Gary L

Here is a Web Site and dealer that may be able to help you out with this unit. It appears it has a push in system for airing the bladders so it may be similar to a basketball or football. If that is the case you could use one of those needles and attach a gauge to it and get the pressure that way. I would ask also on this sites forum. http://www.fishusa.com/tackleshop/catalog_...F1B48F&fx=1

You are the guru of the river Norm and those days with the bright sky's we perhaps need to be a little more picky as to where we throw out baits. The best holding spot should be worked more thoroughly in an effort to get them Bass to go after a bait.

I was confused when he said he was spin fishing the DuPage! Great story Michael T.

If we get any topwater action now it is early in the morning and spotty. Down here in the Ozarks we is using the dropshot on Seagaur Fluorocarbon 6lb. test in 35' or deeper. You can also use a Carolina Rig with the same Fluorocarbon line in 10lb test and work the bottom very slowly with worms.

When I fished the rivers up that way I preferred a Medium Light action. If you have the funds then the St. Crois AVID is a fine rod and will give you years of service. With the Medium Light I was able to throw lighter Jigs.

I would think with his weight that he wouldn't be moved by the current but it does in fact move large objects at will.

That is basically the problem down here with the lakes. They on the White River and they start with Beaver Lake in Arkansas, then Table Rock, then Taneycomo, Then Bull Shoals. Arkansas has been hit hard with rain and Bull Shoals is at its highest level so we can't let water out here or we flood everything downstream and none of the lakes can really handle any more. The good part is that some of the better ramps are open and we can launch and fish with no trouble. Providing you can get smart enough to find where they are. We have been very fortunate in that we have several top Guides that post on the site I frequent and they give some outstanding advise on where to fish and what is working throughout the year. This is unheard of in other areas for fear someone will steal your spot and take all your fish. This Spring they gave the areas that they were using to catch fish for there clients. This was main lake points and if you followed this advise you caught fish. Now it is a little harder as they are suspended over deeper water and am not very good at Dropshot fishing yet. Need a lot more practice with that deep water method before it is going to reap its rewards.

That is what I was afraid of! We are once again getting big thunderstorms with huge amounts of rain large hail, like the size of a softball, and it is going to keep the lake up high for a while. It gets hard sometimes to find a ramp to launch the boat. How about the Calumet River and Lake Calumet .? They should be fine if you have a boat as they seldom have a problem on them and the fishing is pretty good. I have fished it numerous times and done very well.

Just wondering how the Rives like the Fox, DuPage and Kankakee are doing now. I imagine you are still having high water. Is anyone getting out and fishing the high water besides Norm? Down this way the Lakes at anywhere from 10'-15' over normal pool but it hasn't affected the fishing to much at all other then making it hard to get to the Largemouth earlier because they were hugging the banks in the forest of trees. We had a tremendous spawn this year as evidenced by millions of fry around shoreline cover that is protecting them from predators. I give them about five years and Table Rock is going to explode with Smallmouths, Kentuckies and Largemouths as well as an abundance of panfish. Now lets hear what you have going on up in my old stomping grounds.

Phil will never know I am here and you will get the fish first!

This is great to have all these young people to learn from our example and they in turn we hope will pass it along to there children when the time comes. It is very important for the ISA to recruit younger people and get them interested in the ISA and what it stands for. Who knows one of them may someday become the first conservation minded President or at least Governor.

