12-15-2006, 12:30 PM
crappiehunter and I heard they were getting steelhead on the lakefront using shrimp under a float, so we headed out to the DNR facility on the West end of Trail Creek in Michigan City. Upon arriving there, there were 3 guys from the NWIS (Northwest Indiana Steelheaders) who had had no hits in the 2 hours they had fished prior to us getting there...but we stuck it out for another hour, but with no luck.
Mike wanted to try fishing the pool at the Route 20 access point, and when we got there the water was moving 2-3 times faster than normal, so we couldn't get a good drift. I suggested we try the Johnson Road access point, so we were off again.
Upon reaching the Johnson Road access site, we thoroughly worked every piece of timber, trough and hole we could find. Ran into another member of the NWIS and he stated that he had one fish in 3 hours...ran into another NWIS guy who had chest-highs on and was walking out of a very remote area that's hard to get into and he stated that he only got one. I started working a marabou jig tipped with a piece of nightcrawler down a trough when I managed to finally get a hit...it was a real monster, a 4" smolt :lol: my first steelie in December.
Mike suggested we make the long drive and check out the ice situation on Horseshoe Bend and I was definitely up for that!
When we got to Horseshoe Bend, Mike lamented stating that it would have been better if we had some minnows...I suggested to him that we didn't really need them. I rigged up with a 1/32 oz. chartreuse marabou jig under a float and with the gusting 25 - 30 mph winds there was a nice chop on the water which kept the jig in constant motion and provided a nice drift too.
...here's the result of the jig n float combination
![[Image: DecCrappie.jpg]](http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r282/LURAworks/DecCrappie.jpg)
...here's a little bass that Mike caught on (what else, LOL) one of my 1/32 oz. jigs under a float
![[Image: DecMike.jpg]](http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r282/LURAworks/DecMike.jpg)
Didn't see too much wildlife, a few ducks and a flock of geese flying overhead,but...
...all in all, another great time had by Mike n me down by the Kankakee!
[signature]
Mike wanted to try fishing the pool at the Route 20 access point, and when we got there the water was moving 2-3 times faster than normal, so we couldn't get a good drift. I suggested we try the Johnson Road access point, so we were off again.
Upon reaching the Johnson Road access site, we thoroughly worked every piece of timber, trough and hole we could find. Ran into another member of the NWIS and he stated that he had one fish in 3 hours...ran into another NWIS guy who had chest-highs on and was walking out of a very remote area that's hard to get into and he stated that he only got one. I started working a marabou jig tipped with a piece of nightcrawler down a trough when I managed to finally get a hit...it was a real monster, a 4" smolt :lol: my first steelie in December.
Mike suggested we make the long drive and check out the ice situation on Horseshoe Bend and I was definitely up for that!
When we got to Horseshoe Bend, Mike lamented stating that it would have been better if we had some minnows...I suggested to him that we didn't really need them. I rigged up with a 1/32 oz. chartreuse marabou jig under a float and with the gusting 25 - 30 mph winds there was a nice chop on the water which kept the jig in constant motion and provided a nice drift too.
...here's the result of the jig n float combination
...here's a little bass that Mike caught on (what else, LOL) one of my 1/32 oz. jigs under a float
Didn't see too much wildlife, a few ducks and a flock of geese flying overhead,but...
...all in all, another great time had by Mike n me down by the Kankakee!
[signature]