A Fishing Day To Remember

[Newsman]

by Kevin Patton Some people would consider hiring a fishing guide because they simply want to have a fun fishing day without doing most of the work. Others would like to learn about a specific lake, technique, or species of fish. Some may just want to increase their odds of bringing home some fish filets. When Tony Lynn and I hooked up with fishing guide Paul Center of Normal, we were fortunate enough to enjoy all three advantages. Center guides clients on multi-species fishing trips on Lake Bloomington and nearby Evergreen Lake. We wanted to see if he could put us on some walleyes, with maybe a few crappies thrown in for the frying pan. Clients expecting to see Center's boat crammed full of downriggers, planner boards, and other fancy equipment would be surprised. Instead, he has a simplified method of catching fish that utilizes equipment that anybody can use. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for fishing on June 30. It was a bright, sunny day with a reasonable northwest wind and forecast high of 80 degrees. The early morning water temperature at Bloomington Lake was 74 degrees, cool for this time in Central Illinois. Center prefers a dark, cloudy day with some wind for walleye fishing, but guiding for clients requires that you adapt to many conditions to put fish in the boat. He fishes about any main lake point on a dark day, but concentrates on the windy points during sunny days. Our first stop was a windy, main lake point. Center immediately checked his depth finder to see if baitfish were present. He fishes windy points where baitfish and gamefish are more likely to be present and also uses the wind to help him drift in order to more effectively cover water. While he does some trolling at Evergreen Lake, trolling is not permitted on Bloomington Lake. During spring Center casts a variety of crankbaits and other lures to points and docks in shallow water. Between the spring spawn and mid-summer when the water temperatures climb into the 80's, Center uses a controlled drift or vertical jigging technique with Cicadas and other blade baits. At mid-summer, he switches to trolling crankbaits such as shad raps or deep ThunderSticks or using a weighted spinner harness rig and nightcrawlers. Since we were between spring and mid-summer, we spent most of the day drifting with small jigs tipped with either pieces of nightcrawler, wax worms, or Big Red's Trout Worms. Early and late in the year, when water temperatures are 60 degrees or less, Center often uses minnows for bait. He used the trolling motor to position us along dropoffs and ledges where baitfish were present and then let the wind move us from deep to shallow water. Our outfits consisted of 1/16 to 1/8-ounce jigs tied to red, four-pound Shakespeare line. Shimano Symetre 750 FI reels were mounted on Center's 5 1/2 to 6-foot custom-made rods. The equipment was ultralight enough to fish for bluegills or crappies. In fact, we boated several nice bluegills. The equipment was also sturdy enough to land a four-pound largemouth that bit a tiny blue/white tube jig, as well as one aggressive, rusty, aluminum can that was my first catch of the day. Center uses the weight of the jigs to keep his bait near the bottom. More wind may require him to upsize to 1/8-ounce or more. He also uses a variety of colors and types, such as curly tails and tubes, to see what the fish want. Occasionally during the day, Center picked up a medium-diving, firetiger crankbait to check for suspended fish on points. At days end we kept seven walleyes that measured 14-17 inches and three crappies. We also boated smaller bass, crappies, walleyes, and one sheepshead. Most of the fish were caught in surprisingly shallow water that was 7 to 10 feet deep. Center said it was also unusual to catch most of our keepers during the last hour of the trip rather than during early morning. "The fish are in charge," said Center, "so you aren't always going to catch them." While no fishing guide can promise fish every time out, we had a better-than-average fishing day, a fun time, and learned about a new technique for catching fish on Bloomington Lake. That made it a fishing day to remember. More...