Norm M

if terry drank a case of pbr, i wouldn't want to be downwind.

Sorry, I couldn't make it. I got home late and didn't get enough sleep to get up in time to get over there. Prolly would have been some footage of me being pulled out of the river after I fell asleep in the boat.

Looks like a successful trip.

I'd go heavier than 10lb with a medium heavy rod. In fact I use 17lb trilene xt or mccoys mean green with medium action. Like I said, I'm played around with a spool with 12lb fluro right now on spinning tackle and no issues.

I've broke off on snags but really can't remember the last time I broke off a lure on a bass. Getting bit off by a gar, well that's different.

The line doesn't matter to the fish, it matters to us. Braid, fluro, copoly, mono it's what you have cofidence in. Shoot look at how thick fly line is, if that doesn't spook them passing over or thru the water column in the case of sinking lines, any other line surely won't.

One other thing to consider if you use too light of line, it will take you longer to land the fish. That contributes to lactic acid buildup which can cause delayed mortality.

It wouldn't work on the Kankakee with the slot limit. I wouldn't want to wade in any kind of current with a basket tethered to me.

http://newriversmallies.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Some of the old RS bunch are showing up here. Other places include Mid Atlantic Smallies and DR's fishing site.

if you are that worried about use straight fluro. i'm playing with 12lb vanish right now, no problems casting with spinning gear.

looks like i'm in

Beef up your line choices, the fish don't care. If you are worried about losing depth with increased line diameter, simply use a crank that runs deeper than necessary for that spot. 17 lb mono has worked for me for a long time

They store the stuff in ponds that supposedly won't leak to keep it from getting into the groundwater but then it's dumped on fields. Am I misunderstanding something?

For any that spent much time at River Smallies and hasn't heard Steven Flint lost his battle with cancer and has passed on.

One of the world's good people and a man of great knowledge and insight, he will be missed.

If I had only one lure I'd be bummed. I'll cast another vote for the Sammy. Anyone naming a baby girl anytime soon? How about Cadence? You can buy her a dog named Sammy and teach her how to walk it.

Get busy Don

I saw a post from Al Agnew over at Ozark anglers that BK pulled the plug on River Smallies.

Sad to see the end of an era, I definitely enjoyed the wealth of info from around the country that was availible.

Garlic and coffee tubes make me gag especially when it's hot. I'd rather soak them in the juice of melting softshells.

To me a Yum crawbug looks like the old MadMan craws, both basically tubes with the plastic that hangs off slightly rearranged from the standard tube.

Eugene

I just dumped all my tubes. I've caught lots of fish on them but have more confidence in other plastics. If you fish the right places with the correct speed/depth control you will catch fish.

As well as rattlebaits have done over the last two months, I still wouldn't call them or any other lure my go to bait. I prefer to fish crankbaits but I'll let the conditions dictate the choice. The only time I'd only carry one lure was if I was trying to get a crash course in learning that lure.

Frank,

I'm reducing my plastic inventory, just got rid of all my tubes today. Pm me with what you need to replace, might be able to help you out.

water temps down my way down 9 degrees since the weekend. got 53 yesterday,17 today. rattlebaits fast water.

That's what I did , let it sink.

As one, who with my son Zach, has a lot of experience doing similar cleanups, I can say that was an impressive feat. then to volunteer at another event is true dedication. Congratulations Jim, we need more like you.

Phil,

any issues with the spoonplugs running up and broaching the surface. It happened a handful of times on me today. Couple times it was fouled with bits of leaves, couple other times I think I was retrieving too fast, combined with the force of the current.

If you live in the Bourbonnais area, I'm planning on selling plastics, crankbaits and some inline spinners at a garage sale Wednesday evening and Thursday thru Saturday. It will be in the Journal, otherwise you can PM me for the address.

at least at the wine tasting you would hae had the whole " the girls all get prettier at closing time" thing going for you.

thankfully the rains held off until we were done with the cleanup Saturday. Of course the lightning started when we were fishing afterward.

few crawdads, a helgie, mayfly and a few others. we didn't work real hard on the id as we only had a magnifying glass. we didn't gather a lot because the water was so low and lots of sand.

it was more in the nature of doing a demo for recruiting for the river watch than a serious attempt at collecting bugs.

When I first found out today I was doing the narrative part I thought when the camera started I would either sound like Porky Pig or not be able to properly explain things because of a brain cramp. Actuallly once the camera started the butterflies soon went away and it was fairly easy to do.

Zach and I took the film crew out on a mini tour so they could film some places they wanted for background but were not completely sure how to find. They also ended up with a little footage of Zach and I fishing together.

I thought it went well today and hopefully it will help raise awareness of the sedimentation problems the Kankakee River faces and of the River Watch program so that more will participate.

The only thing I would do different is to insist that they let me play myself instead of just using my voice. That actor they used was way too old to play someone as young looking as mmyself.

The river gods take care of those who help them out. Congrats on the fish.