Well, in west central il the bite was on! The whole family went out and had fun, caught fish and even enjoyed the weather while we were in between weather events. We had rain last night, then again this afternoon and we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the first feeding frenzy of the year. The first three casts netted 1#ers and had nothing over 2#, but at least my kid (who is 4) said "catch another fish, dad, let him go" he thought I was catching the same fish over and over. I wish I'd have brought a topwater outfit, I'd have probably had a blast, but I didn't think they'd be this active.

Day 3 of whacked out illinois weather landed me a personal best today. Light rain, thirty mile an hour gusts and total cloud cover. 5 lb 4oz and the rain kept me from getting a picture of it. I didn't expect to do this well and I left the phone in the truck. No regrets though, I caught over 15 fish most were around 2lb and feisty as the dickens. I'm guessing this is spawning time. The big girl that surprised me was not a very good hook set at all. I thought it was just another small one and I just swept it up and as I was reeling in, it didn't feel right so I went to set the hook better and knew something was different. My rod was telling me I had something that was either in a lot of vegetation or it was a bigger fish. As soon as I realized what may be happening, she started taking line, so I gave some room with the drag and away we went! The first time she made a jump I was shocked. Not an ounce over a pound better than my previous PB. At least my mom got to see it and the best I could do was store the weight in my scales. Yet another fishing adventure that has a story and no pictures. Which is rare for me, but every single time I hit the water, something happens.