https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/home daily 1.0 2022-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694644871-IC85FNH781UNZSZEGHDR/Aro+Ha_0428.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Home https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/about daily 0.75 2022-02-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/4a42afe7-2e20-4ca9-97a7-945794d75e29/20170815_160631.jpg About Ron - Hi, I’m Ron Stoll Every summer my family would go camping in the Northwoods. My father is a die hard “perch jerker”, and we mostly tried to catch a limit of panfish for the frying pan. This is where my love for fishing began. I grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and as a kid I would ride my bike to the Rock River to fish for catfish and carp. As I got older my focus turned to the pursuit of gamefish, like bass, walleye, and northern pike. I began to explore more local waters, such as the Pecatonica, Kishwaukee, and Sugar Rivers. During our annual treks up north I would often see the mounts of muskies on display. One morning, when we were in a Hayward, Wisconsin bait shop, picking up nightcrawlers and minnows for our daily pursuit of bluegills and crappies, my dad saw me staring at the mount of a giant musky. I pointed to the musky in awe and said, “That’s what I want to catch.” To make a long story short, he bought me a complete musky set up and I started right away. Luckily for me, we were camping on one of the best musky lakes in Wisconsin. My first time out I managed to catch a 32” musky. Not a big one by any means, but from that moment on I was hooked. I’ve been a musky fanatic ever since. After a four year stint in the United States Marine Corps, I moved to Normal to attend Illinois State University. I liked this area so much that I decided to make it my home. I recently retired from the Normal Police Department after serving for 26 years. After starting my career at the police department, I purchased my first boat and began to explore the local waters. I became very familiar with several of the local lakes that contain muskies. I have also always had a love for small rivers, and quickly discovered the excellent smallmouth bass fisheries of the Mackinaw and Vermilion Rivers. One of my greatest pleasures is sharing my knowledge with inexperienced anglers, and watching their excitement as they reel in a trophy bass or their first musky. Now, after more than 25 years of learning all the ins and outs of our local waters, my retirement has given me the opportunity to share that knowledge and experience with you! https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/trips daily 0.75 2022-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/6cfe7e3f-4df0-426d-a9f6-eeb28ea46fea/20191020_124658.jpg Trips https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/2ddcc23a-ca26-4920-91b6-26f202548821/20180613_173253.jpg Trips https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/a973465f-8ace-477b-8b97-95ee34928a4d/20200616_173314.jpg Trips https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/equipment daily 0.75 2024-02-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694583486-2PQT0LQ193RL7MCB6DX4/20140228_Trade+151_0046.jpg Equipment https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Equipment https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1607694644871-IC85FNH781UNZSZEGHDR/Aro+Ha_0428.jpg Equipment https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/c1161157-9c41-4682-a3ca-1c0ea171c855/20191020_112509.jpg Rates - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/gallery-1 daily 0.75 2022-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/be50a29f-5405-46c0-81ce-eabe6bc95280/20191020_112509.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/24f30b5f-97e8-419b-ab68-7010400b17a5/20180623_111445+%281%29.jpg Gallery 1 All muskies pictured caught right here in Central Illinois https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/407d9085-3092-49c7-8d6d-ae74308eaea0/20201003_130701.jpg Gallery 1 Robb had never been fishing, or kayaking, before. He had a blast! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/8cccc16d-b829-412e-92c9-69878af55cc4/20180622_092132.jpg Gallery 1 Nick's first release https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/6e8b910b-a398-4f63-9592-c69b216e1933/20180622_092036.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/e3757c52-4138-4ffa-80a8-235437ec0f94/20180618_195922.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/1a80c947-8e57-431e-8f2d-ae9f807401b4/20180618_194549.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/afca95ff-2759-440a-891b-9948b05f2d3a/20180618_111029.jpg Gallery 1 Nick's biggest musky! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/aa3f63bc-a096-4ea2-8ad3-fe7740b1ecef/20180613_173316.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/3cc6c069-771d-4e86-98d4-c0612ea46aad/20180613_173246.