Thread: Big Pond This Week

I have fished 18 out of the last 20 days and have 7 more to go then I have some openings.I have been running some creeks this week looking for big fish. The bite is slower but the fish are worth it. Both wood and willows have fish in them. Minnow bite for me is done. I am getting all my fish up in the creeks on small sixteenth ounce black and chartreuse hair jigs.

The ledge bite for me is where I will be the rest of the week. The creeks are slowing way down and I need more keepers in the boat. I am getting bigger fish on the ledges but I am really on them one day then the next it is slow. The magic depth is 15 feet. Seams the big fish are on stumps and down trees out in fifteen feet. Just go parallel to the bank and stay in fifteen feet and stop every time you see the screen light up. You need the spot to be full of bait on the screen then you will get some fish. Most spots it is just a fish or two but a couple times a day you will hit a spot that gives up nine or ten. Just keep moving.

I am using the Bighead jigs and knocking it into parrallel branches on both standing trees and laydowns. White with a chartreuse and pearl tube or red with a brown and chartresue tube.

The fish this fall are really nice sized. We had a 1.73 day before yesterday and I have had at least one fish every day this week in the pound and a half range. We are getting quite a few twelve inch fish every day and even the smaller fish are eleven inches. As soon as the north end clears up in the next week or so we should really be on them both numbers and size. I have some more openings if anyone is interested. You can go to my website and see the dates. Fishing Guide Service | Lake Shelbyville Illinois | Steve Welch

or just give me a buzz. 217-762-7257

Thanks Steve for the great report. Also, congratulations on that tourney win last weekend. You weighed in a really nice limit.

Hope to talk to you on the water one of these days.

Good fishn'
Roger

Yes, Steve had a pretty big weight. Sundays weight for the club members was 7.89 I think and more right behind the winners. Shelbyville is producing nice fish. Water seems a little warm still, is this affecting them?

Originally Posted by sparky197

Yes, Steve had a pretty big weight. Sundays weight for the club members was 7.89 I think and more right behind the winners. Shelbyville is producing nice fish. Water seems a little warm still, is this affecting them?

Water Temps are running 54-55 and yes it is too warm. I want the water temps to get down to mid 40's and the water around Wilborn to clear up. It is still very dirty coming through the RR bridge and on up to the Junkyard. Wind is keeping it dirty.

Hey Steve sounds like they are still on for you up there. I hear the duck hunting is going pretty good up there also.
Sounds like a great 18 days of fishin.

CX.

Steve...sounds like some great fishing right now. I could not help but wander though when you said you had been 18 out of 20 days...as a guide do you ever get tired of going fishing? Or maybe what I mean is that since its your job do you tend to lose touch of the enjoyment of it after awhile? I have no idea what the answer would be to this as I have never done it.

congrats sounds like a good time

Originally Posted by CarpPoop

Steve...sounds like some great fishing right now. I could not help but wander though when you said you had been 18 out of 20 days...as a guide do you ever get tired of going fishing? Or maybe what I mean is that since its your job do you tend to lose touch of the enjoyment of it after awhile? I have no idea what the answer would be to this as I have never done it.

The enjoyment after a while only comes with the new faces I meet. The stories we exchange and the days experiences. The fishing becomes a grind and to put people on fish every day you must have so many patterns to fall back on. We fish shallow one day and deep the next. Wind is your biggest enemy and this year rain as well. My mind is constantly running through what are we going to do today. The hours that I put in behind the scenes very few people know just how many they are. I get up at 4:00 AM every day and get back home at 6:00 PM. Fourteen hour days most of them half freezing to death, setting in rain or wind. Then once I get home the phone rings for another two hours answering questions about the lake or setting up even more guide trips. You wouldn't believe that I am taking bookings for next summer right now. People call me expecting me to have answers for some of the most outrageous questions. Like can I camp at such and such or what's the cost of a golf outing at Eagle or when will Eagle open again or when will they bring the lake back down. I am coming down this weekend what other activities can my wife find to do such as sightseeing or craft shops.I am not a park Ranger or a tour guide or a Corp Of Engineer manager. People have the idea that walleye fishing is easy and since they see it on TV you should be able to go catch them anytime. I get calls from northerners wanting to get walleye in January or now. I hate doing guide trips for walleye as we rarely have very good success even in June when you can expect to catch some. Shelbyville isn't in Minnesota and walleye are as hard to find as Muskie so don't ask me to find you a muskie either. I am a crappie guide who dabbles in white bass when he has too. Hince the company name Crappie Specialties.

I have vented enough have to go pick up today's clients. Today I have a very good regular so I know what to expect. It is the regulars that keep you coming back.