News archives
Nov. - Dec. 2011
Welcome to Illinois Carp Fishing News!
Welcome! This website is dedicated to providing current information about organized carp fishing and catch-and-release carp fishing events in Illinois. I will be happy to include news and announcements about all carping endeavors, including 
events sponsored by CAG, the WCCL, the MWCL, the JTF40CL, the MCAA, and any others. I will also post news of individual carp fishing achievements. Just e-mail me, or PM me on the Illinois Carp Fishing NEWS message board or on the CAG site. I look forward to hearing from you, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to share with you Illinois carp fishing news. --Dr. Frank Rink
Click here for past, archived editions of Illinois Carp Fishing NEWS!
Click here for results and photos from Illinois and Midwest carp fishing events since 2007!
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| Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2012 from Illinois Carp Fishing NEWS! |
FFF 2012 is just about here!
Are you a really obsessed carp angler? Are you crazy enough to go fishing on New Year’s Day? Snow, hail or rain are no excuses. If yes, you should really participate in the First Fishing Folly of the year, the FFF. It starts at midnight on January 1 and lasts all day.
There is nothing to pay; this is entirely for free and for fun! It’s a friendly fishing fantasy between CAG members and even their non-CAG guests!
The FFF includes a variety of awards, prizes, and always lots of laughs!
Beware--If you don’t register before the event, you will not qualify for any awards or prizes… So just fill out the registration form before December 31st (or ask a friend to do it for you). This will only take a minute. Have a fun FFF!
There are midwest groups that will be fishing in Joliet, IL; Chicago, IL; and Indianapolis, IN.
2012 CAG Calendar delivered by January 1
I was happy to see the 2012 CAG Calendar in the hands of members of the Carp Anglers Group prior to or just after Christmas. As designer and editor of the calendar, I had to hustle to get the final version of the calendar to the printer by the end of November. I thought the end product turned out well. If the project continues next year, I doubt that I will have to beg for pictures, although, with the few pictures that were submitted this year, I had the opportunity to feature Illinois and midwest carpers.
Thanks to CAG President Andy Sprinkle for having the idea and for asking me to put the calendar together. Thanks, also, to those who submitted photos and baiting recipes. Despite the simplicity of a calendar layout, this project took many hours to complete, so I was happy with the final publication. --Frank Rink
Final Results: 2011 J-Town Fall 40s Carp League concludes its season on December 17th
A deluge that dumped three inches of rain on Joliet, Illinois in midweek followed by a 30 degree drop in temperature from Thursday to Saturday played a little havoc with our carping expectations at the 2011 J-Town Fall 40s Carp League’s final session on December 17th. Only 22 fish weighing 150 pounds were recorded on a day that started with falling snow and a wind chill of 16°.
Jim Rink, however, easily took session honors and 8 league points with 9 carp weighing in excess of 82 pounds. Jim also recorded the day’s big fish with a 20-1 (pictured above), and his winning captures moved him from fourth to third in the final league standings. Dennis Davis followed with 39 pounds of carp and 7 points for second place on this particular Saturday. Dennis was followed in the daily standings by Frank Rink, Cory Bohmann, and Tracy Jourdan.
This was the eighth and final session of the 2011 league. Final league standings are as follows:
First - Frank Rink - 61 points (146 fish - 992-14; won trophy, medal, and $320)
Second - Mike Olinger - 47 points (114 fish - 708-1; won trophy, medal, and $240)
Third - Jim Rink (pictured below, center) - 37 points (51 fish - 357-3; won trophy, medal, and $160)
Fourth - Cory Bohmann (pictured below, right) - 35 points (69 fish - 402-5; won medal)
Fifth - Rafal Stec - 27 points (23 fish - 192-12; won medal)
Sixth - Dennis Davis (pictured below, left) - 26 points (33 fish - 185-10; won medal)
Seventh - Tracy Jourdan - 18 points (26 fish - 197-2)
Eighth - Larry Seeman - 16 points (29 fish - 214-5)
League's Big Fish - Frank Rink (21-13; won trophy, medal, and $100)
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In addition, weekly big fish pots of between $50 and $80 were won throughout the series by Mike Olinger (2), Larry Seeman (2), Tracy Jourdan (1), Frank Rink (1), Cory Bohmann (1), and Jim Rink (1).
