Mike Kyrouac

That is one of the buggiest helgrammites I have ever seen. I really like the overall profile of the body. I would think this would be deadly on smallies in the Middle Fork or Kankakee when the water is running really clear. Nice job.

You've been busy. Those are some nice flies. Very nice photography, also.

I-57 crosses the Middle Fork south of Paxton, Mile Post 58 or so. I haven't caught any smallies this far up. I am told, back in the day, that there were once good populations. The farthest upstream where I have caught decent smallies (around 14 inches) was in the area of the Middle Fork County Park north of Penfield. As for the Kankakee (I grew up on that river, fishing it since I was about 8 years old with my dad, and it drives me nuts when I hear it called the "Kank"), thar be smallies up and down from the 57 bridge, if you know what to look for...basic stuff like rip-rap, concrete retainer walls, docks, etc. But, you're gonna need a boat.

I have been using the Gulp worms, natural and chartreuse, for the last year and a half and have had excellent success...with walleye. I pinch it in half and slip it on a jig and twister tail combo. On several occasions, I outfished guys using jigs and minnows. My best day resulted in a 26, two 17 inch and several 14 to 15 inch walleye. This morning I landed two keeper walleye and missed several others. I also caught one small one and missed one using the Gulp alive minnow. All this was on the Kankakee. As for smallies, the success has not been as good. I popped a 15 incher rigging a gulp worm "wacky worm" style. I have picked up several others, but I would say it was no better than other tactics i have used. The worms will dry out if the package is not zipped up properly. I make sure mine are closed tight. No complaints here. I just stocked up on both colors on my way home. Never tried a senko, but I am growing very fond of super flukes fished on a Falcon Lures weighted hook. Great on the smallies, and one 17 inch eye who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Is this a virtual thing, or in person? I think most of your Monday night sessions are held up north, and I'm about a half hour north of Champaign. It would be a bit of a road trip for me to come up....but I might be interested. Depends on how my schedule plays out. To be honest, if you could get Bob Long to show up, it would probably be a much better learning experience for those involved, after all, it is his creation.

These are the hooks Bob recommends in the article he sent to me: TMC206bl, #6, Dai-Riki 810, #6, TMC 900Bl, or TMC 101, #8. I've been using Cabelas' model 26 glo-bug hooks in size 4 and 6. They might be a bit heavy, but they work for me. I improvise when I don't have what is listed in the recipe. The fish don't seem to mind too much. Size 8 in this style might be too small. What I did learn from his article and through practice was that sparse is better. The one in my picture might have a little too much craft fur. You want them to almost disappear when they hit the water. Just a little flash now and then seems to be the ticket.

The Barely There is an original pattern created by Bob Long, Jr. He introduced me to it when I met him on the Kankakee several years ago. It is tied using craft fur, different colors for whatever baitfish you are trying to imitate. It also incorporates materials like flashabou, Krystal flash and lite brite. The unique thing about it is the craft fur is tied on forward, behind the eye. It is eventually folded over and after eyes are afixed, the head is coated twice with Softex. This gives it a soft, almost rubbery feel to the head and creates a pocket inside the head. With almost no weight, it is easy to cast and is very resilient. It swims just below the surface and is deadly in shallow water. I have caught numerous smallies without it being shredded. My favorite color is white, with pearl Krystal Flash and red eyes. I also tie it in grey, black and silver, purple and white, and whatever flips my switch at the time. I tried to imitate a fire tiger pattern, but I haven't had nearly the success I've had using basic white. I am including a photograph of one I tied using a rootbeer colored fur.

I spent Friday the 27th canoeing and wading on the Kankakee upstream from Aroma Park. I took my spinning rod and my 4 weight St. Croix. Not many smallies on the spinning rod. I did land one walleye that went just under 16 inches. I got the majority of my smallies on a black and yellow popper. I started fishing top water flies after a 13 incher hit a tangled crankbait that was spinning along the surface. Most of the fish were in the 11 to 12 inch range. I found them along the shoreline weeds in about 2.5 feet of water and also out in the middle of the river. Fairly shallow water and rocky bottoms seemed to be the ticket. I also got several using sparkle minnows and barely there minnows. Today (Monday) was spent on the Middle Fork river. The river is low and fairly clear. Several smallies, with the biggest around 12 - 13 inches, were caught on my 4 weight. Fish were taken on the white sparkle minnow, a helgrammite pattern and on a modified bead head woolly bugger. Most of the fly rod fish were taken in shallow, shady areas off of the current. I must admit I alternated between the fly rod and the spinning rod and landed a bunch (20+) on the spinning rod using Yum 2.5 inch crawbugs. The two largest went 16 1/2 and 14 (sorry no pictures, for some reason my phone won't send the pics to my e-mail). The bigger fish were in the deeper holes, four to six feet deep, right on the bottom. All in all, a fun two days.

Tim, I'm with Dick G. Once I get out, I find it difficult to leave. I'm at home on running water. It's the way I keep what sanity I have left.