Fishing southern Iowa

[Illinoisgiller]

5:30 am Sat. found me meeting a friend in Davenport IA. for a trek into southern Iowa in quest of a few decent bluegill. He had been on this lake a week ago and said the bite was hot.
We were on the water before 8 am .
He has a little plastic bass thingy 4'x8' that was serving for a boat. (reminded me more of a small log raft we built as kids.) :rolleyes: lol We actually got on some fish right off. we got some ok gills and crappie on small jigs w/wax worms and he fished a #8 long shank w/ chunk of dew worm. We also got a bunch of Yellow Bass of good size, but he had eaten them before, and I took his advise and we pitched them back .
The wind came up and proved to be a major challenge for the small trolling moter pushing our raft. He is a BIG fella and I'm over 200 lb. We spent the remainder of the day working the banks as best we could in the wind and waves. He doesn't get out often and didn't want to give in, We got off the water at dark and I could barely stand after sitting on a cooler-served livewell for 12 hours without standing, and1x2' foot room. :rolleyes: The tally for me was 15 fish with one large gill and he had a few more than that with 3 big gills.
I hope to return to the same lake this Wed.in the company of my wife for much, much, more relaxed assult on the gills. Mike

[gofish]

illinois giller lincoln trails big gills and redear are starting to go on the beds. when the redear get up there they look like bass theyre so big.

[Illinoisgiller]

gofish, I read your reply to the wife and I may be in trouble if I don't take her there Wed. Is there any shore fishing for her there?
It's 180 mi. for us but would sure like to horse a few decent ones for a change . lol
If the bite is decent, I'd do my best to drag Schoe back down there. lol
Looking for my Southern IL. hot spots map book for little more info. Mike

[capt.kirk]

HEY SCHOE
How about PAN FISHING by IllinoisGiller???:D
Well qualifed
KIRK

[gofish]

illinoisgiller,theres an extensive dock by the boat ramp,nice restraunt overlooking the water,bait shop.dont have the site anymore but you can look up clark county illinois website and it should have the links for both mill creek and lincoln trails. crappie should be going well at mill creek also. going to make an" adult" trip to lincoln trails the first weekend of may. boys are all going to be busy.look for an afternoon bite BEHIND the weeds.bring heavier than normal line just in case also.sunny shore on the opposite arm of the lake from the boat ramp from the dam on down is the best for early spawners.the locals claim that june/july is the best.it is for numbers at times but not for size.i normally use a piece of nightcrawler and no wieght,tiny dark colored jigs.for bedding fish and dark colored 1/32 or 1/16 oz jigs outside the weeds crawled on bottom for the ones just moving in.GOOD LUCK!

[gofish]

illinoisgiller,forgot to tell you.......10 horse limit and they saftey check your boat a lot there.dnr told me straight out that if they go to mill creek its an all day affair so theyd rather go to lincoln trails

[Illinoisgiller]

gofish, Thank you for the detailed help. I don't have anything over 8hp and try to stay 100 per cent legal.
I'll just leave it up to the wife cause I'll relax and enjoy myself whever I go. lol Gas would be easier to Iowa, but I love the challenge of new to me lakes.:D

Capt. Kirk- Sure, I caught a pan once , but that was in the Keithsburg, IL. backwaters when I was a kid. How in the world did you find out about that???? I thought I was alone.:confused: :D :D lol Mike

colbyjack- You actually stopped?? as in not moving??? I just got a pain in the- - - knee thinking about it . lol lol Actually a neat guy, will be glad when he gets a computer again. Mike

[capt.kirk]

HEY MIKE
You just never know when the EAGLE EYE is watching you:p
MIKE
Where i live now we are allowed up to a 12 ft boat with trolling motor
only,i purchased a used BASS TENDER 11ft 7 inch they have 2 padded
swivel seats a built in live well front storage lights and areator and bilge
pump,they have a battrey compartment and a gas tank compartment
and are rated for 15hp motor,since we have to stick to trolling motors
only,i purchased 2 deep cycles and a 42lb thrust motor guide and i weigh
about 230 and a guy i fish with will go 200lb,and with both of us in it,
it will still fly,they are the best laid out plastic boat that ive seen,not
at all un comfortable,reversed the head of the trolling motor,and mounted
it on the front,they will pull faster than they will push,I did take it to a
lake once with a 10hp merc,and it handeled very well,ran across a stranded
42ft house boat and pulled it 2 miles to a marina,great boat for small
lakes. KIRK

[Illinoisgiller]

Wow, A bass buggy type rated for 15 hp. Now that sounds like a fishin machine to enjoy!! The one I was on would work great too under better conditions and much, much, shorter trips.

