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Ponds, Pits, and Remote Waters

by Kevin Patton

Strip pits are generally narrow and steep. They have deep, clear water and often lack much of the traditional wood and weed cover of typical Illinois lakes.

It is no great secret that much of the good fishing in Central Illinois lies in the countless farm ponds, strip pits, borrow pits, and other remote waters that don't receive constant fishing pressure.

Some of these waters not only harbor incredible numbers of bass, but also some of the biggest fish caught each year in this area.

The fish in these waters are less pressured by fishermen, don't see hordes of lures on a daily basis, and can sometimes provide a fishing day that you will long remember.

Many of these areas are organized into private clubs for fishing and hunting, while others are accessible for a fee or by fishing with a resident of a city-owned lake, pit, or pond.

My advice is that the next time somebody invites you to fish a private pond, pit or a even a remote public body of water, take them up on it. You might have to give up your comfy, padded bass boat pedestal seat in favor of a boat cushion or you may even have to walk the bank or wade, but take the opportunity to get away from the crowded boat ramps and over-fished waters.

The bass in this strip pit were healthy and willing to bite a variety of small crankbaits, plastic baits, and jigs.

Rick Miller of Washington invited me to fish with him at his strip pit club May 16 for bass, bluegill, crappie or whatever else would bite.

We took our mealworms, nightcrawlers, and an array of lures to the camouflaged jon boat that he keeps beached near the end of a long chute at the largest lake on the club's property.

At first glance, many of these lakes appear to be straight banks lacking any significant structure, but feeding shelves are there if you look closely.

We were on the water shortly after 6 a.m., figuring that an early start on this clear lake would be a good idea. It wasn't long after heading down the chute that we started to catch bass on small crankbaits and Texas-rigged plastic lizards.

We fished many tiny cuts, points, and side chutes where we found shallower water and ridges that contained reeds, rocks, and weed clumps as structure. A good pair of polarized sunglasses aids in finding weed clumps and other structures in this ultra-clear water.

Wood cover was scarce, but we did find one stretch of 50-100 yards that held bass on laydowns and a beaver dam.

These crankbaits measured between 2 and 2 1/2 inches long and fooled bass up to three pounds.

Another form of "structure" that held some bass was the off-colored water created at the shoreline of windy banks. The wave action had created a shallow area that gave bass a feeding advantage.

We worked the shoreline of the lake for bass, stopping at a couple of Rick's favorite panfish holes to drown some worms under bobbers. The panfish were mostly small, except for one 8 1/4-inch keeper, and the crappie were nowhere to be found, but the bass were very cooperative.

I had left my power-fishing equipment at home and brought only spinning outfits with 8-pound line for bass and spincast outfits with 4 and 6-pound line for panfishing. The flippin stick, 30-pound line, and 1/2-ounce spinnerbaits were all left behind.

I gathered some small lures into a tackle bag, trying to keep it as simple as possible for a relaxing day of fun fishing. I downsized my tackle to include small jigs, crankbaits, and worms.

We intended to quit fishing mid-afternoon, but when fish are this cooperative you don't mind being late for supper. We worked our way around the horseshoe-shaped lake, catching bass in spurts along much of the lake's shoreline.

This hawg capped off a great day of bass fishing by biting a jig and pig fished on 12-pound line.

We were able to boat several dozen bass up to three pounds on a variety of small crankbaits and plastic worms and lizards, with most being between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 pounds.

The bass were not fussy about what color or style of worm we used. We cast four to six-inch straight-tailed, ribbon-tailed, and curly-tailed worms and lizards with equal effectiveness.

Near the end of the day, we lost a couple of real bruisers on black worms, but Rick was able to land a 5-pound, 14-ounce lunker just before we quit on a brown/green jig and plastic trailer.

The day was a lesson in simplicity and basics. The fish didn't care whether we fished from a $30,000 bass boat or walked the bank; whether we used $500 rod/reel combos or a $29.95 special; or whether we cast a $10 imported crankbait or a 10-cent generic worm.

This small jig with a plastic trailer caught the biggest bass of the day, a 5-pound, 14-ounce lunker.

So the next time that somebody asks you to sneak off to one of these remote lakes, leave the fancy bass boat, big horsepower motor, and power-fishing equipment behind.

Grab yourself a few lures, some light line, and a modest tackle bag and slip into a canoe, jon boat, or or a pair of waders and enjoy a day of fishing solitude. There's no good reason to shy away from trying a different style of fishing on new waters.

If you also take along some live bait, you just might be rewarded with some of the biggest panfish that you will ever see.

Above all, keep it simple and enjoy the experience.