After getting talked out of making the trip up to pool 7 last night, I was mighty determined to stick some fish somewhere. Unfortunately, no one was able to respond to the open seat I had, so I made the descision to head up to the Fox River near Eureka. Too bad no one took me up on the offer, I 
the little piggies.
2fow to 11fow 42.3degrees dropped to 41.1, then rising to 43.2 by 4:00pm
I started at day break on a small current break (seams as they are called on here) that was full of timber. First fish smashed a bomber as it rolled over a log in about 2fow. Beautiful female about 27 or 28 inches. Huge sagging belly on her. Between controlling the boat, river traffic, and the mess she made in the boat, a quick release was done before a photo opp. A few minutes later, I busted another pig off while trying to net her myself. 
I was bummed because she looked like she was a couple pounds bigger. That one came on a salt water bait I wanted to try – rigged weedless to slide through the timber.
I hit about 4 spots including in front of the fish refuge (yep, I played bumper boats). In all spots, I targeted long current breaks. I held the boat in the faster current, and swam/dragged baits from the slack water to the fast. Of the 30 or so fish I caught today, two things were common to each. They were on the very edge of the break, and they wanted a bait to sit in front of their face so they could take their sweet time in desciding when to hit. Not a single hit while a bait was washing down the current. All were slow drags of about 1-3 feet at a time and hold it still. Most of the time, you would go to drag it a bit more and just feel the extra resistance. Only kabout a half dozen actually thumped it.
I have been experimenting with some saltwater baits over the last few years. After seeing some of the baits used for redfish, I loved the actions they provided and knew they would be a ticket for success here. Pictured are the baits compared to a ringworm. I also got a sample of the Yakima Showdown blade baits. I caught some fish on them today, so I am confident in them working. Unique that they only have a single treble hook in the rear. No forward or front hook. The only complaint I might have is how frequent the blade fouled up when pitched to faster current. But for slow dragging up a current break, they have a distinct vibration and different style profile. IMO – something different for the fish to look at! :waytog
I settled with 4 eaters so I could take 1 of the minni-piggies back for someone to get a pic of for me. (Thanks to who ever you were, if you read this. Heck of a nice kid! After the couple pics he shot of me, just started to clean my boat. 
)
One last note of something I found very interesting. I had a couple frogs in my livewell that had most definately saw their better day… All 4 fish I cleaned tonight had frogs in their stomach. I normally don’t see to many frogs out when the water is in the low 40’s….but this is something they are eating.
A finally KUDOS to all of you that look after the Fox/Wolf River chain. 
What a quality fishery that has been and continues to be. I fished that a lot about 20+ years ago. This was the first trip I made up to Eureka in about 25 years. All of the fish I caught today were very healthy. Also very impressive that I caught more 22-27″ females than 16″ and smaller males. Don’t get me wrong, I saw guys catching dink males. I opted for a bigger bait to sort through a few of them.
Good night!
. the river is probally only 40 yards wide if that. Give me pm if you plan to head up that way again. Dan
