6 / OutdoorIllinois December 2009

An ominous name doesn’t deter sportsmen from seekingout Snakeden Hollow State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Story By Joe McFarlandPhotos By Adele Hodde

Sometimes, having to travel far offthe beaten path suits people justfine. Especially sportsmen, whoeagerly hunt for those particular-ly wild places where relativelyfew people show up. The trou-ble is: How to keep that remote

hunting and fishing hotspot a secret—especially when it’s all public land avail-able to anyone?How about naming the site Snake-

den Hollow? A menacing name mightdeter visitors. Think of it: Would any-body willingly visit a den full of snakes?Rick Knisely is used to such ques-

tions. As site superintendent of aremote destination called SnakedenHollow State Fish and Wildlife Area in

Knox County, Knisely fields suchphone calls from curious members ofthe public.“People want to know why it’s

called Snakeden Hollow,” Kniselyexplained. He always assures the publicthe name of this isolated sportsman’sdestination northwest of Peoria really isjust a name and nothing more.“Years ago, settlers in the area named

this place Snakeden Hollow,” Kniselysaid of the site’s history. “I suppose, atone time, there might have been plentyof snakes—including timber rattlers—but there honestly aren’t any moresnakes here than anywhere else.”Still, being located off the beaten

path in west-central Illinois does helpto keep crowds to a minimum. Thereare no touristy bed and breakfasts here,no antique shops or wine-tasting roomsnearby. Even the sportsmen who arriveat Snakeden must pack their own sup-

plies and spend the night somewhereelse because there are no campgroundsor motels around the site. Forget aboutfast-food restaurants or traffic lights.To reach Snakeden Hollow SFWA,

one must drive until all memory of bigcities is far behind. Yet all of this remote-ness suits the dedicated sportsmen atthis 2,740-acre fish and wildlife havenjust fine. And there truly are benefits tohunting and fishing at a public sitewhere 112 individual bodies of watermean a visitor might have exclusivesporting opportunities on any given day.The fact is, this isolated sportsman’s

destination, located roughly midway

Acres of wetlands, lakes and

moist-soil habitat—and the

occasional snake—await sportsmen

at Snakeden Hollow SFWA.

Visiting a Friendly Snakeden

December 2009 OutdoorIllinois / 7

between the Illinois and Mississippirivers, doesn’t deter anyone willing tomake the trip. And plenty of sportsmenrate this state fish and wildlife area asworth even a long drive.“A few years ago we did a survey

and found out that 25 percent of ourgoose hunters drive 100 miles or moreto get here,” Knisely said. That’s cus-tomer satisfaction. Waterfowlers, aswell as the 80,000 to 90,000 othersportsmen who visit the site annually,know that this land is managed specifi-cally for fish and wildlife.Never heard of the place? Perhaps

it’s because Snakeden Hollow SFWA aswe know it today did not always exist.Years ago, this sportsman’s destinationsimply was not open to the public. Sur-face coal mining was the primary activi-ty here, and it wasn’t until 1987 thestate acquired these thousands of acresfrom Midland Coal Company, thenworked with the Soil Conservation Ser-vice to restore the habitat and correctany environmental issues.Mining created deep, clear lakes and

provided ample opportunity for stock-ing a range of sport fish species, includ-ing cold-water favorites such as rain-bow and brown trout and smallmouthbass. Of the 100-plus bodies of water,the largest of the lakes by far is Lake

McMaster, named for the late state rep-resentative Tom McMaster who helpedsecure the lands for the public. Atroughly 160 acres, Lake McMaster islarge enough to feature a boat launch (a10 horsepower limit and no-wake zoneapplies for the lake) and includes anewly refurbished dam and spillway.Although the lake was drawn downmany feet to accommodate the workdone in 2008, a wet spring and summerthis year has filled the lake completely.“Lake McMaster has a very low ratio

of land surface to water in the water-shed,” fisheries biologist Ken Russellpointed out, explaining how the lakedoes not rise quickly after rains. He alsonoted how the ecology of many of thelakes has shifted over the years, causinga shift in his stocking and managementstrategy. As the lakes mature and as theCanada geese that routinely nest hereswim these waters, the once-crystalclarity of the lakes has decreased—butonly slightly.

