Kayak Fishing New Lakes in Illinois

Good morning brothers.

One great thing about owning a small, lightweight kayak, is that you can carry it into a LOT of different places without breaking the bank… or breaking your back. It’s hard work, but since one of our main goals this year is to find new, remote areas to fish… hard work is simply mandatory.

GOOD.

Exercise plus fishing? Sign me up. Currently I’m lugging & floating in the noisiest plastic kayak known to man – a Lifetime Payette 98 sit-inside model. This nine-and-a-half foot, 44 pound kayak works, but you can hear it squeaking with every cast, every fish, every paddle…

Stealth is not an option, and one day I’ll upgrade… but for now we gotta do what we can with what we got. Here’s what I learned on this trip…

1. Jerkbaits can work as a searchbait, but they are a visual presentation – not a great choice in cloudy water after a storm. This is why the 80/20 Rule is applied to all Base Boxes.
   
2. Bass love to hide around (and cruise over) Chara Algae, especially during the springtime Midwest fishing season. Look for and cast to shallow clear areas, shadows, overhangs and finally deep transitions to other weed types.
   
3. Walking through State Fish & Wildlife Areas can be very productive. Ticks were not an issue… yet… but by mid-summer, they are a major concern. Be careful!
   
4. White and gray baits in cloudy water can reflect light. Don’t be afraid to try them, along with black baits that will cast a distinct silhouette. Experiment.
   
5. I like to fish small wacky hooks with o-rings so the MAXIMUM amount of HOOK is exposed. This boosts hookups, and the added benefit is that plastics last longer, but I don’t care about saving plastics & neither should you! After spending hundreds on gas & gear, saving a $0.38 plastic bait is NOT a priority, it is a distraction. Focus on the fish. If you need to spend $4.99 on more plastics because you caught too many – embrace that, it’s a good problem to have!

On to the next adventure.

Tight Lines & Godspeed, Patriots.

Subscribe

Join us as we continue to work on becoming better anglers – and better men.

Email

Subscribe

Thank You For Your Support

Your support directly funds the creation of weekly articles and videos that promote the development of better anglers and better men. Our country (and our kids) need both. Please share this site, and consider a monthly, weekly, or one-time donation. You are helping us make a difference!

Click to Donate