Jim J

I wholeheartedly agree with Mark and I'm glad he took the time to write what I was also thinking.

I also broke my pair of MJ after about 5 years. They sent me a new $150 replacement pair for free.

Come on you guys, this is supposed to be serious.

HA

Find it? He's wearin one.

I used Maui Jim's for 8 years.

Look up the lens stats for quality glasses like those or Oakley's or other quality pairs.

If a guy in a flea market can sell the same lenses for 95% less?

I don't think so....

Say I think I'll get my next Porsche at the flea market. There's a guy selling em there for $2,000. He swears it's the exact same engine.

A lot of lenses work for polarization, but it's really the quality (clarity) that makes higher end glasses better. Wearing a pair of cheap ones for five or six hours makes

This is reall, really, funny.

Everyone should watch this.

I got a new Festivus tree on a closeout last season and can't wait to put it up.

Rich,

Since it was my post (but not my original idea) I am editor and final Grand Pubah of this list.

My apologies upfront for those of you who don't make the cut.

I am the final arbiter of this list.

Since I didn’t put up parameters, here are some:

Succinctness, length, and humor are all considerations.

“Inside” Laws will not be considered.

More as I think of them….

The men of the square table have the job to deem what is manly, and what is not manly in common male situations.

We here, need to decide what is manly and what is not manly in common smallmouth bass fishing situations.

Post your “Smallmouth Man Laws” here and we will publish a list of the best ones in the newsletter:

1. Man shall not go directly to a spot shown by another man the day after being shown said spot.

2.

Prairie Rivers Network and Sierra Club (Illinois Chapter) invite you to attend a half-day workshop on stormwater runoff from construction sites and how citizens can help reduce the negative impacts construction sites have on our waterways. The sedimentation of our streams is a leading cause of water impairment for the state, and much of that sediment comes from construction sites that have improper or missing best management practices. The next workshop will be held from 9:30am-12:30pm on Saturday Nov 11 in the Village of Aurora. Please see the flyer attached for more information. RSVPs are requested. If you know of others who might be interested in this training, please forward this email to them. Thanks very much, Stacy James

Stacy James

Clean Water Program Coordinator

Prairie Rivers Network

809 S. 5th Street

Champaign, IL 61820

phone: 217-344-2371

fax: 217-344-2381

sjames@prairierivers.org

www.prairierivers.org

Hey Steve,

We've been selling them at the Blowout for, oh... about ten years.

Yea, great work!

Rich, need an article and Don, can you e-mail pics to Scott?

Thanks.

Jim

I heard he casts like a grandmother.

I can hear the splash up here in Chicagoland.

I reread my post and it sounds pompous. Sorry, didn't mean it that way just working fast and not time to sugar coat.

Paul and Scott both make good points there.

Scott and I sort of run and gun but with some precision involved.

We thoroughly fish "good fish" water then quickly splash through to the next spot.

I could give more examples but here’s one:

A few years ago I took a guy out who won the guided trip at the Blowout.

He was newer to smallie river fishing and had learned from a few guys on the Fox and was throwing small twisters on 6lb mono.

He had some success catching 10 inch fish.

We got to one bridge abutment and I let him go first. (I’m a really nice guy)

There were a bunch of small fish in there and he proceeded to get 3 or four with bites on every cast. After a few minutes of that I threw a 5 inch Hula Grub in there and got a fat 17” on the first cast. He was a bit amazed and the whole trip gave him a new idea of how “other” guys fish.

He was throwing 2-3” twisters on 6lb mono.

I got him 3 good fish that day and he didn’t land one.

It was still cool and he learned a lot.

Bigger baits thrown with discretion.

I am also in the camp of bigger baits. Just because you caught some of your bigger fish on smaller baits doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have hit a bigger bait had you been throwing it instead.

I and a lot of others fish some small water as you do. Jonn’s streams and the Dupe especially the west branch can be as small and shallow as any smallie stream.

The reason I said with discretion is your comment about the spooking and splash factor.

Ever see Eric throw a large spinner bait? He can lay that baby in tight spots very gently with his casting ability and equipment. In fact most of the guys I fish with can pretty much throw large baits without spooking fish.

I am a big proponent of NOT spooking fish. We almost all fish fairly shallow water and laying baits in not with a long overhead cast is essential to me.

The distance is one factor. Do not overthrow where you need to cast. Quietly get in good position (close enough) and lay the bait in there gently. 99% of the time I’m throwing side arm. I feather virtually every cast I make with my left hand. This way I can whip a bait with some strength but feather it at the last minute and drop it in gently.

There are differences in the view of a “big bait” I purchased some of the Lucky Craft topwaters a few years ago that were around 4-5 inches. Not to big for smallies but the weight was too heavy with the internal beads inside. They can cast for miles but it was like dropping an anchor in the water. I gave them away and never fished them.

I don’t agree with the deep water thing. I did agree with it for years but that opinion changed in the last couple of seasons by finding some really big fish in shallow water. The deep water thing is season driven. Jonn and I found fish in mid stream areas above riffles that was a good summer pattern. That pattern happened a few years ago for Scott and I on the Dupe.

So many posts over the years where time and time again guys are posting lots of 12 inch fish and some other guys are consistently (or more consistently) getting bigger fish.

BIG BAITS.

Jonn... you explain.

