Corey Steffen

Another one of those really sad stories. https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/04/02/state-agencies-investigating-large-fish-kill-livingston-co-creek/ Rooks Creek starts not far from my home and eventually empties into the Vermilion River, near one of my favorite stretches to fish. This story is new so more details will be coming, but sounds like a major blow to that smallmouth fishery. 😢

I'm planning to attend

Thanks Paul and Eric and everyone for the helpful advice. I definitely hope to try this stretch again this year (if only I could quit this crazy day job!) Now that I was able to mark some of the better spots I should be able to hit it with more bomb casts as Paul suggested. There's very few public access points on this stretch of river so it takes a bit to reach some of the better spots. I had hoped to have multiple days so I could sleep on the river and utilize the low light periods but that didn't work out... maybe next time. Overcast would have been nice too but instead I was given mostly bright sunshine. Again, thanks for all the pointers. That's one of the reasons I enjoy the ISA so much.

Yes, for sure! It was amazing how many paddle tails I went through on Friday. I had a place a restock order that night after I got back home. 😬

Very true, the bigger ones may have just been less aggressive or more choosey. But it was hard to tell because the smaller ones was like casting into a tank of piranhas. It was fun for awhile then it got downright annoying. 😅 Often if I could see an area I wanted to target held a lot of smaller bass I wouldn't even cast there, haha.

I think this post and question falls under the Techniques category… on Friday I was able to fish a new stretch of the Vermilion (Livingston Co) I had been wanting to try and it definitely produced. The numbers of fish were amazing. Recent spawns must have really been good. For the first couple of hours I was getting hits on nearly every cast but most of the fish were in the 10 to 14 inch range. By the end of the day I had managed a few chunky 16” fish but nothing bigger. But I’m confident larger fish were present. The water was super clear and I saw bigger fish… including one that swam next to one of the 16” bass as I was fighting and bringing it to the kayak. It was definitely in the 18 to 20” range. The problem seemed to be that the smaller fish were so abundant and so aggressive that the larger fish usually didn’t have a chance. Often I’d get a hit as soon as my lure hit the water. By mid-day I found myself doing all I could to actively avoid the smaller fish. I went to bigger baits (though unfortunately I hadn’t anything really big with me) but even that didn’t seem to help much. So my question is, what should I have done to improve my chances at the larger fish and keep the smaller bass off my hook?

Yes, for sure, I'd love to chat about ideas. I'll get in touch and we can find a time to talk. Thanks

By profession I'm a software developer. And in recent years a lot of my work involves building native mobile apps (primarily for iPhone). Over the years I've toyed around at times with various fishing apps in the app stores, but none that I've really stuck with for very long. But I've always had an interest in the possibility of creating a mobile fishing app of some kind, so I could combine my work and my passion. So I thought I'd ask and see if anyone has ever had the thought "boy, I really wish there was a fishing app that did _____" ? Any killer feature ideas for a fishing app you see as really compelling? Anything specific to smallmouth fishing and/or fishing clubs would be even better. Thanks!

That's a bummer. I'm a new ISA member and recently read about the program. I was hoping to sign up the 4-H club my kids are in to adopt a stream near our town. I thought it would be a great project for the kids and also offer a nice community service. Is anyone aware of any similar programs that are active? Thanks!