Fished Sunday Morning

[Rainstein]

Fished the Lower Illinois just below Tenkiller, at the River Road Access on the east side of the river, on Sunday morning. Primarily fished a spot just above the run right before the channel splits by the gravel parking area on the west side. No luck on flashy green nymphs (which is what I usually catch them with over there), so switched to an olive bugger tied on an orange micro jig head, with a little flash in the tail. I know some will say a jig head is cheating on a fly rod, but tell that to the old guy who hand tied it and gave it to me on the White above Beaver Dam a couple of weeks ago. It caught fish there, and it caught six rainbows for me yesterday on the Illinois, ranging from 10 to 13 inches. The jig head hook the old guy tied it on was about a size 12, and had just a little orange head. Like I said, looks about like a bugger without the body section, but just a head. Got a couple of bites after that on a bead head bloody mary from Big Y Fly Co. (http://www.bigyflyco.com), which I highly recommend for quality and price, but didn't land any after that. Was raining most of the time, but the river was misting and it looked so incredible the rain didn't matter.

[Zach Bearden]

Ugh!!! Im going to hate going back to the lower Illinois River..... I went and fished Dry Run Creek Monday with the largest

being about 10lbs!!!!!!!!!!! I was sooooo pumped up when he sucked in that scud!!! I didnt see it

coming. I was sight casting to him and the first cast that was right on top of him he inhaled it!

I also caught some that were around 20" on the average.... Oh well that was the largest fish Ive

ever caught.... Well I guess that will tide me off for the Striper this season... I hope I can get

the pic of him as my pic...

[Rainstein]

If only the Lower Illinois had been closed to fishing for 30 years like Dry Run, and we'd all be pulling ten pounders out, huh? Oh well. In a half-day trip (which is about all I can ever do, since I live in Fort Smith and have two-year-old), it still makes for some fun, even if your only hope is a decent stringer rather than a trophy.