Jig Rookie

What's the thing with the banana in the boat? I know I've heard it, I just can't remember--good luck or something? Beautiful fish and nice trip.

Back to life--maybe in the last 14 years someone has come up with thoughts?

The balance is good on them, hookup rate has been 100% for me so far. Every once in a while you'll have to reposition the hook, as it'll roll to the side a little bit and the point will catch the skin of the dorsal fin it's hidden under. That'll cause it to be off-balance. A cool thing about it is the belly-weighted hook they use is keeled on the bottom, so it'll usually sit in an upright kinda tail-up posture when you pause it and it settles on bottom; hop it along and it mimics a bottom-foraging gill. A few fish catches will start to tear the nose out; once that happens I'll redo it with a 6/0 screwlock beast hook, works about as well. I'd say get a few--they slayed during the fall bite, I bet they will during pre-, midspawn and postspawn too.

I was just on the ice yesterday--about 4 inches in the pond I fished, and with the look-ahead weather, man, that might've been the last day of safe ice this season. 60° next Wednesday! I'm actually sad to see the ice go; I only got out once this winter and I have a buddy who's never been. I planned to take him out in a couple weeks, but sadly it looks like we'll have to hold off til next year.

I got out again during this last thaw and got a couple more on the float-and-fly to end the season; looks like the ice is here to stay around my parts. Hopefully some ice bass pics to show over the next few months, but honestly cabin fever is already setting in! Cannot wait til ice-out.

So I actually got some hair jigs last year, didn't put much time. I went out to the pond during the last snowstorm we had over a week ago, a couple days before the ponds locked up. Pond's about 5ft max depth; I set up a float-and-fly at about 3-and-a-half feet, firetiger hair jig, and got a decent one! My first hair jig bass, first float-and-fly fish, and first snowstorm fish haha, it was a good day.

Welp, ponds near me were still locked up Wednesday; one more shot today on the way to work, if they're not open now they're probably locked for the season, cuz we've got the cold weather coming back next couple days. The good fall bite slowed for me about three weeks ago but I've managed a few since then: a couple night fish on the Boogie Back wake-and-crank, and one on the Shine Glide. Here's hoping I get one more chance today...

Man who you telling--I've driven past my ponds every day this week hoping for some open water, nothing yet. Gonna give it another go on my way to work in a couple hours, can't believe three days of 50° weather hasn't opened SOMETHING up. Fingers crossed...

Ooooh, the hair jig! I just scooped a few of those this past winter to try for the ice-out cold water bite but didn't really put time into em on the water. I've never fished them but they look like a fun way to catch em (and I love standard jigs). You think they work for pond bass (bluegill eaters) too?

Last couple days I've gotten out again, quick trips on the way to work. Mid-day, so no topwater action, but I got a couple good ones; one on the Tiny Klash, then the next day, same spot, got one on the Savage Gear pulse tail gill. Fall bite is still going...

That is the Boogie ha, good eye.

Man you guys are crushing it, fall bite is here! I've finally gotten out again over the last week--all three were predawn trips, got a few decent ones to eat the wake-and-crank. Great storm coming up tomorrow morning, hope I'll be able to get out there. Tight lines, guys.

@TheBaitMonkey yeah man the crawler is legit; I just started fishing it this spring, so awesome seeing that thing get bit. Part of the reason I never fished em was they're too pricey for me but I happened to find some super cheap knockoff and finally got my hands on one. Does Anglers' have the expensive JDM ones (Deka, Megabass, Monka, Deps NZ etc)?

A quick sunrise trip to a forest preserve lake got one on the crawler; no blowup or anything, just a quiet slurp off the surface, I was looking right at it and didn't even realize I'd been bit until I felt the tug.

Dang that's a pig! "Swimbait" as in big bait, or standard Keitech?

Picked up a couple more frog fish at a county forest preserve lake Monday during that rainstorm; they were EATING, caught these two and dumped another one in my first ten casts. Unfortunately, right after I dumped the third one a huge lightning strike hit pretty close so I ran back to the car. Waited a half-hour, went back out, less than five minutes later another strike hit close and I called it. Tragic, without the lightning it was shaping up to be a banner day.

Got a 4lber on a frog the other night right after moonset (set was about midnight, this fish ate at 12:15), and it had a bucketmouth on it. I seem to do better when the moon's not out, daytime or nighttime. Anyone else fish on a lunar schedule?