PhilF, Here are a couple great articles written by guys that do this on a regular basis on Table Rock Lake. SKMO is just a good fisherman that gets it done on the Rock! Drop Shot: Technology SKMO - I think It's good to be able to see your drop-shot rig (or spoon) for a few reasons: I'll often dropshot in 80-90' of water trying to keep the rig just above treetops that may be 30-40' below the surface. If you can't see your bait it's pretty hard to stay in the sweet spot and pretty easy to get hung up constantly. I also fish the rig right on the bottom in 30-50' of water. It's pretty common to go over a couple suspended fish that may be 10-15' above the bottom. When you notice this you can raise your rod or give your reel a couple cranks and get your bait on the same general level as the fish or slightly above them. With the way a bass's eyes are positioned I think fish see what's above them a lot better than what's below them. It is surprising how far above them they are looking and will respond. Many times when I am watching my rig drop to the bottom a fish will shoot up from the bottom and intercept it on the way down, often coming up 15' or more. Sometimes they eat it, sometimes they follow it back to the bottom and eat it, more often than not they do nothing but sniff it and leave it alone. Anyway it's pretty cool to watch, makes you realize how many fish see and inspect your offering with no bite. i.e. they are watching, they are simply not cooperating. Another one of my Grande Theories relates to competition. If I am seeing a single fish here, and a single fish there there, it is probably a mediocre bite and I'll have to do some serious "begging". If I am seeing 2-4 bass-type returns on the screen at once and get my bait in proximity chances are they will rush it and one will suck it in pronto. It's just like feeding my two dogs. If we are in the food bowl area I can throw down a sock soaked in kerosene and if they are both nearby, they will fight over it assuming it just might be prime rib, they can always spit it out. If only one of them is there they always approach the offering as if it WAS a kerosene soaked sock. One thing for sure is that a transducer with a wide cone angle is a lot easier for me to "video fish" with than one with a narrow cone angle. My last depthfinder had a narrow (17 degree I think) cone angle and although it was a real quality unit (X-15) it was almost impossible to keep my bait in the zone of coverage in deeper water. The boat had to be pretty much stationary. My current depthfinder has a 30 or 35 degree cone angle and it is a night and day difference in how much easier it is to keep my rig in sight. That said, keep in mind that just because your display shows your rig and a fish or two in proximity on your display, they (fish and rig) may actually be 10-15 or 20' apart horizontally, depending again on the cone angle and depth of the water. Your display will show everything at once that is within the cone and the processor does some averaging to give you the display picture. In any case when you see a display return that looks like bass it's a pretty encouraging thing, since the most important factor in deep fishing to receive a tug on the end of the line is fishing where fish are at. Sounds like a trite remark but it was not meant to be that, after some time you will know if you are fishing around fish. I think most mid-priced or better depthfinders have the capability to see your bait so if I was shopping for one I'd for sure be taking into consideration the cone angle of the transducer. Some units have more than one transducer angle available also. I think getting the highest quality depthfinder you can afford and spending the time to learn how to use it and INTERPRET what you are seeing is a really important part of making the most out of the deep fishing thing. With a good unit and some experience you can get a pretty good picture of what's down there and be able to tell what you are looking at. Hardwood trees, cedar trees, brush piles, logs/stumps, boulders, underwater bluffs, shad schools, broken up (harassed) shad schools, and different species of fish all have a unique "signature" you can learn to interpret not with 100% certainty but with some degree of confidence. I'm sure some will roll their eyes when I suggest you can tell species but I am certain when I am over something that might be bass. They have a distinct concise thickness to the line that they give on my screen. Not to say that it might not be another species but I know what bass look like. Just as importantly I know what they do not look like. Big thick arches never bite and I would assume they are carp, gar, paddlefish, catfish...whatever. Smaller numerous arches and a blotchy return are usually panfish. (I know this because I chase bluegill on occasion). A nice solid black line just off the bottom, preferably 2 or 3 at once going up and down, those are usually active bass and when I see that I go on point for the bite. So to answer your question "Are my electronics good enough for dropshotting ?" it looks to me like your Eagle Fishmark 480 is a real good quality Lowrance/Eagle unit with plenty of capability to pick up on your rig at any depth. So the ball is in your court on learning how to fine tune the settings and interpret what you are seeing on the display. Getting a good depthfinder is not the solution or answer to all the questions of what's beneath the boat, but it is the visual display of where all your questions begin. There will still be plenty of times you see something weird and say "what the heck was THAT" ? but over time you will say that less often. bobby b. - Regarding the 35 degree transducer discussed by SKMO, the Eagle Fish Mark 480 unit as well as many other Eagle units come standard with a 20 degree transducer yet they claim a 60 degree capability by making some adjustments to the unit. Does anyone know how and if this 60 degree thing works? Increasing the sensitivity gives a wider cone angle: http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/Sonar/so...tutorial_06.asp Transducer Cone Angles: The transducer concentrates the sound into a beam. When a pulse of sound is transmitted from the transducer, it covers a wider area the deeper it travels. If you were to plot this on a piece of graph paper, you would