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/60b66b7d-0afc-441c-ab05-fb7b13835769/20180605_142031.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/6a0f5459-cb73-4dde-8674-3aedf2c8004d/20180605_125345.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/0c1cdfec-e4b2-4bfb-99a9-d5a7149aeecc/20170812_184909+%281%29.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/cdb74f88-c97d-4d9c-aba4-88c2bdbcacef/20170823_021834.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/caa4c48d-d605-4635-9fd4-0e2f132de589/20201003_142940.jpg Gallery 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/6ad31e6a-f872-428a-a010-b40ef6cf8c00/20201003_142945.jpg Gallery 1 https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/musky daily 0.75 2022-01-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/6080144d-b8b6-46af-ac04-138494e14380/20180622_092036.jpg Musky - Musky Muskies are known as the fish of 10,000 casts. Even on the best musky waters of the Canadian Shield, catching a trophy musky is a difficult task. However, once you do tangle with one of these monsters, that occupy the very top of their food chain, chances are you’ll be hooked. While we don’t have the sheer numbers of musky lakes of Northern Wisconsin, or the famous bodies of water of the Canadian Shield, we are blessed to have several very good musky lakes right here in Central Illinois. My biggest musky is a fifty inch beast that was caught in Canada, but I have tangled with many muskies in the mid to upper forty inch range from our local waters. I would love to share with you the knee shaking experience of having a 45 inch, or bigger, fish follow your lure right up to the boat. There’s nothing like it. https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/kayak-musky daily 0.75 2022-02-06 https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/smallmouth-bass daily 0.75 2022-02-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/343fe0a5-6cf3-4c53-9620-b98853a9803e/20180916_143036.jpg Smallmouth Bass - Smallmouth Bass The Mackinaw and Vermilion Rivers both contain an excellent smallmouth bass fishery. Both rivers are small, and generally shallow, perfect for the kayak fisherman. However, each river has its own distinct character. The Mackinaw River is generally deeper and narrower, and contains a great deal of wood cover. The Vermilion River is shallower and wider, with the primary cover being a very rocky bottom. Although rare, I’ve caught smallies in the 20 inch class from both rivers, with fish in the 17 to 18 inch range being fairly abundant. My son and I have experienced one hundred fish days on the Vermilion River, Although thirty to fifty fish days are more typical. The Mackinaw River experienced a down turn in numbers of all species, beginning in the early 2000’s, but has made a strong come back in the last several years. It seems like every trip I take to the Mackinaw River I’m catching more and bigger fish. I’m really excited for the future of this fishery! Kayaking a small river for feisty smallies is a blast. In addition to the smallmouth bass, there are many incidental catches of largemouth bass, crappie, white bass, channel catfish, drum, longnose gar, and more. The kayaking alone is a wonderful experience, with beautiful scenery and the chance to spot wildlife including; deer, coyotes, foxes, otters, turkeys, hawks, kingfishers, blue herons, and bald eagles. https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/contact-1 daily 0.75 2022-02-05 https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/waivers daily 0.75 2022-01-29 https://www.ronsfishingadventures.com/gallery-2 daily 0.75 2022-02-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/5dc1b88a-ad12-4f28-8b65-4b0f2590934b/imagejpeg_0.jpg Gallery 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/067bd780-8f60-42ba-bee8-80d343836f4f/Resized_IMG_4868.jpeg Gallery 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/1644028236245-WGSXSMBM0AA6MNSXQ5VG/IMG_4834.jpg Gallery 2 The beautiful Vermilion River https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/1644027941518-P4T1TO4J0M80NNOQIGEE/IMG_4839.jpg Gallery 2 Tyler's first time kayaking https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/02572423-7caf-4894-9810-8167c91444ee/IMG_4851.jpg Gallery 2 One of many that day https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/94c6873e-efe3-4436-9be2-ee9ccba5c41e/20231017_163131.jpg Gallery 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/916faa8d-c7f5-46d0-b7de-530319ad8d37/20230927_152024.jpg Gallery 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/0a6a0dbc-93f0-4104-9caf-bf09a26ae69f/IMG_8009%7E2.jpg Gallery 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/0fa5cdbd-e0fe-4d47-a821-be55f6dc5255/20230830_175749.jpg Gallery 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61e8f912f534fa25e95a938d/433b1317-0901-4278-80b7-a2d1afb07816/20230829_104803.jpg Gallery 2