TheOriginalFishaholic

I currently hook up with a guy from Cicero...for some serious bass fishing from shore...maybe we can hook up some time for more of the same.

Rogers Lakewood is tough to fish from shore...there's a nice couple of lakes you might try in Hobart: Amber Lake - North of Lake George; and, Robinson Lake. They're both very close to you...if you want to just sit and relax, try Countryside Park - your buddy can cast for bass and you can bank fish...just a pond, but there's some good bass in there AND it's in Portage! Want to take a long drive and satisfy you both? Try Willow Slough near Morocco - excellent bass and gill fishing from shore...there's some nice 12" gills in there too.

check out any of the many public access sites to the backwaters of the Kankakee River: LaSalle Fish & Wildlife Area - Black Oak Bayou (Area 3), White Oak Bayou (right off of Rt. 41, West and just South of the river); Grand Kankakee Marsh - on Range Line Road, just North of the River. The topwater bite is on! Just last Tuesday I caught 18 bass over 14" fishing soft plastics on top from shore. If you don't want to travel too far, try Michigan City Pier for steelhead - the skamania should be in the streams by now with all this recent rain we've been having...but there's always the chance for a nice smallie if you gain access to the NIPSCO property on the West side of the mouth of Trail Creek.

I thought this would be of great interest to those unfamiliar with the Kankakee River and accompanying wetlands. Here's an article from the Times today: Kankakee Everglades Article

Slapping the water is a technique that's been around for ages...I hear the old timers along the river have their favorite branches and worn out oars for just that reason...to trigger a feeding frenzy.

Generally, when there's a stiff wind I have a greater hookup percentage when casting directly into the wind...boat isn't an issue, I fish from shore or a pair of hip waders ;D am able to control the vehicle unless the wind is gusting over 50 mph. ;D

Did get a chance to go yesterday...cooler temps and a brisk East wind. Upon arriving at my 2nd location, I was informed by an old timer (not that I'm not getting there myself) not to expect to catch anything because of the East wind...as I told him, they don't call it "catching", they call it "fishing". I tried all my favorite baits first: Johnson Silver Minnow, Rodent, Culprit worm, Swimmin' Jig, T-rigged Tiki Worm...nuthin' , nuthin' at all...but then I don't want to go home and say I got skunked, so I pulled out my "toy rod" loaded with 2lb. test Berkley XL clear and tied on a 1/64oz. chartreuse/hot magenta jig and began to work the steep edges very slowly...caught a bunch of gills, a crappie and a small bass...then, as luck would have it, something of size grabs my jig right after the wind carries it over a stickup...grrrrr....needless to say, the 2lb. test line just didn't hold up against a quality fish and timber...oh well, it was still great to get out. ...all in all, it was great to be down by the Kankakee!

Ever wonder about the river and backwaters I love so much? Watch this video and find out why...

Headin' out to roam the banks of the Kankakee and its backwaters tomorrow in search of bass and morels...interested? shout at me tonight or early tomorrow.

I fish from shore 98% of the time... Stealth is definitely an issue, long casts, light line and if at all possible, dress to match your background...I've had a little success in the situation you describe, don't rule out dead-sticking a bait.

Had a lot of errands to overcome today, including getting my taxes prepared...good news is I don't owe anything. Well, errands being done, I naturally grabbed my 4 favorite rods, a couple tackle bags and my favorite hat and headed down to the Kankakee River. My goal was to fish the main river channel for some walleyes, but as I passed over the river it was much too high for what I had in mind. Undaunted, I drove onward to one of my fishable ditches...the first one I went to was almost completely dry, the farmers must be anticipating some heavy rains this Spring as they certainly got them last year - one of the farmers I talk to down there regularly told me that last year he lost 2 of the 3 crops he normally puts in due to flooding. This year he didn't put in any Winter wheat, so I'm assuming that he is draining his ditches and attempting to make it with only 2 crops, possibly only one. Drove on to my second ditch and was greeted by a multitude of various types of birds, blackbirds, swallows, wrens, buzzards, crows and even a few frogs jumping off the bank as I approached. I started off with my number one Springtime bait, a 1/2 oz. VBX chartreuse fishscale spoon with a 4" section of a chartreuse Culprit worm for a trailer...casting took a little getting used to as the wind was gusting at between 30 - 40 mph, but after a few minutes, I managed a light tap, and missed! The following cast I slowed down my retrieve a little more, then dead stopped the bait approximately where I felt the tap, then just as I started to lift the spoon off the bottom the fish committed - definitely a dink, a little twelve incher that fought like it was bigger, that always makes my day. I found that the only hits I was able to get today was when I cast my offering directly into the wind; downwind casts proved futile, and cross wind casts were much too difficult to control. I moved down to another area I wanted to hit and just my luck, 3 people were camped right on top of the hole...undaunted, I took a hike about an eighth of a mile downwind from their position, and began to cast into the wind - on the second cast I caught another dink, this one at 13.5 inches. I could hear them grumbling down the way..."what the heck! we've been here for hours and this guy drives up and gets one right away..." I certainly didn't mean to ruin it for them, so I walked back to my vehicle, put my rod back up, then walked over and told them they needed to cast directly into the wind...obviously, they didn't believe me, because as I drove away they were still casting with their backs to the wind. Managed to endure the wind for an hour and a half, then my back started hurting so I packed up and went home. ...all in all, another fine day down by the Kankakee!