Huge thanks to all participants. League anglers caught 491 carp weighing 3,251 pounds during the eight-session series. Joliet continues to produce! The third season of the J-Town Fall 40’s Carp League is only 258 days away as of 12/17/11. --F. Rink
Click here for final stats, standings, photos, and more at the J-Town Fall 40's Carp League Website!
Midwest Winter Online Carp contests begin January 1
Are you looking for a way to shake off the Midwest's winter doldrums? Do you hate the thought of being a winter courch potato for the next three months? Then, I have an answer for you! How about participating in the 2012 Midwest Winter Online Carp Contest?
The contest runs from January 1st, 2012 through March 31st, 2012. However, the event is separated into three, big-4, monthly contests running in January, February, and March. There is also a big fish contest that runs the span of the three months.
Entry fee will only be $10. Money should never be a big incentive for entering a carp fishing contest, but the $10 will provide some small prizes for the winners. You can submit your entry to me via paypal, regular mail, or in person.
All money from entries will be used for prizes. I will not keep any of it for "administrative" fees. In fact, I will throw in some of my own funds for the prizes. Prizes will be distributed promptly to the winners! --F. Rink
Check out the details. Click here for the contest website.
Midwest Winter Carp League provides some warm water on December 18th, but the fishing still hasn’t heated up to 2010-11 levels
Group D was met with steaming, warmer water at its 
December 18th session at the Midwest Winter Carp League’s Milwaukee venue. Ioan “Jacob” Iacob had his choice of pegs, and, based on his performance last year at the peg, it came as no surprise that Jacob took #5. The random peg draw that followed had Kris Motwicki at #1, Rafal Stec at #2, and Mike Olinger at #3. D.J. Messman was a no show for the second straight time.
Mike Olinger caught the first recordable fish of the day, a 9-15. It was followed by a six pounder, but any fish under eight pounds is not allowed in this league. Kris Motwicki landed an eight pounder from peg 1 to narrow the gap. However, Mike countered with a 13-1 from peg 3. He also caught a 6-14 that, of course, would not be counted. That was the state of affairs at the 11:00 a.m. half-way mark of the session.
The catch rate got only slightly better during the second half of the day. The highlight was a new league leading big fish of 23 pounds captured by Kris Motwicki. His peg 1 produced several fish during the afternoon, although many were sub-8's. Nevertheless, Kris finished the day with three more recordable fish, making it four on the day for almost 47 pounds and first place. Mike Olinger added one to his two fish morning total to earn the 4 points for second place and 32 pounds out of peg 3. Ioan "Jacob" Iacob took third place from peg 5 with two fish and 20 pounds. Rafal Stec blanked at peg 2. Totals for the day saw anglers catching nine fish weighing about 100 pounds.
Two of six sessions are now completed for all four Winter Carp League groups. Kris Motwicki has a perfect 10 points and leads the league. Ed Montgomery and Marcin Szydlowski are bunched for 2nd and 3rd with nine points each. Mike Olinger is fourth with eight points, and Frank Rink rounds out the top five of 20 anglers with seven points.
The League will take a two weekend break for the Holidays, and Group A will return to Milwaukee on January 8. –F. Rink
Click here for Midwest Winter Carp League website and more information!
Milwaukee improves slightly for December 11th Group C session of Midwest Winter Carp League
Week by week, the Milwaukee venue of the Midwest Winter Carp League seems to be improving little by little. Thirteen fish were recorded by four Group C anglers at the December 11th session.
Marcin Szydlowski, fishing from peg 2, won the day’s event by weighing five fish totaling about 53 pounds. Marcin also had the day’s big fish with a 15-2 (pictured above). Luke Wegiel took the four points for second place with three fish weighing about 35 pounds from peg 1. Ernest Kolodziejcyk (peg 3 and pictured below) pulled in a late eight-pounder to end up with third place and three fish that tipped the scales at about 28 pounds. Frank Rink at peg 5 was fourth with two fish weighing about 22 pounds. Mirek Malej was a no-show.
