35 replies to this topic

[AMcCaleb]

So I've been doing a lot of collecting lately. Mainly microfishing and just using tiny hooks with the barbs taken off. I've been looking for warmouth though and I can't seem to find any. I live in Southern Illinois and I know they're supposed to be around here but I must be looking in the wrong places. Any tips on where to look for warmouths? What kind of habitat do they prefer?

[BenCantrell]

Horseshoe Lake in Alexander County has a lot of them.  They like to sit in vegetation and ambush anything that gets close enough to their hiding spot.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Notemigonus crysoleucas
Ameiurus natalis
Esox americanus vermiculatus
Labidesthes sicculus
Gambusia affinis
Lepomis gulosus
Lepomis humilis
Lepomis macrochirus
Micropterus salmoides
Pomoxis annularis
Pomoxis nigromaculatus

Umbra limi
Aphredoderus sayanus
Elassoma zonatum

Dorosoma cepedianum
Lepisosteus oculatus
Lepisosteus platostomus
Amia calva
Cyprinella lutrensis
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Ameiurus natalis
Noturus gyrinus
Labidesthes sicculus
Lepomis gulosus
Lepomis megalotis

Probably a repeat or two on the list but all came from Horseshoe lake in just 3 hours of sampling with two guys. Worthwhile place to visit. Oh, and lots of grass shrimp too. Be prepared for swampy conditions. The creek coming out of the spillway is worth spending some time in. Lots of gar directly below the spillway. Most fish were dipnetted though we seined the stream downstream of the spillway. That is where we got gar and bowfin.

[centrarchid]

What town do you live in or near.  Horseshoe has them but several other locations are closer to being honeyholes for warmouth.

[AMcCaleb]

I've been to Horseshoe Lake several times back when I used to live in St. Louis. Now I live in a little town called Albion. It's an hour east of Mt. Vernon IL just 15 minutes north of I-64. Basically, I live on the IL/IN border at I-64. I was hoping to find these guys closer to home. Horseshoe Lake is a little over 2 hours from me. I know they're supposed to be found in this area. I live right between the Wabash and Little Wabash Rivers. I should be able to find them. I was just wondering where (as in type of area, not necessarily specific) I should be looking.

[centrarchid]

They are abundant in your area and likely in areas you already fish.  Try angling heavily vegetated water that is only about 6" deep.  Ideally such locations will be less 3' from shore.  If you are willing to drive 1 hour east into Indiana, then try Snakey Point which is just north of I-64 and near where I grew up.  Warmouth are very abundant in the spring-fed streams going through the bottomland hardwood forests.  Lots of Redspotted Sunfish there as well and some Fliers.

[AMcCaleb]

Awesome. Thanks for the help!

[BenCantrell]

I've been to Horseshoe Lake several times back when I used to live in St. Louis.

 

You're probably thinking of a different Horseshoe Lake then.  I meant the one in Alexander County.

[AMcCaleb]

Ok, I just found the Horseshoe Lake you were talking about. There's a larger horseshoe lake near St. Louis on the IL side. That's what I thought you were talking about. The one you mentioned though is even further from where I live though. But I will make a note of it as a place to go check out some time.

Edited by AMcCaleb, 05 August 2015 - 10:01 AM.

[Betta132]

They lurk. Look for snags or rocks that jut out from the bank and are surrounded by weeds, then chuck something right in the middle of it. If you're lucky, a warmouth will snag your lure almost immediately after it hits the surface. If you move the lure out of the weeds and nothing bites, cast again, they'll stay near cover most of the time.

I use a purple-and-blue Bass Assassin panfish lure, the little 1.5" ones. Whenever I find a good spot with a lot of lurking fish, that lure will get me either a green sunny or a warmouth on almost every cast. I'd suggest something that looks like a baby fish, that's probably what they're looking for in there. 

Be warned: take equipment that can handle them. If you get an adult, you're going to have 8-10" of warmouth racing around on the end of the line, and they are STRONG for their size. I had one of them break the bar hinges on a spinning reel. 

[Matt DeLaVega]

I may have been at the larger horseshoe lake as well. Either way we found them.

[AMcCaleb]

Should I be concentrating more on lakes or creeks?

[Matt DeLaVega]

Lakes.

[Evan P]

Definitely a lake and backwaters-of-large-rivers species. I did once catch one beneath a dam in some riprap, but more often I find them when seining through dense vegetation. If you see an area and immediately think the water is too shallow, hot, and weedy for something to live there, it is probably full of Warmouths and Greens.

[AMcCaleb]

Went out today to try to find some and ending up striking out. I'll try a new place tomorrow Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[centrarchid]

Do you know the streams south of you supporting Redspotted Sunfish? Those will represent habitats I associate with Warmouth that were important before we started managing streams.  Then start fishing the vegetated areas and any apparent holes you might see around culverts.

[AMcCaleb]

Hey guys, thanks for all your advice. It was spot on. Found this guy in nasty, nasty water less than a foot from shore in super tall grass. He bit on the worm as soon as it touched the water. Thank you centrarchid for the phone call this morning. It was invaluable.

 

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[Michael Wolfe]

Sandwich says, Don't just hang em there... get that bad boy in a cooler or an aquarium... or at least a photo tank!

[AMcCaleb]

Drip acclimating him as we speak.

[Michael Wolfe]

Good job... not threadjacking too much I hope but in case you hadn't seen the thread about Sandwich...

 

http://forum.nanfa.o...14032-warmouth/