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There is nothing like muskie fishing. I’ve been fortunate to be able to fish for these beasts with Hall of Famers Spence Petros and James Lindner. In the boat with experienced pros such as these gentlemen, when a strike occurs, the situation is handled with cool, calm professionalism by all in the boat. Everyone has a job to do, and the jobs are performed calmly and efficiently to accomplish the task of getting the giant fish safely into the net. Pictures are taken and measurements are made, and then the fish is safely released.
Catching a muskie in a boat with a crew of not-very-masterful anglers is usually a different story. The most appropriate description might be that it is when all chaos breaks loose. I guess that’s why McHenry resident Rick Albers uses “when all chaos breaks loose” as his tag line for his successful muskie bait company, Chaos Tackle.
Albers is a 55-year-old McHenry resident who owns Albers Exteriors, a roofing and siding company, although the growth of Chaos Tackle might be pushing Albers out of the exteriors industry. He lives with his wife of 33 years, Jill. They have a daughter, Cara, and a son, Josh, who are both grown and out of the house.
It has always been about muskies for Albers. Growing up in southern Wisconsin, he started fishing with his father “as soon as I was big enough to lift and hold a rod.”
Albers caught his first muskie in his teens. He said, “It’s not that we didn’t fish for muskies, it’s just that we weren’t very good at it. Now, it’s nothing but muskies for me.”
Albers founded Esox Assault Tackle seven years ago and began marketing muskie baits. He produced in-line spinners with size-6 blades called the Esox Assault Drone and the double-bladed Twin Drone.
Five years ago, the Chaos Tackle Company became available and Albers bought it. He expanded the Drone line of baits to include the EA and EAs baits in the wildly popular 8-, 9- and 10-sized blades. Albers’ spinners come in some truly unique skirt and blade colors.
“Our colors aren’t just painted," Albers said. "The blades are coated with a transparent colored lacquer that allows the flash of the nickel blades to show through.”
The rest of the Chaos offerings are as unique and exceptional as Albers' spinners. He offers a full lineup of hard minnow-style baits for twitching, cranking and trolling. Chaos has the 5- and 8-inch Mini, the 6- and 8-inch Chubby, the 6.5- and 10-inch Fury, the 12-inch Magnum, the 12-inch KC and the 16-inch Monster.
The Chaos hard baits seem to get down really deep in the water compared to the competition. The 10-inch Fury actually trolls down to a depth of 30 feet at 5 mph.
If you like to use the walk-the-dog retrieve, they’ve got the Bubba and the Big Mama. The Twis'td Sis'tr, the Twis'td Sis'tr Clicker, the Psycho Sis'tr, the Dirdy B and the Obnoxious B all move a lot of water and make a lot of noise. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a job just spending all day making up new names for muskie lures?
The really hot numbers in the Chaos Tackle lineup are the soft plastic offerings. They have the Medussa, available in five sizes, from 9 to 17 inches in length. It’s a plastic bait with three dangling tails that undulate through the water, driving muskies into a feeding frenzy.
The Pegassus is a 6.75-inch magnum-sized soft-plastic lipless crankbait which can be cast-and-retrieved or jigged.
The newly-released Posseidon, is a 10-inch, paddle-tailed swim bait that is getting an awful lot of attention in the muskie market. By the way, I didn’t make any typos. Albers’ baits are really spelled with a double “S” in their names.
All of the muskie baits in the Chaos Tackle lineup are manufactured right here in the good old USA. Chaos also has rods available under the Custom X and Assault Sticks brands.
Albers has assembled a fine pro staff for Chaos Tackle that includes Mike Hulbert, Lee Tauchen and Spencer Berman. These guys are some of the top muskie sticks around.
Pro staff member Chris Taurisano says, “There is a reason why all the top pros in the industry use and endorse Chaos Tackle and its products. Not only are they top of the line and proven fish catchers, but the owner, Rick Albers, is one of the best people to deal with in the industry. He is literally a one-stop shop. Between the rods, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bucktails, topwaters and plastics, Chaos Tackle has it all.”
Chaos Tackle lures are available at many fine bait and tackle retailers, as well as at Rick's website – www.chaostackle.com.
FISHING REPORT
Northern Illinois: Dave Kranz from Dave's Bait, Tackle and Taxidermy in Crystal Lake reports: "The weather continues to change rapidly. Most ice derbies scheduled for this upcoming weekend as well as those that had been originally scheduled earlier but moved to this weekend have been canceled. It's hard to keep up with the changes, so please check the various websites for the most up-to-date information. Fishable ice may currently be available, but as we always recommend, be careful and always consider safety to be of the utmost importance. You always have the opportunity of heading your car up north to find more safe and fishable ice."
Call 815-455-2040 for an updated report.
