[Spoon Man]

Man i cant seem to catch a smallie over 12 inches this year and even dem are pretty scarse

looking at the other message boards seems pretty much the same with nothing being caught.

I know the rivers jacked with all the rain and high water but Where did all the big smallies go?

 

[WaterGuy]

I hear ya. Fish don't respond well to the drastically changing conditions on the river. What we need is some stable weather and some stable river levels. I haven't been out much this year, but I have been scratching out a few fish on the short outings I have time for. My biggest smallie of the season so far has been an 18 1/2 incher caught several weeks ago. Nothing close to that since They are definately there though.

 

[Hoffman]

Hmmm after today if the water stays up I'm going barb-less as the fish are extremely beat up. This the only thing I can think of aside from not fishing. What section are you fishing?

 

[Spoon Man]

mostly Algonqin but hit elgin and south elgin to. tried st charles one time but got skunked.
the few dinks i been getting came on twisty tails and jigs tipped with minnows.

 

[Ken G]

Read Darth Waders stuff.

He pretty much tells you how to do it.

 

[nsselle]

Exactly what Ken G said, He has all the great info on the Fox. I started fishing the fox about 5yrs ago all the tips from Ken G and Darth work like a charm. They know their stuff. I cant agree that the fishing has been that tough though this year. Spring was unbelievable for me with the walleyes and the smallies, best I have ever done. I havent fished for smallies in two weeks though, the bluegill bite is hot right now and Im not talking abotu 4-5 inchers. Good Luck out there!

 

[Ken G]

Since Spoon Man metioned South Elgin and north, I default to Darth's expertise. I rarely fished north of Geneva years ago and now I hardly ever go north of Montgomery.

If you look at Darth's pictures and read his descriptions, you just might be able to figure out what he's doing.

Even with the few times I fished north of Geneva, I can figure out WHERE he's doing it.

I have a very good visual memory.

As for the river this year, been concentrating on the creeks. But the couple of times I hit the river when the water came down for 24 hours, it didn't suck that bad. I'm with nsselle on that one.

http://www.wadauwant.com/wd_journal/vie ... ?f=6&t=341

 

[WaterGuy]

Yeah, I guess it hasn't really been a bad year for me per se...just haven't been able to put in the time like I usually do. The key with high water (at least for me) is to wait a day or two after a drastic rise to fish it. And I agree, couldn't go wrong reading some DW posts. I've had the pleasure of fishing with him a few times and can say the dude's got skillz!

 

[Darth Wader]

As long as the river sticks within the high water mark...there's no such thing as a "jacked" river.

High water is fantastic and fishing couldn't be any better unless they were giving away free cigars and beer at the shoreline=)

I'll try to post later today.

 

[samurai]

As long as the river sticks within the high water mark...there's no such thing as a "jacked" river.

High water is fantastic and fishing couldn't be any better unless they were giving away free cigars and beer at the shoreline=)

I'm stuck on the shore. I've been given a beer only once. At least is was a tall-boy.

For me, Only June has been tough. April & May were terrific for large smallies. Improvise, adapt, overcome & listen to Darth.

 

[Ken G]

unless they were giving away free cigars and beer at the shoreline=)

I always offer a cheap cigar to the needy.
Don't drink much anymore, so you're on your own with the beer.

 

[Spoon Man]

been trying to catch up on his posts from last year. blows my mind what he maneges to pull out the river!