Scott Ferguson

4 hours ago, Paul Trybul said:

I was pilling on. As a long time Bears fan, its part of my grieving process. The 2018 Bears was a very likeable team with likeable personalities staring with Coach Nagy. They were in every game and played a very entertaining brand of football. It's a shame the way it ended.

There is only one of the 12 teams that make the playoffs that don’t end their season with a loss. No one expected the Bears to make the playoffs, let alone win 12 games. Wait till next year might actually mean something this year..

Now you're just piling on.

Looks like I should have waited before buying that Cody Parkey jersey. 

There was information in the last newsletter with all the details. The calendar also has information. You will be able to purchase tickets here on the web page in the next few days.

Happens, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Location, American Legion Hall, 310 W Butterfield Rd, Elmhurst, IL. Tickets are $35 and must be purchased in advance.

Dinner catered by Firewater BBQ. speakers, Andrew Ragas, Mike Allen and Jessie DeMartini

That's a pretty safe area.  I haven't looked at that stretch of river closely, but I think it's just  muddy and tree lined.

Papa Passeros has great pizza, combine that with great friends from the ISA and that makes for a great evening. I’ll be there for sure!

One major thing I can't stand about  You tube fishing videos is the use of chest cams.  As soon as I see those shots, I shut it off.  It's also not a good sign when you don't see anybody fishing until after the 8th minute of a 14 minute video.

I wish he'd have said how many hours he spent making his copy.   I was up in Minocqua at the Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop where I saw a custom musky swim bait that was selling for  well over $100. I asked if they sold very well. They said they couldn't keep them in stock. The guy who made them, kept raising the price to slow down sales because he couldn't keep up with production but they just keep selling.

I’ll be there too. 

I’ll go if we can car pool. 

A professional bass fisherman has a different prospective than everyone else when it comes to catching bass.  EVERY fish they catch is important to their career. ANYTHING that they can do to that might increase just the chance of catching even one more fish is in bounds.  Using scents, electronic fish callers, fluorocarbon lines, everything and anything is in play.   I don't have to catch every fish that swims in order to pay my bills. So I can afford  to look at things in a different way than a pro will.  I've had enough success catching fish without resorting to using leaders or scents that I find that sticking  to a simpler system works for me.  

18 minutes ago, Rob G said:

So some are using a braid like Spiderwire, even in clear, low and slow water conditions ?  

Mark, if I were to use 4 lb test, the smallies down this way would be giggling and drawing straws to see who gets to break me off first, Ha

So you think bass have the intelligence to reason that because braided line is more visible than mono, (which they can also see) that they won't bite a lure made of plastic, metal, or feathers with a treble hook or two hanging from it?  If they were that smart, why can't they tell real food from fake?

Last month while we were on the trip, the water was extremely low. Right now, the water is 4 feet above where it was then.

The only mono I’ve used in the last 15 years is for backing my braided line. 

That’s a nice fish but the look on your face suggests you were smelling a very unpleasant odor at the time you caught that fish!

I was there during the entire second week of the Road Trip. Even after many trips to the Menominee, I encountered conditions I had not seen before. Last year, water levels were extremely high, and this year the levels were extremely low. I spent too much time fishing the places I've gotten them in the past, shallow flats, shade lines, break lines and eddies when most of the fish caught were spread out in the deeper channels. The new boat I brought, even with the jet outboard had difficulty negotiating the very shallow water. Keeping the boat off the rocks was nearly a full time job. We all had to work hard to get bites. I didn't take many fish pictures but I may post some later.

As usual, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the other ISA members along with a campfire every night. One night, while sitting around the fire we were startled and surprised with the sound of a drum beat and First Nation singing. We didn't know what to think until the "musician"  came into the light of the fire and showed himself.

We saw it was none other than Norm Perkins who, as we know......

Gotcha. Our first commitment for next year!  For everyone, your deposit is what holds your spot. You aren't officially on the sheet until I get a deposit.

NO MORE SPOTS LEFT.  There is a good chance someone may have to drop out. If you'd like to be put on the waiting list, let me know.

The cost per night will be $30 per person. Deposits will be $60 (or more if you like). No spot will be held without a deposit. Reservations will be on a first come first served basis with consideration given to those who made it to this year's trip.  Final payment will be due on June 1. If for any reason you have to back out, all payments are non-refundable unless a replacement for you is found.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to call me 630-209-9452

Send deposits with your choice of dates to;
ISA Road Trip 2019
1506 Roth Dr
Joliet, IL 60431
(I can take credit cards for payment if you call me or see me in person. 630-209-9452)

Be sure I have your phone number and email address so I can contact you if necessary.

Keep an eye on this post to see the current schedule. I will update it as spots fill in.

Here is a link to more information on the cabin

https://www.vrbo.com/612837

Glad to see you guys made it back alive!  No one was posting and I was worried you guys had nothing good to report.  Good to see that was not the case. I sure hope those fish recover so us guys coming up next week have a shot at them.

Apparently, the water deep enough  for your boat.  Any issues?

According to to one of the guys (Ned) who developed the technique, dragging them on the bottom where they can get snagged is not always the best method to fish them.  Very light jigs and the very buoyant Elaztech plastic produces a very slow fall, making them almost neutrally buoyant. He likes to swim them through the water instead of hopping or dragging them.  When I’m in water where snagging can be an issue, I try and keep them off the bottom.  Ned rigs are such a versatile bait , they will catch fish no matter how you retrieve them. I like the weedless ‘shroomz to toss around downed trees. They only used to come in a 1/10 of an ounce size which for me is heavier than I like for other presentations, but they will come through branches pretty well. 

We've had some people who've had to drop out of the trip. Check the calendar in the first post on this thread, we now have 3 open spots. We can't refund any payments unless we can fill the vacancies.  Let me know if you'd like to join us so we can get some money back to those who can't make it.

There may be some openings during the second half of the first week (Tuesday through Saturday)  I should know for sure soon. 

I wish he had contacted me and let me know. 

I don’t know for sure. I was told by someone else that Jim Clark was dropping out but he hasn’t contacted me. 

We all did. A lot of the floating algae seemed to have gotten caught in the area of the quarry and the stretch from there to the take out had much much less. Lots of better fish in that area with a good mix of grass and a little depth.