I and the wife have finally made the decission on where to go tmw.:rolleyes: We are going to a small south Iowa lake I and the grandsons found that she can bank fish the entire lake if she wishes.:D They don't have a boat dock so I may take the float tube so I won't have to drop the boat in off a raw bank from grass.
There is supposed to be chance of frost here tonight so I'm armed with excuses for a slow bite that I'm sure I won't need. ;)
Wish all tight lines for a couple days, Mike

[Illinoisgiller]

I and the wife ventured down to southern Iowa for a panfish assult. The first day we didn't get to the lake till 9:00 am. We had frost warnings the night before.Water was literally gin clear.I started out fishing the pockets with dew worm chunks under a float and picked up a 3 1/2 lb. channel cat on a #12 true turn. I tried a number of jigs , both ones I tie and Grizzly jigs. It turned out that the big gills were liking a Bills Water Flea, a pink head, grizzled feather 1/80 oz.tipped w/wax worm. It is the smallest profile jig they make. I was testing a new BP Micro Lite 7 1/2' ultralight spin/fly rod. A large spool Daiwa reel w/4 lb. Trilene XL allowed me to get the light jig far enough out to be affective without added weight. I was wishing I had spooled w/ 2 lb. The wife's Outlaw was rigged w/ Fireline and just would not work in this case in the clear water. :confused: It sure tried my patience waiting for the long slow drop to the 10 12 ft. the larger ones were holding at. A small shot added brought on a sudden case of lockjaw. lol
As the water warmed in the afternoon I started working the banks with the same tiny jig. As I was bank fishing,I would sneak along the bank crouched down ,cast the weightless jig ahead as best I could, and 6 to 8 ft. out and get ready, fight on. lol That evening found me finishing the cleaning of a bucket of nice gills. Some were pretty wormy so quickly decided not to fish there next day .
Day two- Little warmer, so out come the Fish Cat#4 float tube, but still using the little jig. 15 min. of leg power got me to a nice looking section of shore. Got on the gills quick up near bank and a nice red ear too. Then started connecting w/ the crappie. By noon I worked my way back to where the wife was shore fishing for a bite to eat, clean my basket of fish, and rest my old legs. lol. With her fish we cleaned another bucket full. When I told the wife I needed more wax worms, she broke the news that we were nearly out .(gulp) I had some butter worms that Schoe had sent with me and I had had little success with. for the afternoon it was most all I had .As is often the case the problem with these worms must have been with me. :rolleyes: The gills just plain hammered them. I had fun with a 18 1/2" bass too. Got on quite a few crappie in the afternoon also. I did run into moter trouble in the afternoon when my legs just plain cramped and locked up. I slowly got the 30 ft to shore and got out and walked it out. (ouch) lol After that all was fine . I worked the shore for a mile or so to get to the wife .and got there with a very heavy basket. And she was just plain hauling in the crappie on a little chartruse jig that I tied. I met some nice guys form Clinton, Ia. and gave them a couple jigs and a wif card. I wasn't done cleaning fish till near dark.
This was a neat and very productive outing! :D Now I need to do a LOT of walking and get my legs in better shape. Mike

[Screen]

Thanks for sharing Mike! Have to hook up with you some time so I can learn first hand! Sounds like you two had great fun! Thanks for breaking it all down for us beginners!

[Timotha7]

Sound like a great trip Mike! thanks for sharing
Tim

[Illinoisgiller]

Whoops, an error on the new Micro Lite rod I was trying. It is not an ultra light rating, but rather a med. light rating. It has a casting feel more akin to me of a light rod feel. It is now my prime selection for trying to use a light spinning rod for casting super light jigs-flies on 2# line for gills in brush free water.
I'm sure looking forward to trying that, and hope my knot tying will hold up to the challenging task.
With this in mind while bank fishing the clear water, I tried playing the gills as gently as realistly possible while gently working the drag at the same time. I think I have the process down pretty good. I added graphite to the drag washer and it helped lots.
Do not try this in Florida, the Neb. Sand Hills area lakes, and I'm sure other areas where the gills are big enough to laugh at 2# line. lol Mike

[Schoe]

It sounds like you really had a good time mike, even with the cool weather and still caught a nice bunch of fish. Congrats on a fun trip. Schoe

[gofish]

illinoisgiller have you ever tried a mamooska jig? heavier than a normal jig but till tiny and the way its wieghted the hook turns when the fish inhales.no hackles but on a hard bite in clear water works well for me.not as good on the tiny stuff as you though.