find that it creates a cone shaped pattern, hence the term "cone angle." The sound is strongest along the center line or axis of the cone and gradually diminishes as you move away from the center. In order to measure the transducer's cone angle, the power is first measured at the center or axis of the cone and then compared to the power as you move away from the center. When the power drops to half (or -3db[decibels] in electronic terms), the angle from that center axis is measured. The total angle from the -3db point on one side of the axis to the -3db point on the other side of the axis is called the cone angle. This half power point (-3db) is a standard for the electronics industry and most manufacturers measure cone angle in this way, but a few use the -10db point where the power is 1/10 of the center axis power. This gives a greater angle, as you are measuring a point further away from the center axis. Nothing is different in transducer performance; only the system of measurement has changed. For example, a transducer that has an 8 degree cone angle at -3db would have a 16 degree cone angle at -10db. - - - - - - - - - 20-degree cone angle - - - - - - - - - - - 8 degree cone angle Lowrance offers transducers with a variety of cone angles. Wide cone angles will show you more of the underwater world, at the expense of depth capability, since it spreads the transmitter's power out. Narrow cone angle transducers won't show you as much of what's around you, but will penetrate deeper than the wide cone. The narrow cone transducer concentrates the transmitter's power into a smaller area. A bottom signal on the sonar unit's display will be wider on a wide cone angle transducer than on a narrow one because you are seeing more of the bottom. The wide cone's area is much larger than the narrow cone. High frequency (192 - 200 kHz) transducers come in either a narrow or wide cone angle. The wide cone angle should be used for most freshwater applications and the narrow cone angle should be used for all saltwater applications. Low frequency (50 kHz) sonar transducers are typically in the 30 to 45 degree range. Although a transducer is most sensitive inside its specified cone angle, you can also see echoes outside this cone; they just aren't as strong. The effective cone angle is the area within the specified cone where you can see echoes on the display. If a fish is suspended inside the transducer's cone, but the sensitivity is not turned up high enough to see it, then you have a narrow effective cone angle. You can vary the effective cone angle of the transducer by varying the receiver's sensitivity. With low sensitivity settings, the effective cone angle is narrow, showing only targets immediately beneath the transducer and a shallow bottom. Turning the sensitivity control up increases the effective cone angle, letting you see targets farther out to the sides. Bill Babler Local Guide on Table Rock Lake As the summer heat bears down on the Ozark Mountains, and the jet and water skiers seem to have taken over our beautiful White River lakes, there are still ways to feel the tug of quality fish on that old graphite rod. Migrating from Japan to California to the Midwest is a fishing method that really gets the drop on suspended and schooling deep water summer and fall bass. The Drop Shot technique is just a simple modification of the Carolina rig. It is extremely deadly and creates a tantalizing presentation for bunched up fish, whether they are suspended in trees suspended over deep water or on the bottom on river channel, lake humps or submerged islands. Drop Shottin', as it is most often called, is presenting either live or soft plastic baits in a vertical presentation to fish that have been located with boat electronics. Spotted bass are a great target for the drop shotter, as they are schooling fish and most often are in the above stated locations. The rig is pretty simple -- and you can rig anyway you want -- but here is a method that has proven itself time and time again: Take a good IM8 seven-foot spinning rod spooled with 8- to 10-pound fluorocarbon line. Attach a two-way barrel swivel to the main line and then attach five feet of eight pound line as your leader. Two feet below the swivel attach a number 1 wide gap worm hook with a palmar knot. Go two more feet and attach an additional hook in the same manner, and then add a drop shot or bell sinker on the bottom. I prefer the wide gap worm hooks over the drop shot hooks because if you are presenting in the treetops, this allows you to rig the worm weedless. The wide gaps also will give you better hook-ups. On the rock, these spotted bass are right about the thermocline at from 28 to 35 feet. You can either find them suspended in bluff treetops or in channel swings. There are some off the flats, but they are movers and shakers and are not always there. If I can’t see them on my X15, I don’t stop. Good electronics are a must for the drop shot. You are not covering lots of horizontal area as you would with a rig or a throw type bait; you are just making an up-and-down presentation to a school of fish, so you need to have them pinned down pretty well. My two favorite drop shot baits for the rock are a four-inch zoom fineness worm in either green pumpkin or watermelon candy or a zoom dead ringer in the same colors. Lower the bait to the fish, and most times you just need to hang it there. Your natural movement with waves or just a slight shake will get the strike. As the bass bite, they will put a bend in the rod, or as we say, "Let them Load Up!" When you feel the weight, set the hook and enjoy the fight. Remember that these bass are coming up from the deep and need to be immediately returned to the water to prevent their swim bladders from overextending. Do not put them in your live wells for picture taking as they cannot tolerate that much handling. Live bait in the form of nightcrawlers or crawfish will also work on the drop shot, but the soft plastics are most often the rig of choice. As with any summertime fishing, early is always better, and I try to be off the water by noon and yield the lake to the water skiers. Next time you are on any of the White River lakes in the summer, and think that the bass just aren’t biting, try just "Droppin-In," and I’m sure you will find there are fish at home.

