Central Illinois fishing report for Aug. 17

What’s biting

Traffic picking up among anglers now that heat has eased in the area. One thing that remains hot, though, are channel catfish hauls. “Best year I’ve ever seen for channel cats,” said a longtime observer. “You can consistently get 25 a day.”

Honey holes

Area strip mines and farm ponds are yielding crappies, using metals and jigglers. “Been a lot better lately, and that means they are bunching up and getting ready for the fall,” said an expert.

Bluegills hitting at area strip mines and farm ponds, as are bass, the latter reacting well to soft lures on the surface.

Channel cats are hammering stink cheese bait along the edges of the channel on the Illinois River.

Action has cooled off a bit at Snakeden Hollow from last week’s heavy yields, but fishing is still strong. Bluegills are hitting worms and waxworms. Catfish have slowed, but anglers are having success using bluegill as cut bait. Bass, crappies and walleye action is high, the latter hitting leeches and large minnows.

Clinton Lake is producing big yields of largemouth bass on crank baits, jigs and plastic worms. Catfish are strong, using dip baits, cut shad and night crawlers. Crappie are just fair.
Tip of the week

From larrysfishinghole.com: The catfish, with its streamlined shape and feeding strategies, enable it to thrive in current. It can also adapt to a wide variety of other waters. So when fishing rivers, try directly below the dam and upstream ends of outside bends that can both generally provide the best daytime catfishing.