[Illinoisgiller]

gofish, I have a few Marmooska jigs, and have used them with some success for ice fishing. I'll have to give them a try. That would give me a chance to get back to a balanced float I like. I've been using a teardrop float that takes a huge shot to balance it. This gives me plenty of weight to really reach a long ways when I need to.
This small jig with no added weight fishing is a lot more fun though.lol
mike

[gofish]

i use the t.g waggler a lot.takes a lot of wieght and when you get it balanced right they breathe on it and you got em.also shows when they hit up

[Illinoisgiller]

My wife is forever the weather watcher. She informed me Sunday am that there is a storm front moving in and since she knows that is when I like to chase the gills, it would be time to make a move on the gills. We arrived at a south Iowa lake about 3:00 pm in hopes of catching the eve.bite. She was bank fishing and I got in my trusty float tube. The wind was brisk, but I found some nice ones on stumps in about 6' of water. As I moved out deeper, the size got much smaller. I moved back to shore and finally found the nicer ones in 3-4' .I was using my trusted Grizzly Jig Co. "Bill's Water Flea" The bite was hot ,and kept my Micro-Lite busy. The wind picked up more and I finally had to add weight to get the tiny jig down. By the time I got within site of the wife, my floating basket was pretty heavy.There is a fish clean station on the lake and I made good use of it till 9:00 pm. lol I cleaned the last few by the wife holding the flashlight. We stayed at a local motel, and due to more wind predicted, went to a smaller more protected lake. Since I get up earlier than the wife, I went and got 33 nice gills and cleaned them before breakfast. Then I got in the tube again on this gin clear lake. I was back to the slow fall jig again. I was getting into a few nice gills and picked up a couple 11" crappie. I dropped the jig in under some overhanging shrub trees And hooked into a 7 1/2 lb.(Catter on bank said at least that) channel cat. Now 4 lb. mono, Micro lite rod, and a tiny 1/80 oz.Water Flea, are not exactly cat riggs, but smooth drag and keeping the float tube moving and spinning with him ,finally tired him out just slightly before me. lol.
After a few more nice gills, I connected with a big bass. This one was a shorter, but faster battle. lol The lap skirt on my tube only goes to 18" and the tail overhung it by an easy couple inches. This is the biggest bass I've ever gotten, and on the light line. I set up a make -do cleaning station on the bank and processed the gills, crappie, and a couple yellow bass.
On the way home, we passed another public lake and just couldn't pass the chance to try for some more fishing. The gills there turned out to be too small after getting all the nice ones, but we got on a couple doz. smallish crappie. :rolleyes:
This in a nutshell was one of the most hetic trips I've been on and still had a GREAT time. No scale along, and still think I'm a tad short of the 1 pound gill, but I know I was very close on a few of these. Somehow, it just doesn't seem important when the rod is bent over and pulsing.:D :D
A note also on the bigger bass and cat- To the fishes credit, I would doubt that if either of them were river fish, I wouldn't have gotten either one ,even in slack water .I think river fish are just plain stronger. Mike

[Schoe]

Mike, you are the man. It sounds like you are having a great time and with the added bonus of those fine Fillets. Schoe

[capt.kirk]

GILLER
It looks like a good time was had by all,and a good mess of fish to boot,
lots of panfishermen would like to have one of those HECTIC days.
KIRK

[Illinoisgiller]

Went down to Oskaloosa to check out a 14'x50" flat bottom. The boat turned out to be a bit older than I wanted, but ran into a friend and he gave us a tour of the local lakes .I had the handy float tube along and fished 3 lakes and pulled it back into a local farm pond .I didn't get a ton of fish with such limited time,and lake jumping, but the ones I did get were nice plump ones. I got a few from the farm pond that were close to a pound and my buddy said it would have been neat if the BIG ones were hitting .:p The bite was slow and DEEP. Mike