From: TRENT THOMAS

Subject: Smallmouth Bass Harvest

Hi Guys,

Next Thursday, October 12, we will be harvesting another smallmouth bass

rearing pond. The pond is southwest of Farmer City. The harvest of this

pond is not very glorious. It usually entails a lot of sitting and

waiting most of the day and mad panic at the end, which usually requires

treading through knee-deep mud to save adult breeders. We can always use

the help, so you are welcome to come out if you would like. We will be

there early, but I wouldn't plan on being there for the harvest until

mid-morning (after 10am). Directions below.

The following day, Friday October 13, we will again be fin-clipping the

smallmouth bass that are harvested from this pond. I can't make any

predictions, but this is the first year that the pond was dedicated only

to smallmouth bass. So, there is definitely a potential to get a good

number of smallmouth bass from the pond this year. We will be meeting at

the Lake Shelbyville dam (East side parking lot) at about 9:30am to

fin-clip these fish before stocking them and the adults back into the

river.

I just completed two days of smallmouth bass surveys on the Kaskaskia

River, and the stocking program appears to be working wonders for the

population. Catch rates below the dam have quadrupled and catch rates

near the campground have tripled since the initiation of stocking four

years ago. Many of the stocked fish reached breeding age this year,

which likely accounted for an increase in "wild-produced" fish as well.

I appreciate all the help the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance has provided

to make this project successful!

Direction to the Farmer City Rearing Pond:

From I-74 or Highway 150, go South on Highway 54 into Farmer City. At

the stop sign at Casey's in Farmer City, turn South and head out of

town. Less than a mile out of town, you will cross Salt Creek and South

Branch Salt Creek. Take your first right after crossing these streams.

This road will take you southwest until it turns south at 2400 E. Soon

after turning south on 2400 E, there will be a small gravel parking lot

on the right (west) side of the road. Turn into this parking lot and

through the wire gate. Drive back (unless it is very wet) because it is

a decent distance to walk. Do not turn onto any of the roads veering off

to the right, and you will end up at the 5-acre pond.

Thank you and hope to see you soon.

Trent

IDNR

TRENT.THOMAS@illinois.gov

Geoff,

Thanks for the response on this. I understand about the planning well ahead of time. With a large event, it's really important to plan way ahead.

I did see the program ad which was great. I'm not sure how you handle the website stuff, so if you put all the participants there, we'd be happy to be included. If it's only for sponsors or whatever, I understand.

Jim

Hello, my name is Stacy James and I am the Clean Water Program Coordinator for Prairie Rivers Network, an Illinois organization devoted to the protection of streams statewide. I am writing you today about an opportunity to participate in our upcoming construction site storm water patrol training workshop. I am contacting you in particular because you have expressed interest in this training in the past, or you are a contact person for a watershed/environmental group that might have members interested in this training. We are offering the training because soil erosion from construction sites is a leading cause of the impairment of Illinois streams. We will be offering a training to all interested individuals on the morning of Saturday November 11 in the Village of Aurora. A flyer is attached with more information. I would appreciate it if you could forward this email to others in your organization who might be interested in this opportunity. Please note that an RSVP is requested. Thanks very much, Stacy

Stacy James

Clean Water Program Coordinator

Prairie Rivers Network

809 S. 5th Street

Champaign, IL 61820

phone: 217-344-2371

fax: 217-344-2381

sjames@prairierivers.org

www.prairierivers.org

STORM WATER PATROL TRAINING WORKSHOP

Sponsored by Prairie Rivers Network

& Sierra Club

9:30am - 12:30pm Saturday, November 11

Village of Aurora

Topics Covered Include:

• Storm Water Regulations

• Construction Site Best Management Practices

• How to Fill Out a Site Report Card

• Filing a Citizen Complaint

What We Ask of Participants:

There is a $10 fee to cover the cost of monitoring materials participants will be given. We ask that participants take the information we provide and visit construction sites in their community to assess whether proper storm water controls are in place.

What We Provide Participants:

After the training, call Prairie Rivers Network any time with questions you have about storm water or specific construction sites.

If you would like to attend this half-day training, please contact:

Stacy James (sjames@prairierivers.org, 217-344-2371)

Thanks to Craig for volunteering to head this up. I appreciate everyone's work on this. I said I would help but showed up only to screw around for a bit and get soaked by some fly boys.

Thanks again volunteers!

They are called sinking salty Shad by Case Plastics

This does not make it sink really fast. It helps keep it from being just a topwater lure that gets swept too fast out of where you want to keep it.

Most fluke stuff refers to lake fishing. With current you have a different set of conditions to deal with. With line being pushed in the current and the fluke sitting on top, being washed too quickly out of the strike zone.

Think about all the articles and pictures you've seen about how this bait works in still water. The drop rates, mojo rigging, Carolina rigging, all is written about lake fishing.

Show me an article about flukes in current?

90% of the water we're fishing is less than 4 feet deep and it's moving. A fluke on the Kank will be basically floating downstream as fast as the current, destroying any kind of "fluke" action you may want to impart.

Also, if you're tarketing a specific spot that may have some current, the fish better hit it with a second or two of the drop because unweighted that thing isn't staying in the stike zone very long.

Scott was fishing a very interesting sinking fluke by Case. I liked it because it sank faster than a normal fluke while unweighted. Sort of a denser plastic like a Senko.

Craig,

I will be there to help either Sat or Sun.

Jim

This was the biggest fish of last year for me. Cold November rain and a 19.5 on the pearl fluke.

This is how I rig my flukes with a Bait Jerker hook.

The last two falls the fluke bite was hot. 4-5" flukes in pearl.