Dave Kranz and I have decided to make a fishing outing to Vulcan Lakes in the Three Oaks Recreation Center in Crystal Lake an annual event. Of course, you all know that Kranz is the owner of Dave’s Bait and Tackle in Crystal Lake and also a professional bass fisherman.

We had a great day on Vulcan’s ultra-clear, deep water in 2011 and have been looking forward to this year’s event. It is easy to let the summer slip away without making things happen, but we were determined and set a firm date. Only a severe, lightning-laden storm could cause a cancelation. There were no storms in the forecast for our outing last week, but we were facing high temperatures, high humidity and minimal wind speeds. It wasn’t the best weather you could desire for successful fishing but there was no way we’d even consider canceling.

We met at the park’s entrance at the opening time of 5:30 a.m. We quickly loaded our gear into the boat. We opted for the 14-foot model powered by a zippy electric motor. We also decided to take a depth finder and an optional second battery because we were going to make a day of it. Three Oaks has replaced their battery arsenal with some new ones that have plenty of juice. Last year we had to row the last hundred feet into the dock because our batteries had died.

Dave explained that our plan of attack was going to be hitting some likely spots that could only be fished by anglers who were in boats. He said, “This is just the second time that I’ve been here in a boat. I stop out quite a bit and fish from the shore. I always catch fish. This is a place where the average shore fisherman can do really well. I don’t want to get in their way today by putting our boat on their spots.