Most of you know that I am a big fan of our City’s fishing program at Lovelace Park from my articles.
This great program provides a great opportunity for families to enjoy the fun and excitement of fishing, close to home, and free of charge. Yes, there is something in Evanston that’s free. The Parks & Recreation Dept. through the Ecology Center is responsible for this endeavor.
The City of Evanston supplies the rods and reels, the bait, and most importantly, the fish. They also provide a terrific group of people to help with baiting hooks, how to cast, taking fish off of hooks, and answering your questions about where and how to catch fish in the pond.
This year the City has taken a couple of steps to improve the experience at Lovelace Park. The last few summers have been very hot and as a result there has been a large increase in the algae growth in the pond which is hard on the fish and makes catching hard.
This year the City has brought in a group of experts in urban ponds and they are systematically working to reduce and eliminate the problem. In conjunction with this program, members of the Summer Youth Job Program will be out there weekly with racks cleaning up the floating weeds. These efforts are going to have a positive impact on fishing.
The other thing the City did was restock the pond, with 5″ largemouth bass, 5″ catfish and bluegills. This restocking was done through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and will help better balance the ecosystem in the pond.
The bass and catfish will help balance the number of small fish, and allow larger fish to prosper. The future of fishing (and catching) is looking really good at Lovelace Park.
Why not plan a Saturday morning for you and the kid(s) and enjoy this little gem in our community. The fishing program runs from early May until late September, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Until next time…keep a tight line.
Contact Dick at hookedonfishing@comcast.net.