Mike Clifford

Some big Storm swim baits (all through the winter) will get a nice big profile to your bigger fish without spooking them, and they are great for fishing around timber as more often than not they won't stay snagged.

A few good snaps of the wrist and they pop out.

Each and every year, I gain a little more confidence with swim baits.

Don't let pre-ice winter deter you, either.

They feed all year, just not as often.

As Eric pointed out- you can't catch them if you aren't getting out, and this time of year it takes some time and luck to hit them during the dinner bell.

Found the following linked page while Googling for something else.

Started reading along, and was quite interested in the findings presented.

Then the obligatory responses (a necessary function of forums) that followed were kind of shocking!

Judge for yourself.....

Check It Out

Hey Don- that spot on the Kankakee River is pretty photogenic, huh?

Took a few there myself.

I'm sure everybody has a nice collection of their favorite river photos.

There is nothing more pleasing to the eye than looking at shots of local rivers and their inhabitants (people, wildlife, plants etc.) while the Fall bite is in full swing.

They don't call it the Great Outdoors for nothing!

I'll get it started with one of fellow ISA member Cory, fishing the Kankakee River on a steamy summer morning at an ISA outing in the State Park:

The 355 extension was actually held at bay for years due to environmental advocates. As with most all state projects, progress comes out on top in the end.

Absolutely beautiful country.

As for the chubs as bait, I learned some words of wisdom long ago from a guy that for years used exclusively artificials- "A tough bite is a tough bite. Use live bait or stay home and cut the grass."

Thanks for the great trip report.

Really enjoyed the scenery.

Jim is right on here regarding the current and flukes.

They don't go together well.

But don't be afraid to try dragging a Carolina rig through seams and eddies as an alternative to the weighted hook. It will scare up smallies prowling the shallows.

I prefer the bait jerker myself, but since getting those weights, I had to throw them. = )

Don't sweat it Geoff- we've got more rods.

Thanks for your professional and generous hospitality over the weekend.

We did receive the folder with a nice certificate recognizing our participation.

It's erratic motion I think is what drives smallies crazy.

Occasionally I'll use a variation on the Carolina rig.

Leader anywhere from 6"-10" depending on depth, current etc.

I've got some cylindrical style weights with a twist-off on one end to add or subtract bb-like weights to them. Made by Magnum Weight Systems.

Various sizes of these make it pretty adaptable to any situation.

Makes a real nice "clacking" sound when twitched, that draws them in as well.

Thrown along a current seam can be deadly with this approach- with a little practice, of course.

Comes in 3 different sizes:

Thanks for hosting this event on behalf of the ISA, Craig.

Your hard work from start to finish is the reason we were able to get such an impressive volunteer effort.

Thanks everyone for a wonderful job.

The NHFD folks were very grateful for our presence, so it was great to see that we were able to hit a home run with this.

A few photos from the casting field:

That's a great hook there.

Can't beat Gamakatsu, IMHO.

I use that for almost all of my plastics.

From your 2006 Illinois Fishing Information Digest......

POLLUTION

The Department of Natural Resources cooperates

with the Environmental Protection

Agency in making pollution investigations.

Anglers are often the first to observe water

pollution, and their assistance is invited in

reporting these instances to District and

Regional Fisheries Biologists, to a

Conservation Police Officer or to the Division

of Fisheries in Springfield.

It is unlawful for waste or sewage to be discharged

into waters so as to kill aquatic life.

It is also unlawful to abandon or deposit wire,

cans, bottles, glass, paper, trash, rubbish,

cardboard, wood cartons, boxes, trees, brush

or other insoluble materials into the water or

on the ice, or at any place on the bank where

such debris is liable to be washed into the

water. Strict penalties are provided for violation

of this section of the statute.

The State Police district you witness the infraction in can get in touch with the local CPO on duty at the time- via radio.

Do you have one of our new wallet cards with the numbers on it?

Our new signs have them as well.

For some reason, the Red Shad Sluggo keeps coming up as a winner for me around the third week of September the last few years. I see I've got a bag of pearl flukes in the bottom of one of my boxes, after checking.

Will definately give them a try soon.

