8/23 PBD

8/23

PRY12- 5.90

Personal Best Day (PBD)

I started planing this outing on Thursday, 8/21.

My original plan was to load up the kayak and put in at Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve,

float down to the I-39 area, fish, and then paddle back up-stream to my car.

Well, my back seemed to be a bit sore from work so I decided to pass on lifting the 

kayak to the top of my car and just stick to wading, but where?

About this same time last year (that's August 2013 for you slower people) my good fishing buddy Jim and I hit a little creek that dumps into the Kish and we ended up have a pretty good day. So the decision was made. I'm going to rise early in the morn' and hit this creek for the first time in 2014. I have to wade the Kishwaukee River for a short distance to access this creek. As I was making my way, my glasses kept steaming up. There humidity on this day was terrible. 

I was tossing a topwater bait on the Kish as I made my way to the creek. Nothing. No

swirls, half-assed splashes, or anything on the topwater.

Enter The Creek

The mouth of the creek is blocked by a log jam. This was no surprise to me, as this

mouth to the creek has been blocked for many years. I stepped foot back on land and worked my way around the log jam. Once on the other side, the bank was steep and I had to sit on my buttocks and slide myself down into the creek. Let me say that again....

* "the bank was steep and I had to sit on my buttocks and slide myself down into the creek."

(I will refer back to the above statement later in my story)

Once in the creek, I was still tossing the topwater bait and still not seeing any interest in it at all, so

I tied on a tube bait in a green pumpkin seed type. I started getting hits on the tube right away, and then in an instance.... a hook up.

The humidity seemed to be getting worse. I felt as if I was fishing on a little stream that flows on the island of Kong. I was all alone, there were no footprints or any other signs of human life within the banks of this creek. I believe it is safe to say that I am the only one that has fished here this year.

The fishing seemed to get better and better the further I made my way up the creek.

The tube was working and I was having a blast.

The Turning Point

After maneuvering and weaving my way through a few trees that had fallen down and lay across the creek (strainers), the bite still stayed on. I was landing fish, good strong fighting fish. These fish were making my reel sing, and I was loving it. 

Most of the fish (all of which were smallmouth) were in the 13 inch to 15 inch range.

I came to another strainer. This one was fairly big. I stood back and examined the blockage and decided to try and tackle it on the righthand side.

One never really knows how deep the water gets under these strainers. If the strainer has been there for a while, then when the water rushes over it and churns beneath the logs and branches, it can dig quite a nice little hole.

I was in up past my waist and I was standing on a heap of little water logged and rotten branches that were crumbling with any slight movement I made, and then I would sink another inch deeper.

I had my legs all wrapped up in knots around branches and logs within that strainer and came to the decision that I was done. This is where I will turn and head back. While standing there inside that strainer beaten, I decided to drop my tube bait into a little pocket within the strainer.

BAM! BAM, BAM!!

Fish on!

I pulled out three 15 inchers, and these things were tough.

rumble, 

Rumble. Rumble

RUMBLE!

Rumble, Rumble!

Thunder?

CRAP!

This is not good!

Right now I'm pretty freaking far from my car, and this storm sounds as if it's moving in pretty freaking fast. I gotta move.

There is no taking to land to get back to the safety of my car. If I want to get back and get back fast, I have to stay in the water and move. Closer and closer the rumbling thunder becomes and I am now searching for a safe haven along the banks of the creek. If I see lightening, I'll have to get out of the water, seek shelter and ride out the storm. 

The rain is coming down harder and I'm approaching the point of the creek where I entered by sliding

down the embankment on my ass. Remember....

* "the bank was steep and I had to sit on my buttocks and slide myself down into the creek."

Getting in was easy, now I have to get out the same way, but now I have to climb up the embankment, and now it is wet and muddy.

Don't forget I'm kind of in a HURRY UP situation here.

As I was struggling to climb up the muddy embankment, the pool scene from Poltergeist popped into my head.

One last leap and a grasp for the grassy top of the embankment and I'm out and on top.

The rain is stronger and the thunder grows loader but I have still not seen any flashes of lightening.

I am now wading downstream on the Kish.

The car is not far and I would really like to get out of this water. I'm standing on a channelized sandbar running down the middle of the Kish, in about bellybutton high of water.

If I could get to the bank I could move faster and make a dash for the car.

One problem, there's a deep running channel cut between me and the bank, and this storm is just about on top of me.

I turn and start making my way to the bank. The water is at chest level and rising. I push off the bottom of the river with what I felt was my last step before going head under and I make a couple swimming movements with my arms and then started searching for bottom again with my feet.

There it is, bottom. Now move!!!

I got back to the car, stripped of my gear, and got in.

The humidity was still pretty bad. I waited a couple minutes for the car windows to defog and

started my drive home. I drove about a 1/4 mile and the rain and lightening got so bad that I had to pull over.

I made it just in time.

If I hadn't turned around at that strainer when I did, I'd been screwed.

Ended up with 42 smallmouth on the day 27 of which were in the 13" to 15" range.