Jonn Graham

The jigs that my father in law and I make are now in stock at Strictly Fishing in Plainfield. Both the "Papoose" (float n fly) and "Feather Fall" jigs are both there.

If you are float n fly fishing, nothing needs to be added to the little craft hair jigs. If you add a trailer or minnow it severely limits the natural movements of the hair. That jig I gave you at the blowout would not be a float n fly jig.

It would be a jig that you WOULD add a trailer to and fish slowly along the bottom.

hope this helps

I plan to head out tomorrow. Armed the jerkbaits and float n fly. Can't wait..............like a kid waiting for christmas.

Strictly Fishing will hold their annual open house tomorrow. Seminars by yours truly, Paul Center, Duane Serck, and some guy from Wisconsin (I forgot his name). If you are not doing anything, stop by and check out this great store! I am sure he will have many deals and some new 2007 baits.

Seminars start at 10:00 AM<

I found this thru bookfinder.com.

 

I hope this helps.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00...8719334-1731169

Yah, I found that site as well. Only problem is that price is OUTRAGEOUS! It is not a big enough book to be worth $30 for a used copy. I am looking for someone who has one that would like to part with it for maybe $5 to $15. Thanks anyway. Glad you enjoyed the seminar.

I am a collector of everything smallmouth. I have a fairly impressive collection of smallmouth books, but do not have the book written by Tony Bean and Don Wirth. I did read it years ago but it was a borrowed copy. Can anybody help me out? I would like to purchase a used copy for a fair price.

I am a collector of everything smallmouth. I have a fairly impressive collection of smallmouth books, but do not have the book written by Tony Bean and Don Wirth. I did read it years ago but it was a borrowed copy. Can anybody help me out? I would like to purchase a used copy for a fair price.

OOOps......I posted this in wrong area.

I am a collector of everything smallmouth. I have a fairly impressive collection of smallmouth books, but do not have the book written by Tony Bean and Don Wirth. I did read it years ago but it was a borrowed copy. Can anybody help me out? I would like to purchase a used copy for a fair price.

Mark:

I have owned and used both reels - the stradic and sahara. You are dead-on right - the stradics cannot take ANY WATER!!!! Pissed me off. I no longer buy shimano spinning reels. Now, i did own a couple of Saharas and I must say they seemed to be less "touchy" and able to take a little abuse.

If there was a shimano spinning reels I had to buy, it would be the Sahara

Oops................sorry Rich M. How could I forget our new ISA csar. Great job at your first blowout.

All:

Thoroughly enjoyed the blowout................as usual. To me it went off without a hitch. Many thanks to the following:

Jim J. for letting me stay at his house for two nights and for all his work for the club for many many years. Jim brought the club from a small, fledgling organization to one of the biggest groups in the state.

Scott F: Thanks for all your work 365 days a year. Without you, this club is in real trouble.

Gregg S.: Awesome pins. They look great and it was great and inspiring to see a member go to all the work to achieve his original plan.

Set up/tear down crew: I had never been involved with the whole set up process. WOW! Everyone did a wonderful job. Definitely a well-oiled machine.

Eric: Thanks for helping me with computer stuff and the time you spent discussing fishing related stuff. Can't wait for the spinnerbait primer this spring/summer.

If I forgot anyone else, please accept my apology. Great night..............can't wait for next year.

Give me a call and we can talk float n fly. 309-399-7055

Checked out the site................wow! I plan to order one or two of the prints. Thanks for passing it along.

Backreeling RULES!!! Drags suck!

Quite a stockpile

 

by les winkeler, the southern

Sean Hirst holds a pair of smallmouth bass that were stocked into Kinkaid lake recently. Through the group efforts of the State of Illinois, Kinkaid Conservancy and the Kinkaid Area Watershed Project Smallmouth and other species have been reared in ponds near the lake for stocking purposes. (State of Illinois)

 

MURPHYSBORO - Kinkaid Lake is something of a living laboratory. The scenic 2,850-acre lake in Jackson County is home to one of the most successful stocking programs in the state. Over the past several years, Kinkaid has become a muskie fishing destination. Muskellunge are not an indigenous species.

 

In the meantime, a walleye stocking program has met mixed success and a smallmouth stocking program is in its infancy.

Shawn Hirst, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist, oversees all three projects.

 

He said Kinkaid is a perfect venue for stocking programs.

 

"The main thing is, you obviously have to have a rearing pond because it's a lot better to stock advanced fingerlings, which means four inches or above, compared to one or two inches," Hirst said. "The survival rate is much better."

 

Silt basins constructed at the lake several years ago do double duty as rearing ponds for largemouth bass, smallmouth, walleye and crappie. To date, muskies remain the stocking program's poster child.

 

"The size of the fish stocked," said Hirst, explaining the program's success. "Basically on the muskie there is no harvest whatsoever because of the 48-inch length limit. Very few of them are caught and none of the males can even reach that. They seem to be long-lived.

 

"The walleye are stocked at one or two inches. We could stock 10 times as many as we're getting to make a difference, but we just can't get that many through our state hatcheries."

