water willows 6-19

[Norm Minas]

flow rate 7,500 cfs and dropping, still off color, water temps in 70's.the water levels are still good for one of my favorite patterns- flooded water willow beds. A lot of post spawn fish including some big females are feeding heavily in the water willows, some days it's a very light bite requiring getting in amongst the heathen with plastics, other like today they are highly aggressive.

A rattlebait worked against the current on the edges of the beds, over submerged weeds and in the washout holes on the down stream side was the best producer. A buzzbait worked with or against the current thru the tops of weeds poking thru the water's surface or thru the paths worn thru the interior of the beds by fisherman walking thru them and extremely tight to edges of the beds were the only two lures I needed. At times it would be a fish every cast for 5, 6, or 7 casts, other times a bit slower than that. I never found a water willow bed that was flooded that did not produce at least one fish.

Two twenty inch, three 18 inch and two 17 inch smallmouth were the stars of the show. I did hook one fish in a washout hole that I never was able to stop. It fought like a cat but I never laid eyes on it. It got out in the fast water and the game went to the fish. Oh well, that's part of the deal.

Ken,

I saw your report on Blackberry Creek, guess it's not worth making the trek next week. If I did go, it would most likely be Tuesday.

[heysambennett]

Same up here Norm.

Many days: heathens, plastics. More than not. Luckily I enjoy some of our heathens up here. Totally different fishing tho.

Got out to check a few spots last night and it was pretty hit or miss. Mostly miss. Did have a chance to teach a kid how to get off of that bobber and worm. That was worth it.

-SB

[ThunderStick]

Heathens? I'm not familiar with that word relating to fishing.

a 20" smallie in IL is a fantastic fish...kudos to you!

[Special Ed]

Norm,

What do water willow beds on the Kankakee look like? I've tried Googling the phrase but I get a variety of search results, and they all look different than what I had imagined in my head.

I was picturing something similar to reeds or eel grass, but I have a feeling I'm wrong.

If you can find a picture on the internet and link it, or give us a brief description, that would be excellent.

[Norm Minas]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... Q&dur=4130

on the Kankakee you get humps out in the river covered with water willows as well as beds lining the shore. many times there are paths worn thru were folks have walked thru. lots of irregular edges as well.

grass shrimp and other macro inverts use them, start of a nice food chain.

look for cuts and points on the edges, humps and dips in the beds, other cover like rock, wood and other weed species and the paths thru the beds. when the water levels are over or slightly lower than the tops of the water willows the fishing is usually great. the water willow stubble, before the weed grows and after it dies back can also hold minnows in the right water conditions. fish them at that point as well.

Bob Rung, Friends of the Fox, ISA and others have been and continue to re establish water willows on the Fox. From what Bob told me, they used to be common on the Fox years ago but man's abuse took it's toll. They are great for stabilizing banks and such and can provide nursery areas for yoy fish.

they can hold multiple species of fish, had a 31inch channel cat destroy a spinnerbait in the washout hole at the down stream side of a bed on Saturday.

[Ken G]

Ed, at Saw Wee Kee there's a gravel hump we were practically standing on and fishing from before heading further down behind the third island. It's one of the few natural instances of water willow I've ever found on the Fox from Yorkville to Geneva. Blackberry Creek has quite a bit in the first mile up from where the dam was.

I've never cared about the planting of water willows on the Fox. It's not the Kank. I don't think they'll ever take a good hold and I think it's a waste of time. On the Kank you can walk the shore upstream from area 7 to the bridge and walk on nothing but water willows. Why doesn't that exist on the Fox. The makeup of the shore is not all that different.

The Fox is ultimately an urban river and just 50 years ago a polluted nightmare. The Kank doesn't have that problem, never really has. There's a lot of weed killer still coming down the Fox along with all kinds of other stuff. Water clarity mid summer on the Fox sucks, the Kank is crystal clear. There's all kinds of comparisons I can make. Since 1996 I've seen maybe a dozen crayfish in the Fox. On the Kank when heading back to the trail to go up the hill at Area 7, I refuse to look down cause I'm crushing them with every step. The Fox is ultimately a bait fish river because of all this. Fish it accordingly.

[Special Ed]

Thanks Norm!