May

5/1/14
PRY12 - 6.78ft.

SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND

Went out on a solo bank fishing expedition today before work.

The plan was to hit an area that I visit frequently but only

this time approach it from the opposite bank than I normally do.

Well things didn't go as plan because I forgot about a little wrap around

eddy that is really no good for nothing except during high water levels.

High water levels are not the case right now so I was unable to access the

bank I had wanted to without stepping foot into about 3 inches of water and

then probably sinking up to my gonads in muck. I choose not to do this.

I made a few cast with a topwater towards the area I wanted to hit.

No luck so I tied on a tube and made a few tosses with the same results.

It was getting close to time to leave for work and I needed to satisfy my smallmouth itch.

I jump in the car and headed to another area where I went through the same

method of casting a topwater first and then switching to the tube.

Finally picked up one little guy on the tube.

The Kish isn't producing for me yet this year but I have a feeling

the Kishwaukee River bite is going to heat up in big way as soon as this

cool weather heats up.

Thought I'd try something different other than the norm with the pic.

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5/4/14f

PRY12 - 6.48ft.

I did something today that I have not done in a few years. Superstition got the best of me this morning, and I just couldn't help but think it might help improve my smallmouth fishing. I'll return to this 'stition after my report.

Dropped the kayak in at the south park of Atwood in New Milford and floated around the area for a few hours. Air temp was in the mid 50's and there was a wind blowing right out of the east at about 10 to 15 mph. 
On this stretch of the Kish the wind was to my back and blowing me downstream, kind of making it difficult to hold in an area very long, but not too difficult to paddle back upstream. 
I guess I'm going to have to make a drag chain anchor so I can hold in areas a bit longer.

It wasn't long before I hooked into my first smallie (15") of the day. Not only my first of the day, but also my first topwater smallie of the year. Popped him on his third smack at a  Hula Popper. 

  

The fish in the pic above ended up being my only fish of the day. I worked the Atwood area a few times by floating downstream and then paddling back up and working the area again, and again, and again. The current is pretty slow on this stretch, so paddling upstream is fairly easy. 

(pic shown in original size)

I did wedge myself up against a small downed tree in the water to hold me and I tried tossing out a tube for a little while. I hooked into a real nice smallmouth that probably would have taped over 17", maybe 18", but I guess we'll never know, as I failed to (as my pal Jim S. would say) "Get it in the boat!" Lost the dang thang right at the edge of the boat as I was reaching for it.

I sure hope those words ("Get it in the boat!") don't haunt me this entire year.

It was kind of a strange outing as the two fish I just mentioned in this report were the only two fish that hit all day. No other hits what-so-ever. Strange.

Thought I'd share a pic of the Coosa loaded up on the car.

Back to the beginning

Camera went off unexpectedly.

 

             If you have not noticed as of yet........

          I SHAVED.

(didn't seem to help that much.)

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5/6/14

PRY12 - 6.34ft.

CAUTION: This report is written with a negative attitude.

KISSS MY BASS!

Stopped down at the crick for a 2 hour solo wade before work.

There has been reports on the ISA site from a fishing buddy of mine that mentions 

great success tossing around a topwater bait called "ChugBug".

I don't really care for this so called "buddy" of mine.

The guy wears crocks and fishes in MY areas.

There's more about this guy that gets under my finger nails like a a hook

 but I really don't have the time to get into it right now. Sorry.

Anyways, I waded up my creek tossing a topwater bait here and there and picked up one

little smallmouth that was probably pushing 6 freaking inches.

I gave up on the topwater and tied on a tube and picked up a monster smallie that 

had to have gone a freckle over 7 inches.

Worked my way back downstream and picked up two more 

little smallies. 

I did have what felt like a huge fish on my hook for a few seconds.

Really, I did.

But I lost it because I set a hook like a 4 year old girl.

I hope my fishin' buddy has a good report for me to read again.

HEY FISHIN' BUDDY....SUCK ON THIS!

Still had a great time before I had to head for work.

Can't believe I do such a manly job, but set a hook like a 4 year old girl.

