Most of the State of Illinois DNR sites are closed to fishing leaving only a couple of local lakes to fish. Just until a couple weeks ago it was bank fishing only. This is the second time I have had the boat out to fish this year due to all the state restrictions created by the COVID19 Pandemic. I have been participating in some online tournaments the past month while fishing mostly from the bank. Been pretty tough conditions with temperature swings from 30 to 80 degrees, heavy rainfall and plenty of wind here in Central Illinois.
This past weekend was the first club tournament and we were dealt with some pretty tough conditions. Heavy rain the day before had made the lake very stained to muddy in some areas with water temps in the low to mid 60's. I tried big bladed spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, rattletraps and even a rattle jig with not even a bite. I started pitching a Hematoma Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver to shallow cover was the only way I could manage a bite. Only 4 bites all day but 2 were good enough to weigh in. It was a pretty tough bite for everyone involved in the tournament.
I also was participating in 2 online bass tournaments. One was through the Connect Scale League called Cabin Fever Open. This tournament is running from April 1st thru May 31st of 2020. The standings for this tournament are based on your Best 5 Bass by their total combined weight. Connect Scale has an app for your Iphone and Android that uses a bluetooth connection that syncs with their scale. The other online tournament is being put on by FishDonkey called Fishing for Dreams. There is a North and South Division that includes the US and Canada. This tournament runs from May 16th thru June 7th of 2020. The standings are based on Top 5 by the total length in 1/4" increments. Both apps require the use of a bump board and photos submitted through the use their apps. The links for these tournaments are below.
Connect Scale League - Cabin Fever Open
https://www.connectscale.app/tournaments/organization/1FishDonkey - Fishing for Dreams
https://www.fishdonkey.com/dreamsThe video was created with the use of a GoPro Black 5, Windows Movie Maker, Dashware for adding gauges, water temps and water depths recorded using a Lowrance HDS Gen 2.
