The final piece of the series takes a look at the fishing secrets that come to light during a drawdown. The items or areas that can serve as fish magnets are collectively known as “structure” (or “cover”) which is comprised of several different types. Generally speaking, these types consist of wood, rock, vegetation, manmade structure and bottom contours. With a full drawdown in effect, the vegetation component is taken out of the equation for the time being. However, the rest are bared for all to see.

Wood

I break down this category of structure into specific types such as stumps, brushpiles, standing timber, logs, laydowns and my personal favorite, beaver lodges. The details, definitions and presentations that apply to such cover are posts for another time. For today, it’s simply about the scenery.

Lambach Lake – stump (foreground) and brushpiles (background)

Lake of the Hills – now that is a stump, folks

Lake of the Hills – laydown, logs and a picnic table (don’t laugh I’ve seen Dad catch a few off of those over the years)

Rock

For me, rock types consist of riprap, rockpiles and rubble. The West Lake Complex features some of each with more on the horizon via a substantial amount of shoreline improvement and stabilization. This particular improvement will come primarily through the placement of large chunk rock (aka “riprap”) along stretches of the shoreline. Such an addition will help combat deterioration and erosion of the bank caused by water, waves and weather.

Rocky banks near and far with more to come during the shoreline improvement phase of the project 

Riprapped jetty shoreline leading to a rocky roadbed crossing Lake of the Hills

Manmade

Drawdowns provide an excellent opportunity to add some manmade structure. Tires, pallets and various PVC/plastic creations are popular choices.

An extensive offshore collection of tires and pallets would certainly be worth some casts 

Got pallets? Actually, that business is how I earn a paycheck

Buckets loaded up with PVC pipes and concrete serve as fish attractors

Thought this old foundation was pretty cool, others listed on a map I found have apparently been silted over

Contours

The lay of the land below the surface also represents an important component of the overall fish holding structure in a body of water. Points, flats, drop-offs, humps, old creek channels and roadbeds all hold fish and each can shine during certain times of the year.

An extended flat featuring a collection of rubble and wood, dreaming of buzzbaits and summer

An old roadbed in the distance provides a hump crossing an arm of Lake of the Hills

Mid lake culverts along what was part of an old creekbed prior to the creation of Lake of the Hills

A classic collection of cover – a riprap point with several stumps, definitely want to stop here for some casts

Honestly, I could go on all day about this stuff but will call it quits for the time being. I do have my fingers crossed that I can get back out to the West Lake Complex and do a bit more in depth roaming before the lakebed gets covered in white stuff. Last time out I came prepared for a run and some limited, dry shoreline exploration. If I get back out again, I definitely plan on packing my boots for a change of pace after logging and jogging a few miles. As always, if I’m running around outdoors, I’ll talk to you sooner or later. Troy

 

A drawdown just doesn’t happen overnight. There are considerations to take into account beyond simply opening a valve and emptying the lake. In the case of the West Lake project, the largest lake on the site, Lake of the Hills, drains into what is called Blackhawk Creek which then meanders its way to the Mississippi River. Crews targeted a drop of roughly a foot a day to eliminate any negative impacts from the influx of water into Blackhawk Creek. The remaining lakes on the site do not feature a valve system and were instead pumped into Lake of the Hills in order to drain those bodies of water.

Lambach Lake was pumped into Lake of the Hills to drain

A couple shots above of Lambach Lake from August 4 as the pumping process neared completion

I was able to get onsite four different times to observe the progress with my first stop on August 4, shortly after the drawdowns began. My other visits were on August 10, September 29 and November 29 so I was able to get a good look at the initial stages of the overall site restoration project.

