Scott Ferguson

Some of my knowledge about the DuPage comes from someone who has spent more time there than I will ever be able to. My own experience goes along with what he told me. These days, when the river is more like chocolate milk than gin, I find somplace else to fish.

Is it impossible to catch fish when it's up and muddy? Of course not. But it is a lot more difficult than when the water is low and clear.

So many areas are so weed choked that is seems it's never as clear as it used to be.

Baitfish on the surface means that the fish is injured or dying and therefore are an easy meal for a bass. They don't have to expend a lot of energy to get fed. Senkos are similar in that the slow fall mimics a dying baitfish that is cannot swim so it can be easily taken by predator fish.

I believe that lowlight conditions are favorable to predator fish like bass because it allows them to "sneak up" more easily on prey than in the bright conditions of the afternoon when they have to have other means to conceal themselves. Again, the bass can expend less energy to catch prey during lowlight times so they feed more often when pickings are easier.

On some bodies of water, fish become accustomed to sight feeding. Lake Erie is a good example. The water in Erie is generally on the clear side and walleye are used to feeding by sight. After the wind blows across the shallow waters of Erie for a couple of days, it stirs the water up, makes it cloudy, and bite shuts down. The DuPage is also like that.

Rivers like the Fox are cloudy all the time so bass need to use feel to locate prey. When the water there comes up or gets dirtier, it doesn't have nearly as big an impact as it does on the DuPage.

These are my theories and I'm sticking to them.

I almost said I'd use a walk-the-dog bait like a Sammy, Zara Spook or my new favorite, the Skitter Walk. All of them cast a mile and that Skitter Walk is the easiest bait to walk that I've ever used. Current is not always your friend with walk-the-dog baits so if I had to tie it on before I got in the water... But, I had to add the confidence factor which tipped in the Pop-R's favor.

You're all fighting for second place. The set-up, very early morning, in the summer and it has to happen in 10 minutes dictates a PopR topwater. I got a 20 incher last year in exactly these same conditions (except for the waist deep in a river part).

Topwater baits will call fish in from a long distance and in low light conditions, the bass have an easy time finding a noisy bait silhouetted against the sky.

Given the short amount of time, unless you threw it right on the head of a smallie, livebait just can't cover water quickly enough to put the odds in your favor.

If he was already next to the eddie, Gary might have a good chance. Of course if he was 100 yards away it could take 10 minutes to get there. And Jude's floating Rapala acts like a top water except that it's not as noisy.

Yeah, I'll go with the popper.

This thread is not at all what I was expecting.

Golf isn't complicated. Hit the ball, find it, hit it again.

It is expensive though. You don't often have to pay to fish a good section of river but a good golf course will cost plenty.

We've been teasing Rich for years about buying a computer with a shift key. To see how much of an effect it had, just look at the post above this one.

If you're getting out the ruler to measure a 6 inch bass, it either means ...actually it don't know what it means, but I'd have to say some kind of therapy should be considered.

The problem with waterproof cases is that they not only cost a considerable amount, but they also make what was a small camera pretty bulky. Not a great thing to be carrying while wading. If you plan on doing any scuba diving or snorkeling, it might be something to think about as I'm sure you can take these cases to lower depths than you can the waterproof cameras that are only good to about 5 feet under water.

When this came up before, I mentioned a Sony waterproof that I have that I like very much but it is not being made anymore. The 2 choices right now seem to be the Pentax Optio W10 or Olympus 720 SW. I don't know much about either one but it's easy enough to google them.

I've seen mink on the river a few times, otters are considerably larger.

but he is not a very credible source. "AKA 7.5 pound smallie 18.5 inches"

Some guys just have no clue how much fish really weigh. A REALLY fat 18.5 inch smallie from a small stream or river might go 4 pounds. But 7.5? Never.

Although I've often had bears in the camps I've stayed in over the years, these bears were not exactly near my cabin. Just outside of the town of Orr MN, there is a place called the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary.

