[pat]

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

 

[Stever]

glad to see you had some action, as i was planning a short jaunt to the fox in the morning. i did mange to get over to my dad's at the bass-n-gill club for a couple of hours to wet my line. we caught around 15-20 crappie - all small (6 to 9") and a couple of small gills. saw some average size bass moving in the shallows, but they were pretty spooky. anyway, i'm excited about sunday now. thanks for the info

 

[Razzo]

pat,

"a huge smallie! we got him close to shore and took a few pictures and got a quick measurement. 18 1/8" long."

Exciting post! With WTF? and a camera that usually means some great photo posts are on the way. Are you guys gonna post the pic?

Take Care,
Razzo

 

[pat]

we will definitely post a pic. they are on WTF's digital, not mine so we have to wait till monday when he can use his computer at work. a day or 2 and we will get them on the site.

 

[pat]

i almost forgot, i went back in the evening yesterday to try the same spots. the smallies moved out of the eddy and the crappies moved in! i only once have found crappies on the fox, and i caught a ton of crappies out of there. one of them was huge! i should of got a measurement! also i landed a monster bluegill, my biggest out of the fox. i did get one smallie out of there though that went a nice 12".
totals
a ton of crappie-biggest was my all time crappie out of fox.
1 bluegill-biggest out of the fox.
1 smallie- 12"
so yesterday we caught smallies, crappies, bluegills, creek chubs, and white bass all out of the same area. i wonder what else that spot has in it?

 

[NUWildcatFishR]

wow thats quite a day fishing cant wait to see the pics, just wondering where you were at on the river and the water temp? Thanks Tight Lines, hopefully a day like that is in store for me as well!

 

[WTF?]

What's the deal. You can't post pics if you're not a contributor? Now I'm gonna have to ask my wife for some money.. CRAP! I'll send Pat the links and he can post them in the meantime...

 

[commando]

Are you guys only catching the smallies on live bait?

 

[pat]

heres the link to the pics
http://www.neo-meme.com/fish/
all the fish were taken on minnows either with a split shot or 2 feet down under a bobber. big creek chubs worked well also.

 

[spvergara]

Thats some nice fish you've caught there.Congrats

 

[commando]

Nice fish PAT. Thanks for the info.

 

[Fishinglineman]

Nice pics Pat.That discharge is a good spot, there are zillions of minnows there.Have you had much luck there where the creek comes into the river?I fish that area too.Bill D>

 

[pat]

i have never had much luck at the creek mouth. i have drifted minnows all over that creek and usually i end up with nothing. occasionally i catch one out of there, and whenever i do, he is not alone. its either they are schooled up there or nothing.