I just Google Mapped Bangs--is there any way to shore fish it or you have to have a boat? It looks like all private land around it on the Maps. Regarding the ponds: someone told me they're stocked with bass for mosquito abatement, is that true? I'm talking about those 1- or 2-acre ponds next to little league ballfields, or in front of churches, or behind the Home Depot. Random-seeming ponds with bass in them.

@slonezp You seem like one of the IL fishing OGs, what's your opinion: you think there are any 7 or 8lb bass in these northern IL forest preserve lakes/ponds?

@MidwestBassAttack Man, an 8lber? Geez, that's a tough order; I've never come close to that, I'm still searching for my first 6 ha. I'm a bit northwest of you so I'll give you some spots my way. In the Bartlett area there are Deep Quarry Lake and Bass Lake right next to each other--I'm positive there are 8 pound fish in Quarry, there *might* be one in Bass. Neither spot rents boats; Bass is better for shore fishing in my opinion, it's smaller and doesn't get as beat up by weekend traffic as does Quarry. In Crystal Lake there's Three Oaks Rec Area (Vulcan Lake)--they rent boats but the shore fishing is pretty good. This spot is CNR only and it's big enough and has enough cover/structure/bait to support an 8lb fish. Those three lakes are the only "bigger" lakes I fish anymore (big to me as a shorebanger), I do most of my fishing these days in these subdivision and shopping center ponds--five kids, three still in diapers has cut my fishing to one-hour sneakaways when everyone's asleep and quick stops on the way to and from work. Neighborhood ponds fit that perfectly ha. Sounds like you've already discovered the pond gem out in Naperville though, nice. Good luck on finding that 8 in northern Illinois--they exist but they're hard to get. True trophy if you do catch one. Godspeed.

Haven't been able to buy a bite on the big baits since the heat of the summer kicked off. Woke up this morning at 5:30a to an unexpected steady drizzle, decided to run out to the pond and see if I could get lucky. Finally got one to eat the TK, hopefully it's the start of a summer big bait bite.

This early summer dry spell is making the fishing tough around my parts. I've gotten a few frog fish the past week--the biggest was a 19" fish I caught about midnight (it was bleeding but it wasn't gilled; both prongs of the frog were stuck in its tongue good). Hope you guys are getting out.

I had no idea Beck was once a good bass lake--I shore-fished it a couple times a few years back but it was full of goose poop and seemed kinda shallow and weedy. I figured any good fishing was out deeper from a boat. This past week I started fishing a knockoff of a Japanese bait called the Raid Japan Deka Dodge Crawler--I've seen these baits before, finally pulled the trigger over the winter. I test swam it one day after ice-out and it's a cool bait, kinda finicky and takes some tuning to get just right. I took it out to a forest preserve lake on a couple of those drizzly nights (ninja sessions cuz this place technically closes at sundown) and got a couple bites. I noticed, on these nights anyway, the crawler seems to get bigger bites; when I fish the Spook at this place it gets bit by all sizes, but the only two bites I got on the crawler were both tanks: a 19", 4.04lb and a 18", 3.79lb. I'm looking forward to getting out with this one a lot more this season.

Here are a few from the last week--things are starting to really heat up around here. I got out a few days; went to a bigger (to me) forest preserve lake and finally found a softbait bite--I haven't gotten a softbait fish in seemingly forever. Managed to stick two on the 7" Shellback Customs bluegill pattern. A couple nights later I hit up one of my local ponds after work and caught my biggest fish of the year so far on a Spook--just under 20" and 4.17lbs, she ate in 35mph gusts at about 12:30a. The Spook's been on fire at this pond for the last couple weeks now. Finally yesterday I'd planned to hit this same pond at 4a, fish til sunrise. Unfortunately I woke up with morning light coming through the window; I overslept and it was already 5:30. I almost didn't go I was so salty I'd missed the first-light window, but decided to go anyway and see if I could find any fish that hadn't packed it up for the day. Got lucky and found two: one on the TK and another Spook fish. All in all a pretty good week, and these gale-force winds have been AWESOME, my favorite fishing conditions. Hope you guys are getting out and sticking some too before this weather gets unbearable.

The topwater bite has really heated up around me; I've had the Spook tied on for the last few days during these rainstorms. I've caught a bunch, only four keepers--two at night, two during the day. Rat bite should be right around the corner...