Ditch Fishing - August 8, '06

[fish_a_holic]

Didn't feel like driving down to the Marsh tonight, so I went to a tiny ditch I scouted out earlier in the year that I thought might be promising...it's still showing signs of good things to come.

air temp - 69
humidity - 80%
wind - N 3mph
barometer - 30.18
water clarity - turbid, visibility 6"

sky - intermittent clouds and a fantastic sunset.
Started out with my super ultralite rod and 4lb. test with a 1/32 oz. tube jig...had a few small fish follow it in, so swapped out my black and chartreuse tube for a red/yellow tube and this is what I caught on the first cast after the change of color...



Tried to get crappiehunter to go with me tonight, but he couldn't be reached...not too shabby, a 12" crappie on my super ultralite.
No more crappies, caught one miniature bass almost 3" long on the smaller tube, so I switched over to my spinning rod with 6lb. test Red Cajun line and a 3.5" T-rigged weightless tube on a 4/0 Gamagatsu hook...proceded to catch 4 more small bass between 12" and 13"...had a couple good hits but missed, might have been more crappies and I was just rippin' their lips...had a great time and left before the bugs got intense.

Nature Notes: saw 2 great blue herons - one flying alongside my vehicle as I was pulling up to the ditch and the other wading the ditch in search of dinner, loads of 12 banded skimmers and one frisky muskrat.

...all in all, another great time was had by me down by the Kankakee!

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[davetclown]

great photo,

I can almost smell that crappie from here... his apearance would apear that he came from a clean watter way... that is always a good thing...
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[fish_a_holic]

Most of the ditches I fish connect either directly to, or indirectly to the Kankakee River and are greatly overlooked fishing areas...last year I caught 3 muskys in one day on such a ditch.
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[davetclown]

musky is on my list of fish to catch, havent got one yet. I have gotten a stergeon, I would like to catch a paddle fish, but they no longer live in michigan waters anymore, to much polution....

ya just gotta love secret fishing holes....[cool]
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[fish_a_holic]

so far, I've caught 5 muskys in Indiana, all 5 were caught on my ultralite rod with 4lb test 4/5 times and 2lb. test once (and the 2lb test was my biggest one at 38.5" - caught while casting a 1/32 oz. tube jig for crappies in the 3rd week of March...Forsythe Park, Wolf Lake, Hammond, IN.
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[davetclown]

to bad you couldnt get that 38 incher documented, that might have some kind of a record on that test line....

the sturgeon I caught I landed with a zebco 202 with 15 pound test line. it was at the time just a little under size to keep, just a dink realy, "49" inches, what it weighed I dont realy know, at the time the minimum size was 52 inches, now where I fish for them you have to throw them back when they get to 52 inches. actuly we now have a slot limit on them, 42 inches to 52 inches... the other places we go for them have different size limmit regs,
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