Dan, No truer words have ever been spoken. I can't even remember when it was I joined now but it was one of the best things I ever did. I met more people and learned more about fishing the rivers of Illinois for Smallmouths and later became the Chicagoland Regional Coordinator. I loved my role as coordinator and immersed myself in it creating outings and getting people involved. I started the Wednesday Night Smallie Hunters. This turned into the weekend Smallie Hunters when it got to dark to fish the Fox river in the evening. It also evolved into a breakfast gathering for stories and fellowship. These were times for new members to meet and talk with other members and become acquainted and make new friendships. Don Rego keeps these events going and has been very successful in promoting the ISA and what it has to offer. The ISA has much to offer the local angler and environmentalist as is a major force in the development of policies regarding Smallmouths in the rivers and streams of Illinois. The ISA has some immensely talented people that claim membership and provide a tremendous amount of knowledge about stream Smallmouth fishing. I am proud to be a member and will most likely be a member for life even though I no longer live in Illinois. I do come back for visits and meet with the friends that I have made as a member. Perhaps in August I will get the opportunity to meet you and your son at the Kankakee River outing. As it stands now I will be attending that outing and am looking forward to seeing old friends and catching some river smallies.

I have started using Seaguar Florocarbon Line down here because of the super clear conditions on Table Rock Lake. It has improved my success tremendously. I picked up 12 Smallies on a very tough day yesterday and 6 of those were over the 15" size limit. If you have clear water try some Seaguar Florocarbon it is good on Spinning or Baitcasting.

Table Rock Lake is in the process of spawning now. Some areas you find Smallmouth the have Spawned out and in other areas they haven't. The Largemouths I caught yesterday had not spawned yet as well as the Smallmouths that I caught. We moved to a little warmer area of the lake and the Smallie we caught had spawned already. I would imagine different parts of the rivers like the Kankakee and Fox have fish that Spawn at different times due to water temps being warmer in those areas as opposed to other areas. My Surface Temps are anywhere from 60 in the morning warming to 63 in the afternoon on a sunny day. The fish are in a staging mode and positioned outside long creek channels waiting for the water to warm a little more before moving up and making love.

