By Steve McClone
Well, the Fox River Stretches from the Illinois River in Ottawa, IL, north 202 Miles encompassing 15 dams, into Wisconsin. This river system in Illinois averages depth ranges from 6 inches to 3 feet with chunk rock, gravel, and sandbars everywhere, making it a smallmouth bass paradise and a fiberglass boat nightmare. I run a 2070 Oquawka Aluminum Boat paired with a 90hp Yamaha on a Bobâs Marine Jack plate. This set-up allows me to Jack my motor up high in the water column and run it in very shallow water. Having a Strong Aluminum boat with no rivets allows me to take clients out and give them a very safe and comfortable feeling on their guided trip. With the noticeably swift current, you will drag across rocks, gravel, sand, and other debris in the water, and not come away with holes in your boat.
Safety is key! On July 10th 2021, I had the pleasure of guiding 3 Vets-Dylan, Danny, and Josh. This trip was set up with Fallen Outdoors, an organization for veterans, past and present, from all branches of the military. Their aim is to connect Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen with like-minded individuals to teach them skills and garner a passion that they can continue to enjoy for a lifetime. When they showed up at the boat ramp at 5:30 in the morning, I already had the boat in the water and was ready and waiting. The look on their faces was priceless when they were walking to the dock and got a look at my boat. Before I even got to introduce myself, Josh says, âThis boat is a Tankâ. I said, âWell yeah, she may not be sparkling and fancy, but she is safe and comfy, and we will be able to get where most people canâtâ. They all smiled and jumped in the boat and the trip began.
We pulled up to the first spot and I started handing out rods. They were using custom made, medium fast rods made by Big Bear Rods. I paired them up with a Piscifun Carbon X spinning reel with 10lb Fluorocarbon p-line. When fishing this river, the water is very clear most of the time so Fluorocarbon is hard to beat, with fish not being able to see it; especially fishing in 1-3ft of water. On this river system, you can catch numbers of small mouth on buck tails, poppers, hair jigs, small blade baits, spoons, jigs, and much more. The bite always changes due to many things, such as weather, food source, and time of year. They were throwing 3 main baits that day; it was hot, with cloud cover and a slight breeze. A top water, walk the dog style lure made by Boing Lures in a shad color, A PB&J Mag Dizzy plastic worm paired on a block head offset owner hook, and a Cotton Cordell Big O crankbait, black and white. I had them rotate in the boat, in terms of who was fishing what, so that they all got to learn different techniques and experience what each had to offer. All three bites were producing very well, so I had the guy in the front throwing topwater so he could cover the top of the water column, the middle guy throwing a crankbait to cover the middle of the water column and bottom, and the guy in the back throwing the plastic worm to cover the bottom. This resulted in the group simultaneously hitting all 3 parts of the water column, from top to bottom, and landing more fish by not focusing on one area of the water. It works well this way with a group of 3. If I was fishing with one client, I would make multiple passes starting with the top of the water column and working down, picking the bottom apart with plastics or jigs to make sure we get all the active fish in the area before moving on.
This trip was special in so many ways. They caught tons of fish! Fish were producing in the middle of the river, not even close to shore (where boats normally drive). Many times, in this river where anglersâ boats are, you should be fishing under the boat, out towards the middle. These smallmouths can be caught beating the shoreline; however, you have a better production rate fishing rock piles and gravel bars out away from the bank. On this trip, Danny was fishing in the front of the boat and had to use the restroom, so he handed me his pole and said, âCatch a monster!â. I laughed and told him that I donât normally fish with my clients. All 3 men were heckling me about it. I donât fish with my clients unless I need to figure out a new pattern or if it is a trip that they want me to, for teaching purposes. I told them, âYou pay good money and I want you to catch fish, not meâ. Joshua Kerber is a Specialist in the 118th MP Co. Airborne, who received a purple heart after being struck by an RPG while in the gunner seat during a routine patrol in the Logar Province. His convoy was ambushed and this resulted in injuries including his left arm above the elbow being amputated, shrapnel to the right eye, and traumatic brain injury; he served from 2008-2012. Josh, being the happy go-getter was on me and said, âThatâs an order! Show us how itâs done, Captain!â
The pole Danny was using had a Boeing Lure Gizzy Shad spoke-style bait on it. So, I make a long cast right down the middle of the river. During the cast, I was talking to them and showing them a stop-and-pause method to use, rather than a straight, walk-the-dog retrieve. About halfway in, on the pause, a huge smallmouth blew up on it, coming completely out of the water. I reeled down and set the hook and the fish jumped 5 or 6 times before I got it into the boat and they were all going nuts. When I got the fish to the boat, Dylan netted it. It was the biggest fish of the day and I felt horrible about it. Being the guide, this is exactly the reason why I donât fish with my clients- so that I donât take away a fish which could be a âpersonal bestâ for one of them. I apologized, while holding the fish up for a picture, and they were all laughing so hard; they said, âCaptain, we gave you an order and you did it!â Josh said that he will never forget this and that it made his day. They continued catching these smallmouths all day; pound for pound, one of the best freshwater fighting fish!