Drift Fishing Small-mouth and Catfish using Raven Tackle with DuPage Angler

I got a chance to go fishing with Marty Rogers founder of DupageAngler.com. I was excited because he is always crazy busy and fishing with him is always full of laughter.

We met way before sunlight and headed out west to a small creek that was finally not running high from all the spring rain. Our plan was to wade and drift fish for catfish and smallmouth using Raven floats, live bait and long rods. For more information on how we drift fish click HERE. The one thing I can say about Raven Tackle as it has dialed in our technique and our catch numbers has sky-rocketed.

We had the holy trinity of live bait crawlers, leeches, and minnows. For some reason the minnows just were not getting hit but the leeches were. Usually it is the other way around and in a hurry we will pass on the leeches.

This creek is very dynamic and spring rains design a new creek each year. Most years holes that are filled in by flooding are replaced by some new ones. This year there was only one new hole but many old holes were gone for good. We got on fish but had to fish twice as far as we usually do. This broke my heart a bit as three of my favorite holes were either half the size or non existent.

Marty and I fished and laughed and caught a ton of fish most small and not picture worthy, but great just the same. It definitely was a fun angling adventure.

DuPage Fishing Guide Service: Drift Fishing and Having Fun.

Keith met me in my drive way at o’dark thirty and I was immediately impressed when he pulled out a light weight custom steelhead rod from Xcalibur Rods. It was a little heavy for smallies but it was a beautiful rod.

The plan was to hit the DuPage River. We were at the most beautiful fishing spot I have on the river. The forest was a little spooky in the dark walking down to the river especially since we had just finished throwing wildlife stories around before we got there.

Quite a few of my clients want not only want to wade or smallie fish but they want to learn my bait drifting techniques for multiple species in rivers and streams. In a nutshell I use steelhead fishing concepts and tech to present live baits in at the most natural depth and speed. I mostly use Raven products for this. See this post for more detailed information. http://pondboyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/04/driftin-live-bait-for-dupage-river.html

I thought the trip was going to be easy peasy after Keith scored a couple quick fish. One was a gorgeous 17 inches, DuPage River Gold!! The spot got very slow after that. As the sun came up I just was not seeing the amounts of fish I usually do. Most trips I usually don’t have to change spots. One good stretch usually does it. Four spots total and five fish. Each spot produced fish however 20 fish in one stretch in a couple hours is not unheard of.

Keith’s day was open and so was mine so we decided on a round two and to not only switch rivers, but species as well. We headed to the Fox for carp. I love any opportunity to get a bass fisherman to try carp, the looks on their faces as they are hooked is awesome. I had him grab his steel-head rod which is perfect for fish of this size. We used the same drift rigs just bigger Raven floats. When drifting for carp you are not working seams in current like smallies but the slow, static, murky stuff. The drift needs to be much slower. We used size 4 hooks and good ol'corn. We hooked up right away and landed two awesome carp and some cats as well! We also had a couple fish show us the door.

I met another great fisherman and had a blast. If you would like a Angling Adventure of your own please contact me Daniel Pondboy Byrne at DupageFishingGuide.com

What would your first carp catch be like?

What would your first carp catch be like?

One of my regular clients after some prompting decided to try something new and attempt to catch his first carp. He brought his fishing partner along and they met me at 3:30. I prefer morning trips. I firmly believe the morning bite is better then the evening bites. There was blue bird skies, it was hot, and a 30 mph wind to deal with.

I called fellow DuPageAngler.com member Joshua Bennett for a little help. He is a carp angler and photographer. It was great to have the extra rods out for the guys and having awesome photos shots of the guys fishing!

http://www.sunshinephotography.net/Outdoor-Sports/2014-07-27-Fishing/

http://www.sunshinephotography.net/

The first spot we chose was a new but reliable spot plus it was sheltered by the wind. After and hour of soaking carp bait,I see my 14 year old client playing on his phone and I know it is time to move.

Joshua had been fly fishing carp at a new pond with some great results. It has a nice lawn, a parking lot close, and a good carp population. The problem was its next to a corn field so there was no escape from the pounding winds.

We set up on a small point when lady luck struck a corn rod. (We had both float rigs and bottom rigs setup using corn bread and boilies.)It was a nice fish! The kid was excited and the look on his face was awesome. Then it was George’s turn they both seemed surprised at the strength and bull runs the carp made. I think I was more excited then they were.

Joshua for some crazy reason brought an ultra light and of course it gets bit!! We handed the kid the rod and said good luck with smirks on our faces. He didn’t have a snowballs chance in hell of landing that fish. He surprised us big time! He reeled against the drag for a moment then calmed down and settled in for the fight. Kid has his second carp ever on and he was fighting it better then most. We were both impressed as the fish was landed.

We were running out of light and George decided to call it. Just then one rod bent in half and he landed the biggest fish of the night!!

It was a fun evening. The guys had a great time and so did I. Joshua’s photography services will soon be available on any trip from shore! So please check out his site and his shots from the trip.

If you would like to have an Angling Adventure of your own just visit dupagefishingguide.com