50thAnniversary

Share the sporting tradition as hot competition hits the ice.

Northern Illinois Conservation Club50thAnniversaryStory By Frank JakubicekPhotos By Adele Hodde

Ice fishing throughout mostof Illinois is, at best, a part-time hobby. However, innortheastern Illinois, wherefreeze-up historically occursaround December 6 and fishable iceoften continues through mid February,fishermen are a little more seriousabout their sport.

For 49 continuous years, those coldweather conditions have been success-fully exploited by one non-profit sports-man’s group, the Northern Illinois Con-servation Club. On Feb. 13-14, a thou-sand or so ice fishermen will convergeon the Fox Chain O’ Lakes for the 50thanniversary NICC Ice Fishing Derby,vying for hourly catch and raffle prizes,

Iand exchanging information about howand where the fish might be biting.

Derby headquarters is the ThirstyTurtle, a resort located on the south-western side of Channel Lake west ofAntioch, where derby participants reg-ister and join in on the fun. Newcomersare always welcome.

In the ranks of ice fishing enthusi-asts present are seasoned veteranswho’ve fished this event for decades aswell as second- and third-generationneophytes. Regardless of their level ofexperience or success, part of the funof fishing in an organized event is thatat the end of the day even some ofthose less-lucky anglers walk away awinner—maybe with a new trollingmotor, rod and reel, dinner for two oreven Cubs tickets.

I stopped by two local businesses,which I knew have been around a

18 / OutdoorIllinois January 2010

The well-equipped ice fisherman

brings along a portable shanty to

shut out the cold wind of winter.

With proper boots, ice anglers can

fish all day in comfort—while

secretly catching fish the competi-

tion can’t see.

January 2010 OutdoorIllinois / 19

while, to gain some insight into theNICC Derby. Both stops held surprises.

At Triangle Sport and Marine, on thecorner of Route 83 and Grass LakeRoad, owner Greg Dickson explainedhow long he’s been a sponsor of theNICC Derby: “I remember fishing inthat when I was 7. My Dad started thebusiness 62 years ago and we’ve donat-ed to the derby ever since it started. It’sjust one of those things that happensevery year.”

A couple of the customers in Trian-gle Bait were long-time participants aswell, and freely offered insight intosome of their experiences, such as thederbies when the only way onto the icewas across a 6- or 8-foot plank becausewarm weather had melted the ice awayfrom shore.

Over a span of 50 years, a range ofcircumstances is bound to happen, andorganizers either cancel or overcomethe problem. NICC always overcomesthe problems.

Throughout the Antioch area,anglers tell stories about how crazy theweather can be in mid February, buttheir bottom line remains unchal-lenged: I always try to make the NICCderby. We find a way to catch fish.Somebody won some nice prizes.

At Sorenson’s Bait, west of Antiochon Route 173, I had the pleasure ofspeaking with owner Ed Sorenson, a 95-year-young man who was, in 1960, afounding member Northern IllinoisConservation Club. He’s a spry, busyman with a wealth of informationregarding the history of area lakes andthe Fox Chain O’ Lakes. If someone hadto be an expert, Sorenson wins. Afterall he’s been in business for 77 years.

His bait shop is old school—live baitand the basics—and he leaves the gim-micks to the big-box stores. Sorensonknows bait. He’s a minnow man by pro-fession and speaks volumes on whenand where he and his friends used tocollect minnows for his business. Soren-son reminiscenced about the group ofAntioch outdoorsmen and businessmenwho started NICC, and their reason forsuch a venture: They saw a situation thatno one else in the area seemed to careabout and put together a group of like-minded individuals to solve the problem.NICC was formed to help raise funds topurchase fish for area lakes that hadexperienced significant winter kills.They raised some money, stocked somefish, and started a tradition.

Fifty years after the initial derby,NICC is still a group of like-minded out-door enthusiasts who share information,educate young people and are helpingthe surrounding area with good deeds.

If you‘re not busy the weekend ofFebruary 13, take a trip to Channel Lake.

Celebrate history. Maybe you’ll pullin the fish that they reminiscence aboutat their 100th anniversary in 2060.

Frank Jakubicek,is a DNR districtfisheries biologist and based at ChainO’Lakes State Park.

Ray Winkowsi of Delavan, Wisc.

shows off a 34-inch northern pike

he hooked on a tip-up device at

Channel Lake in northern Illinois.

Fresh fish taste best when stored

on ice, and nothing tastes better

than ice-caught bluegill. For long

treks across the lake, smart anglers

load their gear on snow sleds.

The Feb. 13-14, 2010 NICC derby willtake place Sat. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 7a.m.-2 p.m. The main headquarters is theThirsty Turtle on Channel Lake, whereclub representatives will check-in ice-fishermen, hold hourly prize drawingsand record biggest and smallest catchesfrom 10 categories of fish. Games, foodand beverages will be available.

With more than 100 sponsors anddonors, prizes are as abundant as baitfish.

Additional information on NICC isavailable at www.lakeonline.com/nicc.