general3380

If poked, rub the slime off the fish on to the wound...it will help take stinging sensation away. An old timer told me this once, I thought he was pulling my leg and I am thankful I remembered what he said years down the road!...It works with channel cats anyway, can't speak for any others

It's awesome. I also am from Southern Illinois and paddle a Wilderness Systems Ride 115. It is just flat fun chasin them in a kayak but opens a lot of doors to a lot of waters that are inaccessible with anything else.

Southern end of state here. Born and raised in Marion (still live here too). Grew up fishing on farm ponds and many local strip pits in the area. Fished Lake of Egypt quite a bit in high school and college when my dad still had his boat. He has since sold it and am looking to buy another boat now. I fish out of a Wilderness Systems Ride 115 kayak on many of the strip pits, and if it's something you haven't ever done it is an absolute ball. Makes many inaccessible waters a breeze to fish and is totally different catching fish from a kayak.

Welcome. Fellow Southern Illinois guy here. Born and raised in Marion and graduated from SIUC myself.

Another question...I'm actually thinking about getting the silver mirrored lenses. Anybody have these? How are they going to compare to the Green? Like I said, I will mainly be fishing from the bank and from a boat on smaller lake...but everyday wear more than anything. Thanks in advance

Some form of pumpkinseed, or watermelon here in southern Illinois has been working for me. I flip back and forth between wacky style, and weightless texas rig...They look awesome when fished weightless/texas rig. The fish sure think so too!

Thanks everybody, unfortunately the closet dealer is a Gander Mountain that is one hour away. I was in there on Sunday and they had MAYBE ten different styles...none of which was what I was looking for. So I guess I'm going to have to order them and hopefully they have a nice exchange policy. I suppose I'm going to go with the green mirrored lens. I have always worn gray...I wear them for everyday use and work more than fishing (not by choice)

I have had a pair of Bolle polarized glasses for a while now, and am ready to step up to Costa's...Does anybody have any feedback on the Double Haul frame? I have a bigger head so I'm a little worried about fit...Also, is there THAT much of a difference between the glass lens and the polycarb.? I mainly fish strip pits and smaller lakes...no huge waters for me. And of course I would wear them pretty much any other time other than fishing...Lens color recommendation?

awesome!

Ultimate Rattle Jig (Lunker Lure) and NetBait Paca Chunk...Either a shade of watermelon or black and blue trailers to match...Lunker Lure is a local business, I like to support local business when I can!...They were made famous by there buzzbaits.

Thanks for the input

Well I'm currently looking for one. Me and dad have a bass boat but it's to big for the makeshift boat ramp...I've been looking quite a bit trying to find one that will be WIDE enough (for stability)...If there is one thing I hate, it's feeling unstable in a rickety old jon boat! haha

Welcome, and thanks for your service!

well I know there are blue gill, as far as other forage I'm not sure. I'm 99% sure they probably prey on crawfish...We have TONS of them around there and on a farm pond next door, every bass you cut open it full of them...but i'm going to have to spend more time on that pit to know for sure

I currently gained permission to fish a strip pit approximately 40-50 acres in size. I have actually wanted to fish this pit my entire life and just happen to buy a house right behind it! haha. Anyway, there is only roughly 80 yards worth of open bank that can be fished ( I have permission to fish it from a boat, just don't have the small john boat I need to put in it) so for now I'm confined to fishing this short stretch of bank. I talked to a neighbor who has fished it (crappie) for many years and his depth finder said the deepest point is 125 ft. but averages about 50-60. The points are shallow and in one cove there is a very thick grass mat, but all that doesn't really matter because I can only access the deep bank right now...by deep I mean you go three foot off the bank and it is roughly 12-15 ft deep. I went fishing there for about an hour the other day and saw FIVE bass that were well over 22" and one that might have been 24"-25". I couldn't believe my eyes, just cruising 5 feet in front of me, I threw everything but the kitchen sink at them trying to provoke a bite..nothing. Sinkos, frog, spinnerbait, swimming jig, crankbait, buzzbait, chatterbait, flukes, you name it I threw it. I have fished many other strip pits and never had any problems putting fish on the bank but this one has got me. Sorry it took so long to get to the question, but for those strip pit guys, what has worked for you in the past? Water clarity is somewhere around 12-15 ft. I have noticed that the cat tails on the bank have root wads under the water and it has kind of washed out underneath the root wad creating a small pocket that likes to hold fish. But give me some tips, pointers, lure ideas to help me bank some of these pigs!

