Nice_Bass Posted March 25, 2015 Posted March 25, 2015 Anyone on here from around the Carbondale area, if not I'm sure some of ya have fished down here. lived down there for a while and wished I still did... headed down there tomorrow actually for a couple days. Fished a lot down there- worked at crab orchard refuge for a while as well so spent a lot of time on those area lakes as well as Kincaid. Quote
tbone1993 Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Any Il guys shore fish lake Michigan? Just looking for some info on when the bass move up. Im back at school but am willing to drive back up once they start to spawn. Quote
jross1901 Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 any one been out on clinton lately, what are the water temps and bass doing? boat is finally ready going out weds and thurs Quote
Nice_Bass Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Been a couple weeks for me- but heard crappie are prespawn and water is 70 at 48 bridge. Bite has got to be hot on Wednesday after this warming trend- then I think a cold front coming though Thursday. I may be wrong though, as that is what the weatherman said! Going out Friday and most likely Saturday so let me know how it goes. Quote
Nice_Bass Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Time to pay up the State if you have not already have or already have lifetime license! Quote
jross1901 Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 twas a good day gents, water temp started at 51 deg and ended up 62 in the same area later in the day. it was 70-72 on the warm side. it was a zoo out today,most boats ive ever seen in the parking lot. state park lot was almost full. mainly caught them on red eye shad traps. had one almost four lbs and my buddy caught a 21 inch female about to explode that went nearly 6lbs, good way to start the year. going to tmrw as well green smokercraft if any of you are out there come say hi. Quote
Nice_Bass Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 Wind discouraged me yesterday, and work. Today- looks a bit wet right now. Going to a couple meetings but my try to see what this afternoon looks like. congrats. I think I am going to try to be out all weekend at least. Quote
Super User QUAKEnSHAKE Posted April 2, 2015 Super User Posted April 2, 2015 Got my license yesterday and headed out. A bit windy but kept it to my back. I managed a 2.7# bass Quote
Super User slonezp Posted April 5, 2015 Super User Posted April 5, 2015 Got my license yesterday and headed out. A bit windy but kept it to my back. I managed a 2.7# bass You take that pic with a phone or a camera? That's really crisp and clear. Quote
Super User QUAKEnSHAKE Posted April 5, 2015 Super User Posted April 5, 2015 Camera Canon SD800is small point&shoot Thank You Quote
Scott75 Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 Got out Saturday we they were biting good on spinnerbaits and jigs, my son hooked up with a couple pigs. 3 Quote
Super User MarkH024 Posted April 8, 2015 Super User Posted April 8, 2015 Those are some good hawgs right there. Nice! Quote
Nice_Bass Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 well now I really question why I moved from southern Illinois... Quote
Nice_Bass Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 is that cedar or orchard... or where are you at? Quote
ItsallabouttheBass Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 Hey everyone! I just recently moved to the Joliet area from Massachusetts and dont know the fishing here at all. Any good spots for bank fishing for Large or Smallmouth around here?? I heard Heidicke was decent but Ive only been fishing the retention ponds in the neighborhood so far. Anybody that wants to point me towards a great spot I would appreciate it! Thanks! Quote
Super User Scott F Posted April 8, 2015 Super User Posted April 8, 2015 Minooka huh, there is a "secret" spot on the Illinois River just outside of town. If the water isn't too high, it's a good shore fishing spot. Send me a PM and I'll give you directions you also have the DuPage River not far away, lots of good smallmouth action there. The Fox and Kankakee Rivers are also within reasonable distances. All 3 have good shore access and good wading possibilities. Nice to have you here. I live about 15 minutes from Minooka myself. Quote
Scott75 Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 is that cedar or orchard... or where are you at? It was little grassy we had 3.2 inches of rain the day before. Fishings been hot there the last few years, and the fishing and hunting is only reason I still live in southern Illinois, lord knows I could make much better money and pay less taxes someplace else. 1 Quote
LAURASDAD Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 Hello IL Anglers, I am planning a fishing trip the weekend of April 25th. Would like to go to one of the good lakes in Southern IL. We are coming from St. Louis. We are not very good fishermen so we need help. We do have a boat. Can you offer a lake recommendation and some more detailed tips- part of the lake, depth, etc. We have heard of: Crab Orchard, Lake of Egypt, Little Grassy, Kincaid. Can anyone make a recommendation? Thanks in advance. I appreciate any and all help Larry Quote
