The reluctance of the fish to head up the creeks has been both fascinating and frustrating. Not just smallmouth bass, but any kind of fish.
I really shouldn’t be all that surprised considering the winter we had.
I forget what these flowers are, names of things don’t really mean much to me anyway, but I finally came across a small batch of them, very small. Like, this was it.
Usually by now they’re everywhere and have been for a few weeks. Like the fish, they’re taking their sweet time showing up.
For the past few weeks I’ve been hitting five different creeks, from nine miles inland to the mouths. Except for slightly increasing bug hatches, they’ve been completely devoid of life.
Today I combed a half mile of a creek. A half mile inland to the mouth. Starting from the inland side, the first few hundred yards were again completely devoid of life, except for the bugs.
A couple of hundred yards from the mouth I finally spotted two huge schools of minnows, bait fish if you will. One was hugging tight to the bottom of a shallow sandy area and the other was one big undulating ball of bait in a hole over five feet deep. I took this as a good sign for the two hundred yard walk down to the mouth.
I took it wrong.
Not another living thing seen.
Well, almost.
At the mouth a couple of quillbacks decided to play porpoise. There’s no mistaking their back when they briefly come up out of the water.
I stood in one spot that lets me cover a lot of water with virtually no movement on my part. Not a thing hit and that really came as no surprise.
But I kept casting and casting and casting far beyond the limit I set for myself when the fish aren’t biting.
It was too nice out.
We haven’t had nice in a long time.
It was a nice sunset.
I haven’t stood in the water and watched a nice sunset in a long time.
Friday I’m going to repeat this.
By then the water will be a bit warmer.
More bait fish will probably have moved up and I’m sure the bug hatch will be bigger.
And maybe the bite will finally turn on.
We haven’t had a turned on bite in a long time.
Howard Levett
9 Apr 2014Beautiful picture of the sunset Ken. The flowers are nice also. Looks to me like maybe your Winter is over. We had 70 degrees the past couple of days but they’re predicting snow later in the week. WTF is that all about? My grass is long and green, the flowers are blooming and I watched my first woodpecker while he was boring a hole in the side of my house.
Ken G
10 Apr 2014Thanks Howard. Long range we still have a couple of nights predicted for below freezing. This may be the longest I’ve waited to start doing anything with my vegetable garden. No woodpeckers yet seen to worry about, just lots of mourning doves hanging out on nearby wires crapping on everything below them.
Richard Velders
10 Apr 2014I’ve had the same lack of response on the creeks. IL RIVER water level is down. Going to look for Sauger tomorrow. Always is worth getting your report if even just to get the best pictures.
Ken G
10 Apr 2014The lack of rain lately has everything in near perfect condition Dick, except the fishing. Hopefully the Illinois is behaving better. Friend Norm is tearing them up on the Kankakee, $4 a gallon gas is the only thing keeping me from going. I can walk to the Fox River in two minutes. The fish gotta show up sooner or later.
Matt
10 Apr 2014I had the same experience on the BRC yesterday. I fished a section about a mile up from the mouth. Some bugs and minnows, but no bass. It was still nice to get out.
Ken G
10 Apr 2014I almost went a mile up on that one Matt, more to hit the nearby pond I walk past on the hike out. Maybe I’ll run into you there if you do that stretch often.
Jim McClellan
10 Apr 2014We’re finally getting some warmer weather down here, but it’s been accompanied by torrential rains. That has screwed up the freshwater fishing because the water’s too high. But it’s also screwed up the saltwater fishing because of all the fresh water out in the flats.
Ken G
10 Apr 2014Luckily the rain hasn’t been that bad Jim. I think it’s waiting till the bite turns on and then will blow everything out with a flood of record proportions. After this winter, wouldn’t surprise me.
Olaf
10 Apr 2014My first visit to BRC, March 21st, yielded one redhorse in 20 minutes. I was very optimistic when I returned April 5th. Nothing. No life other than flying bugs landing on my neck and the wave of a distant carp fin.
Ken G
11 Apr 2014It’s nuts Olaf.
When they do show up, you’ll be able to walk across the creek on their backs and not get your feet wet.
They really are on their own schedule.
Denise
14 Apr 2014This doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend some time, Good luck out there!
Ken G
14 Apr 2014It’s definitely more fascinating Denise. Would be nice to get a tap now and then to break the monotony of casting, but then I probably would miss a lot by being bothered by those pesky fish.