Afternoon on the Illinois Hennipin Canal

[Illinoisgiller]

I and the wife slipped up the canal a ways and checked out the gill bite this afternoon.
The weather was postcard perfect for early Nov.
We were on the bank and tried a tube under a side road. There was no interest at all in our offerings there.:confused0024:
It was her idea to move down the canal a ways and check out the slower water. We found them there but the bite was slow. On toward evening they started turning on more.
Knowing these little scrappers would want a very tiny offering ,I used a little 1/124 th oz jig that I tied with a wrap of red palmered hackle. She used a Grizzly Jig's Green and black 'Killer"
We both tipped with wax worms and they seemed to hit mine a little faster. Out of desperatin she SNAGGED one of them. :confused0024:lol
There were none of decent size, as is common in the canal, but I had a plate of gill chips for supper and they were great.
We only ended up keeping 47 out of hundreds caught. It worked out pretty good, the wax worms are all used up now and might very well be the last time on soft water.
We have two deer seasons comming up and I will be too busy working hides.
Note-- I failed to weigh the largest gill but think it may have been lighter than Joe's cats. lol
The pictures aren't that good but this is also a posting test with added pics. Thank you Tim Mike

[gofish]

your the man giller!!! float tube in 40 degree water:confused0068:.......glad ya had a good trip....nice lookin gills too....them fried up fillets got me thinkin i might wanna eat some of my "bait" outta my bait tank fore i feed em ta the fish lol

[Soupy_1us]

There he goes again... fryin' up our bait !

[Fishaholic]

fryin up that bait, but it sure looks damn good, and a fresh adult beverage to wash it down.

[Timotha7]

Real hard to beat them little bluegill filets, they are bout as tasty as it gets

loved the ones we had at Rock Creek

[CrappieKeith]

With that cold water those bigger fish are stand offish.
I know what would trigger them.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/palisade1kid/MallardMarcfishinpics-74.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/palisade1kid/MallardMarcfishinpics-73.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/palisade1kid/MallardMarcfishinpics-5.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h209/palisade1kid/MallardMarcfishinpics-22.jpg

[Illinoisgiller]

Nice photos CrappieKeith!! I happen to notice that the jigs are most all different colors. lol
Does that mean that I need to order more than one ? lol Since I have done a bit of tying, I sure appreciate the quality of your work.:icon_cool::icon_cool::icon_cool: Need to order a dozen for framing. lol
As for the canal gills, I'm pretty limited when it comes to size. The water depth maxes out at about 5 ' and those "holes" are few.:confused0024: Lots of weed cover in most pools. With the gas at crazy prices again, we are trying to stay within a couple miles of home. Mike

[CrappieKeith]

Different bodies of water have different levels of clarity.
I like to use white combo's in clear water and yellow combos in stained waters.

[Illinoisgiller]

Went back to the same canal pool again this afternoon. The bite was slow and light. These cold fronts have got them wondering where the ice is. lol Even with a very light mist, the warmer temps. today made it a joy to be out. We only kept 30 or so out of well over a hundred.As normal, there were no "bulls' but nice for the canal.
They sure tasted great when the wife fried them up tonight.:party0011::party0011: No pictures this time :confused0024: Mike

[gofish]

wanna trade fillets some time giller....got a few blues in the freezer lol

[Illinoisgiller]

I would share gills with you anytime Joe. Blues are good eating too, but I'd take those gills over blues every time .lol Enough meat on those blues to come up with lots of different ways to fix them though.
We use a 50-50 mix of yellow corn meal and regular pancake mix and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simple recipie for us simple folks.
My waist line is suffering greatly from far,far, too many bluegill helpings. :confused0024:

[Soupy_1us]

Somebody is gonna have to teach me how you guys do that jiggin' stuff for them 'gills.. I tried the other day out at the local lake and I kept scarin' off those little boogers with them 8 oz sinkers I had on my line.

[Illinoisgiller]

Soupy, I doubt that 8 oz. sinker is bothering them as much as that 80 lb. line and that 8" shad for bait.:confused0068: lol Mike

[Soupy_1us]

Soupy, I doubt that 8 oz. sinker is bothering them as much as that 80 lb. line and that 8" shad for bait.:confused0068: lol Mike

Never thought about the "shad" reckon I should cut it in half ?
as far as the line..... I was usin' my lite tackle (50 lb line and my smaller reels ..Penn 209s)

[gofish]

hes tryin ta scare em inta surrenderin giller lol........favorite way fer blues is red hot pan,lil olive oil an real butter.....salt pepper garlic an talian seasonin....throw it in crisp up both sides real quick then cover turn down the heat an cook slow till done........make up some ramen noodles with lil crayfish tails onion an shrooms then pour all that good cookin juice from the cats on the noodles........yep put nother notch in my belt lately too lol

[Schoe]

Nice posts and photos fellas, it sure is apreciated. Schoe