Several schools already hooking on IHSA fishing derby

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-SUN This is one of the man-made nests at Almond Marsh in Grayslake which were put up to help herons which are losing their natural nesting areas.

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We're going back to the bass one more time before things freeze over for the winter.

Great news about the Illinois High School Association's IHSA Bass Fishing State Series during the spring of 2009.

Click to enlarge image

This is a look at Lake Corina, one of the areas top fishing spots.

This is an opportunity for Illinois High Schools to field a bass-fishing team and we covered the first meet between Stevenson High and Vernon Hills High earlier this fall.

The participants were Mike Ross, Chris Mural (Stevenson coach), Robbie Burroughs (Stevenson coach), Vlad Malevanets, David Brilliant, Jerry Miceli (Vernon Hills coach), Doug Dusthimer (Vernon Hills coach), Justin Kaszuba, Sam Borstein, T.J. Jasinski, Connor Healy and Sarah Warner.

Here's the good news.

Teams are being fielded by the following high schools: Antioch, Grant, Grayslake North, Warren, Lakes, Libertyville, Wauconda, Waukegan and Zion-Benton.

The number of teams could still continue to grow, as other schools have already expressed interest in paying the late fee to add a bass-fishing team after the deadline.

"The registration of 214 schools for bass fishing greatly exceeded our expectations for the first season of this activity," said IHSA executive director Marty Hickman. "The groundswell of support from our membership reinforces the decision that our board of directors made in choosing to sponsor bass fishing and we believe that these numbers will only continue to grow."

The state finals are on Carlyle Lake in southern Illinois on May 8-9. Teams are allowed two boats per school, with two participants fishing per boat at a time during state series competition. In the state series, winners will be determined based on the combined weights of up to five fish per boat.

Now how fun is that?

Now I am going to give all you local teams an interesting tip for fishing for bass at one of the tiniest forest preserves in the county: Lake Carina.

It's located on Milwaukee Avenue and the tollway and you would never really think this place could hold bass, but it is fed by the string of ponds at Heather Ridge. I caught a nice bass while fishing the smaller of the two lakes where Stoneroller Creek empties into the smaller lake.

I was thinking there were fish lurking off to the side of a stream waiting for dinner to get dumped into the lake and I caught this fish after less than a dozen casts.

The creek is named for a small fish called the central stoneroller that is found there. It gets all of 7 inches long and it eats algae and bottom ooze, according to the forest preserve. I am thinking bass food.

The preserve is on my way to and from work and I was always amazed at how many cars seemed to be there, and then I asked a local guy who fished it before it became a preserve and he said bass and northern were a lot of fun there.

Of course, I'm thinking these teams will also be making a few trips to the Chain O' Lakes for some practice.

Whoop it up for the Cranes

Fourteen whooping-crane chicks reached Illinois this week on their ultralight-guided migration from Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin to Chassahowitzka and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuges along Florida's Gulf Coast.

I wish they would detour and come through Lake County, but so it goes. They arrived in in Winnebago County on Monday. These are the tallest birds in North America and there are now 68 migratory whooping cranes in the wild in eastern North America -- including the first whooping crane chick to hatch in the wild in Wisconsin in more than a century.

How Tall? They can reach 5 feet tall. Go to http://www.bringbackthecranes.org. For more information.

Plenty of activity at Volo Bog

Guided tours of Volo Bog are available at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays and Sundays. Call (815) 344-1294.

The state's only remaining open-water quaking bog is lit by the turning of the tamarack trees, the only evergreen to shed its leaves each fall.

Also at the Bog is their annual Nature Photo Contest. You can vote for your favorites from 115 entries by 17 different amateur photographers through Jan. 9. Awards will be presented during WinterFest -- Sunday, January 11th.

The ShutterBugs of Volo Bog will meet Nov. 19 from 7-9 p.m. where they have how-to workshops, guest speakers & member competitions.