it hurt my feelings. Unfortunately, the frequent splashing and thrashing meant that there were still plenty more of the lake wreckers still swimming. I will say that I do enjoy catching and fighting carp but overall they are just bad news in terms of lake health. Luckily there was some wind and the temperature was not typical July as I’m sure the place would have been really ripe. I’m not sure what to make of the whole situation but it was certainly a new look.

Now I realize that fish and fishing may not be the primary objectives of such restoration projects but they certainly play crucial roles. And the window of opportunity mentioned above leads me to the collective entity that makes up Potential Pitfall #9 to come your way tomorrow.

Having been out of the Emiquon loop for quite a few years now, I’m not certain how it has evolved other than recent years have seen a significant drop in water levels. There’s also been plenty of contentious debate to be found on the internet regarding management practices. I welcome any comments on the status and often think that the best way to find out would be a return invasion of my own. Talk to you later. Troy

Ten Years ago today, a new fishing hole opened up in Fulton County.

And, boy, what a fishing hole it was. A place known as The Emiquon Preserve or simply “Emiquon” to this fisherman.

Between April 23, 2009 and July 25, 2013 I made nineteen trips with several family fishing partners down to the spot located southeast of Lewistown, Illinois. During those outings I managed to catch my current personal best bass, watched my brother, Brent, fall a few bass shy of the century mark one evening, observed some head shaking behavior from other anglers while fishing with Dad, caught bass in 105 degree air and 90 degree water temps with Julie, helped a guy with a treble hook stuck in his thumb (bass attached as well) and the list of adventures just keeps going from there.

From that span of roughly four years, I managed to write over 50 blog postings on the site. If there is anybody out there in cyberspace who has written more about Emiquon bass fishing than yours truly, I have yet to find them. And, yes, I’ve certainly looked.

It’s hard to believe that for various reasons I’m now pushing six years since my last visit to the crazy fishing hole. A lot has changed down there according to the bits and pieces I have picked up in my routine wanderings on the web and most of it has not been for the better. But those are stories for someone more familiar with and knowledgeable of Emiquon’s current state than this blogger.

Nope, for this year-long tenth birthday celebration it’s simply a look back at some of the writings I that have submitted over the years. For starters, over the next couple weeks I plan on mixing in a batch of Emiquon posts amidst the regular features and hopefully a couple new fishing reports from this Easter weekend. This first series of Emiquon posts are a Top 10 list of Emiquon perils first submitted in August of 2010 after roughly a year of fishing the spot. In addition, several Friday Flashback posts will feature a look back at some of those initial 2009 Emiquon visits.

Hope you’ll continue to tune in for a look back at the phenomenon that was the Emiquon Preserve in those first few crazy years. Talk to you later. Troy