@Bdnoble84 Nice fish! Man I tried the Fox River this winter while everything else was iced over, I cannot figure out river fishing at all. Trying to catch my first smallie. What do you let stuff sit/roll on the bottom or you usually swimming baits through current?

16 minutes ago, Jig Rookie said:

@Bdnoble84 Nice fish! Man I tried the Fox River this winter while everything else was iced over, I cannot figure out river fishing at all. Trying to catch my first smallie. What do you let stuff sit/roll on the bottom or you usually swimming baits through current?

 

What’s worked for me in the spring on the fox is to fish backwaters, rip rap or any where water is coming in. Jigs, and topwaters (I prefer wakes and ploppers) are my top producers, although my best fox fish last year came on a glide bait.

12 hours ago, Jig Rookie said:

@Bdnoble84 Nice fish! Man I tried the Fox River this winter while everything else was iced over, I cannot figure out river fishing at all. Trying to catch my first smallie. What do you let stuff sit/roll on the bottom or you usually swimming baits through current?

Current breaks are extremely important. You want to usually work your bait with the current if possible. I usually shoot for a 45 angle upstream. Just remember eddies are in reverse. I start agressive 90% of the time. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, bigger jigs boottails (underspin is deadly). Then slow down as needed with smaller jigs, neko rig, wacky rig, hair jigs.

@Bassjam2000 @Bdnoble84

Thanks for that info--now that spring is here I know I'll be fishing mainly lakes and ponds so I'll keep that in mind when I wanna switch it up. 

Yesterday was so windy I didn't think I'd go out, but I couldn't help stopping at this pond next to my son's little league practice field. Mega gusty out there, the water was high and chocolate milk with whitecaps crashing the shoreline. I walked the windblown side and since it was so warm and blowy I thought I might find some up close to shore chasing. I got lucky and it worked out, got a bite about ten feet off the bank.  

16 hours ago, Jig Rookie said:

@Bassjam2000 @Bdnoble84

Thanks for that info--now that spring is here I know I'll be fishing mainly lakes and ponds so I'll keep that in mind when I wanna switch it up. 

Yesterday was so windy I didn't think I'd go out, but I couldn't help stopping at this pond next to my son's little league practice field. Mega gusty out there, the water was high and chocolate milk with whitecaps crashing the shoreline. I walked the windblown side and since it was so warm and blowy I thought I might find some up close to shore chasing. I got lucky and it worked out, got a bite about ten feet off the bank.  

Definirely try the fox this summer if you get a chance. Others will be better at suggesting where to go, but im pretty sure your swimbaits will tag a big smallie if you put in the time. 

4 hours ago, Bdnoble84 said:

Definirely try the fox this summer if you get a chance. Others will be better at suggesting where to go, but im pretty sure your swimbaits will tag a big smallie if you put in the time. 

The fox has some decent smallies. Finding them can be a problem. I've had my best luck during high water fishing right on cover. My biggest was 4lbs and pre-spawn. There is, however, an abundance of small to medium smallies that can be easily found year round. Without a boat, I think your choices are limited unless you can do some wading, as there is not a whole lot of shoreline access from Elgin north. If wading is an option, I'd hit up the Carpentersville/East Dundee area. There are some decent pike there as well.

On 4/24/2022 at 9:54 PM, Jig Rookie said:

@Bassjam2000 @Bdnoble84

Thanks for that info--now that spring is here I know I'll be fishing mainly lakes and ponds so I'll keep that in mind when I wanna switch it up. 

Yesterday was so windy I didn't think I'd go out, but I couldn't help stopping at this pond next to my son's little league practice field. Mega gusty out there, the water was high and chocolate milk with whitecaps crashing the shoreline. I walked the windblown side and since it was so warm and blowy I thought I might find some up close to shore chasing. I got lucky and it worked out, got a bite about ten feet off the bank.  

