Kicked off my week away from work by fishing the high waters of the west branch this weekend. October is my favorite month to fish, and I've been saving a week of pto the last few years to focus on fishing the area rivers. Last two years, the Dupage has been the only option because of floodwaters. The water was pretty high all weekend, but dropped dramatically Saturday into Sunday. I stuck with heavy jigs/plastics all weekend. The fish were very active. This kinda rush of water this time of year should trigger the fall feedbag. Fishing the first heavy rains after a cool down does the trick every season.
![20191005_073909.jpg]( "20191005_073909.jpg")
![20191005_091846.jpg]( "20191005_091846.jpg")
This snapping turtle was hunkered under a slab of concrete I was standing on, he was right under my feet. It was very early morning, and he was very sluggish.
![20191005_072803.jpg]( "20191005_072803.jpg")
I was able to walk right up and pet him and he didn't flinch. Probably waiting out the chilliest part of the day. Our cold-blooded friends are known to do that. Sometimes when I run in the forest preserves by me in the mornings of cooler months, the toads and snakes sit and sun themselves right on the path and I have to avoid stepping on them.
Sunday morning, right as I was walking up to a fishing spot, I got a friendly hello from a member that recognized me from this site. As it turns out, when grems isn't out helping people train for marathons, he occasionally wets a line in the stretch right by my house. We talked for a bit, and about five minutes after he left to continue his run, I stuck this girl. I credit grems with the assist.
![20191006_091742.jpg]( "20191006_091742.jpg")
Got a couple more about a mile downstream. This one was destined to be an 18"er until something snipped a good portion of her tail off. Still a pretty big fish for the river.
![20191006_105413.jpg]( "20191006_105413.jpg")
![20191006_105129.jpg]( "20191006_105129.jpg")
Should get a pretty decent shot to fish on Tuesday. Let's see what the water levels do.
This snapping turtle was hunkered under a slab of concrete I was standing on, he was right under my feet. It was very early morning, and he was very sluggish.
I was able to walk right up and pet him and he didn't flinch. Probably waiting out the chilliest part of the day. Our cold-blooded friends are known to do that. Sometimes when I run in the forest preserves by me in the mornings of cooler months, the toads and snakes sit and sun themselves right on the path and I have to avoid stepping on them.
Sunday morning, right as I was walking up to a fishing spot, I got a friendly hello from a member that recognized me from this site. As it turns out, when grems isn't out helping people train for marathons, he occasionally wets a line in the stretch right by my house. We talked for a bit, and about five minutes after he left to continue his run, I stuck this girl. I credit grems with the assist.
Got a couple more about a mile downstream. This one was destined to be an 18"er until something snipped a good portion of her tail off. Still a pretty big fish for the river.
Should get a pretty decent shot to fish on Tuesday. Let's see what the water levels do.