“It’s still common to see down intothe water 20 feet or more,” Russell said.Yet that slight change in clarity alteredwhat had once been a “two-story fish-ery,” once supporting truly cold-waterspecies such as trout in deep water andwarm-water species above.“The two-story fishery crashed in

1994, so now we’ve got a cool-waterfishery and a warm-water fishery,” hesaid. Nonetheless, angler favorites suchas walleye and muskie do absolutelyfine in the cool water, and bass, crappieand bluegill thrive in warmer waters.Other species found at Snakedeninclude smallmouth bass and redearsunfish, plus channel catfish.With so many fishing opportunities

at more than 100 lakes and ponds, sitesuperintendent Knisely said the majori-ty of visitors here arrive for the seem-ingly endless opportunities to find a pri-vate spot to fish.“I’d estimate 80 percent or more of

our annual visitors come here for thefishing,” Knisely reported. “The lakesare known for great bluegill and redearsunfish.”In fact, so popular is the panfishing

at the various lakes, fisheries officialsestablished a size and creel limit for cer-tain panfish, a restriction designed tomaintain a quality fishing experience.

The 160-acre Lake McMaster is

the largest body of water at the site

and features a boat launch with

excellent opportunities for muskie

as well as other sportfish.

Managed as a nesting area for

Canada geese during the spring

and summer, Snakeden becomes a

natural destination for waterfowlers

during late fall and winter.

8 / OutdoorIllinois December 2009

“When you’ve got a quality resourcelike this, you want to maintain it,” Rus-sell pointed out. “It’s why the site has a10-bluegill per day limit. For crappie,there’s a five fish per day limit.”And the conservative management

strategy appears to be working. Duringhis annual surveys, fisheries biologistsoften find bluegill upwards of threequarters of a pound, and even largerredear sunfish. And while the bluegill inLake McMaster are medium-size fishmeasuring up to 8 inches, the blackcrappie fishery in that largest ofimpoundments is quite respectable.“At Lake McMaster, fishermen can

expect crappie in the 10, 11-inchrange,” Russell added.Channel catfishing is strong as well.

Unlike many lakes which depend uponannual stocking to support the catfishpopulation, natural reproduction iskeeping up with angler pressure. Theonly unremarkable fishery at the sitemight be the largemouth bass popula-tion. Despite—or perhaps because of—the impressive statistics for panfish,bass anglers can expect to find plentyof bass, yet many fish will be in the 12-14 inch range. The site has a 3-bassdaily limit collectively, including theoccasional smallmouth that turns up,but only one of those bass can exceed15 inches.Since many of the old mine lakes are

steep-sided and a challenge for bankfishermen, one of the great attractionsfor anglers is the fact small, portableboats are allowed on all of the waters.“If you can drag it in, you can put it

in any of the ponds and lakes,” Russell

encouraged. Electric trolling motors arethe only motors allowed on the smallerimpoundments (Lake McMaster, asmentioned previously, allows out-boards up to 10 horsepower).But bank fishermen sometimes defy

the odds and prove that it doesn’t takea boat to catch a great fish. In 2008, amuskie fisherman casting from theshore of Lake McMaster brought ashorean astonishing catch: a 52-inch behe-moth muskie that flirted with recordstatus. Russell noted that a former staterecord muskie was recorded at thisvery lake.Walleye anglers will find the site’s

walleye a bit difficult to figure out.

Yet a few experienced anglers seem toknow the secret.“I’d say 5 percent of the fishermen

catch 95 percent of the walleye,”Russell laughed. “Of course, theynever say how.”