 

The decision to introduce a new species involves multiple variables. The primary variable is the body of water itself.

 

"You can't force a fish into a lake," Hirst said. "The muskies wouldn't do well at Crab Orchard, it's turbid and shallow. They'd just die out when they got to adult size in the summer. It's like you couldn't put trout in Crab Orchard, but they do well in Devils Kitchen because you have deep, oxygenated water.

 

"Kinkaid is suitable for just about anything, but at some point you don't want to stock too many predators so they crash the food base."

 

Kinkaid is suitable for different species because of a variety of habitat. The north end is shallow with stained water while the south end is clear and deep. In addition, the lake has a strong forage base.

 

"It's mainly gizzard shad and spotted suckers," Hirst said. "The lake board tries to but threadfin shad every year from down south and we try to go to Baldwin Lake every year to try to collect threadfin."

 

Although walleye have been stocked into the lake for years, the species hasn't taken hold like muskies. The spillway barrier constructed a few years ago may help keep larger fish in the lake.

 

"I use one of the ponds to raise walleye because we don't think they are reproducing in the lake," Hirst said. "The number of walleyes we stock as fingerlings every year is 55,000 and the lake should probably get double that.

 

"I can raise 5,000 walleye fingerlings in that pond and this year we ended up with 1,300 six-inch fish, which might be better survival than we get out of the 55,000."

 

Now, Hirst is also monitoring a new smallmouth program.

 

"Three years ago, I finally got approval to stock smallmouth in Kinkaid," he said. "That's the one I'm most excited about. There is really no other place to go; there are a few isolated areas in small creeks where the fish are going to be three or four inches.

 

"There are some smallmouth in the Ohio, but nothing you can really guarantee you can catch a smallmouth."

 

The shoreline erosion project under way at Kinkaid Lake has been a happy coincidence for Hirst.

 

"They've done two or three miles I think," Hirst said. "Before that, it was bare muddy bank, 10-foot high. Now, it's that rip rap which is excellent smallmouth habitat."

 

There have already been reports of anglers catching some smallmouth. However, the results will not be immediate.

 

"It's not the actual stocking we're doing that's the bonus," Hirst said. "It's when those fish end up spawning, that's when you'll see the increase in fish. Stocking 3,000 smallmouth in Kinkaid is kind of a drop in the bucket.

 

"In three or four years if those fish spawn, and we'll have year classes every year and if we can get some fish from hatcheries, that would really make those fish start showing up."

 

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com

 

(618) 529-5454 ext. 5088

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles...rs/19163819.txt

I guess I will have to add Kinkaid Lake to my list of places to fish in four or five years.

The Central Illinois boys have had to change their meeting site. We will now be meeting at the Heyworth library. Heyworth is located just a few miles south of Bloomington on Rt 51. The meeting will start at 6:30 with an awesome antique lure discussion given by Steve White from St. Louis. Steve has one of the biggest collections in the country.

We will no longer be offering free pizza due to the change of scenery.

Here are the directions to the library:

Go South on 51 from Bloomington to Heyworth exit on right to stop sign--turn left on rt. 136 to the flashing red lite--stop and go straight on 136 two blocks to buchanan street--turn left on buchanan go two to stop sign on main street. turn right and the library is second building on the right--entrance is in the back and park on the left side.

That ought to get you there.

Coming from the south--exit right--turn right to lite.

See you soon.

When it comes to rods/reels, I feel the above posts covered the subject like a wet blanket. When it comes to line, give McCoy Mean Green a try. While all line does twist on occassion, this stuff seems to be the most anti-twist line I have ever used.

I know Strictly Fishing in Plainfield carries it and GAT may carrry it as well.

jonn

Thanks all!

Schad:

Pictures of you holding fish are so rare, the ones that I do have are bringing big $$$$$ on e-bay even though they are not centered!

Eric:

I plan to be your company for at least one day!

I plan to continue my experimentation with the new plastic swimmin' frogs. Tried them last year and did have a couple of nice afternoons throwing this bait. I like the fact that you can throw and buzz it across the top of the water like a pure topwater, or you can let it sink inches under the surface and pull it that way. So far, both ways have worked for smallies.

Right now I prefer the Sizmic frog due to their choice of sizes.

I usually carry at least three in my canoe.l

A 5'9" light casting outfit

A 6'3" medium spinning outfit

A 6' light action spinning oufit

Though I have many, I don't like carrying longer rods on a river float trip. Every so often I will carry a fourth rod and point it out the back of my boat.

jonn

William:

Nice fish and better pics.

Here is a 20 incher I caught on the 1st of September. 3 inch tube

Don:

Narrowing it down to three is tough, but here are mine:

4 inch slider worm rigged on a spider slider head

3 inch "Hooked up Baits" tube rigged on a Classic Slider head

Zoom Super Fluke rigged on a wide gap 3/0 hook

winter:

float n fly

suspending jerkbait

tube

spring:

tube

four inch grub

Popper

summer:

tube

Gunfish 95

slider worm

fluke

fall:

hula grub

Gunfish 95

jerkbait

ooops thats 13 baits. Of course, I listed tube more than once.