It's hard being me.

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5/7/14

PRY12 - 6.28

SILTCH!

Two hour solo wade on the Kish before work that turned up nothing.

One hit on a tube was all I got.

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5/9/14

PRY12 - 6.23

GOOD DAY ON THE 'BUCK

       

Stopped down at the crick for a couple hours before work. 
I saw a few beds but didn't see any

smallies protecting the beds. In the smallmouth world, the male makes a bed for spawning. The bed is what attracts the females. The better the bed, the better chance of attracting a female to mate with. I guess I won't be reincarnated as a smallmouth bass, 'cause guess what....

            Dat ain't how this man works! 

                                 Sorry ladies.

I started off fishing a tube because that is what I already had tied onto the end of my line from my last outing.

I fished the tube for about 30 minutes with absolutely no lock whatsoever. No bites, no nothing.

The crick was running crystal clear, so I decided to go with a Blaze topwater bait and make long casts.

13 inch

With the water being as clear as it was, it's very possible the fish can see me coming, that's why the long casts.

I worked my way up-stream while tossing the Blaze to the opposite bank along rock structures, in front of, and behind timber, and floating it with a few twitches through short runs. I got a few smacks and only one hook-up along the way. 

I came to a pool that was much further up-stream than I had planned to go on this day. I could only spend a short time at this pool and then I would have to start making my way back down-stream to the car so I could get to work on time.

The pool I was fishing was what I call a mid-current pool. It's an area that has a shallow riff in the middle of the creek with a run on each side. Runs are kind of like where the flow of the stream forks off and goes around the shallow riff. Then underneath the riff (or on the down-stream side of it) there is a pool where the water depth is a bit deeper.

I would make my casts cross stream at about 10 "o'clock. Twitch the Blaze a few times as it floated in the run and then rip it back across the pool once it hit the current seam.

I ended up nailing 4 quality smallies at this pool using this tactic.

2 @ 18 inches, 1 @ 17.5 inches, and 1 @ 17 inches.

All in about a 15 minute span.

Very exciting 15 minutes!

18 inches

17.5 inches

18 inches

17 inches

I had a BLAST that 15 minutes, and then I ran off to work feeling all giddy.

For your viewing pleasure......

       (scroll side to side) 

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5/10

PRY12 - 6.22ft.

The weather was pretty great today.

I thought it might be a good idea to break the fly rod out and

solo wade the south branch of the Kish.

Didn't even get a bite.

Glad I don't get paid to think.

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5/13/14

PRY12 - 6.78

THINKING BIG

Stopped down at the Kish before work. The river is up from the rain we received on Sunday.

I was shore fishing an area that has a large eddy and just down-stream from me there was a spot that had smallmouth written all over it. The spot I wanted to cast to was kind of blocked by a large over hanging tree that made it impossible to cast to. I ended up casting to the opposite bank and worked my Blaze Popper across the current with twitches and short rips. Using this technique, the Blaze made a B-line to the shore that I was fishing from. I used my head for once and made a long cast downstream at about 2 o'clock. A few twitches and rips and the Blaze was right against the shore line of the spot I wanted to hit. Twitch, twitch, twitch, riiiiiiiip, and BINGO! 18 inch smallmouth sitting right where I thought it might be sitting. 

I landed 4 other smallies that went about 12 inches each.

Here is a sketch of how it all went down....

(scroll side to side to see full image)

And here is the result.....

This season is real starting off in a BIG way.

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5/18/14

PRY12 - 6.91ft.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! 

Hit the creek for about a 3 1/2 wet wade. I headed up-stream

tossing a Blaze Popper along the way and picked up 8 smallies and lost about 4, one of which was a real nice one, Damn it!

The largest of the 8 went 17.5 inches, the rest were over 12" but less than 15"

After I waded up as far as I wanted, I then tied on a tube and started heading back
down-stream. Picked up 3 more smallies,  2 of which were slightly over 15 inches.
The bite completely shutdown around 5:30pm.

Again, I lost a real nice one on the tube. Not only once, but twice.

