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A PERSONAL JOURNAL CHRONICLING FOX RIVER FISHING ADVENTURES FROM ST. CHARLES THROUGH OSWEGO, ILLINOIS |
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| Aug 10 | Jul 10 | Jun 10 | Apr 10 | Mar 10 | Feb 10 | Jan 10 | Dec 09 | Nov 09 | Oct 09 | Sep 09 | Aug 09 | River Fishing Access |
August 9, 2010
Fox River Fishing Report: Shore fished solo at the Fox River from 7:25 PM until dusk. I was prepared for the mosquitos and the high water. I had an enjoyable evening, mixing it up between a 3" pearl Producto Spring Grub on a 1/4-ounce leadhead jig and Lucky Craft Sammy 100 "walk the dog" topwater lure. I started off with the jig and twister and caught three smallmouth within the first fifteen minutes. The bass are easy to find in the high water ... just dabble around current seams and eddies (downstream calm area) behind flooded structure. Once I tied on the Lucky Craft topwater lure and began "walking the dog", that's when the bigger fish began hitting. I figure the bass have probably seen and been caught on jigs and twisters dozens of times in urban areas. The big ones get wise to plastics until you give them something different. I caught six on topwater, many of which blasted the lure several times before getting hooked. The biggest bass (pictured) put up quite a battle as it got into heavy current. Aside from the usual "river rats" catfishing above the dam, I didn't see any other anglers out taking advantage of easy high water smallmouth! USGS 12.67' / 3,690 CFS. Free the fighter. Practice catch and release.
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August 8, 2010
Fox River Fishing Report: Shore fished solo at the Fox River for about twenty minutes mid-day. Dabbled a 3" Producto Spring Grub on a 1/4-ounce leadhead jig tight to shore structure. I managed three smallmouth bass, the largest around 14". I kept the outing brief and joined my family at a nearby park. Lots of anglers out, mostly cat-fishermen with multiple rods staked along the bank. The temperature was brutally hot and we didn't stay long before visiting a local restaurant for something cold to drink! USGS 12.63' / 3,560 CFS. Free the fighter. Practice catch and release.
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August 7, 2010
DuPage River Fishing Report: Shore fished solo at the DuPage River for a few hours early morning. The river is high and fast, but has cleared quite a bit since last week. I fished a 3/8-ounce white Terminator spinnerbait and caught four medium-sized smallmouth (14"-15" range). The fish seemed to be holding near current seams and sand bars down from swift water running beside heavy structure. Was great to feel a few tugs on the line to kickoff the weekend! Home by 8:45 AM and having coffee with the family. USGS 6.37' / 423 CFS. Free the fighter. Practice catch and release.
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August 3, 2010
Fox River Fishing Report: Shore fished solo at the Fox River for an hour. The river is way up from the recent rain. I stuck with urban areas where I could easily fish without getting muddy. I dabbled a 3" pearl Producto Spring Grub on a 1/4-ounce leadhead jig and plucked out three smallmouth from along some concrete structure within a few minutes. A short while later I caught another two from a similar eddy. The largest smallmouth measured 17.25". Some easy fishing along the flooded Fox River. Minimal effort produces smallmouth bass in easy reach if you know where to look! USGS 13.22' / 5,670 CFS. Free the fighter. Practice catch and release.
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August 2, 2010
Forest Preserve Lake Fishing Report: Kayaked and fished with my brother and his 17-year-old son. I arrived early and launched my kayak in the fog before sunrise. I started out fishing a Lucky Craft Sammy 100 topwater and it seemed the only action on the lake were carp breaching as they signaled back just about every time my Sammy splashed down. I picked up one small smallmouth bass through the shallows, and drew a few nice boils from curious bass. Around 7 AM my brother and his son arrived. He took his solo kayak and his son rode with me in my tandem. We continued to fish topwater with a few decent hits here and there, never bringing any to boat. My brother struck out on the hula grub fished deep along the rock walls. What a grueling outing! We called it quits around 10:15 AM. Looking back, a deep crankbait might have been the ticked. Those bass had to be holding much deeper than we were fishing. Lesson learned. Got a nice workout paddling but the fishing left me frustrated.
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August 1, 2010
DuPage River Fishing Report: Had planned on meeting my buddy Branson at the "Dupe" at 5:30 AM for some kayaking and fishing. Long story short, Branson overslept but it didn't matter ... the river was too high and fast for kayaking. I ended up trying a few high-water shore areas and landed 10 decent-sized smallmouth bass by 7:30 AM. I only fished spinnerbaits, and tried several different kinds. I caught fish on all of them: 3/8-ounce black skirt / copper blade Joe Bucher Mini Slopmaster, 3/8-ounce firetiger skirt / firetiger blade Joe Bucher Mini Slopmaster, 3/8-ounce gold skirt / gold blade Nichol's double-willowleaf spinnerbait, 1/2-ounce white skirt / gold blade Terminator SS "white thumper" spinnerbait. I lost one nice smallmouth to a jump-off in the heavy current, and lost a spinnerbait and bass to a jolting strike right near shore. The smallmouth in the iPhone photo below exemplifies the quality of the bass that were stacked up this morning. Some great angling amidst swarms of hungry mosquitos! USGS 6.19' / 368 CFS. Free the fighter. Practice catch and release.
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