The Flying AttractionFor other sportsmen, Snakeden Hol-

low SFWA is worth the drive for itsmigratory bird hunting in the late sum-mer, fall and winter—specifically fordoves and Canada geese, but alsopheasants in a nearby quality pheasanthunting area. Four fields featuring sun-flowers attract doves at Snakeden, aswell as the satellite property known asVictoria Pheasant Habitat Area a coupleof miles away.Due to cool, wet weather, planting

of sunflowers was a washout this year,and dove hunting suffered. But in thelast three years, nearly 4,500 doves havebeen harvested at the site. Hundreds of

A wooden barn, a relic from the

last century, is located behind the

site superintendent’s residence at

Spoon River State Forest.

During hunting season, as many as

3,000 Canada geese linger around

the site until severe weather—if it

arrives—pushes geese south.

December 2009 OutdoorIllinois / 9

Canada geese are bagged annually,despite hunting being offered only fourdays a week. Canada goose huntingopportunities in the late fall and winterare available through a permit lotterysystem which guarantees permit holdersone of 15 waterfowl blinds (including adisabled-access blind) on days when thesite is open for goose hunting. (Huntingdays are Thursday through Sunday.) Ofcourse, standby hunters can show up

and try their luck if permit holders don’tshow on that day.Wildlife biologist Byron Paulsen said

the site is managed as a nesting area forCanada geese but also holds a fair amountof birds during the winter. And on somedays, the flocks can be impressive.“I’ve seen more than 3,000 geese on

the site in the winter,” Paulsen said,adding that flocks averaging in the hun-dreds are common. And, whilebowhunting for deer is offered for afew weeks in October until goose sea-son arrives—and some hunters takeadvantage of the early teal season inSeptember—the main attraction atSnakeden when cold weather arrives isthe goose hunting.“The farm leases on the property are

required to leave 5 percent of the grainstanding, and that, plus the waste grainleft after harvest, provides a lot of foodfor the geese,” he said.Due to its large areas of grassland,

wild turkey hunting in the spring is nota primary attraction. Yet the satelliteSpoon River State Forest site nearby,

with its mature woodlands, offersturkey hunters enough opportunitythat hunters there bagged five gobblerslast spring.Back at the main site, with its

unusual topography of post-mininghabitat on much—but not all—of itslandscape, Snakeden Hollow SFWAwould seem to be a museum of minereclamation history.“Most of the property is pre-reclama-

tion law,” site superintendent Kniselysaid. “But you can literally see wherethe law changed as the mining pro-gressed here.”He added that, due to the ongoing

tweaks to improve the structure of thepost-mining landscape, more than onevisitor has eyed with suspicion a recent-ly sculpted pile of earth and rocks.“People have asked me if we’re cre-

ating new habitat for rattlesnakes,”Knisely laughed. “Or if we’re releasingrattlesnakes. I assure them we’re not.But rumors are hard to overcome.”Of course there is no such program

in Illinois, and there never was. Still, atthis distant, out-of-the-way place calledSnakeden Hollow State Fish andWildlife Area, it’s easy to see how suchcovert biology could be imagined.“It really is out in the middle of

nowhere,” biologist Paulsen agreed.“But in a good way.”

At a glance

Address:SnakedenHollow StateFish andWildlifeArea, 1936State Route 167.P.O. Box 295,Victoria, IL 61485Telephone:(309) 879-2607Web site: Hunter factsheets for Snakeden HollowSFWA, including Victoria PheasantHabitat Area and Spoon River State For-est can be downloaded at: dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/r1/snake.htmDirections: The site is located 1 milesoutheast of Victoria in Knox County,midway between Peoria and the QuadCities. Take Route 167 east from Victo-ria to find the site office and huntercheck station.

Agricultural leases at Snakeden

require a portion of the crop to

remain standing for the benefit

of wildlife.

Nearby Spoon River State Forest is

managed as a satellite facility. The

mature upland forests offer

hunters seasonal opportunities,

including spring turkey hunting.

SnakedenHollow StateFish andWildlife Area

SnakedenHollow StateFish andWildlife Area