Peoria Heights, IL – Beardstown, IL, September 6, 2008

Last night we ate dinner at the Ivy Yacht Club. It is a club that has been around for a long time. Last year was its centennial year. We went in to have a drink at the bar and ended up eating there off the bar menu rather than go into the dining room. The food was very good and we were able to visit with many people. All were very nice and friendly and interested in our trip. One man bought us an after dinner drink.

This morning we were up and underway at 7:45. We caught up with Passport and Footloose while they were waiting for a railroad bridge to open. As we all waited, the trawlers Kiwi and Brown-Eyed Girl arrived. We had seen them a day or two ago. We all went under the bridge together and on to the next lock.

After all the waits at the previous locks, we felt very fortunate indeed to be able to get right in to this lock. Footloose had called and the lock was open and just waiting for us to cruise in. This was a very short drop, only 6’. Now we go 75 miles until there’s another lock.

We arrived in Beardstown and had planned to stay at their municipal dock. However, as we went in to dock, we discovered it was very shallow. In fact we touched bottom as we were maneuvering. So, we went to plan B. We went downriver a couple more miles and anchored.

After we dropped the anchor Darrell backed down the engine. As he did that, there must have been 12-15 carp that jumped out of the water at the same time. They are Asian Carp that become stimulated by an engine’s vibration and leap out of the water. If you stay in the channel, they are generally not a problem. Close to shore, or in more shallow water is where you find them. They have jumped into boats and caused injuries to boaters. If the boat is traveling fast the injuries can be severe - you can imagine getting hit in the face by a 10-20# fish at 30mph.

We found that there is a Redneck Fishing Tournament which is held in Bath, Illinois and the winner is the boat with the most Asian Carp in the boat at the end of the three hour contest. In 2006, 78 boats brought in 1,840 fish. The only gear allowed are hand-held dip nets. Protective gear like football helmets, baseball bats and rain gear for slime protection are optional.

You can also hunt them with a bow. We saw one boat maneuvering in a circle close to shore. Carp were jumping all around them. Two “fishermen” were standing at the rear of the boat “hunting” Asian carp with bow & arrow with retrieval line attached.

1 lock – total 82