Help Me Out Fellas...

[Zack]

I have never been to the Lower Illinois River before. Is it too late for Striper fishing with the fly rod?

Where are some good access points and what do I look for when scouting possible holes where they might be holding?

[OKFlyFisher44]

I'm pretty sure you're catching the tail end of the season but its still worth trying. Its like fishing for steelhead, sometimes they're there....then they're not!

Any deep hole with a decent amount of current will hold fish if there are any around. Just have to do some walking and scouting....I'm still on a learning curve myself.

Where you from?

[Zack]

Tahlequah.

When will the fishing get good again?

[Zack]

Would it be crazy to take a kayak and go to Gore Landing and fish there? I have an 8wt and versi-tip system so I can cover a lot of the water column.

I just dont know if it is safe.

[OKFlyFisher44]

Tahlequah.

When will the fishing get good again?

LOL...probably won't really heat up again till next spring when they start to make their spawning run. But I imagine there are quite a few resident fish in the Lower Illinois to warrant fishing for them for most of the year.

Couldn't tell ya on the Gore Landing question...might be a good idea to check out. You could probably actually kayak quite a bit of the river if you could find someone to drop you off upstream and then work your way down to Gore Landing. That's just a guess though...don't hold me to that!

Trout fishing is about to really pick up down on the lower illinois with fall/winter fishing...if you've got a 3-5wt rod, you can really have a blast!

[ColeM.]

I will be doing the exact same thing this spring. I will be taking my kayak and paddling what I can in search of some spots they are not in, easy access of the wade fisherman! Chance is right, trout fishing is about to heat up! I am ready for some cool weather!

[LB&M]

Would it be crazy to take a kayak and go to Gore Landing and fish there? I have an 8wt and versi-tip system so I can cover a lot of the water column.

I just dont know if it is safe.

I don't know either but I plan on doing exactly that in a couple of weeks. In addition, I plan on a day on Baron Fork for smallmouth and a day or two for trout. Right now I'm thinking of the 21st through the 26th (depending on the weather) I've got old and modern glass rods from 3 to 9 wt (minus an 8 wt) I'll be bringing, plus a graphite 9 wt. I'm trying to work up a streamer that will represent a rainbow trout right now - haven't got there yet.

[ColeM.]

I don't know either but I plan on doing exactly that in a couple of weeks. In addition, I plan on a day on Baron Fork for smallmouth and a day or two for trout. Right now I'm thinking of the 21st through the 26th (depending on the weather) I've got old and modern glass rods from 3 to 9 wt (minus an 8 wt) I'll be bringing, plus a graphite 9 wt. I'm trying to work up a streamer that will represent a rainbow trout right now - haven't got there yet.

Let me know when you are going for sure and I will see if I can join you. I have tied up some EP Minnows in rainbow colors that should work well.