Kim Huckstead of Downstate Sullivan was needled relentlessly for fishing last weekend’s Lake Shelbyville Muskie Tournament with a “boyfriend” instead of her devoted husband.
The trouble was, Trent Huckstead already had signed to fish with a buddy, and Kim had decided to enter at the very last minute. She conned one of their close friends, Marion Cordes of Humboldt, to team with her. And then they went out and won the two-day tourney with a blazing return of three fish in the 34-to-42-inch range.
And poor old Trent didn’t catch a single fish.
Kim Huckstead and Cordes led 55 teams in the second annual Department of Natural Resources-sponsored event, designed to showcase Illinois’ growing muskie fishery. More than 20 fish of 32 inches or longer were measured by judges before release, including a 46-incher caught by Duane Lindheimer of Hinckley, who took third with partner Victor Fox of Shabbona. Second place went to Brian Drendel and Dan Swanson of North Aurora, who also caught three fish.
The Hucksteads belong to a clique of R.R. Donnelley Press employees who were turned on to muskie fishing 10 years ago when several Chicago muskie maniacs moved to Mattoon during a transfer of plant operations.
“They talked us into going with them to Ontario, and I don’t think I fished more than a day and a half on that first trip,” Kim recalled. “We went up there without rain gear. I spent most of my time in the cabin.”
But she caught on, fishing well enough to lead the women’s division of the Mississippi Valley Muskies Inc. chapter in seven of the last eight years.
Because she and Cordes had a high starting number, everyone beat them to Shelbyville’s prime muskie waters in the south end on Saturday. “We might have been the only ones who went north,” said Cordes, a primary basser who boated a 34 7/8-incher Saturday near Wolf Creek. He had suggested they fish bass waters where he inadvertently catches a lot of muskies.
On Sunday, the numbers were reversed and they beat everyone to the prime location near Lithia Springs Marina, but no fish were biting in the coves. As soon as they moved to a shaded, windy, woody main lake point, Kim took a 42 1/2-incher on a Mepps bucktail spinner. At first she thought she had snagged a log, but then the fish leaped out of the water.
Cordes added a 37-incher later in the morning from a deeper creek channel. The fish missed his first two casts, then slammed the bait from ambush beneath the boat when he twitched it just 3 feet away.
Drendel caught all three of his team’s fish, including a 37-incher that gobbled his third figure-eight maneuver as the fish lurked at the boat. “I had my rod in the water all the way to the reel,” he said.
Cordes said he was lucky to be asked to fish with Kim. “She’s really good,” he said. “She makes good, accurate casts. She hangs right in with the best of them.”
Kim said Trent harbors no jealousy over her first big tourney victory. “He always gets more excited when I catch a fish than when he does,” she said. “The first thing he did when Marion and I won was phone his father to boast about it.”
A subtle turn: Environmentalists opposed to Rosemont’s proposed land swap with the Cook County Forest Preserve District (2 acres in Rosemont for 31 acres near Orland Park) are accepting the likelihood that they may be fighting a losing battle. Their major recourse now may be to use Rosemont’s fait accompli as a wedge to promote a county-wide referendum for a bond issue allowing the FPD to acquire critical land connections without selling its soul to covetous industries. They particularly fear Acme Steel’s plans to acquire 11 forest preserve acres at Lake Calumet, which would abort a major trail and ecological restoration project.
Promise keeping: Also hoping to make their forest preserves presence felt in a positive light is a group of Chicago-area mountain bikers, who plan to stage a series of recreational rides Sunday in Palos Woods to raise funds for trail maintenance. According to Bruce Glaser of TURF (Trail Users Rights Foundation), the $15 entry includes clinics and directions for trail loops from 3 to 20 miles. The rides will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Maple Lake’s Bullfrog Pond parking lot off 95th Street, east of Archer near Willow Springs. Call 708-352-3822.
Hot spots: Kankakee River guide Matt Mullady reports steady topwater action for smallmouth in oddly warm 67-degree autumn water. Storm Chug Bugs, Zara Puppies and 4-inch Slug-Gos rule the action. . . .Another unacceptable 50-inch muskie report is floating about, this one from Shabbona Lake, where an angler supposedly released the fish late at night after local bait shops had been closed. If anyone ever does catch a legitimate 50-incher in Illinois, it’ll be a fish that is measured on a bump board in front of responsible witnesses. And I’ll add this despite all my previous exhortations about the benefits of catch-and-release: Illinois’ first legitimate 50-inch muskie deserves to be mounted and displayed around the state. Anything less is just smoke.
