Little Atom Open Water Finicky December Crappie

Open Water Finicky December Crappie

It was the day after Christmas and there was no ice to be found in the Chicago area. It was a balmy 50 degrees! Not fishing on such a warm day would just be wrong.

I managed to catch about 14 fish from 3 out of 4 ponds. A couple fish were caught on Lake Fork Shads the rest on Little Atom plastics. In fact Little Atom saved the day. Using these micro plastics on ice jigs got the finicky fish to bite and were perfect for the small fish. The baits I used today were the micro Nuggie and the Wedgee. I used weighted Thill floats to get the long casts I needed to reach the deeper water I would normally be ice fishing. The fish were small But I was not complaining to be catching when other were still in bed.

It was great to catch some fish with no ice, especially with the crappie being shut off in a lot of the area. Next time you head out in cold weather or slow conditions bring Little Atom along to save the day! 

EIGHT SUMMER ANGLING ADVENTURES

6-26-13 Kayak fishing with Dupageangler.com member Soonerbass aka Ted Yates:

We fished a suburban pond from out yaks and just crushed the fish! Sooner scored his on top water and I landed over 20 on four-inch Berkley Power worms it was an awesome summer night and a great way to break up the workweek. I landed an 18-inch fish on this trip! More on the trip click HERE

6-30-13 Whacker pond fishing with DA member JcCrappies (aka Chunsum Choi):

We hit three ponds and we had a blast!!! We went through so many whackers we had to stop at the house of Crabby Bass Lures partner Charles S and get some more plastics!! I landed an 18 and a 17-inch fish on this trip!

7-1-13 Kayaking and bassing a local lake solo to start my vacation:

I landed over ten bass with Crabby Bass Whackers and 4 in worms! My big fish for this day was a toad that measured 21 inches!!

7-3-13 Kayaking for summer panfish:

I was able to yak a private lake and got a bunch of 10-inch crappies and 7-inch gills. I used little atom plastics and night crawlers

7-4-13 Kayaking with Dupage Anglers and our kayak wars team:

Sooner Bass, Brim, JcCrappies, and myself all met at a small lake at dawn. The top water bite was non-stop for about an hour. Many bass were caught. Once the sun popped the bite all but shut down leaving us with only a few opportunities with plastics. I had so much fun. I landed 3 big fish on this trip a 17,18, and a 20 incher.

7-5-13 Short DuPage River wading trip fishing with Wacky Bass aka Marty R.:

Wacky and I had a couple hours and got a late start. We fished a stretch of the west branch in Plainfield and were covered in sweat before we even started fishing. We drifted live bait and grubs. We caught about 10 between us, had some fun, and then decided to get out of the heat.

7-6-13 Wading the West Branch with Chunsum (aka JcCrappies) in Shorewood:

We arrived very early and started drifting crawlers and crabby helgies. The Bite was not hot and heavy but persistence paid off. We did not catch many in our tradition holes many of the fish were hugging the shores under trees. I am glad Jc noticed this or we would not of caught at least 12 of our fish. My big fish for the day was 17 inches!

7-7-13 Guide Trip Booked with DuPage Anger Member Mcalla:

Mike want to learn more about wading and with the fox up and running we hit a tributary instead. We fished from 5:30 – 10:30 dodging most of the heat. We used my drifting technique with minnows, leeches, and crawlers. Mike scored big with 25 fish, six species, and several nice fish!! www.dupageguideservice.com

Birthday Ice Fishing 2013

Birthday Ice Fishing 2013

Every year there are two days that I can count on fishing for sure; father’s day and my Birthday. For my birthday I always take a day off. This year thanks to the great friends I have found at DuPage Angler.com I had partners in crime take off the day as well. Jason (aka Darkstar) and Ted Yates (soonerbass) both agreed they would join me along with my brother-in-law Al.

Well the winter weather again this year has been a disappointment to say the least. Warm weather and unsafe conditions have taken their toll on the ice angling community. I set my alarm and I was quickly off to sleep anxious to start fishing in the morning. This morning mind you, I have planned for weeks and talked my buddies into as well. At 3:30am I wake up to pouring rain!! YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! I pick up my sell and let the guys know that it’s off, we are done, and we are sleeping in.

I could not sleep, so I look outside and no rain. Well I figure I should go see the damage on to the ice at my local pond. To my surprise the pond is not totally destroyed and safe. The shore was wet but that’s it!! So I quickly make some calls and both Sooner and DS are back in.

Our first two ponds are a disappointment. The first we could not find fish, the second thin ice, but the third was the gold! Ds made it to the ice first and crossed the thinner shore ice that was covered with 4 inches of water and started making Swiss cheese of the lake with his ION auger. I go to pull my shelter on to the ice and got a shock! I was walking backward and did not notice this hole in the ice!! Maybe a beaver hole I am not sure but in a city second my left leg is completely submerged and my ass is on the ice!! HOLY COLD ICEMAN!! Thinking on my feet, well once I got to my feet I hid in my minivan and put on the extra pair of snow pants I brought. Then yelled “which of you is wearing more than one pair of socks?” Thanks Ted for the donation to the pondboy fell on his ass foundation.

We decided to fish the suspended fish we found in 6.5 foot of water. The crappie bite was great thanks to Little Atom Wedgees and Nuggies. The plastics out fished any other presentation. In fact I did not even open my spikes and waxies! It was a blast everyone was catching fish. The bluegills were not as easy to get on the line but we managed to trick some of them as well. Both the full size Nuggies and the micro Nuggies worked. I really love the red and orange colors.

After fishing a while the guys went and got pizza for my birthday!! What an awesome meal on the water! Thanks guys.

Well when the guys brought the food on the ice they discovered the shore ice was getting worse and worse due to the climbing temps and the sun now beaming down on the lake. We had to either cut our day short or risk not getting back to shore.

We very carefully got ourselves and our truck load of equipment off the dying ice and called it a day. Although it was not the all day fishing marathon I had planned we managed to find some ice and some fish. I had a great time with friends as well. Not a bad birthday angling adventure.

LITTLE ATOM LURES