Norm M

The river has been dropping steadily but is still marginalby wading , even though today it's was under the magic 2.0 level is was still flowing at just under 4000 cfs . On previous trips both those levels were higher and more restrictive to wading .Buzzbaits and chatterbaits produced well on both sides of riffles as did lightly weighted swimbaits swung across the slick at the top of the riffle . Current seams , especially those with larger slow/slack areas abutting them produced well with a rattlebait fished up or downstream .Flats adjacent to the channel, well those I could get to , reponded to wtd topwaters, flukes unweighted and lightly weighted swimbaits . Along some waterwillow beds , buzzbaits, singlespins and chatterbaits produced .The midstream humps I could reach , the unweighted fluke , lightly weighted swimbaits produced .As far as crankbaits and jigs go , there was already enough algae to be on the wrong side of annoying . With other stuff working , I just quit using them and staining my fingers green . With all things being equal fishing the shady side of cover or overhead cover proving shade was the way to go . By midafternoon today , it was beastly hot when out of the shade even with the breeze , I finally bagged it and left it to the ever increasing numbers of fisherman . I went home to the AC, sucked down iced tea and enjoyed some baseball on the big screen TV .I also did some crick trips , spectacular on cranks before they really got low, even got my first creekchub of the year on a crankbait. Brute was 11.5 inches according to the tape . Once they dropped and the algae on the bottom increased , it was singlespins to the rescue . Shoot about half the pools that previously produced were extremely shallow and held no catchable fish . It was back to the old low water standby , the deeper pools and those with a nice current flow below neck downs produced the biggest fish .

Here is to another survivor .

I have a creek near me that everyone fishes for spawning bass and has for many decades . The spawn time is now pretty much protected but it came too late . . Decades of harvest at the spawn reduced greatly the number of fish that were genetically predisposed to spawn there . The number of nest sites I see while walking the banks is down about 80% from what they were when I first went there 40 years ago . The number of quality fish spawning there has been drastically reduced . Due to the loss of spawning areas in the main river and increased competition for the remaining sites there , there have been a few more fish showing up in search of spawning areas . Unfortunately even though is C&R thru the spawn , there are still too many poachers . I was out there the other day and there were 4 smaller tail end charlies still on beds . There were six guys fishing for those fish to give you some idea of the intense pressure on the spawn .

river is dropping but still up, limited entry for casting angles in slower/slack water . These last few trips all I have used is a jig/pig expect that the trailers have been Erie darters or twister tails probably 80% of the time . The other 20% had been real pork rind . The channel cats have been all over the jigs with soft plastics , anywhere from 5 to 15 per trip . most of them in the 2 to 5 lb range, a few larger . I sometimes wonder If I would do better floating cut bait or punch bait , wouldn't be surprised . The cats are very aggressive in taking the jig, couple of the bigger ones put some ache in my shoulder. The smallmouth bass have been taking the jig/plastics but kind of tentative on the take . Mostly small to medium sized fish . However , I have been getting quite a few large smallmouth on the jig/pork . These fish are running from 16 to 19 inches and have the feedbag on . I have caught several with live craws still hanging out the gullet or in their mouth .I have been fish three different creeks , one is small, up where I'm fishing it . It seems that creek chubs are the primary species there with a few rock bass and smallmouth mixed in although on the small size . No matter, I fish this one with a 5 ft ultralite, 1/16 oz short shank jigs and 1 to 2 inch twister tails . Not unusual to catch 20-25 creekchubs if I put in the time . One of the others everyone and their around here knows . I tend to fish upper stretches to avoid the yahoos . Crankbaits have been the ticket for smallmouth out in the faster water and good sized rockbass in slower flows or hanging tight to rock . I have found some very nice ones buried under wood piles , I dabble in the openings with a small jig/pig . 7 ft medium lite spin with 8 lb test matched with a series 300 reel .The third creek , I am not giving any hints about it . The last three trips have been very good . A lot of smallmouth up to 17 inches and rock bass up to 11 inches on crankbaits with the mediumlite set up . When I switch to jigs/plastics around different kinds of cover I get a lot of sunfish in varying sizes . All in all I am having a blast multiple species on multiple bodies of water .

start aggressive and gradually work back to finesse . today on a pond near my house under blue sunny sky the largemouth were pounding swimbaits and shallow cranks on the weed edges fished quickly and less than 2 ft down . On a holiday weekend , among the horde of casual anglers . I never got anywhere near finesse . I figure fish for the fish that are actively feeding before trying to root out the reluctant . Most times it works .

you can either come up with an elaborate ritual to change your mental out look , such as changing the order you dress in , short of wearing your skivvies outside your pants . Or you can get back to basics , hit small water be it a pond or creek . start with live bait, move to lures tipped with live bait and finally just lures as your confidence grows . ease your way into bigger waters and more techniques, letting your confidence grow at each stage . see a shrink but that costs money and fishing time . sit down and analyze what you've down on each trip since you lost your ju-ju. be brutally honest with yourself and pick out and figure ways to correct your mistakes . get good and stoned and relax any combo thereof including the midnight dance which I recommend from past experience combining the getting stoned with the midnight dance . if married skip the virgins and dance with your wife . it's much safer for a longer and healthier life . if all works well with this option at least you will be a lot more relaxed .

everything working fine foe me . I haven't turned into anyone else although if I could suddenly paint like Al , I wouldn't mind that switch for a bit . if anyone shows up as me feel free to use the nuclear option .