A 2017 shot of Railroad Lake looking east from fishing pier 

Railroad Lake from August 4, 2019 similar view as above but looking slightly northeast from fishing pier

Railroad Lake November 29, 2019 from same vantage point of the fishing pier

Railroad Lake August 4, 2019 looking roughly north 

Railroad Lake November 29, 2019 same view as above

I am not sure what the winter holds in regards to further work at the site but my hope is that I can get there another time or two to have a look. Per news reports, the lakes are to remain closed during 2020. Re-stocking of the fish population and re-opening of the lakes is targeted for some point in 2021 pending the return to suitable water levels via some help from Mother Nature.

Lake of the Hills August 4, 2019 

Lake of the Hills August 10, 2019, same goofball with same big, old stump now high and dry

Lake of the Hills jetty near beach area August 4, 2019

Lake of the Hills jetty near beach area September 29, 2019

Lake of the Hills jetty near beach area November 29, 2019

Lake of the Hills August 4, 2019 looking west from Interstate 80 to the boat ramp

Lake of the Hills November 29, 2019 opposite perspective from boat ramp looking east towards Interstate 80

Up next, we’ll take the first of a two-part look at the revelations from the exposed lakebeds. Talk to you later. Troy

It was easy to pat yourself on the back on the way home from one of those early Emiquon trips.

And don’t get me wrong, you deserved it.

But you were also wise to engage in a little reality check on the drive as well.

Originally Posted 8-29-10

Things have definitely gotten tougher for bass fisherman this year at Emiquon but you’ve still got to be mindful that the place has the potential to spoil you. In my eight trips to the area my fishing partners and I have hauled in hundreds of bass despite being sent packing twice by the wind and once by illness. Even a trip shortened by a frustrating replacement trolling motor wild goose chase resulted in 98 bass for me and Dad. My best outing was a combined 154 bass day with my brother, Brent. The smallest bass I’ve recorded from Emiquon was seven inches while the largest tipped the scales at just over seven pounds. However, those bookends were the exception as the vast majority of bass were in the twelve to fifteen inch range.

But even those results paled in comparison to other anglers who’d reported one hundred bass days for each angler in the boat. Another instance had a lone angler sitting in one spot for seven hours and reeling in 160 bass. Dad stopped at the ramp last year while in the neighborhood for the Fulton County Fair and immediately observed an angler nail bass on four consecutive casts. I’ve seen pictures of two bass on one lure and saw Dad duplicate the feat with a Rat-L-Trap. Anglers also reported eight to ten bass following a hooked fish to the boat as they attempted to get a piece of a perceived meal.

The seemingly tall tales go on and on with a frequency unheard of at other fishing holes. Such occurrences may have diminished this year but if you are in the right spot when the fish turn on, Emiquon can still live up to the initial hype.

And therein lays the final pitfall.

I’ve found myself telling Emiquon stories using the word “only”, as in “we only caught fifty bass.” It might take me several good days on some of my other fishing holes to log fifty bass. So I must bear in mind that my Emiquon results likely say more about the fishery than the fisherman. A 150 bass day is a remarkable thing to behold but I actually felt more of a sense of accomplishment when Dad and I hauled in fifteen at Lake Storey a couple weeks prior.

If you haven’t paid a visit to Emiquon, I would encourage you to give it a shot this fall. Just be very careful. I can’t speak for anyone else but I know that during several rides home I’ve had to decompress a bit and remind myself that I’m really not that smart.

Much has changed over the years at the unique fishing hole. Water levels have risen, fallen and risen again, visible structural landmarks have succumbed to the elements over time, exotics have found a home and the bass have gotten smarter or scarcer.

Oh, but there was a time…

Talk to you later. Troy

Anybody who says that fishing doesn’t give you a workout is somebody who never experienced an Emiquon feeding frenzy.

Originally posted 8-25-10

Potential Pitfall #5 wrapped up with the observation that “the chipped paint and scarred lips are simply the hard earned battle scars of success” in regards to crankbaits. Well, another tangible sign of success on the lake is something we’ve always referred to as “bass thumb.” If you run into a few of the periodic feeding frenzies that can occur at Emiquon, it can leave you with a pretty good (or bad) case of this malady. Similar to slime, it falls under the category of a “good problem to have.”

