Spanning a channel between the north and south sections of Citizen’s Lake is a bridge. Back in 1990, the bridge resided elsewhere in Warren County and was slated for eventual demolition. However, regional fisheries biologist, Ken Russell, was on board to get the bridge relocated rather than removed. While I was aware of the proposal, I had no idea what the bridge even looked like, let alone the prospect of actually relocating such a structure.

 

The plaque above notes that the dream became a reality in 1992. Later, in 2016, the bridge from the 1890s was dedicated as “Ken Russell Bridge.”

 

It’s been a fun walk down Memory Lane in revisiting a bit of the history of Warren County’s Citizen’s Lake. My aim for the blog has always been to educate, entertain and escape. Hopefully, this collection of posts was able to cover all of those bases. Talk to you later. Troy

In today’s post we take a look at the initial stages in the overall process of the complete Citizen’s Lake fishery rehabilitation. The rehabilitation project actually accomplished a pair of aims. For one, the lake was to be enlarged via digging and dredging with the fill dirt being used to expand the nearby highway to four lanes. The highway construction project, in turn, allowed for a “do over” on the fish population that was suffering due to an infestation of the common carp.

To begin the rehabilitation, a valve on the overflow was opened in order to drop the water level. Inevitably, some of the fish population would escape through “the tube” as noted by fisheries biologist Ken Russell in a newspaper interview at the time. Electrofishing was then employed in order to salvage any remaining desirable fish species. During electrofishing, a current is delivered into the water which effectively stuns those fish in proximity. While stunned the fish generally float up to or near the surface where they can be captured with a long handled dipnet. The “shock” does no lasting damage and in most cases you have to be pretty adept and quick with the dipnet to capture the fish before they regain their senses.

The primary species that we salvaged for relocation was the largemouth bass. I believe that some crappie and bluegill were also collected along with a solid individual walleye. The latter was likely a transplant from the Mississippi River as the species was not intentionally stocked in the lake. I do not recall if we rescued any catfish as they are not as susceptible to the shock. Their smooth skin makes them more elusive than their scaled counterparts in a fishery.

Once collected, the salvaged fish were held in a fish truck loaned out from the Jake Wolf Fish Hatchery in Tazewell County. Those fish were then relocated to several area waters. If memory serves me correctly, these included Lake Storey, Snakeden Hollow’s “Big Lake” (now known as Lake McMaster) and possibly Gale Lake in East Galesburg. What I do remember though, was that it was pretty cool taking the fish truck home at the end of the day and then getting to drive it back to Jake Wolf the following morning.

Once we had done our best at collecting our quarry, Vice’s Fish Market out of Oquawka, Illinois arrived to harvest the common carp that remained. This was done by seining with a large net and it was quite a bounty. The visual image of several truck beds filled nearly to the brim with slimy, squirming carp still brings a smile.

 

Along the way, a couple local papers showed up during the time that we worked on the project. I was able to snip one of the articles from the Galesburg Register Mail while Ken Russell was kind enough to grab me a couple from the Monmouth Review Atlas. I will always be grateful for those gifts as the old yellowed pages sure mean a lot to me all of these years later.

More on the project to come so I hope you’ll stop by as the reminiscing continues. Talk to you later. Troy

Thirty years ago today, I had just finished up a six month temporary job with the Illinois Department of Conservation (now IDNR). While originally hired to work at Knox County’s Snakeden Hollow, I actually started my term at Big River State Forest near Keithsburg, Illinois. And for my last couple months I was put out on loan to regional fisheries biologist, Ken Russell, as there just wasn’t much going on at Snakeden in those early days.

One of the jobs that I got to assist with was a total rehabilitation of Warren County’s Citizen’s Lake. The fishing hole north of Monmouth, Illinois had become overrun with undesirable fish species, primarily the common carp. Thus, it was in dire need of a “do over”. The process involved draining most of the lake, salvaging any desired fish species, eradicating the remaining fish population and then proceeding with restocking once the water levels had risen.

 

For a guy with a biology degree and not long out of college, it was a fantastic experience. Thirty years later, I thought it was a good time to combine a return visit with some memories and newspaper clippings from the project. Today’s intro will be followed by a several more posts from a Warren County walk down Memory Lane. Talk to you later. Troy

I’ve long been a fan of the fall drawdown at Lake Storey just north of Galesburg, Illinois. From a fishery management standpoint, I support the practice 100%. Part of the concept is to leave the shoreline cover high and dry which diminishes the hiding places for smaller prey fish. This gives the predators a much better shot at a meal and helps to promote a healthier overall population structure. And sometimes those larger predator fish let their guard down. Dad and I found a handful of such quality fish including one that was something extra during a couple trips in October of 2010.

