We head back 30 years this week with a quality bass from what was once a quality fishing hole.

The original log entry from 1988 tells of both the bass (23″ catch from 8/28) and the popularity of the destination

Green Oaks, Knox College’s biological field station, is located a few miles south of Victoria, Illinois in close proximity to another contemporary fishing haunt, Little John Conservation Club. I still fish Little John all these years later but my days on Green Oaks Lake are long gone.

But back in my college days, it was a regular weekend bass fishing stop as well as an off the beaten path camping spot. A perfect getaway where a group of college buddies could enjoy a few beers around a campfire often resembling a bonfire.

But I digress…

My personal best at the time, hitting 5-8 on a good, old DeLiar scale

Today’s featured fish came from a spot on the lake that we called “The Forbidden Zone” due to it being designated as off-limits for watercraft. And yes, I am posing in a beached watercraft for the release below which is all I will admit to although I suspect that the statute of limitations has long passed.

Speaking of that beached boat, 30 years later I am still rowing it around across the road at Little John and dragging it around up the road at Snakeden Hollow. Sadly, the same can’t be said for putting it to use at Green Oaks and contending with the moral dilemma presented by the outstanding cover in “The Forbidden Zone.”

Tease from earlier this year on my Facebook page which brought the disappointing revelation below

For as someone in the know commented on a Facebook entry I posted in late April of this year: “Unfortunately a winter fish kill a couple years ago has made Green Oaks a large crappie pond. No bass.”

Kind of sad. But boy, there was a time…Talk to you later. Troy