AndyP Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 Haven't posted in a while - miss the IL streams. I have a few cold weather tips. Not really for small streams but...the same thing that's been echoed here. Fish areas you expect smb's to winter in. Use bait that will catch fish. Beat the heck out of an area the size of a large SUV. Smallies will eat year round. October is by NO MEANS to cold for IL stream smallies - One of my biggest fox river bass was on Oct 31 on a white buzzer...still vividly remember it. Later in the year it becomes tougher. My brother and I were on a streak of 5 thanksgivin's in a row where we went out the day after (regardless or the weather) and caught at least a 17 incher (2 years with snow on the ground). Unfortunately last year I got stuck in southern IL and had to catch a 45 in muskie...gunna try that this year too. My best piece of humble advice is to get out while the women-folk go shopping the day after turkey day...toss some BIG minnows into your local deep holes and see if you cant catch a horse...by the way don't be afraid to post your deer kills on this site...I know I will-hopefully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 This one will fish with me... This one thinks I'm an idiot.... And yeah, it's the same kid 2 years apart. They sure get smarter as they get older. LOL! My youngest just entered high school. I'm just waiting for things to change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted October 27, 2006 Report Share Posted October 27, 2006 when trying not to make a big splash on the cast i throw a larew minnow rigged weedless up on the bank or onto the overgrown grasses then pull it into the water. same with alot of the frogbaits that are out there. rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted November 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2006 Hi Mike. Nice list! Flyfishing huh? I don't know, man. I'm awfully immature. I might even have to slow down and enjoy myself if I took up flyfishing. Not only that, the feeble and frail run away screaming when they see my fly casting technique (and some of them still don't escape without injury)...But, yeah, to learn my way around the Kank, I might even be willing to grow up a little bit. That's a very generous offer and I'm definitely going to take you up on it. 7. While bigger is better for Northern Pike for sure... i fish with the truth that no bass will pass up an easy target no mater the size. ( bet i catch hell with this one!) Heh. Catch fish, catch hell. It's all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted November 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 Brief update here... Used veteran's day to try to break this drought. I tried some adjustments based on this discussion this time out. I like inline spinners, so I bought a few #3s to try along with the #2s (bigger baits). I also decided to buy one of Eric's white spnner baits (1/8 oz. Booyah) and brought along the worm rod to see if the 5" jerk baits would make a difference. I also stopped messing around with new water and went back to a more reliable spot. All the baits caught fish...but.... The top four fish were still only 14, 13.5, 13 and 13. The fish were very active and I had a great time, so I'm not going to complain. Those four fish and the dozens of 10-12 inchers seemed to be what's out there to be caught right now. The four larger fish were all over the map. Two were in fast water behind a boulder. One was in deep water in a seam beside a backwater. One was in a log jam. A #3 mepps caught three. A #2 mepps caught one. The jerk worm caught dinks. The spinner bait caught dinks. It has been a while since I fished a spinner bait, and today was a useful reminder. I have always favored an inline spinner (Mepps) in flowing water (and I still might favor it in very fast water), but today reminded me there were several clear advantages of the spinner bait. It had a much softer landing than an inline spinner (With an inline spinner, I'm pretty happy if the bait makes a sound like an egg cracking when it hits the water. With the spinner bait, it was more like a pat of butter falling into pan). I was able to fish it much more slowly than an inline spinner It was much more snag resistant I could see it better in the air and was able to make finer adustments during the cast which increased my accuracy quite a bit. That more than made up for the slightly shorter casting distance. I will definitely give this bait a more thorough tryout next year. This time out, it worked like a charm on coarse woody debris. I slid it over the logs and into the scour holes with nary a hitch. Unfortunately, the only things it caught were 10-12" spotted and largemouth. It didn't do much in bouldery riffles. I guess I'm done for the year now. This is still my smallest fish year of the last 3...but it was fun trying to break the jinx. Next year...I'm going 20". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 First trip out in the Vermilion system this year and caught my all time personal best smallmouth. It was 19+" without pinching the tail, so I'm calling it 20. Possibly 25. Or 28. I used a lot of the things we covered in this discussion, so everyone that contributed, THANK YOU! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Excellent! Did you get a pic? I was out my first time for an hour late Sunday afternoon. What a great time to shore fish, with limited plant growth and no bugs. It was good to toss the ole' spinnerbait and work off the casting rust. Would've been nicer to get one......or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Excellent! Did you get a pic? I was out my first time for an hour late Sunday afternoon. What a great time to shore fish, with limited plant growth and no bugs. It was good to toss the ole' spinnerbait and work off the casting rust. Would've been nicer to get one......or more. There's a picture in the Central Fishing section...here's another(I only held it by the lower jaw for a second to measure and take the shot, it was fine, I swear). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don R Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Awesome! Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 NIIIIIIICE!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kast Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Sweet smallie, Tim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skjordan Posted March 30, 2007 Report Share Posted March 30, 2007 Tim I see from the picture you have finely caught the dreaded "big fish picture syndrome". Your arms are to short. Call me next time and I will take the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted March 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2007 You're on, Steve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbcook Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 The higher water bunches the fish up, usually in areas that are pretty obvious and often times shore accessible. That's when you can pickup some nice ones running and gunning with "larger" baits. Very good point here. I've seen a definate high water=big fish senario play out time and again. At certain flows the small fish are very rare and the big fish are aggressively feeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick D. Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Wow! Great discussion! Shows the depth of the anglers and their experiences. There is no shame in dinks. Just don't get stuck in a rut utilizing the smae old favorite patterns. It tough to build confidence in something new, but its the change that might work. Remember this! Catching dinks is not a failure, but the educational step to landing your next successful memory. Great topic and participation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 It's been my experience that you are not going to catch small fish in an area that a truly big fish is using lest they become prey for the big fish . If you consistently catch small fish from a spot , keep trying different options location wise . On waters with lots of pressure the big fish can move to some non typical spots . A big fish will put as much in it's favor as possible , sometimes fishing the shade or even the shady side of a submerged rock or wood can be the difference . If you are convinced there is a big fish there , set a spell and look at the water for any visual clues you may pick up. Then look at the birds or clouds, you may have been noisier than you thought on your approach Another thing is to try different casting angles , an approach from where it's not used to seeing lures come from can help . Big , fat , dumb , slow eat me lures/presentation is another key . On the other hand if you fish a spot that screams smallmouth and catch nothing , try different techniques and fish it at different times of the day/night as often as possible . It may hold a large fish that had just eaten or set up a feeding pattern at a different time of day/night . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 ...or just throw a Black/Silver Floating Rapala behind the biggest boulder you can find in a given area. Chances are, the biggest fish in the stretch has taken up residence behind this piece of structure. I consistently find this to be true. At one point, I caught and released an 18" Smallie from behind the largest structure in a pool, only to catch an 8lb. Flathead Cat on the very next cast from the same spot. Perhaps it is a territorial thing with all of the species hanging around? Oh, and Norm- stay away from my boulders. Especially THAT one. She'll be 21 this year, and I'm going to be there when she bites it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 You mean the boulder by the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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