More OH striper and cats

[Jim]

Hi all,

Fished Old Hickory for a few hours today and the stripers and cats are still biting real well. Hit a few different places in the mid lake section and found fish on all of them. The stripers were between 27 and 34 inches and very healthy. All were released.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mJA3p3FwTfw/TrC1uODxN-I/AAAAAAAAAmg/qXg7U9OKpfk/s800/IMG_0175.JPG

I also got into the catfish with this flathead monster giving me a great fight. I dragged him out of a snag and the leader was really scraped up. Lucky it held, but fluorocarbon leader material is super tough and I needed it today.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-doxGzWEK120/TrC1XM6iUHI/AAAAAAAAAmY/jMH8FrX-7Dg/s800/IMG_0194.JPG

This same pattern has held for the last few weeks and here is what the stripers look like on the depthfinder. I have been finding them near holes with 50+ ft of water usually holding on the edge of deep dropoffs about 20 to 30 ft down.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NMVSvd0H6fY/TrC1t6ssKKI/AAAAAAAAAmc/yATVhc4w2Bk/s800/IMG_0171.JPG

After a few hours fishing, I met my wife and son for a boat ride. He had a good time and kept asking me to "Go faster Daddy!"

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MO-Am3eabYc/TrC45rz4XHI/AAAAAAAAAmo/_vMhbOkSOGc/s640/IMG_0202.JPG
Great day on the water,
Jim

[MNfisher]

OH MY GOSH!!! I WANT A BOAT SOOOO BAD!!! Still looking forward to tangling with my first striper that is over a pound!!! Great post and great catches!!!

[master_cat]

man i mainly fish for catfish and u kick my but

[nofish]

What are you using for bait ? Live shad, bluegill, skipjack? Just came across this post and I happen to be off today Im going to go give it a shot.

[Jim]

What are you using for bait ? Live shad, bluegill, skipjack? Just came across this post and I happen to be off today Im going to go give it a shot.

Big gizzard shad on a downline setup.

[Cornbread]

Very nice, especially the graph photo. A graph like that will make you stare the rod tip off.

[clean air]

Good job Jim.Those big cats love big live bait. I have seen big cats school with stripers and catch both most time I fish for one or the other.

[adawes11]

jim, where do you get the gizzard shad for bait? do you net them or can you get them somewhere else.

[Travis C.]

Nice looking fish Jim.

Did you finish your light setup?

[Alphahawk]

Very nice fish. When I had a boat....about 11 years ago.....would see that same display at Pickwick waiting for the Stripers to come up.



Regards

[Jim]

jim, where do you get the gizzard shad for bait? do you net them or can you get them somewhere else.

I catch them with a cast net. It is sometimes the hardest part of the fishing trip. Other times it is one cast and all the shad you want.

Here is a medium size gizzard shad.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VeDb8S9w3-8/TrKaxVxTVGI/AAAAAAAAAms/SzZORkqbhJw/s400/IMG_0188.JPG

Keeping them alive is a whole other problem. You need to have a good bait well with filtration to keep them lively.

Jim

[Jim]

Nice looking fish Jim.

Did you finish your light setup?

I will start a different post and put some pics in it. Thanks for the reminder. I learned a lot about night lighting for fishing.

Jim

[Dakota]

Jim, If i put them in a 5 gallon bucket with and oxygenator will they stay alive?? What do you suggest? Netting some last weekend and it was tough to keep them alive. They die in the corner of my live well.I catch them with a cast net. It is sometimes the hardest part of the fishing trip. Other times it is one cast and all the shad you want.

Here is a medium size gizzard shad.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VeDb8S9w3-8/TrKaxVxTVGI/AAAAAAAAAms/SzZORkqbhJw/s400/IMG_0188.JPG

Keeping them alive is a whole other problem. You need to have a good bait well with filtration to keep them lively.

Jim

[Jim]

Dakota,

A 5 gallon bucket will work OK for a few big shad or more small ones and the air will definitely help, but the shad foul the water fast so filtration or water changes are needed. This is especially true with gizzard shad. I try not to use them unless I have to as they are tough to keep.

I have gone through a bunch of different bait tanks. I used to use the square ones in my boat, but they are not good except in the winter. I think I can keep about 4 big shad alive in one for about 4 hours before they are completely beat up. I have a pump on the livewell that I can run on a timer and it has to run almost continuously to keep them alive. It works for threadfin shad OK, if the water is not too warm.