Private access only...I believe there's a marina on the lake and there's a farmer who allows you to access his propert for a very small fee and launch....don't know how to access either one as I was a rider, not a driver and didn't pay much attention and since I don't own a boat, never really followed up on it.

When I started baitcasting decades ago, I used Cortland chamo braid and I loved it, but when it became difficult to locate in my area I switched over to mono on my baitcasters and started to curse every time I got a backlash because they were more difficult to untangle AND the line easily got damaged far into the spool. In recent years on recommendation from quite a few anglers I tried PowerPro...broke on several hooksets and I got rid of it ASAP. Now, I'm using Stealth braid on a couple setups one with 50lb. test the other with 30lb. test...the hooksetting is awesome, and I can pull my fish out of some really nasty slop and timber without fear of losing the fish. The other reason I went to braid on my baitcasters is that I fish a lot of swimbaits and large surface baits...I'm less likely to lose a 39 dollar bait on 50lb. test braid than I am with mono. - being a shorebound fisherman, that's important to me...besides the extremely thin diameter of the new braids doesn't seem to bother the fish whatsoever. I love braids! ...but the reality is that braids are not right for every situation...monos and fluorocarbons have their place too.

Supposed to reach 80 tomorrow...things are gonna heat up real fast. BTW, wtg on early season success.

it really doesn't matter what the water temp is, it matters what the temperment of the fish is I try to manipulate my baits in whatever manner I can to trigger a fish.

pound for pound, bowfins put up a great fight...my personal best is only a 12 pounder, but I've seen 'em much, much larger.

Hey all you Hoosiers, I'm looking for a serious partner who doesn't mind walking the banks (or near them in hip waders) in the Northern part of the state. I fish for all species, but primarily for crappies and bass. I like to work the backwaters and feeder ditches and creeks that connect to the Kankakee River, but I'm open to other areas as well. I'm no pro for sure, but have taken a few quality fish for Indiana...an 8.5 lb. largemouth from the Kankakee AND a 2lb,15 oz. bluegill from Wolf Lake in Hammond. My personal best for Lake Michigan/tributaries is a 30lb. king from Trail Creek. I'll fish anything from super ultralite, to heavy tackle for serious cover, to flyfishing for bass...strickly use artificial baits though...not interested in dead or live bait fishing. If you're interested in hooking up, PM me this site.

Nice little pike...keep...try Webster, Tippiecanoe, or Wolf for a giant one now.

Just now reading some of this...I've been airbrushing since 1982...can't say enough good things about the versitality of the Iwata brushes. As for the propellant supply, I recommend an industrial bottle and get it filled with nitrogen rather than air...no moisture in your propellant line to mess up your projects.

Oh by the way. What would you do ? LOL I'd hop ;De there was a McDonnalds close by ;D ;D ;D and grab a cheeseburger with my good looks, ROFL.

Great info Chris...that's exactly why I use a 1/2 oz Johnson Silver Minnow with a 6" chartreuse or white worm as a trailer...it has a built-in side-to-side wobble that already gets the preys attention, but every time you pause, or speed up the bait, or even let it dead-fall and jerk it up suddenly it triggers alot of aggressive strikes.

Hudson Lake is an awesome watershed...big bass and some gigantic northern pike! Pine/Stone Lakes in LaPorte is an excellent fishery too.

This makes no sense. He said "you only have some fishing line and your wits." Doesn't this make it impossible to get a narrow stick, glass, stone, cactus apples, ants, or anything else? or anything to light a fire? "You only have your fishing line and your wits." Still lost here. why are you lost...I stated what you had, not what you might acquire by using your wits.

That's very interesting Mike, because I tend to go extremely small on super ultralite tackle, or go big with my surface baits and swim baits that are rarely used in this part of the country.

I fish a lot of heavily pressured watersheds and sometimes have to rely of some form of finesse fishing to save the day...what lure(s) and technique do you employ when finesse fishing? If line weight and type of rod is relevant, please give that information also.