SMALL CREEKS CAN PROVIDE BIG PLEASURES

Small creek fishing is a far cry from lake and big river pursuits, but miniature waters have their own sort of rewards.

There's an intimate attraction to compact waters, and it's greater if a stream is relatively wild and uncluttered by the accoutrements of civilization. The setting can add much to the experience, and that's exactly the case when the trickle in question is southern Illinois' rugged Lusk Creek.

Gouged through the rocky strata of Shawnee National Forest, Lusk Creek is off the beaten track and about as close as one can come to a wilderness fishing destination in the well-populated American heartland.

Those who may know the Lusk from it's downstream identity, the deeper, still water of the impounded section where it merges with Smithland Pool of the Ohio River, don't know the creek's true identity. Upstream, packaged as nature made it, it's a serpentine waterway that gurgles over shoals, slides silently under imposing overhangs and dodges boulders through a forest-shrouded canyon.

You won't find any amenities along the banks and bluffs of the stream. You won't, in fact, even find the finer parts of the stream unless you're willing to do some roadless travel. The more pristine parts of the stream are tucked into Pope County's Shawnee hills at least a modest trek on foot or by horseback from the nearest vehicle byway.

The remoteness of the area, of course, is part of the draw. There are plenty of fish there that have had little chance to meet a lure or baited hook. The striking scenery of the canyon makes those fish look all that much better.

As with most small creek opportunities, it's the sort of fishing that leads one to immerse himself in it, literally. It's one of those rotten tennis shoe trips that dictates wading to get at what needs probing.

Typical of little stream habitats, the fish tend to be likewise small, but the are abundant. Kentucky spotted and largemouth bass are the garden variety predators. Channel catfish lurk in the green holes. Scads of sunfish -- green sunfish, long-ears, warmouth and bluegill make up much of the masses.

Light or ultralight tackle makes the most of the downsized fish, and when a bigger creature does latch on, the wimpy gear shows an angler what it's like to have his hands full.

Tiny spinners, jigs, grubs and miniature crankbaits and surface plugs generally will be eaten enthusiastically by the residents of the creek. On a recent visit, I stayed persistently busy with a bent spinning outfit while backcountry associate Charlie Logsdon kept up a steady pace of hook-ups on a fly rod.

More bass were taken on the spinning gear, spider web-class line and Munchkin-sized plastic worm offerings (about 3 inches of worm tail on a 1/16th ounce jig head), but Logsdon's fly tippets topped off with nymphs and streamers accounted for the largest fish of the trip, a couple of relatively ponderous channel cats.

Both approaches produced enough sunfish that no one went long between bites. Fish caught numbered several dozen. Only selectively seeking out larger fish with bigger lures and flies kept the number of small fish caught from growing ridiculous.

Like any small, warm water creek, wading is the way to go to reach the prime spots. Pack in corroded sneakers and wear some old jeans and you're appropriately dressed. A fanny pack or daypack serves well for toting a few tackle necessities and a minimum of lure options. If you've got to walk in any distance, the less you can carry, the better you'll like it.

The Lusk is a mixture of riffles, shallow pools and deep holes, into some of which one could vanish forever. A rule of thumb is not to step into a sport where the bottom isn't visible in the rather clear water. By skirting some of the green water, it's possible to gain access to much of the good stuff and never get your billfold pocket wet (but pack non-dunkables in sealed plastic bag just in case you get fooled or step wrong on a slippery rock).

Pack along other non-fishing basics. A water bottle, compass, map, waterproof firemaking materials, first-aid -- that sort of thing is convenience and mental comfort when one drops out of sight in the timber. Preparation for a little self-reliance never hurts, even if civilization is seldom more than a mile away.

Wherever one finds a Lusk Creek, it deserves minimal impact visitation. From a fishing standpoint, catch and release is a good rule. If a backpacker wants to feed himself on part of the catch, though, a good option would be to take some of the many larger sunfish which populate the stream. Removing a few of them would have far less impact than eating, say, some of the less numerous bass.

One of the best things about a remote creek fishery is its unspoiled setting, so obviously a hike-in visitor carries the responsibility not to trash the scene with litter or environmental damage. Tread, but treaded lightly is the obvious imperative.

For where-to information on Lusk Creek or any other stream in Shawnee National Forest, consult the U.S. Forest Service, Harrisburg, Ill., at 618-253-7114.

Steve Vantreese is outdoors editor of the Paducah Sun.