I found a bunch of ponds on Google Earth and yes , I know the end times draw nigh , I actually used modern technology to find fishing spots . I took a tour of 7 of the 30 odd spots today . The best one was the least developed as I thought it might be. I caught nothing but largemouth bass , I couldn't scratch up a sunfish no matter what I tried . The largemouth on the other hand hit everthing I tried , from buzzbaits to wtd on top, crankbaits and rattlebaits, jig/plastics , wacky rigged cigar type worms to unweighted multiple hooked pre rigged worms . The other ponds were around developed areas, all suburban retention ponds . All had moderate to severe algae problems thanks to the brainwashed that crave the "perfect lawn". thanks corporate chemicals . I managed to catch something from all of them but four of the remaing six have been written off as not worth the effort . I went as simple and weedless as possible , 1/6 oz jig and weightless t-rigged cigar type worm . Most bluegills, some pumpkinseeds and crappies mixed in with a handful of largemouth .

Took a break from the main river for the most part each trip although i always ended up fishing the river . The river had been dropping but it was still above my personal threshhold for safe wading . especially due to my current health issues . However the creeks were in good enough shape to scratch the wading itch .Main river reports first, last trip buzzbaits on the upstream side riffle areas was the killer . Drifting a fluke from the top of the riffle into the downstream side added a couple more bass. A jig/pig dropped into a slack spot by a boulder got a decent channel cat . On the other trips it was mostly jig/pigs quartercast upstream taking bass and some channel cats. A few bass on rattlebaits on seams but that was it as far as catching was concerned .For the creeks , the last trip was buzzbaits all the way . I started with it and had so much fun with it , I never took it off . Don't know if I could have caught more fish with something else, don't care, I was having a blast . Did I miss some , yeah but then I always do so nothing new there. The rest of the creek trips it was a 1/6 oz jig with a soft plastic minnow with a curly tail . One trip , I hit three different creeks, it worked on everyone of them .One creek I found a large concentration of smallmouth staged at the first riffle up from the mouth . I barely has to move at all, I just made longer casts . I went by that same spot today, suckers staging . I foresee crawlers , hooks and split shot on my light action set up .

Those H & H spinners were real weed collectors . Any of you still using pinkie jigs ? I'm down to my last doll fly jig , it's been set aside .

drop and give us 50 .

dance naked with 16 virgins around a bonfire at midnight .

My primary use for chatterbaits in my flow is fishing over , around and thru waterwillow beds, especially when flooded . There are a goodly number of channel cats that eat them in those circumstances .

the river is dropping fairly quickly but still about twice it's normal flow . still muddy to off color with some clarity in slower water near shore . temps high 60's . weather has been great, not even an old curmudgeon can complain about it . At one point , singlespins over and around the under developed water willow beds at a nice steady pace was the ticket . The next time you could not buy a bite on singlespins . Chatterbaits and rattlebaits over and around the beds did catch smallmouth and channelcats.Rattlebaits worked both directions on the current seams also produced . A jig/pig bounced downstream past the current break produced the two nicest smallmouth of that trip .Next trip ,I could not buy a bite around the waterwillow cover . However creekmouths and the front edge of riffles produced a lot of smallmouth in a wide variety of sizes . The only lure that produced was a hard jerkbait, mostly three turns of the reel handle , two jerks and repeat . Most of the fish pounded it on the jerks. The only other thing that worked was to jerk it down and let it deadstick with the current . The only indication you got of a bite was to see the line start doing something different, i never felt a pickup. The biggest smallmouth of the trip went for that approach . It really feels good to being getting back into the swing of things .Healthwise , I'm feeling much better, that will likely change in July when I start radiation and chemo combined . I will survive . The music menu for the trips has been varied , Grateful Dead, Led Zepplin , James Taylor and the original Chicago Transit Authority [ Poem 58 being the favorite].Peace

limping is fine my me , you have to figure to take a few punches while delivering the KO to cancer .

i know what you are going through. I made the decision for chemo and radiation when the squamous cell cancer returned . going thru the the 3rd round of chemo in about 2 weeks and may be followed by a fourth round . radiation and likely more chemo to follow . I also decided to go this route as we caught it early and aggressive treatment is my best bet to beat this stuff altogether . I don't want to do this again . The petscan showed the cancer was confined to the area on the left side of my neck where they had previously taken all the lymph nodes as a precaution . We are both going to beat this .

Lake Michigan is the best bet to produce the next state record smallmouth bass . Whitefish record has been broken more than once recently .

