Richardson: Catfish Competitions Becoming More Common
By Scott Richardson, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Jan. 11–Unwilling to let its favorite fish rest during the cold months, the Tri-County Catfish Association is hosting a Polar Cat Tournament at Baldwin Lake from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 3.
Organizer Jack Anderson of Bloomington admits the timing is unusual for the event, which is limited to 30 two-angler teams. Entry fee is $200 a boat with a 90 percent payback to the top five teams.
But Anderson said catfish stay active in the hot water of the power-plant cooling lake all winter long.
“Nobody’s fished a tournament since October. People are probably dying to get out. I’m dying to get out,” Anderson said.
Like Powerton Lake near Pekin, Baldwin Lake near Baldwin and Sparta is one of the hot-water reservoirs the Illinois Department of Natural Resources stocked with blue catfish in the mid-1990s. And like at Powerton, the brutes are doing quite well at Baldwin, Anderson said. Anderson’s biggest blue from the lake to date weighed in at 27 pounds. The largest blue that friends have caught from his boat was 38 pounds. DNR has electroshocked fish during surveys that topped 50 pounds, he said.
The Tri-County Catfish Association started in 2006, an offshoot of the former Old Joe’s Catfish Tournaments held for years after dark at Clinton Lake. But the tournaments ended when DNR imposed a no-wake speed limit at Clinton after a speed boat struck a pontoon boat and killed an angler who was fun-fishing after dark with friends.
That’s when Anderson and fishing partner Al Mittelsteadt of Mackinaw launched the new association and moved the tournament venue to the Illinois River at Pekin.
Most events are held after dark because of the reputation catfish have as a nocturnal feeder, Anderson said. Boat and barge traffic also is reduced on the busy Illinois River at night. The biggest six-fish stringer caught during the first year of the association in 2006 weighed 62 pounds. That event required 55 pounds for second place and 48 pounds for third. Average first-place weights range from 30 to 40 pounds.
The potential of weights like those are leading to a new-found respect for catfish, he said, adding surveys show catfish angling is on the rise. Reasons include the size of the fish, its fight and its accessibility in 90 percent of the waters of the United States, he said.
“The whole sport of catfishing is expanding,” he said. “It could be because of the new catfish tournaments that offer big prizes or people realizing it takes a little more skill to land a catfish of more than 10 pounds.”
Catfishing is also a relatively inexpensive sport to start. Sturdy rods and reels can be purchased together for about $60, he said. He uses braided line to a barrel swivel and with a lighter monofilament leader, which allows him to break off if he snags. He uses only enough weight to keep a large hook and cut shad, herring or mooneye on the bottom in current or as he drifts over points and drops in reservoirs. A second set-up calls for a heavier weight of three-fourths of an ounce and a small crappie bobber on the leader to hold the bait up off the bottom.
Phone (309) 261-2960 for information.
Club notes
— PrairieLand Anglers fishing club had planned to meet at 7 p.m. tonight at the Bloomington Public Library, but the library will be closed today due to problems with the building’s heating system.
— Faithful Fishermen fishing club hosts decoy carver Pat Gregory at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 in the Fellowship Hall at the Lexington Community Church. Gregory will speak on carving and collecting ice spearing decoys. The meeting is free and open to the public.
— Central Illinois Musky Hunters will host Jeff Gillis talking on using maps and GPS at the White Oak Lake Pavilion, 1514 N. Cottage, Bloomington, at 7 p.m. Jan. 17. Free and open. Looking ahead to 5:15 p.m. March 31 at the Interstate Center, the club will host Jim Saric, host and executive producer of the Musky Hunter television series. The event is free.
— Steve Sewell, an expert on GPS, will speak to the Lake Shelbyville Muskie Club at Eagle Creek Resort at 7 p.m. Feb. 6.
Outdoor shows
— The Chicago Musky Show is Friday through Sunday at Harper College in Palatine. Seminar speakers include Joe Bucher, Jim Saric and Spence Petros. Admission is $10 a day, $20 for three-day pass. To learn more, visit www.chicagomuskieshow.com/
seminars.html.
— Top professional bass angler Shaw Grigsby, top professional walleye pro Rick LaCourse and Denny Halgren, a top Illinois catfish guide with a knack for huge flathead catfish, will headline the Midstate Fish & Feather Expo at the Interstate Center in Bloomington Jan. 26-28. Other speakers include top Central Illinois muskie guide Dave Ludington; fishing guide Paul Center on Evergreen Lake and Lake Bloomington; Steve Welch, a guide for crappie, white bass and muskies at Lakes Shelbyville and Clinton; largemouth bass experts Terry Brown and Jim Crowley; and smallmouth expert Jonn Graham.
Scott Richardson is Pantagraph outdoor editor. Phone (309) 820-3227 or e-mail srichardson@pantagraph.com. Read past outdoor and fishing columns and take part in online discussions at www.pantagraph.com/blogs.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
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