Oklahoma-Illinois River Report-11.14.16-Jon Wood

When the Oakies left Oklahoma and moved to California, it raised the I.Q. of both states.
-Will Rogers

Fishing report from the Oklahoma section of the Illinois River:
Greenpeace might be worried about global warming, but it's working out for us fisherman this month.

The smallies are still biting, though a little slow the last two weeks.
The weekend before last it was still warm enough to wet wade even. With an early morning temp of 31 degrees Sunday, I dusted off my waders.
The bite has slowed a bit. My guess it has more to do with the moon than anything. Went from fifty fish days, to twenty or thirty the next, down to a twelve to fifteen fish a day this last weekend. I suspect they're feeding a bit more at night with the full moon. They're feeding in swift water pools after riffles. We had our best luck on Bass Pro brand Stick-o's in watermelon seed with just a touch of chartreuse dye on the tip. I use the six inch versions, but bite them down to about 3.5-4". Texas rig and ned rigged, depending on how much wood there was. Less snags with the Texas rig, but more hook ups on the ned. Cast up stream, I like to aim for spots just above a rootball or boulder. Then twitch it just enough to keep it from getting snagged. Let it flow naturally with the current on the bottom with just enough tension to feel the takes.

Seems like they're relating to wood and submerged trees a bit more than rock at the moment. So we were getting a mix of smallies and kentuckys where we found them. The largemouth are holding up in sloughs that are warm enough for them. Gotta sneak up on those areas. A small top water like a Rebel Teeny Pop-r in Tennessee shad does the trick. If you don't spook em on the approach, you can get one good hit. After that the group of them gets spooked and you might as well move on. Water clarity is super clear right now. I'd recommend stepping down to at least an 8lb leader.

We chased a bit on the fly. Had good luck on a dumbbell eyed complex twist wooly bugger, size six. Olive schlappen, barred grizzly hackle, and UV polar chenille twisted for the body. Just a small touch of chartreuse marabou and flash for the tail. They couldn't get enough. Ran into Dave Whitlock at the takeout last week. Him and his fishing partner were tearing em up on a white popper around wood. Made sure to pack a floating line this weekend. Sure enough, the man knows what he's talking about. I had one on at the put in before my buddy has his boat ready to go. Tight lines, guys. And as always; Free. The. Fighter! Jon Wood
Woody's Guide Service 918-406-1973

BOOM!!!

Editors note: Jon is working hard to guide as a living, and as a former guide, I would have relished the opportunity to use GoFundMe as a resource to raise funds. Please go see his GFM site and donate if you feel the urge..
https://www.gofundme.com/Woodys-River-Guide

"Hell, If I'd have jumped on all the dames I was supposed to have jumped on, I'd have no time for fishing.."

-Clark Gable

So, the inaugural edition of our blog comes to be! Welcome, and we hope you enjoy all you see and read here.

FREE. THE. FIGHTER!
https://www.facebook.com/Ozarkssmallmouth/ 

This year has seen tremendous growth in our little community. We went from 52 likes on May 20th to almost 4500 as of this writing! If you are into statistics ( and I am), that's an increase of 8553% in 6 months! Thanks to all of you for making this so much fun!!

This whole thing began with the idea that our Ozarks Smallmouth is a resource too precious to be caught once.

You see, I was a flyfishing guide in a previous life, inundated with Trout, Trout, Trout. Everywhere I turned there was another political action or benefit, or habitat improvement for the almighty Trout. I specialized on the Ozarks Tailwaters and Creeks for Trout. But I left Smallmouth for my own pleasure, affirmed to not guide clients for what I considered a fish above the status of the almighty Trout. And I thought I was part of a small, clandestine group of Gorilla Fighters; walking the lowly Ozarks warm-water streams and rivers in search of the hardest fighting, most bad-ass fish that swims. We were the fishermen that went off the beaten path, eschewing the persistent din of the almighty Trout crowd. But then...

July 2016, we hit 2500 followers by mid month, and we realized that there is a whole ARMY of Smallmouth Warriors in our little corner of the world.

August 28th 2016 we hit 3500 followers and the resistance was no longer a whisper, but a roar! We had sold out of Kayak Decals in 30 days, depleted a cache of 2000 stickers and were starting to make friends with some of the Movement. Good people like Del Click, Cody Holloway, Paul Preston, Curtis Smith, Tommy Falcinelli, Jon Wood, Justin Skiles, John Cook, Dalton Avery, Jamie Burks, Jeff Tatum, Jason Jones, Vashon Ferguson and on and on and on. Too many to mention, but without whom we would not be writing this.

Overly dramatic? Maybe. But the passion we see daily for this fish is amazing.

So. Where does this lead us? Here's a glimpse into what we are cookin':

• OSA is proud to announce that we will be one of the sponsors for OMTC/Extreme Kayak Tournaments next season! Very proud to be able to help this group of fine anglers!
• We are working on a few events for next year; mostly small, regional get-togethers that will be centered around a particular body of water, maybe a river clean-up and cook-out ( think Bronze and Brews!)
• OSA ProjectX will begin in earnest. The first episode is in editing and we are waiting on some music to be scored for it. You will not be disappointed...
• This blog will become a resource for all of us. The plan is to invite local anglers to contribute reports, environmental news and fishing tips on a monthly basis. 

Well, there it is. Never in our wildest dreams would we have thought OSA would take off like a cat from a cannon, but it has. And it is all thanks to you!!

As always:
FREE. THE. FIGHTER!

OSA STRONG!