Wisconsin: Call Wisconsin's Lake Michigan Fishing Hotline at 414-382-7920 to hear the latest fishing information for Lake Michigan and its tributaries. Excellent Wisconsin Lake Michigan fishing is posted at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Fishing/lakemichigan/OutdoorReport.html
Illinois: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources offers fishing reports on a number of waterways across the state. The fishing reports for lakes, rivers and streams are updated weekly. http://www.ifishillinois.org/fishing_reports/fishing_report_selector.php
NOTES
Fox River Corridor Plan: On March 2, McHenry County Planning & Development will host a public open house for the Fox River Corridor Plan at the Cary Village Hall between 4:30 and 7 p.m. They encourage all to attend so that they can hear people's opinions on the strengths and challenges of the Fox River area spanning from Route 176, in Burtons Bridge, to Cold Springs Road, in Cary. The area includes a portion of the communities of Cary, Fox River Grove, Island Lake, Lake Barrington, Oakwood Hills, Port Barrington, Tower Lakes and Trout Valley.
The event will use an open house format that allows attendees to learn about key findings and provide input at their own pace. For more information, contact Kate Evasic (kevasic@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8782) or Kimberly Kolner (kskolner@co.mchenry.il.us or 815-334-4555). You are able to access the project web page at http://cmap.is/fox-river-mchenry-lake for additional information, as well.
Walleyes Unlimited: Walleyes Unlimited, with about 450 members, is one of the Midwest's most popular fishing clubs. They run two meetings a month. In Wisconsin, they meet on the second Wednesday of the month. In Illinois, they meet on the last Wednesday of the month at the Gurnee American Legion Hall at 749 Milwaukee Ave. in Gurnee, two miles east of I-94 off of Grand Avenue.
On Feb. 29, the featured speaker is Lee Tauchen, a top muskie guide and champion tournament angler. His topic will be “A Season on the Madison Chain.” Lee will teach ways to put a big toothy critter onto the end of your line. The fun starts at 7 p.m. Soft drinks are provided, and hard beverages are available for purchase.
Check walleyesunlimitedusa.org for more information or send an email to club president Keith Hahn at redeyewalleye28@yahoo.com.
Classes at Cabela's: Our good friend and top Lowrance electronics expert, Mark O'Neill sends word, "On Feb/ 18, I will be holding my "Advanced Electronics Class" and have added the "Hands on With the Gen 3" event for April 8, both at the Cabela's in Hoffman Estates. The hands on class will be limited to 16 people, since I only have access to so many units for the class. I would suggest registering soon for this one if interested, since this program always fills up. For more information on both sessions, please go to: www.structure-fishing.com/Lowrance_University_.html"
Planning ahead: Here's a quick request from regular reader and good friend Tom Brink of Cary:
“Steve, This may be a bit morbid, but I am preparing end-of-life instructions on the disposition of my possessions. I was wondering if you knew of a nonprofit that could benefit from my collection of tackle. I'd rather see it go to a cause than get tossed or sold at a garage sale.”
Does anyone have any ideas for Tom? I’m quite sad to have to think about a world without Tom Brink around.
Walk on Water Ice Fishing Derby canceled: Walk on Water is my favorite ice fishing derby and it supports one of my favorite charities. Brent Beckwith and company spend 12 months busting their humps to stage a wonderful event for a fantastic cause. I was sad to receive the following:
“It is with heavy hearts that the Board of the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund is announcing the cancellation of the ice fishing derby portion of the Walk on Water Ice Fishing Derby scheduled for Saturday. While this is very disappointing for us & our supporters, it was not a difficult decision for us to make because we are absolutely committed to the safety of the 250+ participants who typically join us. The warm weather early this week, and the warm weather and rain expected at the end of the week cause not only us, but also the Village of Wauconda, enough concern that we will not be out on the ice on Saturday morning.
"This will be the first time in 13 years that we have to cancel the fishing portion of Walk on Water. In years past, we have been able to move locations or dates to accommodate unfavorable weather conditions. This will not be possible for 2017.
"The Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund will still hold a fundraising event at Lindy’s Landing, 115 Park St., Wauconda, this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For those who have already registered, you will still receive a goody bag stuffed with about $20 in prizes and gear, and your registration earns you five raffle tickets. We will hold several raffles inside Lindy’s Landing, giving away prizes that were secured for the event.
"The Walk on Water Ice Fishing Derby is a core fundraiser for the Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund, and a reduction in participation in this event will restrict our ability to help families struggling with cancer treatments this year. Your continued support is very important, as we continue in our mission to assist local area cancer patients, helping ease the financial and emotional burdens of families affected by cancer. Please direct any questions to Andrea Lynn Cancer Fund President Brent Beckwith via email at contact@andrealynn.org."
I urge you all to please stop in at Lindy’s Landing this Saturday for fun and camaraderie and to participate in the raffles. It’s for a great cause. Please help.
• Steve Sarley writes about the outdoors for Shaw Media. Write to him at sarfishing@yahoo.com.