[Gatsby]

This weekend i'm going to be fishing on the Kishwaukee river in dekalb.
I am thinking about fishing in the forest preserve just north around the corner of Bethany and N 1st ave. (22) -

Does anybody have good suggestions of what to use? (smallies - northern - catfish) it doesn't really matter although some monster flatheads would be fun.

Or if anybody has another area to fish in that's close all i have done is used satellite imaging to locate a area that looks good from above.

Cheers!

 

[Lip_Yanker]

Northerns have been hitting white or red spinners lately. South of campus last fall there were some decent Northerns being taken.

For Smallies, probably a helgramite, small jig/twister tail or small cranks. If you can wade, head to the stretch behind Hopkins Park, where it runs between the park and golf course... been some decent smallie action in there the last few years.

Dunno about the cats right now, probably crawlers or fresh chicken liver- but don't think you'll find any "monsters" in that stretch. Corn for the suckers/carp too if you're interested.

Good luck!

.

 

[Gatsby]

Thanks!

 

[RamblingBen]

If your going for smallies location will probably be more important than presentation. Fish any slack water next to current, especially after riffles. My friend said he was having luck with white colored crankbaits a few weeks ago. Are you going to be bank fishing or by boat?

 

[Gatsby]

For the kishwaukee probably bank fishing- (although we might bust out the waiters on saturday if friday proves fruitless). White (and red) spinners seem to be what people are telling me to use. I suppose i'll just have to take some and walk up and down the bank until we find some good looking fishing spots. What is the bottom of the river made of? (I'm assuming rock) - also is there an online topography of the river- wouldn't mind taking a look at that so i don't waste a few good hours of fishing -

 

[RamblingBen]

I usually fish it further upstream but the bottom will vary from rock,silt,mud etc. Rocky bottoms can be a great place to find smallies so targeting those might help. I doubt you will find a topo map, probably because the rivers can change so much. If you do please pm me a link! Good luck out there, the weather should be great.

 

[Gatsby]

Well- I got skunked. Ended up just going south of campus to the frisbee golf course- then proceeded to walk up stream (no waiters, just along the shore line). Was able to spot two decent sized bass but couldn't get them on my line. I feel I had a better chance snagging a hippie that got lost from playing frisbee. I think next time i will defiantly go to Hopkins-

best of luck

 

[Andrew_R]

My friend did some electroshock work there last summer with IL-DNR and they found quite a few Walleyes and Pike, and lots of Smallmouth Bass.

A lot of these fish were accessed with waders. :idea:
However, if you intend on fishing close to the Rock River, I'd assume it would be smart to fish in a light craft (boat).