TheBaitMonkey

Has anyone had any luck catching smallmouth in the Des Plaines River in the northern Chicago suburbs? Maybe the better question - does anyone have any smallmouth spots near the northern burbs? Starting to get that itch to catch some smallies... I may have to head up to WI to Nagawicka.

I was able to sneak out the other night after getting the kids to sleep and ran into a new PB! 6lbs 3oz at a little lake by my house. I found an offshore weedline in about 10ft of water on my portable fish finder and she wacked my crankbait as I was paralleling it. Tight lines this weekend!

For me it's mostly a numbers bait but that can also vary based on the plastic you choose. I'll use an 1/8 oz weight often times (heavier if you're fishing deeper) and will use all different types of plastics, I really like beavers with it or items that are a little wider like a Deps Bull Flat. If you want to catch some big ones on it toss on a Magnum Ol' Monster (Rage Tail Anaconda ?) or one of your favorite magnum worms, I bet it would work. If you want to stick with Zman I'd try a palmetto bug. Glenn has a good video on it here --

Toss on a 10”-12” ribbon tail worm or magnum trick worm on a 5/0 cover shot hook with a 3/16 - 1/4 oz dropshot weight and toss it along the edges of the dock if it is a little weedy. That’s been my ticket along with big swimbaits recently. Often times I’ll be able to see them following the swimbait since they’re curious then I’ll follow up with the magnum worm later on to get ‘em to commit. I don’t think the bass are used to seeing big worms often, especially on a dropshot hovering right in their face.

Big bait! It was on an 8” Magdraft. I caught a 4lber not too long before this on the Gantaral too. This was on Sunday evening after all of the storms, the big girls were hungry!

Those are some nice ones! I’ve been reading posts on this forum on and off for 10 years so I figured it was time to jump in. I caught this one the other night on a swimbait up in lake county from the kayak. Tight lines guys!