The sand paper like patches of teeth on a largemouth bass don’t seem like much at first glance but handle enough of these fish and they begin to leave their mark. At Emiquon we’re talking a multitude of 12-15” bass that are rather feisty and often still a bit active when hoisted into the boat. After a while the scrapes start to add up.

Not uncommon to be lipping a “double” when the bite kicked in.

To combat this issue I have taken to bringing along a Boga Grip style tool that I originally purchased to help out with the occasional walleye or muskie that wind up on the end of my line. In comparison these species have “real” teeth, as in puncture your skin, draw blood and inflict pain sort of thing. Anyway, the Boga grip also comes in quite handy as I’m partial to crankbait fishing. Call me a wimp if you’d like but a mouthful of treble hooks isn’t particularly appealing when trying to lip a bass, I got lucky for a long time so now I frequently take the easy way out. Besides, I prefer wimp over wounded, the latter of which can ruin your fishing trip. Once I get a handle on the fish and use my pliers to dislodge the hooks I lip them anyway as I can’t let them go without collecting some length and weight data. By this point the bass are usually a bit more subdued and seem to relax when I tell them that I’m strictly catch and release on their kind. And in the interest of showing at least some remaining bravado, I do land them the old fashioned way when throwing single hook stuff like spinnerbaits or soft plastics.

Of course, the human body and its remarkable opposable thumbs are quite resilient so those shredded badges of courage don’t last forever (a scar from a treble hook can however). Some of Potential Pitfall #3 also takes a look at how long things can last.

Hands down the old Emiquon Preserve deserved a well-earned thumbs up. Talk to you later. Troy

A 2012 shot of the family at a windy Emiquon

Emiquon features the tough and potentially dangerous combination of wide open water and a trolling motor only restriction (no gas motors even allowed on boats). This necessitates both some planning and some on the water decision making that can be a real dilemma if the bass are biting.

Originally posted 8-20-10

This one can really ruin your day; been there, done that, twice. My first trip to Emiquon on April 23, 2009 left me disturbed for quite some time as after all of the hype, the new fishing hole threw me a shutout. However, I was more disgusted with Mother Nature than The Emiquon Preserve. Following about an hour of distraction as whitecaps battered our eight foot johnboat and at times threatened to fill it up, Dad and I called it quits and headed home (Dad did catch four bass in the ugly conditions by the way).

A similar situation occurred on Friday the 13th last November as I got blown off the lake with a ten foot borrowed johnboat after landing a solitary 13” bass. On a couple other occasions we were able to withstand winds that were a little less nasty and hung around long enough to load up on the bass that were stacked up by the wave action. It was interesting, however, upon returning home to find that my equilibrium was off and I was still riding the waves as I sat in the recliner and later laid down for bed.

Such is Emiquon, a wide open expanse of water surrounded by virtually no wind breaks. Winds from the south or east get particularly bad as there is ample surface for the waves to pick up steam as they head towards the ramp and the western half of the lake that is open to anglers. A couple of my favorite spots require a roughly (and often rough) ten minute troll. As noted in Pitfall #7 this not only gives your batteries a workout, it also necessitates some planning. The wind can pick up in a hurry down there so you need to decide on how brave you want to be based on your watercraft, either sticking with the bite a long way from the ramp or playing it safe and moving closer to home.

I’ve learned my lesson and now find myself checking the wind forecast while keeping my fingers crossed for days before heading out. If you’re fortunate to find a moderate day, fishing can be a blast on Emiquon (about 12 mph is the limit for our setup). Typically, I get all wound up at home worrying about the wind and wind up changing my mind numerous times about visiting Emiquon. After all, a two and a half hour round trip for forty minutes of fishing gets a bit frustrating. Pitfall #5 also comes into play as part of this dilemma.

Halfway through our list and the Pitfalls keep on rolling into May. Hope you’ll continue to tune in. Talk to you later. Troy