Don't know an exact number but somewhere around the 100 mark...most of them 12-15" but have probably 8-10 in the 3-4 pound range and one 6.5 lb and one 6 lb

I can assure you it most definitely does happen around here...Crab Orchard Lake, Ferne Clyffe Lake...

How is it "cheating"? It goes back to the root of why we all started fishing...FUN! I LOVE getting out and fishing lakes, but I would rather fish a pond or private lake almost any day of the week. The anticipation I get going to a new (to me) hole that hasn't had any pressure is so exciting. When it comes down to it, pretty much any lake is "managed" or they are around here...why do you think limits are set in place? DNR research? Stocking when needed? Don't get me wrong it is MUCH harder to locate and catch fish on a public lake, but it is simply a body of water that anybody that can fish. My personal experiences of people giving me a hard time about fish caught from a private body of water is because THEY don't have an opportunity to fish them. WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO CATCH A BOAT FULL OF BASS??

I'm not going to tell you this is a sure way to catch them...but what has always worked for me in the past (as many of others have stated above) a lizard...throw it past there bed, and slowly drag it on there bed (so pain stakingly slow you almost can't stand it). Don't give up on fish, most of the time they will eventually get mad enough they will either blow up on it or slowly pick it up. Pay very close attention to your line, I have actually had them pick it up swim off there beds and drop it. I have thrown at a bass on her bed almost 30 times before she eventually took it. Be persistent!

Weightless Super Fluke, or a Sinko. sorry I couldn't decide on just one...both have proven to me to catch fish at all times of the year no matter how hard it is to provoke a bite...some shade or watermelon in color

I live in the wonderful (pun intended) state of Illinois...the only state where no form of carrying is allowed. Thanks to Chicago. I won't get into all that though....it makes my blood boil. Ya'll should realize how fortunate you are to be able to carry and have that peace of mind. I do carry when I'm on private property (legal) and I do keep a gun in my truck ( in a case, mags loaded, but gun not loaded---legal). Maybe one day they will finally let us carry...pretty well the whole state is for it but Chicago...Downstate lawmakers (where I live) are pushing for it hard only to be shot down.

There is a reason why the big fish are big...Just like deer, the big ones are big because they are smart. Not only that, but there just simply as many big ones living as there are 2-3 pounders...Fish have a limited amount of time, and it's a game of survival. I feel your pain though, I fished a new farm pond and caught a few nice fish the first few times, after that 1-3 pounds....stay after them

Welcome! I am from southern Illinois but use to fish Caddo Lake once a year...Throw crank baits and bring them past the cypress trees. and try fishing sinkos hooked wacky style...Don't overlook the duck blinds either

I'm from southern Illinois but use to travel to Caddo Lake for a fishing trip once a year. I knew a few locals down there and went fishing with each one for a full day...One was a local legend on Caddo and through almost nothing but crank bait at the trees, his main point was not to waste to much time on a tree, he would throw two casts at a tree, one on each side...no bite move to the next one...The other guy was the one who introduced me to fishing sinkos wacky style about 9 years ago. he would rig the sinko wacky style pitch to the tree. If a fish didn't take it on the initial fall, he would give it a few twitches and bring it back in. It worked on Caddo...He boated a 8.5 pounder and a 7.5 pounder amongst several 4 and 5 pounders in 6 hours of fishing.

wow! Awesome day! Definitely one of those days you will remember the rest of your life!