independence grove summer bass

a decent independence grove bass

The recent rain over the past week has completely wreaked havoc on the local river systems in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The weather has stabilized and is now back to its normal hot and muggy mid summer pattern, but it has left behind overflowing banks on most if not all of our local rivers. I have to admit, this last year I have really become quite the river snob. There is something magical about fishing the flows and river fishing has captured my interest in a big way. Locating fish on a body of water that spans thirty miles isn’t the easiest thing to jump into but once you start to pattern the fish, it’s a super rewarding feeling. Even though I have a new found romance with the local rivers, I’m no glutton for punishment. I know when to fold a loosing hand and given the adverse conditions in the rivers, there was only one thing left to do… fish a lake!

neal with a decent independence grove bass

I have hardly paid Independence Grove enough attention for the last couple years. It wasn’t long ago that this was my go to spot when I wanted to catch a lot of bass in a short period of time. This was the type of place I would go when I needed a confidence booster during the hot dog days of summer. Time to rekindle that old flame. Neal and I geared up with drop shot rigs and an assortment of finesse plastics, my preferred method for fishing the steep drop offs found in these quarry lakes. We got an early start to the day and really pounded the deep water structure found throughout this entire body of water. Deep timber, weedline drop offs, and sunken humps were all winning tickets that produced us some fish. We fished hard all morning and it wasn’t till just around lunch that we were chased off the water by the overbearing sun. We fished for less than four hours but landed right around twenty fish, all largemouths and just one rouge walleye. I've lost a few fish over the years there that clearly would have been my biggest bass ever and I’m always looking for that next big bite opportunity while fishing there. No donkeys today, but we did catch a few respectable northern Illinois largemouth bass. Thought I would share some of our morning drop shot shenanigans with you all. Tight lines and stay cool.

independence grove walleye

my best independence grove bass today