Many years ago, Vince Shute was a lumberjack who started feeding wild bears to keep them out of the lumberjack camps where they were shot for being a nuisance. Once he started feeding them away from the camps, they stopped being a nuisance. Wild bears are still being fed in the area and visitors are allowed to stand on a platform to watch. Most evenings, 20 to 30 wild bears will come within sight of the platform. It's a very interesting place.

My wife Crystal & I spent a week in a rental cabin on Lake Vermilion at the end of June. I'm glad we finally got to upgrade from the place we usually get. Bigger size and now it's right on the water.

The only problem is that the camp was visited by bears a few times.

One of the sows had cubs and I got this picture of one of the cubs up a tree.

It's amazing how technology has spread even in remote areas. Even the wildlife are getting in on it.

The fishing was only so-so. A big mayfly hatch and warmer than usual water slowed what had been a pretty good bite. Most walleye fishermen including guides were getting skunked.

We caught a fair number of smallies and a some largemouth. Fewer than usual but the average size was pretty good.

I did see 6 muskies, almost all of them were just laying under docks, barely moving. One did follow my chatterbait back to the boat twice, but never really tried to bite it.

Next year before I go back I'm going to try and save my money so I can get a cabin with an indoor toilet. Those mosquitos can get pretty bad up there.

I almost never fish the Fox but I think this type of project is one of the best ways to improve smallmouth habitat with out reconstructing the river itself. I'll be there.

I would guess that the "bruise" caused some sort of nerve damage that affected the fishes ability to camouflage himself. Bass change coloration to blend in with their environment. Looks like the he may not be able to change colors on half his body.

Bob, there is no Smallmouth Alliance chapter in Indiana. I suggest you log onto RiverSmallies.com and pose the same question. There are a few regular posters there from Indiana who may be able to help you.

Join Us June 3, 2006 – 9:00 a.m. to noon

Annual DuPage River Sweep

First Saturday in June

DuPage County River Sweep is a county-wide stream cleanup held during American Rivers Month, the first weekend in June. The purpose of the River Sweep is to encourage citizens and volunteer groups to help "sweep our rivers clean" by picking up debris in and along our waterways. Groups select a section of stream and through their own coordination go out and remove litter from the area. Supplies and technical support will be provided by the sponsoring organizations to help you coordinate your group's efforts.

Sponsors for River Sweep 2006 include: Waste Management, Inc., DuPage County Stormwater Management Division, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Illinois EPA, Magid Glove & Safety, Inc.

Organized by the DuPage River Coalition, a volunteer project of The Conservation Foundation, more than 6,000 volunteers have removed nearly 170 tons of garbage from DuPage County streams since 1991.

The DuPage River Sweep is part of the Illinois Rivers Rescue Weekend

If you would like to volunteer in the DuPage River Sweep 2006, please DOWNLOAD and PRINT* the form. Then fill it out and send it to the address on the form or Fax it to (630) 428-4599. Submissions that include donations should be sent by mail.

Walk-in Registration Sites for River Sweep

Keep checking back for information about this year's River Sweep on June 3, 2006

Municipalities Support River Sweep

Many thanks to these communities and organizations that issued proclamations in support of River Sweep 2006:

City of Wheaton

Additional proclamations will be posted as they become available.

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.theconservationfoundation.org/t...p/dr_rsweep.asp

DuPage River Sweep Registration Form

dupage_river_sweep_form_2006.pdf

*Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader

It's very hard to estimate a fishes weight and none of the forumlas I've seen can be used accurately on every fish.

When weighed on an accurate scale, to weigh 5 pounds, a smallmouth usually has to be nearly 21". A thick 19' fish will be at or a little over 4 pounds. For one of 19.25 inches to go 5 pounds would be a very unusual bass.

If you didn't get to weigh the bass before you let her go, you'll never know exactly how much she weighed. Maybe it was 5 pounds, in the end does it really matter?

I hope you got a good picture that you can hang on the wall so you can look at it and remember a special day on the river.