Breakfast Time Bassin' (with pics)

by **Maliboo** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:12 am

Went to the fast & furious pond like I do every Monday morning and landed 24 bass and 1 crappie this time. I stopped after I caught one more than yesterday.

This time I started with a Lucky Craft Pointer 78SP in Pineapple Shad. I think Pineapple Shad is an exclusive color to Dick's Sporting Goods, cos I don't see it on the LC website. Caught 6 before I changed lures.

Then I tried out Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in Fried Watermelon weightless. This is a pitching/flipping bait, but it works pretty well cast from shore when the fish are hitting on the fall. I only caught 2 before I lost the lure, and I didn't bring any extra.

Then I finished up with a 5" Senko in Clear with silver/gold/black flake. I caught 2 then lost the worm with the o-ring, but then on the next one I caught 14 without losing it. Here's a pic of how the Senko goes up the line with the o'ring when you catch a fish:

I even caught a crappie on this Senko!

Then I went to Hidden Lake Forest Preserve hoping to catch a smallmouth. I've never caught one before, being as I'm from California and this is my first season fishing here. The main lake, Round Meadow Lake is for boats only, you can't reach any of it from shore. I'm not even sure how you get a boat into the water there. So I walked to Eagle Lake and fished half of it with a Rapala F7 hoping for a smallie, then on the way back fished with a Senko but got absolutely nothing. The water is crystal clear there and I did see some fish, but they weren't in the mood today I guess. Have to try some other time...

Interestingly, I read an online article while I was at work about the place we went to yesterday, Heritage Lake in Carol Stream, that said it was stocked with rainbow trout and STRIPERS! What?!? And that a 9lb bass was caught out of there! Huh?!? I can't find the website on Google now though. I think I searched for "heritage lake carol stream fishing" but can't find it. I think it was a newspaper article as well. Talked about some ex-guide old guy who personally dug the lake and stocked it. That's unbelievable right?

by **Maliboo** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:02 am

So after two days of scouting new locations and only catching dinks and skunks, the co-worker and I went to Bass Lake this morning where chances are pretty good. I caught a 15 incher and a 13 incher and he got skunked. But, he was experimenting with a Banjo Minnow and a Roostertail.

On the way out we stopped at the lily pad cove in Deep Quarry for a couple casts and saw an enormous school of big 6" shad getting crazy. Then a big wake chased them far away. Probably a mean ol' pike...

by **Maliboo** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 9:20 am

Went to Spring Creek Reservoir for about 45 minutes and got skunked. The water there is very muddy right now and all I had was finesse baits which I had no confidence in because of the dark water.

Then went to Maple Lake for about 45 minutes and got skunked again.

by **Maliboo** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:26 am

Went back to Green Lake at Cricket Creek forest preserve this morning. Last Saturday my co-worker and I caught a couple pretty quick then started walking, so this Saturday I fished more slowly and concentrated on one shore. Unfortunately there was a cold front in effect and I didn't get any action whatsoever. Still, I won't write this place of completely yet because the cold front may have given them temporary lockjaw. There was absolutely no other people fishing the lake, and that was very nice.

by **Maliboo** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 1:32 pm

Sunday morning means the fast & furious pond. Caught 23 bass again. I really didn't want to leave but I saw somebody moving around in their house and so I needed to skeedaddle in case they called the man on me. I really don't want to be thrown out of this pond like I was the pond with the big fish that started this thread.

My thumb is seriously sore from lipping all these guys. They're extremely feisty. Not too big, the average size is 13"-14"

I also hooked a big bluegill on a 5" Senko. That's what the pecker gets for messing with my lure. I hate when bluegills give me the "tap-tap"

Plus I hooked a nice crappie. Hooked him in the back, he should've minded his own business as well.

Then I went to Mays Lake at the Mayslake forest preserve and caught this little fellow:

Then I went somewhere else and caught this 18.5" three and a half pounder:

by **Maliboo** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:18 am

Started the day off at the fast & furious pond, but I think its cooling off cos I've probably caught most of the fish in there. Only caught 10 today. Nothing bigger than 14".

Then I went somewhere else and had the fight of my life. Accidentally snagged an enormous carp in the tail with my light action rod and 6lb test. At first I thought I had a monster bass, my drag started feeding out, but then it didn't stop! The damned thing took off all the way across the lake! Took me about half an hour to land it, and my arm was seriously sore. Must've been at least 20 pounds.

Then I caught this 4lb 12oz largemouth bass:

<a href="http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t26/ColdHandsOfTerror/?action=view¤t=DSC05450.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t26/ColdHandsOfTerror/DSC05450.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Notice the band-aid on my thumb from lipping so many fish.

by **McLarenMP4** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:32 pm

Great post and very nice fish!!! I have been looking for bass like that for the past couple of weeks but don't have the amount of options where I am.

by **Maliboo** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 8:44 am

Went to Deep Quarry of all places for about 45 minutes today. No action to report.

by **Fraser434** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:18 am

Maliboo wrote:Went to Deep Quarry of all places for about 45 minutes today. No action to report.

No surprise there, great thread otherwise

by **jb2063** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:32 am

Nice job on all the fish!! :)2

..I'm the same way alway looking for a new honey hole, and they are very hard to find.. right now I only know of 1 honey hole where I can go and catch 20 bass in a couple hours. Its especially awesome after a good rain. It's in a gated community so I can only go when my friend wants to cause his cousin has to call us in. Luckily he likes to fish as much as me. :-D

Do you ever fish the rivers?

by **wonko47** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:48 am

The village stocks the pond for the derby.I've been taking my son over there for the last three weekends trying to find a good hole.All we've pulled out were dinky dinks.They stocked it the other day and have the "no fishing" sings up now.It's nice having a spot two blocks from home to take a 4 year old to.I'll let you know what gets pulled out after the derby.

by **Maliboo** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:54 am

jb2063 wrote:Do you ever fish the rivers?

Not really. Rivers perplex me. I have fished briefly in the East Branch of the DuPage River at Churchill Woods forest preserve and Salt Creek at the Cricket Creek forest preserve, but didn't get any action. Also, one time I went to the Illinois River at Starved Rock with a co-worker who has a boat and we caught a mess of sheephead or drum, some baby walleyes, and 3 really big shad. I'm so used to fishing ponds and small lakes that I'm totally out of my element in a river situation, but I really really want to find a place I can catch my first smallmouth...

The village stocks the pond for the derby.I've been taking my son over there for the last three weekends trying to find a good hole.All we've pulled out were dinky dinks.They stocked it the other day and have the "no fishing" sings up now.It's nice having a spot two blocks from home to take a 4 year old to.I'll let you know what gets pulled out after the derby.

Great! I look forward to hearing your report about the Glendale Heights kids fishing derby at Lake Becerra in Heritage Park. I wonder what they stocked the lake with? Aren't most stockings just fingerlings? I guess there will be some 5"-7" bass and small cats for the kids to catch then. When I was there I saw one sign that had four "anti" circles for no swimming, no boating, no skating, and no fishing, but right under it there was another sign that said, "This lake is designated catch and release." So I figured they just didn't want to change the original sign. Now you're saying there's more signs that just say "no fishing?" Probably just until after the kids fishing derby is over I would suspect.

Today I went to Veterans Park in Carol Stream with a co-worker. We only fished one of the 5 ponds they have there for about 45 minutes and caught two 12" and one 14" bass. This place will bear further study...

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Breakfast Time Bassin' (with pics)

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Lake Becerra, Glendale heights

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