John Gillio

For a number of years now, this fly has been deadly on smallies and drum in low water. It can be tied in a variety of color schemes When resting ao the riverbed after a series of hopps it will sit upright with claws raised and hook up.The claws often push together in a praying position as it scoots along the bottom. I call it the gilbones crawfish. It is basically a doctored up woolly bugger. The main body is a woolly bugger with a medium or small dumbbell weight near the hooks eye. Before tying the main body I tie in the claw feathers, the antennae (Krystal flash and peacock herl), and shell material (peacock herl or any other shiny feather material). Tie in the bugger, trim back the palmered hackle on the side of the hook bend, and bring the shell material over it, tying it in at the dumbbell.

Sounns like snake. Just ribs and white meat. I've eaten fried rattlesnake before and it was quite good. I would give gar a try if you were the cook Rob.

No I haven't Rob. I have seen some recipes for them. I think I'll stick with the carp. More meat for the effort .

I have had my best luck with pearl and with white or combos of white and other colors.

Rob!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Biggest Illinois gar I have ever seen!

Rob, I read an article last year that said the IDNR planted about a dozen small alligator gar in a lake near Hennepin, supposedly introducing the species back into the state. Sharpen those arrows.

Yikes! Beats the heck out of my 44 incher. Everything is bigger in Texas .

Nice Tom, thanks for sharing.

Welcome Blake, I think you will find some good info. through the ISA as well as opportunities to meet other members and help on the conservation front. That 5th pic is a great looking bass. Keep those pics coming.

I have seen the fish picky like this more often this year than ever before. Not speeking of black woolly buggers but of lures in general.

Like.

Nice transition , it looks great.

I have been known to err on both sides. Selective harvest may well serve the fishery and the palate.

I agree with Timothy and Eric.

Those are cool Terry, I've never seen those before. I'll bet they can really move some water.

Great idea ,Mike.

Thanks, these are the videos I used when cleaning the carp shown at the beginning of this stream. One shows a boneless method while the other shows a method that only leaves long bones that are easy to remove after cooking.

The Vermilion R., at Lowell, rose 10 ft. over a 24 hr. period and has become it's usual spring mess.this is only a foot over flood stage, but the area rafting service says it is too dangerous to raft at this time. They feel they could reopen in a few days as the water begins to recede, barring any further rain. There have been some kayakers taking advantage of the high waves near the Lowell bridge but most are not venturing downstream. I am told that the wildcats have become extremely difficult to navigate since a landslide narrowed the river there a few years back.

Total insanity!

Manny, I wish you well. It sounds like you did your homework. Another friend of mine mentioned wanting to do the same thing with his days off, but he is still in the talking about it stage. Let us know how it is going.

Today I had some of my kids at a program sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers and the IDNR. Fisheries biologist Ken Clodfelter gave a nice presentation on the fish of Illinois and had quite a few live fish on hand to show the kids. Here are a few more programs that will be held in the LaSalle/Peru area over the next few weeks. They are very good programs and the kids have a great time.

The noodles are attached with a heavy duty mounting tape that I picked up at Menards. I cannot recall the brand name. I wish I could because it has been on four outings and shows no sign of coming off. The plan is to hold them in with a couple screws and washers if the tape begins to fail. The noodles have made the Kayak very stable, but I doubt that it is as stable as a kayak like Eric or Jim has. I haven't tried to stand in it, and I have no wish to. I can lean over the edge without feeling like it will tip. I wouln't have felt comfortable doing so before the noodles went on. The extra paddle could replace the other if needed, though the other floats too, because I have it filled with styrofoam. I like it because it is easier to handle with one hand when I want to make adjustments on a drift. It also has a tape measure on it for easy measurement of the big boys. The yak paddles have velcro strips the hold it in place so it doesn't slide around when I'm fighting a fish. The cushy seat is also held in place with velcro and is very comfy. So far, I like it too.

Good luck with it. I wish I would have picked one up years ago.

Yes, a lean and mean fishing machine. The tripod and AK-47 would look great on it, and I may even be able to put a hurt on the Asian Carp population, but it just doesn't go along with the idea of traveling light.