[JDSPINNERS]

Was up at 4:45 am with intentions of getting my work done early and heading out on the river for some walleye. RSS just happened to be available and we headed out together about 1pm and fished till about 5 pm. Although I thought we would have a good walleye bite today, I was surprised to see almost a 10 degree drop in water temperatures since Sunday. Todays temps ranged from 62-64 degrees and after hitting some known good walleye areas with no luck we changed our strategy and got into the wood in search of crappie. We did find them with several caught ranging from 10 to 14 inches. We also picked up the normal Drum, some nice size White bass and a 17 inch channel cat. The crappie were spread out though, picking up a couple here and there through out the afternoon. Still made for some great fishing. Assorted color 1/16th ounce jigs tipped with minnows seemed to work the best but we also used some plastic twister tails. :wink:

It's always a disappointment when I trailer the Spinner Boat away from the launch without pictures of some walleye but the crappie bite made up for what would have been a very slow day and it was certainly better than working. 8)

 

[Culprit]

Nice crappie

 

[FishinMatt]

Nice slabs JS

 

[Bob Kimono]

nice fish !

 

[Legend075]

Nice crops JD !

 

[ejeraser]

I was looking to run into some nice size crappie. Where is a good spot on the river to fish with out a boat. I have a 18ft boat to use if I like but dont know the river at all is it a safe river for that type of boat? I wanted to go possibly tomarrow or sat. Let me know as soon as you can. I am near Ohare airport. I have been going in the Barrington area at times on the shore. Just let me know thankyou
Nice fish by the way.

 

[JDSPINNERS]

I was looking to run into some nice size crappie. Where is a good spot on the river to fish with out a boat. I have a 18ft boat to use if I like but don't know the river at all is it a safe river for that type of boat?

Crappie fishing the North River from shore would be difficult as you need to be able to move around the downed trees along the shoreline. If your boat has a trolling motor, it will be fine. The river is no wake and should be with many mud bars and snags that you can bump into. As long as your going slow, the odds of damage are very Little. The Chain State Park has a nice launch and you can head up river from there. Look for downed trees along the shoreline and use slip bobbers or small weedless jigs with small fatheads. Patients are required to make sure you work all areas of the trees as crappie many times will stack up in a single location around the trees. If you miss the spot, you miss the fish.

You'll also need a Chain sticker which I'm pretty sure can be purchased at the State park.

Good Luck, Hope you find some. :wink:

 

[ejeraser]

Thanks for the info it is a great help. Yea I really want to get out for some crappie fishing before time runs out. I will see what I can do if I can get a smaller boat to go out. thanks again ...

 

[fishkid]

nice mess of fish you got there!

 

[JDSPINNERS]

I will see what I can do if I can get a smaller boat to go out. thanks again ...

They rent rowboats/motors at the state park. :wink: