Hooked on Fishing

By Dick Peach

The extra rain we received this spring and early summer has swollen a lot of our waterways well into summer this year. This creates some unusual fishing opportunities.

The Skokie Lagoons, Wolf Lake and other waters have unusually high levels. The high water provides additional feeding areas for the fish, and all the grass, trees and banks now in the water are a giant smorgasbord of insects, worms and the like. This food source is normally not available this late in the year. Fishermen should be taking advantage of it and targeting the spots for fish.

These spots may be quite shallow, only a few feet deep, but that should not spook one away. These areas can be fished a couple of ways, and they all should be tried. The quickest way to locate fish is with an 1/8 oz. jig head and 3-4" twister tail. Color choices are white, yellow, chartreuse or orange. These can be cast around any object or weed edge, and one can cover a lot of water locating active fish.

Try visualizing the shore edge with the water at normal levels and work that edge, which will now be submerged. Another option is to use live bait, such as night crawlers or leeches. This presentation should be done with a slip float to adjust to the depth of the fishing area. Slip float rigs are available at most tackle shops.

This setup can be used in extremely shallow areas if necessary, which is why it's great for this type of fish catching. Leeches should be hooked through the sucker end; nightcrawlers can either be hooked through the collar or hooked in the end. Try nightcrawlers first, because they are easier to work into the hook. If a whole nightcrawler produced a lot of short hits, try using just half a crawler. If that does not work, then switch to leeches.

Water levels will begin to recede as the summer progresses, so this is a short window of opportunity.

Give it a try.

Until next time, keep a tight line.

Visit Dick at hookedonfishing@comcast.net.

Chicago Storm Holds Soccer Camp at Chute

By Brian Cleary

Chicago Storm goalkeeper Jeff Richey ran a series of dribbling drills for young soccer players on July 28 at the Chute Middle School fields. As a member of the U.S. Futsai National Team, Mr. Richey is heading to Brazil in September/October for the FIFA Futsai World Cup. Futsai is a form of indoor soccer without boards; and it is played on a smaller field, about the size of a basketball court.

From July 28 to Aug. 1, the Chicago Storm held an Evanston-based soccer camp at Chute Middle School. The camp accommodated all levels of play. The weeklong camp was divided into six categories based on skill level and age.

Mr. Richey surrounded by players who attended the camp.

The mini-kickers camp was ideal for beginners aged 4-6 who wanted to learn the basics of soccer in an entertaining environment. The half-day camp was designed for recreational and intermediate players aged 7-17 to enhance their technical and tactical skills. Full-day camps were divided into two sessions. The morning session taught technical skills, such as dribbling, passing, receiving and shooting the ball. The afternoon session focused on tactical and team strategies. Striker camps provided campers with the skills and goal-scoring instincts to be successful in front of the goal through repetition and small scrimmages that focused on shooting and scoring. Keeper camps offered the opportunity to develop the necessary techniques and confidence to succeed as a goalkeeper. The striker and keeper camps ran in conjunction with one another and included kids aged 7-17. The team camp focused on team concepts such as fitness, attacking the goal, defending the goal, tactics, set plays and more.

"I love coaching and seeing the kids develop. I get more out of [the camps] by seeing them develop as players and people," said Jeff Richey, Evanston resident and goalkeeper for the Storm.

Richey has coached the Chicago Storm camps for three years. He said he had previously coached a lot of the kids who attended camp this summer. A total of 40 local kids took part in the camp.

Richey noted that some participants brought their friends along to play and develop their soccer skills further. "It is nice because the kids are playing with their friends. Most of them know each other so there was not really a phase where they had to get to know each other because about half of the kids have played in other camps together."

Each participant received a soccer ball, camp T-shirt, certificate of participation and a ticket to a Chicago Storm match in the upcoming 2008-09 season.

"Playing with the younger kids, they looked up to me and I was like their leader [is what I enjoyed the most from the camp]," said second year camper Michael Dennison. "[In the camp] I have learned a few new tricks with the ball and how to kick the ball much better."

The camp concluded on Aug. 1 with an awards ceremony following the final session.

ESBA Grand Slam Tournament Winners.

The Evanston Baseball and Softball Association (EBSA) capped off its 8-year-old farm league season with the annual Grand Slam Tournament at James Park on July 13 and 14. Both the championship winners and runners-up are pictured above. Eight teams and more than 75 players participated in the two-day tournament. The eight tournament teams were drawn from the 16 regular-season teams that played in the EBSA Farm 8 league. Information about EBSA can be found at evasntonbaseball.com.

Evanston Students Win 8 Medals in National Martial Arts Competition

Four Evanston athletes, who were on the Fonseca Martial Arts Competition team, competed in the 2008 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Karate National Championship Tournament held July 2-6, 2008, in Albany, N.Y., bringing home a total of eight medals. Kai Gerberick, 8, won gold medals in Team Kata (forms) and Team Kumite (sparring) and silver medals in Kata and Kumite. Eitan Katz, 13, won a gold medal in Kata and a bronze medal in Kumite. Dakota Erwin, 8, won bronze medals in Kata and Team Kobudo (weapons). Zachary Nichols also competed.
With over 2,000 athletes representing all 50 states, the AAU Karate National Championship Tournament is one of the largest National Championship Tournaments in the country. Competitors range in age from five to senior citizen and compete according to age, rank, weight and level of ability. Only the top qualifying athletes from State and Regional tournaments are invited to compete at the National Championship Tournament.
Pictured above, Dakota Erwin performs his bronze medal-winning kata, Heian Godan, at the AAU Karate National Championship Tournament.