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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | Ive been fishing all year and can only seem to hook up with mid and low 30's. I did catch a 39 trolling but im desperately on the hunt for a new PB. IVE tried shallow cover deep break lines open water and every time i do get bit it is less than 40. I am limited to fishing northern Illinois for the season, but with the days becoming limited i am in need of some advice catching bigger fish on the fox chain or Shabbona lake. Any input on these waters would be appreciated. Ive gotten fish so far on reef hawg, bucktail, phantoms, shad rap, red october, and bondy. Seems like a variety of baits to me.
Thanks
Travis |
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Posts: 2389
Location: Chisholm, MN | Fish the lake with the highest density of big fish. Try bigger baits and try deeper. |
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Posts: 295
| Go to detroit. |
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | What deprh do u reccommend with 55• water temps |
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | Also any suggestions on best open water baits? I usually will throw a magdawg or regular dawg and count it down to 10 feet or so. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | take my buddy Mike with you... SOB only catches big fish! |
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Posts: 51
| Prime time for slow top-water....have caught several 40 lb plus...with this presentation... |
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | Over deeper breaklines or up in tge shallows? Its hard to make myself throw a viper in 17 ft of water. |
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Posts: 157
Location: Lincoln, NE | For bigger fish up your bait size in the fall might help. Or at least might eliminate some of the smaller ones. Also look for the spot on the spot. If there's a big weedbed don't just fish the weed edge but try a little further out off any points or where there might be some rocks mixed in or a sandbank point that might have a depth change leading into the bay or might act as a windblock to make an area that the calm meets the windy area, amongst that weedbed. Don't be afraid to throw right up next to the bank if there's a trough a few feet off the bank. Also troll deeper a little way out from the weed edge. The biggest fish will usually be on the best spot. |
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Posts: 1283
| Chain is always tough for big fish but there are some in there. Try early morning before the sun comes up, and I also have better luck with Medussas then dawgs, but blades work to. Lots of fish in the shallow weeds closest to deep water still. |
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Posts: 866
Location: NE Ohio | here in OH water temps are at 56. fish are in 4' to 6' of water on the outside edge of weeds (dead or alive) and flats with the same depth adjacent to deep water. all jerk baits, sub-surface, walk the dog style that float at rest, won't look at other stuff! got 8 over 42" in and many smaller ones the last two weeks with this pattern. most guys are fishing way to deep and complaining. |
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Posts: 75
| I like to fish deeper and spots adjacent to deep water to targer bigger fish myself. You don't see nearly as many fish, but you encounter bigger fish. My biggest this summer was a 46x21 throwing a deep diving crankbait off structure with the boat sitting in 25 foot of water. Fish absolutely hammered it. |
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Posts: 791
Location: WI | I have no experience with northern Illinois but like said earlier you have to focus on water that has big fish. Also I seem to find larger fish relating to main lake structure. Rock bars , humps, sunken points that relate to large deep basins. Also finding bait suspended off these structures and pulling baits though that bait can pay off big. |
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Posts: 455
| Do whatever is catching fish. Sooner or later one will be big. |
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Location: Sycamore, IL | muskyrat - 10/26/2014 8:56 AM
Do whatever is catching fish. Sooner or later one will be big.
This is really good advice. If you are contacting mid-thirty inch+ fish it is just a matter of time before you get a big girl to go...
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | Believe me, I am not complaining about the smaller 30" fish lol. The fish I've caught so far this year are better than 0 fish, and I realize that. But what separates the ok fisherman from the best fisherman is the one who can consistently catch bigger fish, and that's what I want to be able to do. Take given conditions for a certain day, and know how to approach a spot and fish it and pull out the biggest fish ON the spot. Just kind of my idea. But I gotta believe he's right, if your contacting fish, its a matter of time until a larger fish is on the spot and the timing is right. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner. Thanks guys. |
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Posts: 70
Location: Winfield,IN | Go deeper now with this cold front it's going to push them deeper. I'm going Wednesday the first day of the warm up so I thing they will be everywhere. |
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | U think the warm up will bring the back into the shalliws or will the be out deeper the remainder of tge season |
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Posts: 409
Location: Almond, WI | Shabonna--try the deep trees, they hold fish year round and usually a higher % of bigger fish. Twitchbaits, gliders, and rubber work well. I would also troll around shad schools, and try jigging Bondy Baits around the schools as things get cold. That should work on any shad based lake.
