HIGH RIVER CARP

Tonight I fished the Fox River. I was Yarpin or Kayak Carpin behind an island. Since the CFS was 3330 or cubic feet per second after a recent rain, the main channel was out of the question for safe kayak angling.

Behind this island I was completely sheltered from the raging current on the other side. This backwater is usually only 1-2 feet but after heavy rains it rises to 2-4 feet. After a couple days of high water the carp and other species move in. My guess as to why is to get out of the current and feed. The water temp has been low but today it rose just a couple of degrees and with the warmer air temp the carp were on the feed.

I used two Bass pro shops 8'6 float and fly rods which are perfect for carp. Long enough to handle fish and manage line. These rods are flexible enough to have a good time. The are also priced right at 50-60 bucks any angler can afford one.

I fished large Thill slip floats, however I was fishing the bottom. I use the float as a strike indicator but this also leaves no tension on the line when the carp picks up the bait.

The bait I used today was flavored corn and a dough bait I call Tropical Fusion. I make these baits myself. I also use a hair rig which I also make myself.

I ended up up with six landed fish, two lost, and a few swing and misses. The largest fish being 26 inches.

If you want to give YARPIN a try contact www.dupagefishingguide.com

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

A Tale of Two Rivers

I needed to get a look at the rivers after the huge flood of 2013 we had in our area. I managed to get out four times. I got out once to the fox with DA member Sooner Bass and three very short trips to the DuPage, two of those with DA member JcCrappies.

The first trip on May 4^th to the DuPage with Chunsum (JcCrappies) was a surprise. The water was still way up and chocolate milk. We fished only the nook and cranny of slack water we could find. We managed to score some smallies. We also got about a dozen crappies behind a bridge. Two nice fish we caught and one beast lost.

The second trip on May 5^th to the fox was an eye opener. On a tip from DA member Flawlessfishing we hit the Fox on a search for White Bass. We managed to get some whites some smallies and even some yellows. The water here was still very high and un-safe to wade. The real excitement came when Sooner Bass hooked and caught a 33.25 Musky!!!!

Number three was back to the Dupage on May 7^th after work, which the stress relief fishing provides after a hard day is priceless, the water was a foot and a half lower then the previous trip. The water was still muddy but the bite was much better. I had 20 smallies myself and a few panfish. Chunsum did very well also. Though the numbers were up the size was not and only one good fish was caught. But it was a blast!!

On my last trip on May 9^th, I went solo to some new water that in normal levels would be too shallow. I try to make myself fish new water a few times a year. To my surprise in an hour I caught 3 cats and one small mouth.

Another week or so with no major rain and the rivers will be hot and ready. I fished all these trips with my standard drift rig. I happily use Raven steelhead products to dial in this technique.

Anyone can successfully wade and catch fish at rivers, including you.

The Fishing Goes On - Tom Walsh - Redhook

Written by Dupage Angler: Tom Walsh - Redhook

It’s been a while since I posted, but the fishing goes on…it never stops.

It’s my 2nd year of winter river fishing. Last year at this time, I had 1 creek chub as my tally for the month of January, and I only caught 1 more fish, a foul hooked carp, to finish the month off.  This month I’ve caught about 75 fish, all small walleyes. But I’m enjoying every second of it, and can only mention the  ½ hour drive to my spot to complain about.

I guess I’m a minnow guy now. I’ve been fishing fatheads for the last couple weeks and my success rate has increased dramatically. I’m hooking them on a 1/32 oz pearl gumball jig head.  The jig head keeps the minnow from sliding up my line when I catch something.  I look forward to breaking out the lures again, when I can, but for now, I’m just jazzed to be catching fish every time I go out.

It’s funny. At times I shudder at the thought of being out there in the wind, with temps hovering around 20 degrees. Sometimes that keeps me in my warm bed a little longer, but when the fishing bug overcomes that, the cold isn't much of a problem. I've got some super warm boots , some snow pants to wear over my jeans or dockers(gotta do something before work!), 2-3 jackets over a long sleeved shirt and sweater, neoprene gloves and my Beardhead Barbarian Vagabond hat. As long as I keep my fingers moving, I’m good.

Here’s me before a recent morning outing, geared up and ready. The other shot is my first fish of the day. I’ve been getting anywhere from 3 to 8 of these little walleye in the 45 minutes I have to fish.

Redhook out.

Last 2012 Weekend was not a Weak End

Last 2012 Weekend was not a Weak End written by Redhook(Tom W)DupageAngler.com Member 

 This weekend went from weak to great for me. On Saturday, I got an early start at the Fox. Not as early as Pondboy and Darkstar who arrived at the spot just minutes ahead of me. They were wading, I was shore fishing. I struggled and shivered for about 2 hours, catching 2 walleye on Berkley gulp minnows. The wading guys did better on live minnows. Made note to self, buy minnows! 

 I spend the afternoon out shopping with the missus. Happily this included a stop at Bass Pro for some additional walleye worthy baits. On Sunday, I thought it was going to be too cold to fish. But when I learned that my wife had shopping plans with my girls, and the temperatures rallied to the twenties, I decided to head back to the fox for more walleye. I managed only one in just over an hour, but it was a beautiful day. (Used a BPS Squirming grub)Sunny skies and low winds helped me stay toasty warm in my many layers of clothing. I’ll take that all winter, thank you. Just give me more fish. On the way home, I stopped for a dozen minnows. They don’t count the minnows that they net and dump into the bucket, but I did. I ended up with over 2 dozen! 

