Saturday, October 2, 2010

multi-species fishing (fox chain, il)

fox lake in the fall
 Today me and Neal fished the Chain of Lakes on a favorite point on Fox Lake. The wind was constantly blowing hard and the temperature never made it above 50 degrees the entire time we fished. We were fishing bottom rigs with a combination of corn, worms, and minnows for bait. Click on the photo to see our set-up.

make sure the swivel is big enough to not slip through
We were out there for just around 4 hours because we weren’t really prepared for the weather but we did manage to catch a good multi-species bag. Our fish totals were:

10 fish caught today-

  • 4 carp
  • 3 catfish
  • 1 drum
  • 1 bluegill
  • 1 walleye
fox lake carp
Minnows played a major role today in the fish that we caught. All fish were caught in 2 separate 15 minute windows where we would have almost a flurry of rods getting bit. Most bites came in the shallow water as well.

neal with a nice bluegill

neal the catfish king
It was a lot of fun running around as different rods were getting bit. Neal was busy landing a nice carp so I went to real in my closest rod to avoid any tangles. As I gave the reel a couple turns I felt a small tap and set the hook on my first chain walleye in a long time. It was just short of legal but was still awesome to catch!

nice to see a fox lake walleye
 Later, I had just landed a modest catfish and Neal was just about to take a picture when the farthest rod away from us got a good hit. Without my photo I put the death grip on the catfish in my hand and took off running for my rod. I was halfway down the beach when I hear Neal yell “Drop the fish”. In mid-run I launched the fish 20 yards out into the water. The reward of all that excitement was a healthy 8 pound carp. The photo of the carp sure turned out a lot better then the photo that got away!

the carp i ran for!

13 comments:

  1. Blake
    I can relate to the live bait action, because I have used it when nothing else was happening. Just curious did you keep all those fish to eat. I have never eaten any carp, but everything else you guys landed is my kind of meal. Really enjoyed the post and great pics. of the fish.

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  2. Every fish is still swiming... Didn't really feel like cleaning any fish today. From what I hear be glad you never have had any carp! Everyone else should stop by Bill's site, its awesome.

    http://btrussell-fishingthroughlife.blogspot.com/

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  3. Looks like a good four hours spent to me! =_)

    The Average Joe Fisherman
    http://averagejoefisherman.blogspot.com/

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  4. Wolfy, Ryan, Razzle Dazzle thanks guys. Not a bad haul for a few hours fishing. Starting to cool off in a big way here in Illinois!

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  5. Awesome!...old fashion fishing the way most of us fell in love with it in the begining...I really love fishing that way at times, and fish the surf like that 90% of the time...w/four to six surf rods set up w/bait.

    Man you guys kicked some fish butt...what a great four hours, and really nice looking fish!!

    I haven't caught a carp in years (since fishing with my Dad) and need to do some research (on local spots) to get back at them with my kids, old fashion style (thumbs up).

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  6. Yup, its about as basic as fishing gets! Carp fishing is one of my favorites. Those initial runs are awesome watching line run off your spool. I also really enjoy light line carp fishing. 4-6 pound test!

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  7. Thanks for stopping by Bigerrfish...

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  8. not a problem, I'll be where ever the fish are,, they were here today..

    www.bigerrrfish.blogspot.com

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  9. It looks like southerners aren't the only ones catching big carp!

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  10. They grow them big up here as well Gorges. Ask anyone who fishes Fox Lake :)

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