scoping out IBSP...

I had a chance to visit the Illinois Beach State Park over the exceptionally warm January weekend. It was so foggy, that all we can hear is the waves breaking, and this sound is what we followed to find the beach through the forest preserve. Although we did end up throwing a few casts, it was mainly a scouting trip in preparation for the coming Spring season. Very few people fish the lakefront, and even less on fly rods. I recently purchased my first spey rod, and with this longer distances are within reach for me. I am still getting used to spey casting and it definitely requires some “adjusting” away from the regular fly cast. I plan to fully utilize my new rod and reel and I can’t wait to see the expression on the skeptic’s faces when I pull out a large steelhead during the early spring run. Here is some information on the beach state park from the DNR site.

Illinois Beach is a unique and captivating natural resource for all to enjoy. It was created by the titanic forces of glacial advance and retreat and the steady winds that breathed across expansive Lake Michigan. The park has dunes and swales with sprawling marshes, forests of oak and vast arrays of animal life and vegetation. The park is 4,160-acres.

More than 650 species of plants have been recorded in the dunes area alone, including dozens of types of colorful wildflowers. Prickly pear cactus thrives in large colonies in the dry areas, and the wet prairies are carpeted with a wide variety of grasses and sedges. Large expanses of marsh in the swales support dense stands of cattail, bluejoint grass, prairie cordgrass, reed grass, big bluestem and sedges.
Just north of these pines is the Dead River which actually is a stream that is blocked by sandbars much of the year forming an elongated pond. When the water finally rises high enough, it breaks through the sandbar and drains the surrounding marshes. The abundance of aquatic plants and fish flourishing in this changing environment belie its name.