TheOriginalFishaholic

I was just at Horseshoe Bend the other day and caught 4 nice bass between 2 - 4 lbs. on topwater baits... Grand Kankakee Marsh is basically 2 ponds and a series of ditches...great fishing! My personal best LM Bass (8.5 lbs.) was taken there on a Bettencourt Baits 9" Assassin topwater bait; and this year I caught a 12 lb. Northern Pike on a Bettencourt Baits Rodent (also another large bait - body and tail total length around 10 inches). I get a lot of strange looks when I tie on the big baits, but the proof is in what type of fish I get when using them. At LaSalle, Blackoak Bayou and White Oak Bayou are by far the best...Area 3 primarily for bass, and the other for bass, northern and some dandy crappies n gills. What used to be called "Ben's Bayou" on the north side of the river, east of the RR Bridge is excellent for crappies and northerns; while the ditch that runs south just before the RR Bridge is excellent for bass and northern. The Little Kankakee Ditch is close to South Bend. I'd also suggest the "ten mile road" area to you...there you'll not only be able to fish the Kankakee, but some good sloughs, and the Yellow River too - the Yellow is excellent for smallies and the previous SR northern pike was caught there; while the Kankakee in that area is good for crappies, northern and walleyes. well, that's all for today, more another time.

LaCrosse, that would be Horseshoe Bend, or some feeder ditches and/or creeks. I fish anywhere between the State Line and where it starts at the Little Kankakee Ditch.

Yes the Kankakee...that's where I fish 95 percent of the time.

The Fall topwater bite is on! Caught 4 bass this afternoon, all on a 5/8 oz. black/red Cavitron Buzz Bait.

they don't stock the Kankakee...was probably just a bunch of minnows or shad

The area on either side of the "towers road" is for the most part a consistant 4 foot flat...off Sheffield Ave. to the West is a gravel/slag road (more or less) at 129th St. - it's paved going East, and gravel/slag going West. Go West and just before you hit the toll road, follow it to the North and it should take you to the "towers road".

This is Fall Fishing at its best...try a 5/8 oz. black Jitterbug at Wolf Lake - work the area between the primary and secondary weedlines on the flats.

There's plenty of good locations to fish from shore...from the parking lot, walk (south) down to where the bayou empties into the waterfowl refuge, then walk along the bank to the East - there's a channel along that shoreline, and on the opposite side of the channel is a stump field (underwater most of the time); also you can work the shoreline on the east, there's plenty of areas for you there too... Good Luck, get a biggun.

Is that the small lake between Valparaiso and Lakes of the Four Seasons or Shorewood? South of Division?

Where are you located? Maybe we can hook up and I'll show you a few places to try.

If you live in Portage, it's an alternative place to go; if you're driving in from Illinois, I wouldn't waste my time - I'd try Wolf Lake in Hammond for big bass, walleye, northern or musky

Kankakee backwater areas, marshes and bayous are heating up...awesome bass fishing AND with the cooler nights approaching soon it will be time to stock your freezers with some tasty crappie fillets too. Best baits for bass have been T-rigged worms (4 inches or less); pop-r; and jig-n-float combos. Windy days seem to offer the best results.

Look up my buddy Bob Brunner if you're going there...you can link up with him on Facebook, he knows more about catching football-sized bronzeback on that body of water than anybody.

Black Oak Bayou is the one you want. Take the minnows if he want em...I'll pm you how to condition your worms.

buy your crawlers tonight, and condition them (you do know how to condition them don't you?) take them in an ice chest filled with ice water. take plenty of 100% DEET if you're going early. I'm working tomorrow, sorry, can't go.

and that's gonna stop you from fishing?

Jasper Pulaski, LOL....the ditches are too low and only have small bass n gills in em; the ponds are loaded with small cats and bullheads. GO TO LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area, south of the river - take Rt. 10 West past Rt.41 until you see the sign for AREA 3, turn right and stay on the gravel road until you come to a deadend at the river; park and you have 3 good options: fish the main river, walk back to the south until you get to where the sluice gate is (one side good for big bass, the other side good for slab gills), or walk the bank along the slough (East) and work all the openings you come to with a buzz bait or swimming jig for big bass.

Plastic worms, Spro Frogs, MossBoss, Johnson Silver Minnow...think weedless...this time of the year there's a lot of floating vegetation in the bayous and marshes. In the main river - rapalas, crank baits, big spinners.

If I wasn't so tight for money myself, I'd probably give you one...times are tough.

I would love to have a high end rod but I just can't afford it lol. $300 worth of plastic = a really nice rod. ;D

$300 in soft plastics, LOL, I don't even own that much. Hope you enjoy your Ugly Stick...they don't feel right to me (I prefer mid-rang to high end rods, some custom builts too).

Sledge you ABSOLUTELY CAN fish topwater baits with spinning gear...use a 6 or 6.5 foot medium to medium heavy rod and load your reel up with some 8 - 14 lb. test mono, or 30 lb. test braid

A 5" Black/Blue Tiki Worm T-rigged, weightless on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook, using 6lb. test Cajun Red line on a spinning rod/reel. I used this rig as a swim bait most of the time, but when I found good cover close to shore with depth, worked it very slow. Buzz Baits and topwater wood baits also worked well for me, especially the Bettencourt Wallie.

I'm quite familiar with where you're located, I'm originally from Hammond myself...if you're in Cal City, the Grand Calumet River is excellent for smallies; as well as the Illinois side of Wolf Lake...the Indiana side of Wolf Lake is awesome for some really big largemouths. Because of your location, try Area 3, Black Oak Bayou at the LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area...my personal best day out there was a 50 bass day with all bass caught between 17 - 21 inches.

weedless topwater choices: 1. T-rigged Tiki Worm with a 5/0 Gamakatsu deep gap hook, weightless; 2. spro frog; 3. MossBoss 4. Bettencourt Slop Rodent (my favorite, but a little pricey) 5. Johnson Silver Minnow, with a 3-6" trailer 6. Snag-Pruf Frog 7. Snagless Sally - cranked in just below the surface 8. KVD Buzz Bait