That the Tiny Klash 6.6'' or the Tiny tiny Klash  4.5? You seem to do quite well on it! I get scared throwing mine in unknown ponds.... (without a plug knocker)

5 hours ago, dgkasper58 said:

That the Tiny Klash 6.6'' or the Tiny tiny Klash  4.5? You seem to do quite well on it! I get scared throwing mine in unknown ponds.... (without a plug knocker)

That's the 6.6" and yeah man, it's legit. I've always got it tied on now, it's pretty much my confidence bait at this point. I just got the Klash9 this winter (the nine-inch version of the Klash), can't wait til this water warms enough for me to send it on some of the bigger lakes around. 

I feel you on being scared to lose it, but sometimes the sketchiest spots hold the biggest bites. You know how it goes ha. 

I make baits. @Jp_midwest gor me thinking. Are there any high school teams in the northern illinois area you know of that would be interested in spinnerbaits, jigs, underspins, hairjigs? I’d love to make and donate some custom baits.

2 hours ago, Bdnoble84 said:

I make baits. @Jp_midwest gor me thinking. Are there any high school teams in the northern illinois area you know of that would be interested in spinnerbaits, jigs, underspins, hairjigs? I’d love to make and donate some custom baits.

um im not sure...  you can probably reach out to schools in the area. vernon hills high school, mc henry high school, hersey high school etc. i would say just call the main offices and ask who you could talk to about donating stuff to the bass fishing team they will probably get you to the right people.

This weather just won't get stable--past weekend got to the 70s, today it's mid-40s after getting below freezing last night. I got out about 10a before the drizzle rolled in at 11:30 and actually got two bites; missed the first one but connected 15 minutes later on a slower retrieve about half a cast length from shore.

On 4/26/2022 at 11:02 PM, Jp_midwest said:

hey whats up guys has anyone here fished the the fox chain these past few weeks? i have a IHSA bass fishing tourney next week and i want to be pointed in the right direction. last year if got a huge bite on a owner flashy swimmer and a keitech fat 4.8 but didnt connect. i also lost a fish on a spinnerbait that day and im just preparing on what to throw this time around. im thinking jack hammer, zman slingz spinnerbait, i may try the owner flashy combo again but maybe switch to something smaller or a different bait, lipless, squarebill on rip rap, if anyone can give any input i would appreciate it!!!

im mostly looking for suggestions because i want to go down to state this year. thanks you guys  

i forgot to add on im not looking for crazy bites im just looking for the right ones. last year it was one on 13 lbs i just want to get into the top 3 which would send me to state and  hopefully the cold front that is going to push through this week/ next week will throw some off the reigning champs and schools with history of winning out of the normal places in the tourney they get. 

I have fished the Chain for 20 years...Competed for most of those years.

Don't worry about baits, worry about cover this time of year. Fish as close to cover as you can. Black and blue and PB&J are going to be the biggest producers. 

Gotta love the tornado sirens going off....

Had a tourney on the Cal Sag/Lake Calumet on Saturday.  We found fish all over but the biggest fish we found were tight to the shore in 2-3' of water.  51-52 degree temps with stained water.  Wind was ripping at 15-25 mi/hr.  Caught a couple keepers on a chatterbait on windy shorelines.  Lost a 4-5 lber which would have given me the win but I did get a 5.70 in the boat later in the day which helped me land 2nd with a tad under 14 lbs.  My partner and I both thought the fish was over 6 lbs and weighed it on 2 different scales.  

14 hours ago, Junk Fisherman said:

Had a tourney on the Cal Sag/Lake Calumet on Saturday.  We found fish all over but the biggest fish we found were tight to the shore in 2-3' of water.  51-52 degree temps with stained water.  Wind was ripping at 15-25 mi/hr.  Caught a couple keepers on a chatterbait on windy shorelines.  Lost a 4-5 lber which would have given me the win but I did get a 5.70 in the boat later in the day which helped me land 2nd with a tad under 14 lbs.  My partner and I both thought the fish was over 6 lbs and weighed it on 2 different scales.  

Tail looks like the fun times will be starting soon!

