Kevin Van Dam Forums

Anyone fish the Illinois river around spring valley? I have a carpenters walleye/sauger tourney on the 20th and I’m looking for any info I can get to help me out..Last year was my first time and skunked !! I went out last Saturday and picked up a few shorts and one 19 1/4. I have read everything I can find about how to catch these buggers but what I’m looking for is what areas I should hit. I will not share any ones honey holes and I will only fish them during the tourney the rest of the year I’m out fishing for bass and muskie. Thanks

Here is a link to the walleye club website. There are not giving any info out til after the MWC tourney that comes in a week after yours. PM me and I’ll tell ya where there are hitting at. I fish it 4-5 times a year with my father-in-law. I live in Peru and can almost see that muddy creek from my house…
http://www.spring-valley-walleye.org/index.html

i suggest a lindy rig with a night crawler works very well but leaches are far better!
Hair jigs with a minnow on them are great to and just bottom bounce em

thanks guys

KPD6373 - 11 March 2010 11:47 AM

Here is a link to the walleye club website. There are not giving any info out til after the MWC tourney that comes in a week after yours. PM me and I’ll tell ya where there are hitting at. I fish it 4-5 times a year with my father-in-law. I live in Peru and can almost see that muddy creek from my house…
http://www.spring-valley-walleye.org/index.html

I believe there tourney is on the 21st (day after mine) either way all the boats from the MWC prefishing wont help

No it won’t. Plus the water is very high and muddy right now from all the rain. Hope it drops by the end of the week for your sake. Tough fishing if it doesn’t.

No **** its high, I just checked and its not supposed to crest till 1 PM Monday. If it gets anymore rain I’ll have to bring some marshmallow’s for my chocolate milk

LOL! Peru has a few nice pubs on the riverfront…

That would be great for my boat partner,last year he almost didn’t make it to the ramp. I hope the weather holds till atleast after 2pm sat.. I’ll be on the river thursday-saturday trying my luck.. Any last tips for the beef stew i’ll be fishing in???

Hey Guys….How is the Asian Carp situation down there. When I lived in Chicago, I would fish the Illinois (out of Starved Rock) from time to time.
Later after I moved here to Minnesota, I saw on the news these hoards of Asian Carp flying everywhere. It was incredible.  Is it really bad, or was it overblown ?

Thanks

I live a mile away from it in Peru and it is bad….thats not saying u cant still get walleyes/saugers. DNR should have taken care of this issue 10 years ago but they are going to make tax $$$ off of the commerical fishing they are going to have for them. Plus DNR has been taking all the eyes/saugers from every tourney out of Spring Valley for the last 10-15 years and release back like 1-2 million fry. Here is a link for the weights they haven taken and this is just from the MWC tourney. http://www.spring-valley-walleye.org/past.htm

Not to mention a few FLW’s, Illinois Trail, and a few other local ones. I would say DNR is down there 10 times a year taking all the fish…..