bob g

First good luck with parking the truck and boat somewhere overnight. With a 17 best bet for any weather conditions would be Chicago River. There is a ramp at 34th and Western ave. from there you can head to the main branch in the heart of the city or the north branch. The river is very dirty (tampons, condoms and feces) and the cleanest section is probably the main branch. Smallies and Largemouth are possible. If the weather is nice you can go out the locks and into the lake depending on whether there is any restriction because of water levels. Around Navy Pier and all break walls have the potential for fish. Towards the end of March its possible for fish to be around and April I've seen lots of fish start coming into harbors for the spawn. If you go into the River try all corners and points. The North Branch probably has the better Largemouth fishing. By the way if you just want the lake there are also launches at Burnham Harbor and 31st st. Harbor the fee is $25 per day but call the city for all details especially time restrictions.

No, but sounds like a great idea. A 4-5 inch bunny strip might be awesome. Thanks for the post.

I attended the Schaumburg show and It was just O.K.. If I hadn't attended I don't really feel like I would have missed much. Pete's Pickle booth was fantastic. I'm not a big fan of pickled products but they had some unique and tasty stuff.

I guess I'll chime in and go with SOT. My very first kayak a long time ago was a cheap little sit in. It got the job done which was just to get me floating and accessing previously unaccessible water. After awhile I wanted to bring a few more things with me such as a small cooler, some food, a rain jacket, extra rods and other asst. equipment as well as finding space for the wallet keys etc.. I finally bit the bullet and bought the SOT. Best move I ever made. More room to move around in, easier to get to stuff instead of having it tucked inside the boat. Anchoring seems easier with the SOT and in shallower water a pole can be stuck through a scupper hole to hold you in place. The SOT may be a little more wet but not much at least not enough to be a consideration from my perspective. The ease of entering and exiting also goes to the SOT. I see Eric likes to hit and run fish and thinks something smaller or lighter would be more effective but I find that once I get to the water I'm usually in for an extended period of time. He has the equipment thing nailed. Add up all the costs of equipment and the kayak it will not be cheap no matter how you cut it. Used is a great idea. If you want to look for cheap and floats Craigslist is a good starting spot for used that will get you on the water for the least amount of money. Test drive is a great idea but the problem is it gives you just a short period of time and you may find that it might take you a whole season to find out how you like to have your kayak set up. Look at the kayak fishing websites for great info to try and save time and money on setup mistakes. I went through about 4-5 kayaks before I settled into a WS Ride 135. For me it offers a nice stable platform for fishing. Good Luck.

Unbelievable that you wouldn't want to go with the tradition of willing your cold, numb, non -functioning fingers into tying a knot.

That looks like somebody had a little to much free time in the boat or some sun stroke. How does that start in your head. Hmmm, we haven't caught anything for awhile. It sure would be nice if we had a guide I'll bet we'd be on fish for sure. Oh man another carp. Hey lets make him our guide. He's swimming around down there and probably knows where the bass are.

I don't think people in jail were doing a whole lot of fishing. If they were they may have avoided jail.

If you think it was expensive buying flies just wait and see what happens if you really get into fly tying. Drug addiction is a good analogy. You may have to start stealing and cheating to afford it. What if I try this or maybe if I get a little of that. Remember those words.

Dear Manny my condolences. It is a painful day when one our fishing brethren is lost to marital bliss. Oh yeah to say nothing of upcoming offspring . In which case please provide me with an early list of fishing items you will no longer be needing.

What is this? Nirvana. Should I be hitting this? Like its the last time you'll be fishing. Look for defined channels between patches even if a foot wide and follow those channels to there end. I had the best luck, on another river, fishing the shadier side of the piles. I was throwing a 3" black blue senko weedless wacky with a few little twitches now and then. Casting upstream and allowing to dead drift as close to edges as possible.

Red Headed Stepchild.

Just a heads up Gander has lefty Shimano Curado G6 and G7 for 106.00 regular 159.00 and Loomis spinning rods SJR782 IMX for 155.00 regular 260.00. Free ship for reels and 5.00 for rods.

Sounds just like my last trip except I lost at least FOUR that were probably over 6 1/2 pds.

Purple and white clouser. Light brown to brown w/ a little gold flash and dark orange or rust can't hurt either.

I haven't done much trout fishing for awhile but I do remember a diamondback rod get passed around at the flyshop that seemed really nice. That was a few years ago and I don't remember what model it was all I can say is it was a diamondback and might be worth checking out there offerings.