I'm gonna have to get to the root of that problem....

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5/20/14

PRY12 - 6.65ft.

GOTTA LOVE THOSE 1st CAST SMALLIES

Believe it or not, but I really didn't plan on going out on this day.

I'm not kidding!

On this day my house was going to receive new siding.

The work crew was to arrive around 6am. and I had a couple plants that

I wanted to get moved before they got here, so I was up at 5am.

Being that I work nights (2pm - 10:30pm) I'm always up late at night, so

I only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep that night.

Any hoot, I thought that I would fall asleep in the recliner for a couple

hours before work, but that wasn't happening with all the pounding from

the work crew.  Sadly I turned to my wife sitting on the couch and muttered these words....

"I guess I'll go fishing."

Got off to a late start so I only had about an hour to work my magic.

Stepped foot in water and made my first cast and popped a nice 14 inch smallmouth

with a Blaze Popper. I landed two other smallies (14" & 16") with that same popper before

tying on a tube. I made about 10 cast with the tube and never got a bump.

PUT THE DAMN BLAZE BACK ON! 

     

Okay, so I did. As I turned to head back down-stream, I could see about 

50 yards in front of me that something was cutting V's in the waters surface, and  breaking

the surface with large splashes. I carefully and quietly (stealth like) worked my way

closer and closer, casting as I crept.

You damn right I gots that fish!

A real feisty 15 incher.

All fish seemed to be super active.

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5/22/14

PRY12 - 6.70ft.

Stopped down at the crick before work.

Water is up and stained from the rains Dekalb must have received a couple days ago..

I picked up one smallie at 13 inches. 


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5/29/14

PRY12 - 6.72ft.

SNAP!

I was walking around in the creek today and saw this fish swimming around

by a long in the water. The fish looked kind of tired just sitting' there, so I waited

for the fish to yawn and when it did I stuck my thumb in it's mouth and pulled the fish out of the water.

Okay so I'm a liar. It didn't really go down that way.

Here's the truth....

Stopped down at the crick a couple hours before work and started wading 

down-stream tossing a Blaze Popper. There was no interest at all for the Blaze

which didn't surprise me because the water is a little up and stained from the rain earlier in the week.

Once I decided to give up on the topwater, I then tied on a tube and picked up 4 tough

fighting smallies. There was really no size to any of them but they all put up

great little fights and made this before work outing very enjoyable.


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5/31/14

PRY12 - 6.30

ISA FLOAT TRIP

We got our first float trip of the year in, and boy was it a hot one!
Weather-wise that is, not so much with the bite.
We all (7 of us in 6 boats) met at the Cherry Valley Cafe for some breakfast and smallmouth talk and
from there we shuttled our cars around to pit-ins and take-outs, and then we were off!
We floated from Belvidere, Appleton Rd put-in to Cherry Valley's Baumann Park.
As mentioned earlier in this post, the bite was not all that great on this day probably due to what we in the smallmouth world refer to as "Post Spawn Slump" (PSS).
PSS is a time immediately after the spawn ritual where as the female smallies are are exhausted and the males are kind of locked into protection of the nest and its eggs and then the fingerlings after hatch. Although not all smallies spawn on the same exact day I think it's safe to say the the bite will be kind of off for the next couple of weeks. There will be a special couple of days in the very near future where the females will want to "pig out" once they have regained their strength. 
All I can do is hope that I will be on the water when that happens.
Myself and Samantha (pictured below) pulled in the skunks of the day during the float.
Everybody else got at least 2 smallies with Tim coming out in front with numbers in the teens.
We kind of all split up and fished at our own paces and the float lasted from 
6 to 8 1/2 hours with Bart taking out first around 5pm and Tim taking out last
 around 7:30pm. 
Wish the bite could have been better but we all had a good time and enjoyed the day on the Kishwaukee River.

(Pictures of the day) 

                                                                             Where's Tim?

WHO?


----------------------------------------
May outings - 12
May catches - 35

Year to date outings - 24
Year to date smallie catches - 54 

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<*(((>{tjd