I used to carry a tackle shop with me also as did Norm. I scaled back about 50% before I moved. Now down here I find myself culling out tackle in the boat and changing over to more traditional or localized lures. I am fishing with Tubes and Grubs right now and having very good success. I have a friend who is a Guide and we fished Monday afternoon together for a few hours. He uses six pound Seaguar Florocarbon Line with Gary Yamamoto plastics. I was using six pound trilene XL with a 1/4oz Jig and a plastic twister. I caught one he caught about three. I switched to his 3/8oz. Jig head and Yamamoto Grub and caught a couple more but he still outfished me because of the line. In this super clear water you need the invisible line. So basically what I am saying is that sometimes it is not the amount of gear or lack of that makes the difference but more the right stuff for for the water you are on. I have Six Pound Seaguar on two of my Spinning Rods now and 12 pound on two Baitcasters I use to work tubes. I had caught 15 Bass that morning on the green pumpkin tube. It was a fun and educational day. Another note when you fish with Phil make sure you eat your Wheaties that morning cause your going to need the energy.

I do use a scent on my plastics down here and it seems to help some.

When I fished the streams of Illinois I always fished moving downstream. This being easier for and older guy such as myself. So if you have someone older they may very well be moving downstream instead of upstream as a younger man may do. It is alway good to let someone know where you plan to fish. I always told my wife where I was putting in and going to be fishing. Good advice Dan I hope other contribute.

I hope you bring some dog biscuits with you and make friends with that German Shepard. They are very protective of there property. Good story with a great ending yet to come.

Where do you chase Smallies at in Mo. I live in Nixa and chase them on Table Rock. Welcome to the ISA where I have been a member for a good many years now and will continue to be one for a long time to come. You too should consider becoming a member instead of just registering for the forum. Getting the Bronzeback Bulletin is well worth the $25.00.

It seems that whenever you get high water on the rivers and streams the Bass hit the eddies and slack water areas formed by this high water. I fished with Norm M. on the Kankakee one day when the water was up into the grass. We caught all our fish by hugging the grass and keeping the bait as close as we could. I believe he caught a 20" Smallie that day while Phil F. and I had to settle for the 16"-18" fish. I guess it was his river.

Where would we be if we didn't stop and greet someone and share some information with a fellow ISA member. What if our fathers had never shared there wisdom with us. It is nice to have a place to go and fish and even better to have a place to go and fish with a friend. To many times we treat what belongs to all of us as our own and refuse to share. I have gained information from people down here that guide for a living. Sharing life's experiences should be something we do out of love for our sport. Getting others involved brings more like minded people into the equation and ups the possibility for success.

Someday you may get the opportunity to run upon them two again. I think it's getting so you can't trust anyone anytime with anything. Was a time when I was a kid when things like this just didn't seem to happen or did they happen and we just never heard about it. I think it is just in the way kids are raised these days. No proper upbringing and no values or teaching right from wrong or respect for others.

Mike, The ISA is a great organization dedicated to the well being of the Smallmouth Bass. The places that most ISA members fish are small streams that you can wade in. However, in and around Illinois are several great spots to fish from your boat. You can put in at Waterfront Pub along the Calumet River and go through the O'brian Lock and Dam and fish for Smallmouth and Largemouths in Lake Calumet and the Calumet River. You can head South on I-55 to I-80 and out to the Illinois River for Smallmouth, Whitebass, Sauger, Crappie and Walleye. The ISA is an Organization who's moto is Conservation, Education and Socialization. Your $25.00 may get you the Bronzeback Bulletin but it does much more then that alone. It makes you part of an organization that is going to be in the forefront of efforts to preserve and protect the Smallmouth Bass in the rivers and streams of Illinois. When you're not in your boat you can pull on a pair of waders and join in on some of the cleanups, or outings that help make this a better place for Smallmouths and learn different spots to chase Smallmouths plus what to use, how to use it and when to use it. Look at the ISA Calender or events and attend a meeting or and outing and you'll be hooked. It is a great organization and you will be proud to be a member. I no longer live in Illinois but return for visits and retain my membership so that I have a place to fish when I do.

I am a mellow fellow Norm and not crabby at all. Welcome to the ISA Dick. You will meet some fine folks here and some great fisherman. If you head for the Kankakee be sure to hook up with the Master of the Kankakee Norm Minas. He looks like Jerry Garcia from the Gratefull Dead so don't let that frighten you.