It was just too nice a day to not go fishing , I haven't been able to go lately, so I went . I really needed it to relieve the stress and it certainly did that . The river is dropping but still out of it's banks . It was flowing at 18,000 cfs which is about three times the normal level . No clarity , green in color , still some debris floating downstream . Water temps were in the upper 50's the two times I checked them . Sunshine, not much breeze , guessing upper 60's may have hit 70 . The sun felt good on these experienced bones after all the rain and damp we have had lately . I took the medium light spin gear and the matching tackle as I was just looking to catch some fish . In fact with the stuff implanted in my body I really did not to tangle with anything too large so as to avoid pulling something out . All that mattered was hopefully feeling a tug or two at the end of my line, enjoying the weather, the outdoors and the camaraderie of the other fishermen I was sure I was going to meet . What more should you need than that for a trip like this .I fished a rattlebait along the first current seam off the shore both upstream and downstream . I continued the same in the slower water from the seam to right along the shore . I got a few smallmouth bass , enough to put a smile on my face . After that , I figured I would try for some rock bass, sunnies or crappie whatever might be in the mood . I switched to a 1/0 weighted keeper hook tipped with a 2 inch plastic leech . I started out casting as close to shore as possible as swimming it slowly as possible above the bottom . That is where I found enough rock bass to put a smile on my face . I was feeling good and back in the groove so I switched to a 1/6 oz ballhead jig tipped with a 2 inch twister tail rigged on a size 1 jig spinner . I fished that from the seam in through the entire water column . That brought some sunnies and crappies and then I knew it was enough for this trip . Feeling stress free and happy I put the gear away and went for a walk to enjoy the outdoors on this nice sunny day . I put Poco on for the ride home , it was the perfect ending to as fine a day as I've had for some time . Peace be unto all of you .

Probably be mid to late August when I recover enough from the combined chemo/radiation treatments . They plan of leaving the g tube and chemo port in until they are sure I am indeed cancer free . Whether I travel much depends on how well the 7th medicine we are trying for my wife's RA works .

Al I tried a few tournaments and decided that for me personally I did not enjoy the stress involved in fishing against the clock . That also was one of the main reasons I quit guiding . Why bring more stress into my life , especially into something that I used to fight the stress daily life brought . I also don't fish the ned or the alabama , I know they work , but they don't trip my trigger . I believe that folks should fish with whatever tackle, technique , line choices and for whatever species they enjoy . I doubt any two guys fish exactly alike but why should they ? Do what makes you happy as long as it is legal and ethical . I believe in the concept of enough when it comes to size and numbers of the catch for that outing . If you catch enough to make you happy at that point in time , it matters not the least what others think . Now what might be enough one trip may vary from trip to trip, all that matters is that you are happy . On just about all of my trips , how much is enough , is not predetermined, it just kinda evolves throughout the trip . There is more to enjoying a fishing trip than numbers , it's the quality of the company you keep or the pleasure of the peace solitude can bring . It can include the feeling of a warm sun on achy old bones, a nice breeze that keeps the skeeters at bay and the humidity in check , or the sights, sounds and smells of natural surroundings . It can be the feeling of having no particular place to go and no particular time to be any where . I am sure others have their own thoughts on what makes for an enjoyable trip that varies from my likes . I would not have it any other way as we are all individuals with varying tastes .

I am a guy who has been blessed with the time to fish more than the average guy and has 5 decades of experience on my home flow . I taught myself to pay attention to what is going on around me and to use what my senses gathered to catch a few more fish . I have learned that figuring out what the fish are going to be doing when is better based off natural cues than man's calendar . I try to learn as mush from my failures as I do from my successes . I am willing to think outside the box, granted sometime way outside the box . I have no problem with learning from others regardless of their level of experience .I have read about fishing a lot and have learned how to not only adapt that book learning into on the water but have learned to adopt what was written about one species and apply it to other species as well . When I was obsessed with catching 20 inch or better river smallmouth , I learned to do that . That came at the price of becoming a complete posterior during that process . I don't think any of the above makes me an expert fisherman . There is just so much that I have yet to learn and I am sure there is much I will never learn . I am just a guy who likes to fish and has a bit more success later in life following a lot less success earlier in life . I don't worry about who I am better than or who is better than me . I fish because I love to and it brings me joy, peace and serenity in my life . That is all that matters to me . I agree with most of the criteria brought forth in what could be considered an expert . I just don't concern my self as to whether I am or not at this stage in my life . Why take the chance of adding stress to what is supposed to be fun , in worrying about something that with 6 or 7 bucks will get you a cup of coffee at one of them fancy joints

the only time I use a leader , is tieable wire , when fishing for pike or musky .

Back when I was young, stupid and invincible , I fished through any kind of weather . Now that I am older , hopefully wiser and increasing mortal , I use better judgement .

Sunday April 2 2017 , my last day of work after 40 years of railroading on the Illinois Central . I decided the best way to celebrate was by going fishing for river smallmouth bass . It felt right to go old school , something I would have used 40 years ago . I dug out some old pinkie jigs , thinned them out a bit and put on an Uncle Josh pork frog . As the river was high and muddy , I fished shore line related slack water spots . The fish cooperated, I got three smallmouth bass , nice fat chunks . A fitting celebration for such a milestone in my life.

You better drink more booze than is good for you . Even with all my cancer related medical expenses I fell short of qualifying for the exemption .