DaddyO Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 I didn't get a chance to go to the river this weekend. Was anyone else able to get down to the Lower Illinois? If so, how was the water conditions/clarity and were there any fish to be caught? DaddyO We all make decisions; but, in the end, our decisions make us.
Members Nathanael Posted November 21, 2011 Members Posted November 21, 2011 I saw on the other post about a consistent 75 cfs flow. Would this be wadeable at that flow? Also I saw that they stocked twice, once on the 16th and another on the 18th. Would these stockings put enough fish in the river for there to be any decent fishing opportunities? Just curious about the river. Thanks
DaddyO Posted November 21, 2011 Author Posted November 21, 2011 Yes to both questions. DaddyO We all make decisions; but, in the end, our decisions make us.
Members Nathanael Posted November 21, 2011 Members Posted November 21, 2011 thanks, might have to try to sneak out there one day this week.
dgames Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 Reportedly, they stocked last Wed & Fri. I fished hard on Thursday. Fished a couple of hours at Watts and my buddy and I didn't catch anything. Moved up to the gravel lot below the dam and fished around there the rest of the day. I did manage to catch a dozen or so, but had to work really hard to do it. Fishing was much slower than what I usually see down there. The fish I caught were on a small brownish wooly bugger fished dead drift below an indicator. I would guess it is a little better now after the second stocking on Friday.
JCWolfe Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 Is the water still dirty looking or has it improved? Okiemountaineer
dgames Posted November 26, 2011 Posted November 26, 2011 More of a green color but visibility was still probably less than a foot.
DaddyO Posted November 26, 2011 Author Posted November 26, 2011 I went out Friday Morning. I got to the grassy parking lot below the dam about 9am. As soon as I started gearing up, the sirens went off. The weren't supposed to start generating until about 2pm or 3pm. I stood there in disbelief for about 5 minutes while the siren went off another 4 or 5 times. The water never came up. I don't know what was going on but I went ahead and put the waders on and head down below the kiddie pool to the downed trees. I pulled 10 out in about 45 minutes and then the water started coming up. I headed back to the truck. Visited with a couple of guys and told them about the forum. When they left I checked the water and noticed that it was dropping out again. So, I walked back out, caught a couple of more fish and then the water really started coming up. Most of the fish were caught on my Hair and Copper fly and a few were caught on the BobWhite. As was mentioned above, the water was a little green and murky with about 1 foot of visibility. However, I'll say that it was 10 times better than it was a couple of months ago. We've only had 2 stockings and another is scheduled for the 30th. Get out and enjoy the fishing again. You should be able to catch them on the same patterns that you are used to using. DaddyO We all make decisions; but, in the end, our decisions make us.
JCWolfe Posted November 27, 2011 Posted November 27, 2011 Now that I'm back from WV I'll be headed that way soon. Now that we got fish again and some water hopefully the C.O.E. doesn't keep screwing the fishing up with "unscheduled releases". I'm guessing you caught nothing of size since you didn't mention it. Okiemountaineer
DaddyO Posted November 28, 2011 Author Posted November 28, 2011 Nothing of any size. They were all 10 to 12 inch stockers. DaddyO We all make decisions; but, in the end, our decisions make us.
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