Reading the water

[Guest]

If you're just getting started or need a refresher course on reading river cuerrents now is the time to get out. With all the leaves on the water you can learn a lot in just a few hours and catch a few fish. Eddies, main channels and slack areas are all easily identified by the leaves floating on the water.Eddies are areas where the leaves are moving in a circle. The main channel can be identified by the long line of leaves moving the fastest and slack areas are places where the leaves are just hanging in the water barely moving.

Where I have been fishing in Central Illinois and Indiana there is very little water and it's very clear .Fish the slower areas of the main channel even if you can see the bottom the fish will come out of no where. Deep holes and eddies if you can find them are good too. The water temperature has been in the mid 40s. I've been fishing an 1/8 or 1/4 ounce classic slider spider head with a 3 1/2" tube. Fish it with short hops and pauses. Hits feel like leaves that pull back a little. A white 4" tube nose hooked wieghtless makes a good top water shallow bait that costs next to nothing. You can thow it a mile and in the clear water you can see it disappear and know you have a bite. The tube on the slider head is rigged weedless so the leaves are no problem,any texas rigged soft plastic should work. I would also throw a spinnerbait you can cover a lot water and if you retieve with the current you won't get too many leaves

 

Today I froze my feet off, broke a reel and almost got the car stuck, but they were biting good.Tomarrow I'm breaking out the long underwear and electric socks. I just ordered a new reel and I'm feeling pretty good about having just bought new tires.

Philf

[Steve S.]

Informative post Phil, thanks.