Actually, these are 5 inch Super Flukes in albino.....

What have you guys found to be the best rivers in IL (or close by) to paddle in the Fall?

Smallies are certainly a bonus, but I'm looking to get the family out for some incredibly colorful landscapes.

The Kankakee virtually comes alive, but I've only paddled it in the summer- may have to give it a try during Autumn this year.

Any ideas?

What changes do you make (if any) in your lure selections and methods when the air starts to turn crisp?

Certainly the water temps are not far behind.

Something tells me it might be time to dig out some of the larger profile baits for some real Fall Hawgs!

Wait....I've been fishing big baits all year, lotta good it's done me.

Soooo....now must be a good time, right? I mean...it must be!

Right?

Who does the ISA endorse?

Nobody.

We're a non-profit group, and as such we are not permitted to endorse or lobby for any candidates.

Jim-

Are you aware of our Pollution and Poaching reporting signs?

Surely this area could use 4 or 5.

Let us know, and we can get some to you if you'd care to install them.

Our members are our best asset, and are responsible for enabling us to do what we do for Illinois rivers and streams.

These signs have phone numbers on them that enable people to call their State Police headquarters, who in turn can directly notify the DNR via radio contact.

Littering along a waterway carries stiff fines, according to statute.

Our efforts are not always about sending people out to clean up the mess left by others.

Our educational signs provide the ability for anybody and everybody to attack the problem at it's source as it happens.

You can't get better education than that.

I have a question.

If it is Park District property, the DNR is still entrusted with enforcing the aquatic code there, am I right?

If so, then the District shouldn't have a problem with us posting signs.

Indeed. Drum are known as Silver Bass in your finer grocery stores. = )

Have heard they taste very good when dipped in butter like shellfish.

Couldn't get me to find out on a bet.

It just dawned on me that we used to do quite well on largemouth at Braidwood before 9 a.m. with topwaters. Spooks, buzzbaits and PopR's.

Would chuck them into pools of schooling shad, and hang on.

On more than one occasion, we'd get a fish to smack our lures clear out of the pool. My curiosity led me to look into this further, as I thought perhaps they were missing the hooks or something (trailers didn't seem to matter).

As it turns out, the theory I heard (that I'm buying) is that sometimes they saw the lure as competition- and were actually knocking it out of their feeding zone.

So then what is the theory behind a topwater early and late? What exactly do they represent?

I wish I had the confidence to use them more often, I really do.

Used to just have a ball with the Zara Spook as recently as a few years ago.

Started throwing buzzbaits until my arm was ready to fall off, and ran into a bad season-never went back.

Maybe I should.

Wouldn't ya know it...I had to attend a meeting in Momence this morning and had right about 10 minutes to throw something in the river.

Went right for the Teeny Wee Craw. Found an ideal situation with weeds extending a couple of feet beyond the bank, with a current seam 5 feet out from there- essentially a "spot on a spot". I would normally find something in front of a typical weedline anyway, and now we have a great staging area, with food washing through it.

FIRST cast- 10" Smallmouth.

Second cast- rock bass hits it right at my feet in the rocks.

Anybody got change for a $100 bill?

I had just posted, asking why a fly wouldn't catch a fish in ten minutes time- then I saw your response Joseph and deleted mine...LOL

Come on Bassbuggers- whadda ya got?

OH- and Scott has the right idea here.

We want pictures. The lure, the fish...whatever.

Or the group turns you upside down and steals your lunch money. = )

(I better go find a photo then...HA)

BTW....was live bait banned from this tourney?

Well, one guy tried to grab a crawdad from under a rock the last time out, and it didn't quite work out for him (or the rest of us with all that thrashing and screaming going on, stirring up the water)- so the group decided "artificials only".

That #7 Floating Rap in black/silver happened to get my biggest Smallie ever on a second cast of the morning. But it was not as responsive after I threw it first for 6 consecutive trips after that....LOL

Hmmm...

Judging from my own experience on first cast lures, I'm going to have to find a nice long patch of grass/weeds just off the bank and parallel cast a Rebel Teeny Wee Craw along the front of it.

Only question left is which reel to pair up with that new Falcon rod I'll be purchasing on the way home.