Articles

Kankakee River Fishing Derby by Don Dziedzina
Articles >>

One big event that comes up every year is the Kankakee River Valley Fishing Derby. It’s a fun event for the whole family and with a little luck, should you catch a tagged fish or a big fish, you can win some really cool prizes.

Basically, the rules that apply state that prizes will be awarded to anglers who catch tagged fish and the largest 3 fish, by weight, taken during the derby days which are from June 27 to July 6 at 6 PM. The fish that count include walleye, largemouth, smallmouth, crappie, northern pike, channel catfish, rockbass, and rough fish.

Have you ever heard that you could never win the lottery unless you buy a ticket? Same holds true here. Prior to going out fishing and catching a potential prize winning fish, you must be pre-registered. Individuals or families can register by downloading an application from the derby website, www.KankakeeFishingDerby.com or by visiting one of these locations in person: L & G Marine, 15 W. Industrial Park Drive, Kankakee City Clerk’s Office, 385 E. Oak, Community Development Agency (Railroad Depot) 196 S. East Ave. Reed’s Rent All, 907 N. Indiana, and the Wal-Mart, 505 Riverstone Parkway. All of these locations are in the City of Kankakee. In Bradley, there is the Wal-Mart, 2080 North Illinois Route 50.

Now once you are registered and you catch Big Mo, you have to bring in the fish to be weighed. Do not remove any tags from tagged fish. It will be disqualified. Here is a list of the weigh-in stations which are additional places where you can pre-register: Frank’s Bait, 621 N. Dixie, Momence, Kankakee River Trading Post, Altorf Road at Kankakee River State Park, Keith’s Bait & Tackle, 104 S. Bridge St., Aroma Park, Sportsman’s Edge, 264 Front St. Braidwood, Taz’s Bait, Tackle & Archery, 660 W. Station St., Kankakee and Angelo’s Bait, 708 W. Baltimore St., Wilmington.

Last summer during the derby days I fished the river with a friend of mine, John Morales. As luck would have it, he caught a short smallmouth bass that was a tagged fish. There was no way either of us would keep this fish even though it was a legal sized fish to keep.

We could not run into town to get registered and to kill this fish would be senseless. It was only 10 inches long and would never survive being on a stringer. We were wading and that would have been the only option. 

Morales decided to snip off the tag and release the fish alive back into the K-3. Later on he checked on the tag and learned that it was a $300.00 fish. Oh well.

Now for a couple of hints on how to catch some fish on the river, my first is to suggest that you use live bait. Nightcrawlers or minnows will be best.   Look for eddies, which are slack water areas where fish will tuck themselves into to save energy. If you find the water a bit high, don’t cast out far, work the edges of the bank. Now when doing this, be quiet, walk softly and dip your baits along the shores in weed pockets and around big boulders. You can dip a bait in a little pocket the size of a bushel basket and you may be surprised at the size fish you can catch out of there.

So there’s a good thing going on right now on the Kankakee River and its inexpensive fun for the whole family. It only costs $20.00 to register Mom, Dad and the kids so why not give it a try? What a great way to spend the 4^th of July week by taking the family out fishing for a few days. Fish the Kankakee River and who knows, luck may be on your side. There are loads of prizes, special contests for the kids and much, much more. 

Visit the K-3 Fishing Derby website at KankakeeFishingDerby.com or stop in at any one of the derby registration or weigh in sites to learn more about this fantastic family summer event. 

• Back To Top Of Page •

• Site Navigation Map •