Illinois Fishing News

NORMAL, Illinois - Professional bass fisherman Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Illinois, is hooked on Special Olympics. He is teaming up with Special Olympics Illinois and the Law Enforcement Torch Run to host the 4th Annual Chad Morgenthaler Bass Tournament presented by Jasper Engines & Transmissions on Augusty 29 at Rend Lake in southern Illinois.

LITCHFIELD, ILLINOIS - They say "you can't start them young enough," and the industry experts at Teleflex Marine have been committed to sharing their enthusiasm for the boating, fishing and marine industries with young and old alike for years.

SHELBYVILLE, ILLINOIS - The Illini Division of the $8 million Walmart Bass Fishing League® will visit Lake Shelbyville in Shelbyville, Illinois, June 6 for the second of five regular-season events. As many as 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers are expected to compete in the tournament, which will award as much as $45,000 in cash, including a top award of $6,000 in the Boater Division.

BLOOMINGTON, ILL. -- The 2009 IHSA Bass Fishing State Finals mark the inaugural season of bass fishing competition in the state of Illinois,
as well as in the nation at the high school level. The action will unfold on Carlyle Lake in Carlyle (50 miles east of St. Louis) on Friday and Saturday,

BENTON, Illinois - Jerry Walker of Zeigler, Ill., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Illini Division tournament on Rend Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 13 ounces. The victory earned Walker $3,917 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Mississippi River Regional Championship in Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 1-3, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Coulterville, Illinois - When the second event of the 2009 Carrot Stix Professional Anglers Association (PAA) Tournament Series blasts off next week on Alabama's Lake Neely Henry, Chad Morgenthaler will make history as the first tour-level pro to run a Phoenix Bass Boat in competition. He recently aligned with the Tullahoma, Tennessee boat manufacturer and his 21-foot 721 ProXP will sport the familiar Jasper Engines emblems on the front panels and a Phoenix Logo on the rear quarter-panel.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - The Berkley Bass Tank will be at the Rockford Fishing and Outdoor Expo in Loves Park, Illinois The tank is scheduled to stop February 20-22 and will feature seminars and appearances by Berkley Pro Anglers.

Bainbridge Island, Washington - The top names in Fly Fishing have joined forces together to put togther a world-class fly fishing outfit as a fundraiser for Trout Unlimited-Alaska to help with their efforts protecting the Bristol Bay watershed.

I have been lax with my dedication to Midwest ice fishing.

My preoccupation with other issues has taken precedence over this facet of sport fishing. But I managed to make up for it when I joined Babe Winkelman, Spence Petros, Mike Seeling and guide Eric Haataja on the shores of Lake Michigan.

My wife suggested I go to the doctor and get checked out. I suggested she go shopping and keep herself occupied and stop making recommendations as to what I should be doing.

I had just finished scouring the basement shelves for the umpteenth time, hoping to find a particular spinning reel I had put away. After 20 minutes I decided it was an exercise in futility.