As far as overall league points are concerned, Marcin now has 9. He and Ed Montgomery from Group A are tied for first in the overall standings. Frank has 7, Ernest has 6, Luke has 5, and Mirek has 1.
The next session of the Winter Carp league will be for Group D on December 18. –F. Rink
Click here for Midwest Winter Carp League website and more information!
Peg friendly Milwaukee? Here's an up-to-the-minute summary of peg performance at the MWCL
The sixth edition of the Midwest Winter Carp League (MWCL) has begun its second full season in Milwaukee. As has been the case in the past, the venue is showing some trends after eight of 24 sessions. Peg 1 is clearly the best peg, having produced five of the first eight first place winners. Peg 2 is not far behind, having accounted for the remaining three first place finishes.
I have argued in the past that bait and tactics are important factors in carp fishing, but location or peg draw in the case of competitive fishing is paramount in its effect on final outcome.
Here's a brief rundown of MWCL peg performance at Milwaukee to date. I acknowlege that some of the performance may be due to the angler to which each peg was assigned, but, at the very least, I think the analysis establishes some trends and may be helpful to those who participate in the league. I'll try to update this chart as more sessions unfold. --F. Rink
Click here for a larger, more readable version of the Peg Performance summary.
31+ caught from Chicago River on December 4
Congratulations to Pawel Sander for his Illinois PB of 31-5 (pictured below) caught from the Chicago River on December 4, 2011.
Pawel reports that the fish was captured and released under the following bait/tackle parameters: Calf manna based groundbait with intensive anise flavor; regular knotless knot hair rig on a size 6 wide gape Korda hook; bloodworm wafter in 12 mm dumbell shape from Sticky Baits plus ESP bright yellow small pop-up plastic corn on top of the wafter.
Congratulations! --F. Rink
Click here for more information about the catch!
Peg 1 finally lives up to reputation at December 3rd session of J-Town Fall 40’s Carp League
Peg 1 at the extreme south end of Joliet’s Bicentennial Park has traditionally been an excellent source of some good numbers for carp anglers. However, during the first six sessions of the J-Town Fall 40’s Carp League, the peg had averaged only 50 pounds of carp per session, and it yielded only two fish weighing 21 pounds at the November 26th Turkey Trot Carp Tournament. So, it came as no surprise that peg 1 was still available for Frank Rink who had the last choice of pegs at the League’s December 3rd session and who reluctantly took the peg.
But, as luck would have it, peg 1 finally “woke up,” and Frank caught 27 fish weighing 226 pounds to win the December 3rd session and eight league points for the day. Cory Bohmann, at the northern end of the venue in peg 8, earned seven points at the session with 18 fish totaling 138 pounds. Cory also captured big fish of the day honors with a very nice 21-2 (pictured below). Jim Rink won third place with a late surge at peg 4, catching 12 fish weighing 70-6. Mike Olinger was next with 9 carp at 59-14 from peg 3. Rafal Stec (2 fish, 13-4), and Dennis Davis (3 fish, 9-11) followed from pegs 5 and 7 respectively.
Seventy-one carp weighing 518 pounds were captured on December 3rd. After seven sessions, JTF40CL participants have caught 469 carp weighing 3,100 pounds.
The eighth and final session on December 17th
may be a bit anti-climactic, but there are some races yet to be settled. Frank Rink (55 pts. and pictured at right with a Dec. 3rd 20 pounder) simply needs to show up for the session to win the 2011 league title. Mike Olinger (47 pts.) doesn’t even have to show up, and he takes second place money for the 2011 JTF40CL.
Three points currently separate Cory Bohmann (30), Jim Rink (29), and Rafal Stec (27) for third place, so that race will be decided on December 17th. Medals are awarded for the top six places in the league, so only one from the group of Dennis Davis (19 pts.), Tracy Jourdan (17 pts.), and Larry Seeman (16 pts.) will win that bit of hardware. Of course, anybody can still win the big fish trophy if they can top 21 pounds, 13 ounces.