If you can make a trip to central IL, Evergreen and McMaster have some big fish potential.
And remind yourself to be realistic about things. In IL, avrg. size is about 36". I lived there for 4 years, my biggest was 43"; most guys I knew in the MI club there topped out around 45-46", though a couple had IL 48"s. I do know of a couple 50s from Shabs and The Chain, but they are a rare fish. |
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Posts: 1283
| I would agree with the last post about the chain. Its IL and you have to be realistic. There are bigger fish but this isnt LOTW, so you need to fish it A LOT to contact the bigger girls. If youre catchin mid 30s and up Id say you are doing pretty good. Caught this one a few weeks ago.
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | Nice pic. I never thiught of it that way but you guys are right about the size. Im beating myself up over not consistently boating 40"+ fish everytime im on the water for no reason. Sooner or later something big will hapoen lol. Tgats a good lookin fish. Congratz. |
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Posts: 40
| Have you ever tried jigging? I am sure it varies on different bodies of water, but in my experience jigging consistently produces bigger fish than any other method. Second would be casting, and third trolling. The Bondy Bait is the best jig for musky in my opinion. |
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Posts: 146
Location: Alsip, IL | I've got 44 fish this year and 32 to 38 is the most common size. Especially in Illinois. I've got six fish over 40 with the biggest going 47. Five of those fish came from a body of water with minimal pressure that I know like the back of my hand. If you're boating fish I wouldn't read to much into it. Eventually you will contact a good fish. Alot of these guys that you see with consistent monsters have been doing this for a while and are on known big fish water. Illinois isn't necessarily known for giants. Not that they aren't out there cause they definitely are, but ya gotta put the time in. Try fishing some IMTT events next year. I fished a few this year. Alot of really cool and knowledgeable fisherman, that being said the biggest fish of the trail this year was only 44. Big fish don't just jump in the boat. Gotta know what you're doing, be there at the right time, and most importantly have confidence in what you're doing.
Edited by mecoltin123 11/3/2014 10:09 AM
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Posts: 1283
| I know guides that fish the chain near every day and have never put a 50 in the boat. So yeah dont beat yourself up about it. Sooner or later you will get into a bigger fish, but if you are catching any your doing good.
I only know of one legit 50 from there. I didnt believe the guy telling me about his step son catching it until he whipped out his phone and showed me the pic. By far the biggest I have seen out of there. |
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Posts: 1530
| cooler water large straight baits at 3-2.5mph. target rivermouths and shallow now. seems silly till you try it. |
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Posts: 40
| 40, 35, 42, 45, 35 this year... All jigging 20-35 feet of water. Highly suggest trying. |
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Location: Ashland WI | PBenson - 11/4/2014 11:34 AM
40, 35, 42, 45, 35 this year... All jigging 20-35 feet of water. Highly suggest trying.
What do you typically jig with? Bulldawgs? |
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Posts: 43
Location: Rockford, IL | PBenson--I had just bought a pearl bondy bait earlier this month, and the 1st outing with it, I had it on for maybe 15 minutes and picked up a 36" in 15FOW. So yeah, I have had some success jigging, and since that day I've tried jigging here and there across the deep part of the basin working with the wind, but have not had any further success with it. I know it's a great way to access those deep neutral fish that are holding tight to the bottom. Do you typically jig along the primary or secondary breakline, or both? Or just go out to the deepest hole and start jigging? Do you let the bait fall to the bottom and then start jigging or do you suspend the jig?? Jw how you've worked the bait to catch as many fish as you have.....that's a very decent track record. |
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| I got a 46,46.5,48 out of the chain just gotta weed through them |
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