On Monday, I started my fishing day pre-dawn at the Salt Creek in Hinsdale. The DuPage County FP Outdoor Report suggested trying minnows below the dam for walleye, northerns, etc. I struck out and headed back to the Fox after about an hour and a half. The Fox treated me much better. I hit a small walleye on the first cast. I had 8 within a half hour. All on minnows. I tried a Berkley Powerbait minnow for the next ½ hour and only managed 1 walleye. I moved spots and went back to minnows, finishing my morning with 13 walleye. Nice! 

 Unexpectedly, my phone rang with Pondboy on the other end. He was weighing his options for shore fishing and wondered how well I did on Saturday. When I told him how I was doing at present, I could practically here is car tires screeching down his driveway. He showed up about 45 minutes later. Before he arrived I took the opportunity to warm up in my car, find some food and to pee. After that, all was right with the world. PB and I managed to squeeze into a shoreline spot. A couple more groups had arrived while I was away, but I ended up in the same spot where I’d had my great run earlier. In about 2 hours, I added another 6 to my total, for 19 on the day. 

 Pondboy thanked me for staying to fish with him, but in truth, I’d planned to continue anyway and it was nice to have some company. He’s quick with the camera and a good talker. He started a conversation with a nearby angler and proceeded to tease me about how quiet I was. That’s okay, I’m used to it. I’m more of a written word kind of guy.

 Pondboy had a few catches and we both had several misses. Most notably, near the end, we had a double between us. He handed me his fish for a quick picture. 

 I’m not a fish kisser, but I think fish on fish kissing is fine. I’m a Cupid for fish. What a great year ender to a great year! My total fish caught for 2012 was1556.

Beard Headed Walleye

Beard Headed Walleye

Like most angling days it started at O’Dark Thirty. It was cold…very cold. I had dressed for the weather but what I pictured in my head was warmer. I met JC1Crappies and Redhook62 both DuPageAngler.com members. We all sported floats and crawlers for the lion’s share of bites. We caught a mess of small fall walleyes, a couple bass, and red caught one very nice white bass before the sun was even out!

The cool thing about today, it was our first day field testing BeardHead.com products!!!

The hats themselves are very good quality and did the job of keeping our heads and ears warm while fishing. Just look at these things!!!! They rock!!! On their site they have a wicked selection of BeardHeads. When I first got mine, the kids and I ran around the house with them on. These are perfect for fisherman. Why? Well besides the whole fishing in the elements thing, there is the fact that these are a guys guy thing. Besides the Oxy Clean Guy (God rest his soul) and DA Member Wilks what guy does not dream to sport a full blown in your face beard? Also, do you know why there is a “Talk Like A Pirate” day? Because guys like it!! I mean I always wanted to be a Viking! We, as fisherman, are out there many times to hang out with our friends, have some laughs, catch some fish and these BeardHeads help us do that.

My head was the only part of me that was toasty. My fingers and toes were shot. Once they get that cold, even hand warmers don’t help any more. Bad part about a constant bite is all the baiting hooks and getting the ice off your guides.

I want to thank Chunsum (Crappie) and Tom (Red) for going Barbarian and slamming some small cigars today. 

Walleyes a Swing and a Miss!

Always looking for new water on the Fox, a friend pointed me to an area that was near Yorkville. I have been looking for more walleye water as my consistent spots are an hour north for me. This spot was just past water I already explored, but knowing there was a deeper hole were walleyes bite on a regular basis I had to make the journey. I asked Ted Yates aka Sooner Bass (on DuPageAngler.com) to go with. We brought our yaks to fish deeper water and mine is armed with a locator so finding the hole would be a breeze. Finding the hole was a breeze, a nice 6 foot deep stretch surrounded by 2 foot of water. The spot is perfect. Problem is the fish didn't know that, well at least on this day. I fished it thoroughly with drift rigs and lindy rigs that only fish interested was a baby Flathead. 

Was it just a bad day? Is this a night bite only spot? I don't know the answer but I like it enough to go back again next season and find out. After fishing the hole inside and out ted suggested that we explore and paddle up river for a short stretch (note to self: Ted is in better shape then you next time tell him to bite it.) After paddling forever and ever, we could not find anything deeper than 2.5 feet. Funny thing was all the fish we were to catch for the day came from the shallow flats. Ted caught 3 smallies, 1 large mouth, 1 crappie and a catfish, I managed to scrape up 5 small channels myself. Teds came mostly on minnows and leeches. my fish came dragging a crawler behind the yak as I drifted. We caught enough fish to salvage the day but as for the walleyes it was a swing and a miss. So far this fall it's Eyes 2 - Pondboy 0.

PODCAST Yellow Bass & Inland Trout

DuPage Angler Marty Rogers and Daniel Byrne (aka Pond Boy) discuss their DuPage yellow bass and trout fishing experiences on the DuPage Angling Network.DuPage Angler Marty Rogers and Daniel Byrne (aka Pond Boy) discuss their DuPage trout fishing experiences on the DuPage Angling Network.

http://www.dupageangler.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=448:2012-fall-trout-season&catid=183:dupage-angler-internet-radio-live&Itemid=742