Nice_Bass Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 It was little grassy we had 3.2 inches of rain the day before. Fishings been hot there the last few years, and the fishing and hunting is only reason I still live in southern Illinois, lord knows I could make much better money and pay less taxes someplace else. Very nice- have not been to grassy in years- but worked at Crab Orchard with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and would take my jon boat there about every day after work. Always a nice little lake. Great fish no matter where they came from!! Quote
Nice_Bass Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 Hello IL Anglers, I am planning a fishing trip the weekend of April 25th. Would like to go to one of the good lakes in Southern IL. We are coming from St. Louis. We are not very good fishermen so we need help. We do have a boat. Can you offer a lake recommendation and some more detailed tips- part of the lake, depth, etc. We have heard of: Crab Orchard, Lake of Egypt, Little Grassy, Kincaid. Can anyone make a recommendation? Thanks in advance. I appreciate any and all help Larry Larry- may want to talk to Scott above lol!! Anyhow- a bit of that depends on your boat and the type of fishing you want to do- there are some lakes better for numbers or multi-species and some that are some of the best big bass fisheries in the state (in fact, most of the lakes you named included.) If you are coming for an entire weekend, then you actually could fish more than one of these lakes each day as they are close to each other- and could have entirely different experiences altogether (the difference between devils kitchen and little grassy is incredible, and yet they are a couple minutes away from each other). Some lakes such as Crab you do need a sticker- just call the field office and they can guide you very easy- cedar lake has hp restriction, but is also a good area lake closer to Kincaid than the others. I usually stay in a cabin now south of Carbondale, and try to fish a couple different lakes. Quote
Super User slonezp Posted April 9, 2015 Super User Posted April 9, 2015 Hey everyone! I just recently moved to the Joliet area from Massachusetts and dont know the fishing here at all. Any good spots for bank fishing for Large or Smallmouth around here?? I heard Heidicke was decent but Ive only been fishing the retention ponds in the neighborhood so far. Anybody that wants to point me towards a great spot I would appreciate it! Thanks! Lasalle and Braidwood are not horribly far from where you live and should offer up some good shore fishing for another month or two Quote
Super User slonezp Posted April 10, 2015 Super User Posted April 10, 2015 Stay safe with these storms guys. Looks like a few tornados already touched down Quote
Nice_Bass Posted April 14, 2015 Posted April 14, 2015 Fished Clinton on Sunday- looked like a big hs tourney going on and I was a bit frustrated at how many boats were out. Seriously, I kind of like tourneys but in this area of the country there is just not enough water imo. Anyhow, did not see them catching much but I was able to land 4 keepers and lost two big one that looked around 5ish. Fished about 4 hours at windblown main lake points, but at the very shallow end right at the bank is where fish came from. All caught on 2.5 square bill. had never really thrown one until sunday for the most part, but it seemed to fit the bill as I just tried to cover any water I could not find 2 boats on already. At one point, I was fishing a point and a boat came up behind me (as in at my back, not off stern and were trying to cast to where I was fishing in another 30 seconds) and another boat came up on the other side of point I was casting across and not one of them even looked at me. I put my tm on high and drove back and forth across it 2 times, turned big motor on, trimmed way up, and drove slowly away. Not proudest moment but the folks that were working the boat for the highschoolers were not teaching them well at all. Quote
Scott75 Posted April 14, 2015 Posted April 14, 2015 I can understand your frustration I had the same type of incident with high school tournament fisherman last year, pulled up right in front of me on a wind blown point like I was going to turn around and let them have it. lol They don't know me well, I just kept moving in their direction, they couldn't control their boat in the wind found some rocks with the trolling motor trying to avoid me cause I was gonna leave a Dale Earnhardt rub mark for them to remember me. As for tournament pressure I'm glad I have Crab Orchard USFWS limiting the big tournaments to 3 a year. 10 Years ago I loved to fish the Lake of Egypt, now I only night fish it, I've never seen so many tournaments on a lake 2-3 tournaments EVERY Sat.-Sun. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.