Originally Posted 10-22-10 as part of “There’s No Fish in Lake Storey”

Such is the mantra I’ve heard from frustrated local anglers for as long as I can recall. I’ve been there too. But over the years I’ve come to learn a thing or two about one of my regular fishing holes. Good things can happen when you put the odds in your favor as evidenced by the 10 pound 2 ounce walleye pictured below. This trophy decided to stick up for Lake Storey when it nabbed my Bomber Flat A crankbait (baby bass) as I cranked and bounced it off the bottom in about six feet of water.

October 21, 2010 at 12:29pm – a 10 pound 2 ounce Lake Storey walleye

Now I won’t pretend that I’m a walleye fisherman as Dad and I were actually pursuing bass but there’s something to be said for being in the right place at the right time. Stable weather, the fall drawdown, a windblown point, relatively deep water nearby, early afternoon, direct sunlight, stained water and a few scattered rocks littering the area were an appealing, and in this case, successful combination. Throw in the fact that I’ve always viewed Lake Storey as a “crankbait lake” with a nod towards black and orange color combinations on whatever you’re throwing and it can certainly add some confidence to casting. Of course, maybe I’m overanalyzing but that is one of the extremes we anglers sometimes find ourselves dealing with during the highs and lows on the water.

October 21, 2010 at 1:34pm – Dad with a 1-7 on a spinnerbait

Originally Posted 10-23-10 as part of “Lake Storey Report”

With Snakeden closed to anglers and limited time to spend on the water, Dad and I chose Lake Storey for our destination on October 21. True to form, the trip reinforced much of what I detailed in my September series on fall fishing. Here’s a look at our day on the lake.

New Walleye Record – If you saw yesterday’s entry you know that being in the right place at the right time put a 29” ten pound walleye in the boat. The running dialogue kind of went like this, “I’ve got a good one, I’m not really sure what it is, oh man, that’s a walleye, do you think it will go ten, I think it will go ten, that is a brute.” The fish eclipses my old personal best, a 7-14 from Lake Storey on 10/2/08.

Okay, what the heck, a second picture of the 10-pound walleye

Top Bass – We did manage to add another bass in the three pound range to the record book. The fish hit on a textbook spot as I reeled my spinnerbait up to and over a partially submerged tree before letting it fall on the other side. It’s great when it works like that though I will admit that we also tried this approach on several other pieces of structure where we came up empty.

October 21, 2010 – Top Bass at 3-4 on a spinnerbait

Yet another rewarding fall trip as we try and squeeze in those last few bass before putting away the gear for the year. You can’t beat the icing on the cake when it’s a ten pound walleye but I guess I shouldn’t be overly surprised. For as Dad made his way across the parking lot after launching the boat, I saw him stoop down to pick something up. It was a penny, heads up. He commented on the fact that he hadn’t found one for a long time and speculated that we would indeed be in for some good luck. And while I wouldn’t argue against anyone describing the walleye as a lucky catch, they all count in my book.

Posted 10-24-10 as part of “Lake Storey Report Two”

Initially, I’d planned a trip to Emiquon but reconsidered after the forecast called for winds in excess of fifteen miles per hour. I just don’t have access to a boat (minus an outboard) that can hold up in those conditions. Besides I could only manage a half day trip and it’s not worth the drive. Instead we stayed closer to home risking going to the well once too often by hitting Lake Storey again. Things weren’t quite as successful the second time around but we did manage to add another good fish to the record book.

October 22, 2010 at 3:18pm – Top Bass at 3-11 on a spinnerbait

Top Bass – My 3-11 came off of some brush sticking above the surface in less than two feet of water. The previous day I’d had a fish nip the trailer of my spinnerbait as it approached the structure. Then seconds later as I came through some branches I saw a flash near my bait. At that point, I made the mistake of setting the hook too soon, pulling the lure away from the fish and sending my spinnerbait flying out of the shallow water. I should know better but sometimes the excitement gets the best of you. Anyway, I figured the spot was worth a return visit the next day and as the above photo shows, we were not disappointed.

October 22, 2010 at 4:31pm – Dad with a 1-7 on a spinnerbait

Totals
Dates: October 21 &22, 2010
Location: Lake Storey with Dad
Time: 9 hours fishing
Totals: 11 bass, 1 walleye
Lures: Quad Shad or tandem spinnerbaits (white or white/red) – 7 bass, Bomber Flat A (baby bass) – 2 bass & 1 walleye, Vicious Fishing Muskrat (green pumpkin) – 1 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- (unknown) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-11 (Troy – Quad Shad spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 11-3 (3-11,3-4,1-7,1-7,1-6)

Bomber Flat A crankbaits (baby bass pattern) – my favorite walleye lures when I go bass fishing 

As always, our bass fishing trip was strictly catch and release, walleye included. Fooling that toothy critter with Dad on board was pretty cool. We’ve got quite a collection of fishing memories but that catch ranks among my favorites. All of these years later, I wonder if that fish ever got fooled again and made someone’s day. While not what I was targeting, a walleye that size in Illinois is pretty special. If it wasn’t the Lake Storey record at the time, it had to be darn close. We’ll never know, but since I’m the guy telling this fish story…Talk to you later. Troy