Nielsen's Channels - January 23, 2021

Our second outing of the year was this past Saturday at Nielsen’s Channels off the Fox River in Port Barrington. Seven club members and one guest fished in the cold conditions (0° at 7 am!). The bite was slow, possibly because we were there so late in the winter. It is a well-known first-ice location and has been getting fished hard for weeks. Although we eventually caught bluegills and crappies, most were small—only 7 were big enough to score club points (>7” for bluegill and >9” for crappie). Gregg Stockey won the big fish contest with a 9.5” crappie.

Although he scored no points at this outing, Isaac Biggerstaff held onto his points lead. Al Silcroft caught a 7” bluegill that puts him in first for the multi-species master. But, it’s early in the year and there are a lot of fish to be caught still! Our next outing is February 6 at Wooster Lake.