Hot spot proves to be a real whopper
‘Hidden gem’ produces big catches in fishing contest inWill County
Ayear and a half removed from quadruple bypass surgery and owning a heart that needs replacing, Jack Keslin was told by doctors he shouldn’t lift anything more than 10 pounds.
The 67-year-old, who lives on a cattle farm between Beecher and GrantPark, can barely lift abucket of water on certain days. He said he is on a waiting list for a heart transplant.
So, what was he doing in August fighting to bring a stubborn 10-pound catfish that didn’t want to leave thewater to shore at theMonee Reservoir?
Winning a fishing contest. Keslin caught a 28-inch catfish to win in that category in the second Will County Forest Preserve’s Big Fish contest. Chicago’s Dwayne Dooley was a double winner as won first in the bass contest with a catch of 19.25 inches and the panfish division with a 10.5-inch bluegill.
Steger’s Dale Heining was a grand-prize winner in a drawing. Each winner earned a $100Forest Preserve gift card.
Keslin’s catchwas one inch shy of the record set in the first year of the contest when Dan Burklow hauled in a 29-incher.
Keslin, who is also known as Harmonica Jack and once played in a blues and R&B group known as the Harvey Houserockers, said he also hauled in a 27 3⁄4- inch catfish and a 26-inch catfish during the contest, which ran in July and August.
With his healthwoes, there are times Keslin needs a hand in bringing the fish to land.
“I have to be careful, I have trouble with the net,” Keslin said. “I sometimes have trouble with leverage. WhenIwas catching the 27 3⁄4- inch fish, I hollered for a guy to help me land it. But the 28-inch fish, I had to bring it in myself.”
A retired supervisor at the Chicago Heights-based Bull Moose Tube Co., Keslin said he uses a mixture of raw bacon and garlic to lure the fish.
Despite his heart woes, he said as long as he is able to walk and drive, he is happy. And fishing at the reservoir isn’t too bad either.
“It’s peaceful and quiet and it’s never real crowded,” he said. “It’s easy to get around. I don’t move really fast. I stumble around and this place has nice sidewalks.”
Heining, of Steger, admits he lucked into his prize. A 49-yearold who refers to himself as a “South Side city hillbilly and proud of that name,” heard about the contest through Facebook. He said that he justwent out for a few days with a simple rig and had some fun. His 15 3⁄4- inch bass took fourth place in that division, but was eligible for the grandprize drawing.
“It was a small fish, and I thought ‘What the heck, I’ll enter it,’ and Iwon,” he said. “Honest to God, I’m the guy who never wins anything.”
Win or lose, Heining said he loves fishing at theMonee facility. He said that there are sportsmen
and sportswomenof various races and backgrounds to come together to enjoy the sport.
“It’s a hidden gem,” he said. “Everyone out there is so nice. Everyone is telling fish stories. Everyone is getting along. That place is separate from the whole world burning down. This is people enjoying a sport and that’s theway it’s supposed to be.”
Bob Bryerton, an interpretive naturalist for the forest preserve, oversaw the contest both years. The contest was shaved from three months to two in 2020
because of COVID-19 concerns and the list of entries shrank from 38 to 16. He said thatmany anglers did not enter their fish because they were too small or didn’t realize there was a grand prize drawing for those who entered.
Bryerton said the reservoirwas opened in 1992 and a contest such as this is a big benefit.
“It creates excitement,” he said. “A part of the reason for this contest is thatwe can see howbig the fish are that come out of here. People catch fish and they don’t let us know. They let their friends know and people who are with them know. They might brag to their buddies butwe don’t always hear about it so part of the reason we’re doing the contest is that we see howbig these fish are.
“We also have a board with pictures from the contest. Whenever someone doesn’t catch a fish and says ‘there are no fish in the reservoir,’ we can show them the pictures and say ‘Oh, yes there are.’ ”