With this warmup the last couple days I decided to go out overnight last night and see if the rat bite had started yet (checked my records from last year and my first rat fish was May 26th).  There's a Public Works lake about a 20-minute walk (lot is closed of course so you gotta walk in and ninja it) that gets really weed-choked by mid-June so early season is the best time to hit it before it gets unfishable for everything but frogs.

Winds were a constant 20mph with gusts up to 32, dang near whitecaps on this water.  I did get a double-tap on the rat but not the usual kill shot-type hit, so I think we might still be a week or two away from them committing yet.  As usual, though, the TK came through with this 3.59lb chunk at 12:30a.

On 5/10/2022 at 8:14 AM, Jig Rookie said:

With this warmup the last couple days I decided to go out overnight last night and see if the rat bite had started yet (checked my records from last year and my first rat fish was May 26th).  There's a Public Works lake about a 20-minute walk (lot is closed of course so you gotta walk in and ninja it) that gets really weed-choked by mid-June so early season is the best time to hit it before it gets unfishable for everything but frogs.

Winds were a constant 20mph with gusts up to 32, dang near whitecaps on this water.  I did get a double-tap on the rat but not the usual kill shot-type hit, so I think we might still be a week or two away from them committing yet.  As usual, though, the TK came through with this 3.59lb chunk at 12:30a.

OK I am done looking at these! Starting to throw the TK instead of the glide..

What retrieve is working for you right now? 

 

Have you ever swapped tails?  I bought a blue fork tail and Love what it does to the bait!

Walleye anyone? Spent a couple days on Lake Erie this week.

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

Walleye anyone? Spent a couple days on Lake Erie this week.

You can’t have that Lund shirt anymore. 

2 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

You can’t have that Lund shirt anymore. 

Would you rather see me topless?

4 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Would you rather see me topless?

I’m good Fabio

Smallies are lighting up!

On 5/12/2022 at 8:45 PM, dgkasper58 said:

OK I am done looking at these! Starting to throw the TK instead of the glide..

What retrieve is working for you right now? 

 

Have you ever swapped tails?  I bought a blue fork tail and Love what it does to the bait!

I'm running it pretty aggressively: cranking it down fast then deadwalking it subsurface with pauses, burn-burn-pause, deadwalk again, pause, etc. Just an aggressive, inconsistent cadence going for a reaction bite. The water in the ponds near me is really warm, I was fishing more slowly when it was colder. I haven't fished any different tails though, only the standard. 

On a side note, the rat bite is finally on. Went to a new pond about midnight, the dinks were fired up. Caught four this same size, figured there aren't any bigguns in this spot so I won't be making a return trip. Hopefully the bite is on at some of my bigger water spots. 

On August 20th the Conservation Heritage Education Foundation is hosting their annual Youth Day Game Fair. It's a day spent introducing children ages 5-15 to the outdoors. Events include fishing, archery, 22 and shotgun activities, and hunting dog training. Myself and @cadman along with others run the fishing station where we teach kids the fundamentals of fishing and how to cast different types of reels. The pond is stocked with bluegills and bass so there is a good chance your child might catch his/her first fish. Lunch is included and all the kids will get a door prize.

For more information and registration click on the banner at the top of the page. https://sites.google.com/chefnature.org/chef/home

 

VOLUNTEERS ARE ALSO WELCOME

On 5/10/2022 at 8:14 AM, Jig Rookie said:

With this warmup the last couple days I decided to go out overnight last night and see if the rat bite had started yet (checked my records from last year and my first rat fish was May 26th).  There's a Public Works lake about a 20-minute walk (lot is closed of course so you gotta walk in and ninja it) that gets really weed-choked by mid-June so early season is the best time to hit it before it gets unfishable for everything but frogs.

Winds were a constant 20mph with gusts up to 32, dang near whitecaps on this water.  I did get a double-tap on the rat but not the usual kill shot-type hit, so I think we might still be a week or two away from them committing yet.  As usual, though, the TK came through with this 3.59lb chunk at 12:30a.

man you are having luck. i have gone out with the big baits but i have no luck. hopefully sooner or later i can catch a big bait fish.