October 21, 2009 First Trout of The Season

Yesterday I went back to my favorite little lake in Illinois. They had
just stocked the lake with 3,000 lb.'s. of Rainbow Trout the week
before.

Tried fishing for Crappie using a Yellow Chartreuse Wade Blade with a
minnow. Anchored off next to the same tree I fished the last time I
was there. Sat my Wade Blade in the middle of the tree and ten
seconds later....my slip float was gone! I set the hook and felt some
weight on the end of the rod. I pulled up a nice 2.5 lb. trout. I
managed to get him up and over the main trunk of the tree before it
had a chance to get me wrapped up.

Once in the boat, I noticed the fish had another line in it's mouth.
*See pic. Someone had hooked the fish and it broke their line. The
snap swivel, hook, and Berkley Power Eggs were still intact! I put
another minnow on and put it in the same place, and hooked another
nice trout. Hooked two more, for a total of four, before I called it
quits. One of the trout was a nice female which leaked eggs all over
the floor of the boat and live-well. There was even a bunch left when
I cleaned the fish. *See pic.

I also caught two keeper Crappie from a couple trees. The wind started
to P.U. which made it difficult to fish one of the trees. Tried
casting with Rooster Tails, but did not have any strikes. There were
lots of small (minnow size) shad in the lake, and I think all the fish
were getting their fill.

Crappie Fishing 10/7/09

Finally got out today. Went Crappie fishing at one of my favorite
little lakes, at a state park in Illinois.

Got to the lake around 11:00 and there was only one boat in the
parking lot. I noticed there was a guy at the fish cleaning station,
so I walked over to talk to him. He just came off the water and was
cleaning his limit of Crappie. That was a good sign.

I fished a couple trees, with no luck, but came across a third one,
and got a bite. I turned the boat around and anchored off. I was using
a Yellow Chartreuse Wade's Blade with a #6 hook, tipped with a minnow.
I sat in the same tree and caught around twenty Crappie. I kept my
limit of ten fish. Actually put some in the livewell to cull later,
when I caught a bigger one.

It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and temps in the upper 60's,
with a slight breeze. I started out fishing the deeper parts of the
brush, but was surprised to hook some of the bigger fish in water as
shallow as two feet! Just shows you that you never can tell where
they'll be. Using a slip float really helps you to quickly adjust the
depth you are fishing at. Keep moving from spot to spot in and around
the tree and keep adjusting the depth, until you find the fish.

Here are some pics. Till next time.....tight lines!

Greg