Smallmouth hot spots???

[Tim Smith]

Here's a great website for anyone who hasn't seen it or has forgotten about it:

 

http://dnr.state.il.us/fish/digest/

 

Several things caught my eye here. One of them was the list of hot spots and "places to fish" for smallmouth bass. Along with some of the usual suspects (the Kankakee and Fox) were quite a few interesting locations such as:

 

Banner Marsh.

 

Kickapoo State Park Lakes.

 

Lake Bloomington.

 

Clinton Lake.

 

The Iroquois River is a smallmouth hot spot?? Really???

 

I have some ideas about how these places got on this list, but maybe I'm wrong and these places actually DO have robust populations of these fish. Are there fishable smallmouth populations in these places??

[Mike Clifford]

The Iroquois River may have contained lots of smallies at some point, but in my fishing days I've only fished it for catfish- and have done quite well.

 

For those of the mindset that the Kankakee is dying a slow death by strangulation, look no further than the primary source of the sedimentation- the Iroquois.

 

...and I bet y'all thought it was just Indiana pumping sand our way.

We're doing a pretty good job of it ourselves with that there flow....even if the IN side of this river contributes as well.

 

Need more?

 

Fate of Nitrogen During Transport Through Agriculturally Impacted Rivers

 

Field Sites: Iroquois River and Sugar Creek, Indiana and Illinois

 

Check This Out

 

Iroquois River near Foresman, IN., May 2000

 

Sugar Creek, Benton County, IN., 17 June 2002

[skjordan]

Clinton Lake, thats the third time Ive heard that. But I have never heard of a documented smallie being taken out of it.

 

I have fished the upper end where the Salt comes into the lake, alot, and never caught bronze. That was BISA.

If some one out there knows something I dont please inform me here or PM me. Iam curious now.

[Jonn Graham]

Clinton Lake does have a few smallies. They have tried to stock more throughout the years, but they never really seem to grab hold. I do know that when a smallie is caught, it is usually a good sized one. Lake Bloomington has had smallmouths naturally since the dawn of that lake. They are caught occassionally and some can be quite nice. Banner Marsh has some smallies in a few of the lakes. But I have been told they are few and far between.,

[Tim Smith]

Clinton Lake does have a few smallies. They have tried to stock more throughout the years, but they never really seem to grab hold.

 

I wonder if that's the key right there, Jonn. I suspect this page promotes sites that have been stocked or are already obvious smallmouth fisheries (like the Fox and Kank).

 

Notice how many of those stocked systems are complete failures as fisheries. There's your bottom line answer for why protecting natural reproduction is key.

[Guest]

I've caught smallies out of 3 of the 5 listed. It takes a little work, but finding over looker water is fun and the fishing is good. It also takes pressure off of the "good " spots. One thing you can do is spend 1/2 of your day on new water and the other part on a sure thing. For example we could hit the Iroquois and than the Kankakee. I do this all the time if someone wants to tag along great. I've been working a little on the Wabash, but I'd like to get back on the Iroquois. With the low water you can really learn a lot about a river right now. Having said that it should start raining. It would be nice to fish in current again.

Philf

[Jim Kast]

That list proves once again.... there are no fish in the DuPage!