4-24 ols school

[Norm Minas]

2,300 cfs and dropping, green stain, mid 50's water temps, still too much algae on the bottom. overcast and breezy but did not need a jacket with two shirts on.

Lot's of avian activity, herons out feeding which is always a good sign. Plenty of fresh road kill, spooked some deer hiking thru the woods at one point. Heard a turkey but never saw it. a lot of birds on the ground rustling thru leftover dead leaves, suspect they found some sort of bugs to eat.

I started at a rock bar behind a bridge abutment and the related current disruptions. I got 3 smallmouth on a Bayou Boogie there. I moved to an area where some channels come back together behind some islands. I got three more smallmouth there on the Boogie. Next up i hit a riffle area with the Boogie and got one smallmouth on the upstream side.

I moved to an area where there were a couple shoreline eddies bordered by gently sloping flats that had one the the channels in that area cutting thru them. I proceeded to do five long distance releases with the Boogie out of the eddies. The Boogie last it's magic on the flats. On a whim i switched to a Hellbender and refished the same area. Nothing to show but a green stain on the fingers from picking algae.

I cut off the hellbender and tied a snap back on intending to work the same area over with a River Runt, figured it would run shallow enough to avoid the algae but hopefully deep enough to interest the fish. That plan changed when the surface activity started, I switched to a Sputterbug. Buzz-stop-drift-buzz worked with seven smallmouth taking it after I started buzzing again after the drift. I chased the topwater bite all the way back down to the riffle area by the time it died.

I put the River Runt back on and got two smallmouth at the head of the riffle, nothing on the downstream side. I hiked to another riffle area, this time two bass on the upstream, one on the downstream side on the Runt.

After a couple hours of no action on the Runt or the Boogie, I called it quits.

Not a bad day for some old school stuff for an old fart.

[Ken G]

I wish the Fox reacted the way the Kank does.
Sure seems that those fish in your area like to hit a wider variety of lures in a wider variety of places.

Actually threw a shallow running crank yesterday that I salvaged out of a tree. I got bored after three casts. I don't know how people fish those things.

[Special Ed]

I don't know how people fish those things.

When you need help, just ask.

To fish a crank bait you cast it out and retrieve at a varied pace. Bouncing off rock or other structure can sometimes trigger strikes, as well as momentary pauses in your retrieve.

When you feel a strike set the hook with a smooth sweeping motion and keep the line tight during the fight. Bass will often use the baits wide body as leverage and spit the hooks on a good head shake or jump out of the water.

[Ken G]

Let me clarify that for the mentally challenged on the site...

I know HOW to fish them, it's the why.

Dull, boring, I do better without them. Side by side comparison soon. You game?

[Special Ed]

Let me clarify that for the mentally challenged on the site...

I know HOW to fish them, it's the why.

Dull, boring, I do better without them. Side by side comparison soon. You game?

Mentally challenged, ha-ha, I like that. You assume that I use that lump of rotted cells in my grape.

Side by side river or pond?

[Fishin Musician]

i LOVE to use the Husky Jerk on the Fox River... Its what my old high school girlfriend ended up calling me when we broke up. I do get rather perturbed when the fish do that jumping thing and leverage the bait out of their mouths OH _DUH!!!

[Ken G]

River, I want to be like Norm.

Kev, I used to use them a lot till I lost $65 worth to clean bite offs in one stretch at Les Arends.

Maybe I have lost my touch on using them. Just seems so dull. I can do so much more with my swim jigs.