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Posts: 485
Location: On my favorite lake! | WHAT IS THE MAJOR FORAGE BASE FOR THE FOX CHAIN IN ILLINOIS? |
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Posts: 7036
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Carp, perch, white bass, suckers...that would be my guess. |
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Location: Des Moines IA | Recycled Beer, with traces of gas, oil, and gear lube. |
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| BAIT CONTAINERS, AND BEER CANS  |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | shad? I have been finding huge schools of them on the fox river, this is the first year I have seen them, are they coming from the chain? |
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Posts: 485
Location: On my favorite lake! | I was wondering because I ran into huge balls of fish on Lake catherine. It look similar to the balls of shad at Cave Run. |
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Posts: 7036
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Lightning - 9/12/2010 12:34 PM
I was wondering because I ran into huge balls of fish on Lake catherine. It look similar to the balls of shad at Cave Run.
My guess would be white bass, but who knows? |
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Location: Des Moines IA | I don't think it's Shad? Most likely panfish? We used to see tham a lot on Catherine as well. Muskies relate to them, just like structure, caught lots of ski's trolling through those bait pods. |
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Posts: 3240
Location: Racine, Wi | Probably bluegills and the like. The whitebass and crappies usually show up like a Christmas tree on the locator (ie, triangular shaped marks for the schools). The gills usually look like big balls of bait. Not sure what the shad are like out there..... |
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Posts: 8772
| Probably empty chip bags, plastic water bottles, beer cans, half eaten hot dogs, used condoms, and at least a few remnants from drunks losing their lunch over the side of the boat... |
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Posts: 37
Location: Rhinelander, WI | You forgot cigarette butts. |
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Posts: 146
Location: where the fish are... | wow people really hating on the chain, not sure about shad but everything else everybody said |
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Posts: 8772
| There was some talk at our last meeting (FRV Chapter 39) about the fact that shad have indeed found their way into the chain over the last year or so. Interesting. Maybe over the next few years we might start seeing some muskies with some weight on them??? |
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| Here is one of the shad types in the chain. From what I understand there maybe a couple types.
Edited by MuskyFix 3/24/2011 10:02 PM
Attachments
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 Foxshad.jpg (54KB - 318 downloads)
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | I have some pic's of some shad that I found in the Fox River, South Elgin stretch. There has to be tons in the chain if I'm finding them 25 miles from the chain in large numbers. Last year was the first time that I have seen shad in the river and they were in HUGE schools. Over the winter I stopped at a warm water discharge a few times and there was a huge school there as well.
Interesting story, I was fishing a creek and was wading up it and noticed a smaller sized school of shad. I spooked them out of shallows and they headed into a deep hole. Well as the shad swam into the deep hole, about 4-5 big largemouth shortly followed. The water was crystal clear so I could see everything. Hopefully they provide some easy food for the muskie in the river/chain |
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| It's going to change alot of thing out there ... Have fun everyone!!  |
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Posts: 791
Location: North Central IL USA | MuskyFix - 3/24/2011 12:31 PM
Here is one of the shad types in the chain. From what I understand there maybe a couple types.
What bait is that? |
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| Greg you have a pm |
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| That one of your baits Ben? |
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Posts: 906
Location: Canada | BigDaddyIL - 4/3/2011 11:33 PM
That one of your baits Ben?
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=63...
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=63...
Edited by CU301DSV 4/4/2011 8:25 PM
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Posts: 146
Location: where the fish are... | more shad in the chain than anyone knows hahaaha, filmed about 1000 in a single school today |
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Location: Illinois | what size? |
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Posts: 146
Location: where the fish are... | small to big, school was so thick i was hitting them with the trolling motor. |
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Posts: 20211
Location: oswego, il | It will change the lake system for sure. If anything, it might open the chain up for increased stocking which will be a good thing. No getting rid of the shad, they are here to stay. Only two ways they could have made it in there, flooding from a nearby lake or pond, or an illegel introduction. I am also interested to see how they affect the carp popuation. |
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| I was out on Saturday, We had our screen blacken out several times, every bird out there was eating them. It reminded me of Green Bay. Moved one fish and that was it. |
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Posts: 8772
| This could create a population of muskies that just eat when they feel like it and lay around the rest of the time. Sort of like Todd M... |
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Posts: 906
Location: Canada | Phew ..... At least they're not gunna turn out like me and just drink beer and get lazy! |
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| Hey mike they seem to be pretty large the average would be about 9 inches. (They are gizzards I have had at least 25 snagged and all have been) the smallest I have seen is about 6 inches . The crazy thing is I have fished the fox river system for at least 15 years and had never seen a shad till last summer now they are every were> We will see what it does fishing sucked for me in 2010. But I also don't fish when the water is over 80 unlike may others so I lost 2 1/2 months to hot water so we will see what this year brings. Hopefully a new state record to shut up all you fools riping on the chain |
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Location: Illinois | Thanks Nikolai, I already have a certain 9 inch Big Game in mind...
Find the forage find the fish.. Is it legal to use shad for live bait on the Chain? I know it's illegal in Indiana.
Edited by muskellunged 4/14/2011 12:22 AM
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