Day at the lakefront

[el_carpo]

Hi again,

Two of my brothers and I tried our luck at Lake Michigan yesterday and had a little success (not much). I have a few pictures to show. This first one is a goby. It is an invasive species that came from Russia I think. It came in the ballast waters of a freighter and has spread to all the Great Lakes.

[el_carpo]

Chuck caught this nice smallmouth bass. It went 17 inches. They are fattening up right now for the coming of winter. This fish looked like a football!

[el_carpo]

These next two photos were mainly taken to show you the skyline of Chicago. This is the best view of it I think. It seems to be where most of the tourists take photos of it. If you don't make a trip here, you can at least see a picture that you probably would have taken if you did.

[el_carpo]

That green round looking building in the foreground of the previous picture is the Shedd Aquarium. Really neat stuff in there. Even has an Australian fish section. You KNOW I checked that one out! Very neat to see those lungfish in person! This photo is a continuation of the last one. It shows a little bit more. That low section at the right is Navy Peir. It is supposedly the top tourist draw in the city. It's kind of like a big shopping mall and a little amusement park. Not for me, but they do have a very neat stained glass meseum there that is definately worth seeing. Artists from all over come to view the pieces there. It (Navy pier) also has a giant ferris wheel you can ride, but it costs an astronomical amount of money. My time at Navy Pier is mostly spent fishing on the north side (shipping and loading section) in the late fall and early winter for perch. Freezing and loving it!

[el_carpo]

We didn't catch too much that day. I managed to land a few rock bass (sorry I didn't get a pic ) and a couple of those gobies . My brother Steve hooked what was either a large trout or a small salmon but his line wasn't up to the task. It snapped just as he saw its shadow rising from the depths. D'oh! It's getting to be the time for the salmon runs and I'm hoping against hope that I will soon be able to post a picture of a nice big King (a.k.a. Chinook) salmon for you guys to see. Sorry we didn't land this one so i don't have a picture of the fish quite yet. I do have a picture that pretty much sums up how poor Steve felt after his lined snapped on him though.

[el_carpo]

I'm going to be in trouble for that one. I know he reads some of my posts here and, well......what can I say Steve? It DOES kind of capture the moment pretty well doesn't it brother?

[staggy]

The last post and pic really cracked me up el-carpo.

Staggy

[el_carpo]

I'm glad you liked it Staggy. I saw that on the net about a month ago and was dying to include it in a post here. It cracked me up too.

E.C.

[scott_b]

Gday el carpo
Mate what other Ausie fish have you blokes stolen for your aquarium. Better not be any bloody murray cod in there!.
wamjam

[el_carpo]

Haven't been there in a few years so I can't remember. I looked at their website but it was goofy. They didn't seem to have a comprehensive list. I think there was a "Queensland grouper?" not sure if that's the name or not. There may have been a cod there. I don't know. If you want to, you may be able to find an e-mail address from them and ask. I think I remember seeing some very large shrimp (prawns?) from Australia there. I remember the lungfish though. Impossible to forget them!