If you have roamed the woods, waded through creeks or wandered around fishing holes, perhaps you have also taken to naming some of the areas along the way. For me, some names represent physical landmarks, some pertain to geographical orientation and others have a bit of a backstory. The collection of waters at Snakeden Hollow fall under each of those criteria and more.

For starters, some already had designated names from the outset back when the site went public in 1990. Spots like Freshwater Lake, Lake Victoria, Northwest Lake, Finger Lake, Beaver Lake and Bearclaw Lake have stood the test of time.

Others such as Piedmont Lake, Upper/Lower Twin Lake and Goldenrod Lake came strictly from my imagination. As did the following list of lakes which include a bit history for today’s post.

Sewaqe Lake

This lake lies below a water treatment area that borders a portion of Snakeden’s northern boundary. This name falls under the landmark category and I still find its appellation appealing although it sounds rather disgusting. Unless, of course, you know the rest of the story.

Lake Dolomieu

This one just has a kind of fancy ring to it. As a guy with a biology degree, this name allowed me to pay tribute to Linnaean taxonomy, binomial nomenclature and the species that calls this lake home. This hard to find lake is chock full of smallmouth bass which bear the genus/species designation of Micropterus dolomieu.

Locust Lake

I first “discovered” this secluded spot in 2009 as Lake McMaster was undergoing a drawdown to allow for construction of overflow structures. At that point, Locust Lake was accessible on foot across a portion of the dry Lake McMaster lakebed but nowadays would require a portage. My choice for a name arose from a portion of the bank that is covered in a grove of locust trees.

Loon Lake

While the name brings to mind a group of aquatic birds with distinctive calls, there’s a bit more to this story. On March 26, 2007, I found myself standing near a nameless lake talking with two other anglers. It is rare to ever see another fisherman in the inner reaches of Snakeden, much less for three of us to actually converge at the same remote location. The other anglers, who were not companions, were quite a pair. One of the individuals was exploring via a decked out bicycle customized for Snakeden. He was also without a shirt on what I found to be a rather brisk spring morning. The other fellow had some bizarre purple topwater lure hanging from his rod that looked to have been made in shop class many years prior. So, “Shirtless Guy” begins to passionately and more than a bit colorfully ramble about the lake’s lunkers stressing that perseverance was the key to fooling those wily bass. “Industrial Art” simply nodded along as the strange purple plug bounced away on the end of his rig.

As we parted ways, it entered my mind that Loon Lake would be a fitting name for the fishing hole. For one thing, it would serve the purpose of an homage to wildlife. In addition, it would honor those anglers who are a bit off center as I also had to chuckle at one of “Shirtless Guy’s” final comments. On this day, I’d brought along a video camera to film some of my exploits. I was toting it in a carrying case over one shoulder along with my tacklebag while also lugging a tripod in hand with my fishing poles. As our conversation wound down and I mused about this pair of oddballs, “Shirtless Guy” asked, “So what’s up with the tripod?” Touché.

Talk to you later. Troy

Arguably the primary attraction at Snakeden Hollow is what has variously been called “The Big State Lake”, “The Big Lake” or “Snakeden Hollow Lake” over the years. And for about the first ten years of public access, it didn’t really have an official name. More on that after a look at some details about this interesting body of water.

A little internet research turned up the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Status Summary for the lake. That document indicated that the lake “was built in 1978 by Midland Coal Company as their water supply reservoir.” Interestingly, per the IDNR website it is cited as the only lake on the original Snakeden site that was not “formed as the result of surface mining operations.”

Entrance to the boat ramp on “The Big Lake”

At roughly 165 acres, it also happens to be the only lake on the site that features a boat ramp. The remainder of the lakes are walk-in/drag-in access only but those spots will have to wait until another week to get their due. Maximum depth is listed at 65 feet per the IDNR and the water clarity is downright amazing. In fact, it is rather eerie to sit amidst a patch of standing timber or look down into the water to view sprawling treetops as you sit in 50 or more feet of water. Back in 1990 I got to participate in a bit of fisheries data collection on the lake that included Secchi depth readings. Readings on the big lake at that time exceeded the 20 foot range in some locations, truly remarkable (see Secchi disk info below). Over the years, the turbidity of the lake has increased to some degree. However, it still sports the clearest water clarity that I have ever observed on any fishing hole.

A Secchi disk is lowered into the water and a depth reading recorded when it is no longer visible from the surface.

After more than a decade without a formal name, the lake was dedicated as Lake McMaster in late 1999. It bears the name of the late, longtime Illinois State Representative, A.T. “Tom” McMaster (1918-2002) who was instrumental in the state acquiring the Snakeden Hollow property from the Midland Coal Company in 1987. The naming of the lake was noted in the 2002 Illinois State Senate Resolution referenced below marking his passing.

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Representative McMaster was active in State and
 local politics for 33 years, starting in 1952 as township
 assessor, and served on the Knox County Board of Supervisors
 for 10 years, serving as chairman for four years; in 1971, he
 began the first of eight terms as State representative of the
 73rd District of the Illinois House of Representatives and
 was known for his work with land reclamation and strip mines;
 he retired in 1987; and

 WHEREAS, In November 1999, State Representative Don
 Moffitt and State Senator Carl Hawkinson worked with the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources to rename Snakeden
Hollow Lake after Representative McMaster;

A look to the southwest across Lake McMaster from the parking lot

Of course, there’s a lot more to the “The Big Lake” than just history, dimensions and water quality. You know, things like rules, species, structure and yes, some fish stories. And there’s also more to Snakeden Hollow than just “The Big Lake” so stay tuned to the blog for more Snakeden lore. Talk to you later. Troy