Conditions were horrible from mid-day on. LOFR-BR nailed it.

In hot, hot weather - this place is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery but the fish are there because it is jurassic!!!!

Adventure 

I took a stump in the rump on the way out (while it was described to me- I wasn't really hearing that we would be banging off stumps in the front, middle and motor). I nearly jumped out of my skin right after the stump hit when a 25 lb. -  fish jumped up about…

Monster Gill Lake Near Chicago?

I am looking to create a panfish instruction video. While I can do some of this video on fishing urban waters and "regular ponds" for kids and new anglers - people dig the long ball (baseball home runs). 

(New note- I am thinking that there aren't any monster gill lakes - if anyone knows of one- please get in touch)

I mean to say, they have to see big fish for you to be a subject expert right. I mean, this site isn't called…

So 2013 is off and running. There is very little ice on our waters here, so no hard water to stand on, cut through and pull some panfish through, instead, time to get some homework done and time to for training. 

I have begun training hard to get ready for a big fishing gear, rehabing an old arm injury and getting the weight off. Three weeks into the year, I hate lifting weights, but I know I will need it. I am going to have a challenging 2013 and accomplish a lot in fishing. If I…

Summer is here- it is safe to say now that Chicago is in the grips of 3 - 100 degree days in a row, a record that stood slightly longer than the Cubs have endured without a championship. Speaking of records:

Some numbers hard to ignore - you bet ya. Big news from the last time out. I set a goal on my podcast and I beat my goal and personal best for fish…

Recapping one my fastest and most-scientfic early Springs ever near home is best done by the numbers. 112 - number of fish caught on maggots vs. 35 fish caught using GULP in the shootout experiment.  224 fish I would have had if I hadn't used artificial baits that day. 22,000 grubs ordered for events, club fishing and my fishing for early Spring - they're on their…

The New Catalog is Here Contest

First - I have a tackle review item to share and it is rating the Big Box - Bass Pro Shops Spring Catalog.

Lacking.

Actually - let me refresh that review because while I think it deserves more than one word for a review. If I didn't have to inform you of why I believe this catalog to be only good for recycling and an average worm-bedding, I would stick with a review…

All I Learned is All Wrong?

1. What if your favorite and GO-to method, the one you are most confident in and catches you fish is in reality a very slow method of getting things done?
2. What if the books you read are only o.k. tactics?
3. What if everything you learned about fishing is information that will hurt your fishing?
4. What if there ARE great fish in…

I Got New Floats, From the 40's

So I was all excited today as a set of new floats came in from Louisiana, of course they were vintage floats on wrapped onto even older winders. A winder is just what it sounds like, you wind your rig up on it and these babies are sweet. I can see in this fishing tackle something that is around 75 years old, yet it is more advanced than what we have today.

Tackle from Louisiana is easily…

Ok - homemade recipes for chum are good - I encourage that. I have had a lot of experience with chumming over the past 12 years since I converted to a chum-only angler about 90% of the time.

For me - no matter what I do at home with the food processor, the consistency is off which makes the concoction perform badly (when being placed/thrown).

I am sponsored by the TopMix USA company which makes a bluegill chum and I do use the stuff faithfully it is right on…

257 is the winning answer. I created this post way back when so no one would worry about tampering!

4/13/2011 - look for a winner to be announced soon from the (ChicagoFishingSchool website entries too). I will announce some runner-up winners too!!

An example of horrible performing bite indicators that America manufactures - mass quantity refuse - the live bait angler's enemy to catching fish (cheaply made bobbers)

Cheap, Clunky & Bad - American Live Bait Tackle Companies- Shame on…

Porcupine Floats?!

Since the trade routes into Africa brought products from around the globe, old-time tackle companies in the 1700s or 1800s fashioned some bite indicators out of everything that wasn't tied down. A popular imported material for companies making floats was the porcupine quill out of Africa. 

These…

I have placed my first Spring bait order so it is OFFICIAL. Fishing is right around the corner. To prepare, I will take out my smaller tying bag with lines and small hooks and start tying some leaders.

Storing a small wallet of fine leaders in the fishing bag saves hours on the bank. Since I can't get what I want - I make my own snells and store them in a hook wallet (picture rubber pads for the hooks and some plastic bumps to put the snell loops on in a thin, plastic…

There is Ultralight and ( Zen ) There is Ultralight Fishing

No one reading this has ever fished ultralight. Ultralight would be the ability to hook a single bit of algae or just one hydra to a hook to catch a newly hatched fish,…

I am still seeking some help from everyone out there.

Please check out the older post invite. All this month I will be wanting volunteers to describe their setups and share how they fish with live bait.

I will be donating some prizes to the cause and someone will win some cool shirts and prizes for sharing. There are no wrong answers, just want REGULAR fishing setups - how you fish with the standard gear.

Participants will be asked to log what…

Storing Your Grubs is Not As Good As Fishing With Them

(Alternate title #1: So You Want to Push Your Spouse Over-the-Edge - Keep Spikes in Your Main Fridge) 

As the first title says- bait was meant for fish to eat, for you to fish with and not…

A Sad Tale

What a sad story - my trip was cut short and I lost all of my fishing day. No Lake Ponchartrain, no Mississippi and No Orleans bluegill adventure for me.

The only photo I have to share from the past day's fishing is this nice 1/8 lber. that I caught at the local burger hole. The story gets worse- much worse. I get home Saturday (not Sunday) after a rushed trip…

Ok - I am in New Orleans and have never fished for blue gills south of Missouri so tomorrow I have a tackle shop lined up and am going to try and get out and try to find some of my blue-gilled friends.

Last night I tried to find some food and my way around Bourbon street. I did alright for a tourist. We found some authentic New Orleans food - Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches! Ya, so I struck out there. But - I had more success on the music front. You know how you are supposed…