carp fishing (fox chain of lakes, il)

Today I was meeting up with Neal and Randall for some bank fishing on the fox chain. We were planning on targeting some big carp, cats, and whatever else we could drum up. I pulled into the lot first and had enough time to set up 2 rods before Neal came rolling in. We fished together for almost 30 minutes before I caught the first fish which happed to be a decent crappie. He inhaled a jig and minnow combo on a rod that was sitting on the dock while I was rebaiting a different rod. After about 15 more minutes we decided to move to a different spot where we could really pepper the shoreline with some extra rods.

1st fish of the day is a crappie

fog + wind + rain = fishing in full rain gear

We pulled into the second spot and started to unpack the gear. Randall made it just about that time. Neal and I fished a simple bottom rig made up of an egg sinker behind an oversized swivel and a small live bait hook. We tossed those out and put the rod in a rod holder with a tight line and loose drag. We alternated our baits from minnows to leaches to corn and bread balls. Randall opted for a leach on a jig head and a second rod with a minnow and slip bobber.

Randall didn’t stay too long but was there long enough to catch a healthy young muskie. He caught him on the jig and leach combo right from under a dock he was casting to.

randall with a bonus musky

Neal was the cat fishing king for the day and must have gotten about a half dozen cats. He also lost a nice carp right up on the bank.

the catfish king

I ended up with one crappie three carp and a cat.

fox chain of lakes carp

mirror carp

carp fest

The weather conditions weren’t good. We ended up in our waders and rain coats very early and fished through the scattered showers all day. Despite the rain, we still found a way to catch fish, grill some sausages and brats, and have a great time chilling with some friends. All the fish were released.