i made it out to the fox river this morning from 6am to 8:30am. man am i glad i actually woke up early for a change. this morning was the first time i actually targeted smallies this year. i have been too busy messing around trying to catch a pike. i fished with WTF? around a usual spot that produces and we managed 3 smallies and a white bass off a split shot and a minnow. all 3 smallies were good size, the smallest was 12" and the biggest was 15". we then moved on to a creek mouth, and were unable to get a bite. we still cant figure that one out. but then i noticed a excellent looking eddy. a fallen tree, a deep hole, and tree roots all created the perfect spot. it was a fairly large area too. my first cast got me a nice 12" smallie within seconds of touching the water. then we landed a huge creek chub. i switched to a bobber and a minnow and drifted my bait through the eddy. the bobber went under and i missed a huge fish! made another cast, and drifted the bobber within inches of the branches in the water. i knew i was asking for trouble with 6lb test near heavy cover. sure enough the bobber goes under and i hook a monster fish! somehow the fish totally avoided the branches and i got him in open water. i figured it was a carp because of the huge boils i could see the fish making, and i couldn't budge him. then he shakes his head on the surface and i saw it was a huge smallie! we got him close to shore and took a few pictures and got a quick measurement. 18 1/8" long. not bad for the first time out this season.
totals between the two of us were
12? smallies i think with the smallest at 12" with most being around 14". no dinks all day!
1 creek chub
1 white bass
totals between the two of us were
12? smallies i think with the smallest at 12" with most being around 14". no dinks all day!
1 creek chub
1 white bass