In addition to the links found on my
Sport Fishing website, I offer the following jump list of
interesting web sites. The contents of this page are changing
constantly, so please check back again.
I am sure all the states have sites like this.
I'll bet someone (besides Google even) has links to all of the
states.
But I have the links to the states that I have visited to buy
licenses from.
On this DNR (Department of Natural Resources) pages, you will
find info on buying your license on-line as well as current
fishing regulations.
I highly recommend that you buy your license on-line.
When you complete the transaction, you print a copy of your
license right there.
I print the license, directing the output to a PDF file.
A copy of that file gets saved on my thumb drive, and then if I
lose the printed license, I can simply print another one.
For that matter, I do print at least two right away, putting one
in my leader wallet that I always carry when fly fishing, and
another in my equipment bag where I keep my spinning gear.
Don't be caught without your license.
Kline
Creek Farm - Fish the West Branch of the DuPage River.
Has a nice piece of the river accessable from the Illinois
Prairie Path. Minimal parking at County Farm Rd and Geneva.
Winfield
Mounds - Fish the West Branch of the DuPage River.
The catch is there is no parking.
Herrick Lake - They dredged the lake in 2003-2004.
They did a great job of shoreline rehab over the last several
years.
The first Bass I ever caught on a fly rod was from Herrick Lake.
Other NE Illinois locations
Hammel Woods FP
in Will County near Shorewood. Offers access to the DuPage
River.
WisFlyFishing.com
- Offers an on-line map of trout rivers and streams in
Wisconsin.
Wisconsin DNR
site - Lots of info on the various watersheds of
Wisconsin.
Rocking K Farms -
Fishing info and rentals in Wisconsin's Coulee Region.
My buddy Jim has rented here before.
Trout Adventures
- This guide, Len Harris, is has been very highly recommended
(to me).
He grew up in this area where he guides and knows the area from
many years of experiance.
I hope to book a trip with him sometime.
I have been told to expect the SW Wisc driftless area trout
fishing experiance of a lifetime.
While he is fairly new to fly fishing, he knows the waters.
The Fly Tying
Forum -
There is a reason that this site if first on my list.
I have not found another forum that has been as open, helpful
and welcoming as this site.
And you will find everything about fly fishing discussed here,
not just fly tying.
This site is sponsered by
J. Stockard Fly
Fishing
HotSpot Fishing -
This site is for more than just fly tiers.
There are hundreds of recipes on the site.
I participated in a few of the 'fly swaps' that he runs.
This was one of the first on-line fly tying groups that I got
involved with.
Willow Ford hosts
"FishinWhatTheySee.com"
which includes a variety of work including flies by Fox Statler.
His
Mudbug recipe is listed just below.
NOTE: Their web page does not display well at all on Mozilla.
I've contacted them to suggest they make some changes.
FishingWorks.com
- These folks will let you set up your own login and create
your own fishing web page. Feel free to
stop by
mine and see how this works.
Charlie Brewer's
Slider Company - There has been a
message
thread (Sorry, only registered members will be able to
access the message forum) on the ISA message board that can't
seem to say enough about these Charlie Brewer soft plastic
lures. I decided to search out info on the internet. I found
the company's homepage and some articles about "Slider
Fishing".
Streamer
Strategies - I found this while
searching for info on the
Clouser
Minnow fly pattern.
The article is written by Ralph Cutter of "Ralph &
Lisa Cutter's California School of Flyfishing".
TALS
Fishing - Makers of the TALS Pack. Several locals swear by the
TALS 500 chest pack. John Graham wrote
a
review, recommended by Jim J, president of ISA.
I won't presume to be able to explain this better than Jamie and
Mike. Please visit their
website. These guys from
CustomFish.com have a new
product you have to look at.
They are called Trophy Prints.
Looking at the pictures on their website is one thing, but if you
are in or around NE Illinois, you should visit one of the places
where they have sample prints up.
You have to see the quality to appreciate what they offer.
If nothing else, you should review their list of hints on taking
the perfect fishing photo.
Practice CPR Fishing - Catch, Photo and Release.
Then talk to
CustomFish.com about how
to properly present your once in a lifetime photo.
Fly & Field in Glen
Ellyn, IL. This is where I get my fly tying materials and where
I bought my Simms waders. The two guys I have dealt with here
are George and Kyle. I can say nothing but good things about
them. If I were to call one shop "my dealer", this
would be the place. This is one of the three
Grand Slam Shops in
Chicagoland.
One More Cast is a fly
shop located in
Countryside, IL. The store is run by Joseph Meyer.
The store's website has
several informative articles and such and is definitely more than
just an on-line catalog. The BassBuggers (fly fishing
enthusiasts) of the ISA have
held meetings at One More Cast.
Kolar Bait & Tackle in Carol Stream, IL - Very friendly and
helpfull folks. Knowledgeable about DuPage waters and the
Fox Chain of Lakes. Rob is quite a musky fisherman. This is
where I buy my favorite sponge spider flies for Panfish. When I
teach fishing classes, I get my live bait (waxworms, crawlers)
and other supplies here.
Riverside Sports in Geneva, IL -
Good source of fishing reports for the Fox River in Geneva,
St. Charles and Batavia.
They do have a nice selection of fly fishing and tying products
FlyDepot.com -
"Finding the right fly has never been this easy!". These folks
also host the Fly
Fishing Loop, a webring with over 750+ sites.
Hook & Hackle -
This is the site where I got my St. Croix 4 weight outfit.
The discount offered to customers on his mailing list made
that deal too good to pass up. Bob was really great to work
with. I recommend you check out his site (and get on his
mailing list).
Cabelas - The only
reason I put this in "On-line" is that there are none of their
stores in close proximity to me.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Well here is the shortcut to the best search engine that I've ever
had the pleasure to use.
If it exists on the Internet, Google can find it for you.
For example, to locate information on how to tie a "clouser
minnow", enter
'tying
clouser minnow'.
Works every time!
I must take this oportunity to compliment the folks at
Google.
The search available here is Google's "SafeSearch" box. With
Google
SafeSearch,
sites and web pages containing pornography and explicit sexual
content are blocked from search results. I do want to make my web
sites family friendly.
Like everything on the Internet, this page is being updated all
the time. I'll ask your patience if you find portions of the
page to be incomplete or out of date. Constructive comments are
always appreciated. Please
send your comments via
e-mail.
I would especially appreciate being notified of broken links.
I would also be interested in hearing what brought you to or how
you found my website.
The URL for this page is
http://home.fnal.gov/~kschu/hobbies/fishing.html