Perhaps, for a change, it may not rain on December 17th. Perhaps it will snow! Good luck to all.—F. Rink
Slawek Babiarz catches league's big fish and wins the December 4 session at Winter Carp League in Milwaukee
Slawek Babiarz , fishing from peg 1, led the way at the December 4 Group B session of the Midwest Winter Carp League in Milwaukee. Slawek captured a 10-4 and then weighed a league-leading big fish of 21-5 (pictured above) to earn five points and first place.
On the east end of the venue at peg 5, Tom Falaszewski was the first to record a fish. His eight pounder was followed by a 12-6 to give him just over 20 pounds and the related four points for second place.
Greg Zaliszewski rounded out the scoring with three points earned by catching a 9-4 common and a 9-1 mirror out of peg 2.
Luke Bober (peg 3) and Tracy Jourdan (peg 4) drew those tough middle pegs and took home one point each for attendance.
Anglers were not bothered by any dredging on this particular Sunday.
The Midwest Winter Carp League will resume with the Group C session on December 11. – F. Rink
Click here for Midwest Winter Carp League website and more information!
Tri-State Area provides a wealth of outstanding carping opportunities
Carp anglers in the Tristate (Illinois Indiana Wisconsin) Region have a unique opportunity to fish in four different leagues at varying times through the year at varied locations under varied conditions.
The leagues are as follows (as of the 2011 season):
The J-Town Fall 40’s Carp League held at Joliet, Illinois’ DesPlaines River at Bicentennial Park. The league is held from September through December with 8 sessions. Sessions generally take place twice a month on Saturdays.
The Windy City Carp League held at various venues in the Chicago area (in 2011, Lincoln Park Rowing Lagoon, Jackson Park Harbor, Montrose Harbor, Chicago River at Sun-Times, and Diversey Harbor). The league is held from May through September with 10 sessions. In 2011, sessions took place once a month on a Saturday and Sunday.
The Hoosier Carpers Tournament Trail held at various venues throughout the state of Indiana (in 2011, Brookville Lake, Maizo Canal, White River, Bixler Lake, St. Joseph River, Monroe Lake). The league is held from April through October with 6 sessions. In 2011, sessions took place about once a month on a Saturday.
The Midwest Winter Carp League held at Milwaukee Wisconsin’s Menomenee River at the Harley Davidson Museum. The league is held from October through April with 6 sessions. Four separate groups of 5 anglers fish once a month on Sundays (that means the venue is fished on four Sundays each month).
A quick analysis of fishing results at these venues shows some interesting results.
JTF40CL League, Joliet, IL: Sessions-8; Total Fish Caught- 491; Total Weight- 3,251 lbs.; Average Weight- 6-10
WCCL League, Chicago, IL: Sessions-10; Total Fish Caught-219; Total Weight-2,417 lbs.; Average Weight - 11-1
HCTT League, Indiana: Sessions-6; Total Fish Caught-233; Total Weight-1,434 lbs.; Average Weight - 6-2
Milwaukee League, Milwaukee, WI: Sessions-7 so far; Total Fish Caught-50; Total Weight-593 lbs.; Average Weight - 11-14
For sheer numbers and total weight, Joliet easily leads all leagues with 491 fish caught and a total weight of 3,251 pounds in just 8 sessions of between 5 and 8 anglers at each session.
Chicago has a nice mix of numbers, weight, and average. Results are often varied because we move to a different venue each month.
The Indiana league provides the most eclectic of venues. Results can also vary. For example, the White River event saw 136 fish weighing 850 pounds while the Bilxler Lake event produced 4 fish weighing 26 pounds.
The Milwaukee League has a high average, but that is due to the fact that fish under 8 pounds are not counted. It usually produces well, but 2011 has been hit and miss so far.
The comparisons are not intended to rank the leagues, but rather to show the opportunities that we have in this region. --F. Rink