Corners in a livewell are not good for shad as they get caught in them easily and struggle a lot. This leads to more stress, higher oxygen demands, bruised up noses, and more fouling. A red nose on a shad is a sure sign of a stressed bait and one that will not be very lively.

My current shad tank is a big bucket (20 gallons I think) from tractor supply, wrapped with insulation, and a wood lid. I put a recirculating pump on it and a homemade filter. I have a second pump that I can pump water into or out of the lake/tank for water changes.

Without the filter, 12 shad lasted about 4 hours at most. Now they are doing great after 4 hours. Big improvement. Adding salt to the water also helps the shad a bunch. I put a cup in to start and less after water changes. The salt helps with stress and the slime coat on the shad.

The other good thing about the shad tank bucket is that I can remove it from the boat when not livebait fishing, so it doesn't use up all the floor space.

You can buy super nice shad live wells for $300, but I am way to cheap for that :) If I was a guide or only fished stripers, it may be the way to go, but for the limited number of live bait striper trips each year, the bucket works fine.

My latest project is building tuna tubes for holding skipjack. If I can get this to work, it will be great for trophy striper. Still in the planning stages, but I don't really need them for another month or so.

Jim

[Dakota]

Thanks for the good info. If I could ever take a look at that set up that would be awesome. QUOTE=Jim;17724]Dakota,

A 5 gallon bucket will work OK for a few big shad or more small ones and the air will definitely help, but the shad foul the water fast so filtration or water changes are needed. This is especially true with gizzard shad. I try not to use them unless I have to as they are tough to keep.

I have gone through a bunch of different bait tanks. I used to use the square ones in my boat, but they are not good except in the winter. I think I can keep about 4 big shad alive in one for about 4 hours before they are completely beat up. I have a pump on the livewell that I can run on a timer and it has to run almost continuously to keep them alive. It works for threadfin shad OK, if the water is not too warm.

Corners in a livewell are not good for shad as they get caught in them easily and struggle a lot. This leads to more stress, higher oxygen demands, bruised up noses, and more fouling. A red nose on a shad is a sure sign of a stressed bait and one that will not be very lively.

My current shad tank is a big bucket (20 gallons I think) from tractor supply, wrapped with insulation, and a wood lid. I put a recirculating pump on it and a homemade filter. I have a second pump that I can pump water into or out of the lake/tank for water changes.

Without the filter, 12 shad lasted about 4 hours at most. Now they are doing great after 4 hours. Big improvement. Adding salt to the water also helps the shad a bunch. I put a cup in to start and less after water changes. The salt helps with stress and the slime coat on the shad.

The other good thing about the shad tank bucket is that I can remove it from the boat when not livebait fishing, so it doesn't use up all the floor space.

You can buy super nice shad live wells for $300, but I am way to cheap for that :) If I was a guide or only fished stripers, it may be the way to go, but for the limited number of live bait striper trips each year, the bucket works fine.

My latest project is building tuna tubes for holding skipjack. If I can get this to work, it will be great for trophy striper. Still in the planning stages, but I don't really need them for another month or so.

Jim[/QUOTE]

[Jim]

Next time I am out fishing, I will take pics of the shad tank and stuff and post it for your information. It is definitely homemade, so don't expect a pretty setup.

[Dakota]

Thanks.
QUOTE=Jim;17727]Next time I am out fishing, I will take pics of the shad tank and stuff and post it for your information. It is definitely homemade, so don't expect a pretty setup.[/QUOTE]

[TNtransplant08]

What is a down line? Live bait version of the dropshot?

[txnative]

A down line is a line fished vertically, usually with live bait. The simplest explanation is to picture a Carolina rig without the bead between weight and swivel. This gives you a rig with infinite options regarding depth, weight, line strength, and bait options (live, dead, cut, etc) since you aren't having to cast it. All you do is rig up, drop the line in, lower it to whatever depth you want, and stick the rod in a holder.


Chris

[Jim]

A down line is a line fished vertically, usually with live bait. The simplest explanation is to picture a Carolina rig without the bead between weight and swivel. This gives you a rig with infinite options regarding depth, weight, line strength, and bait options (live, dead, cut, etc) since you aren't having to cast it. All you do is rig up, drop the line in, lower it to whatever depth you want, and stick the rod in a holder.


Chris

This is a good description. But the key is in "This gives you a rig with infinite options regarding depth, weight, line strength, and bait options."

You really need to balance the rig with weight, main line, hook size, leader size, bait size to adjust for depth, current, and wind. The key is too not have you line run out from the boat at much of an angle as it leads to poor bait control and many snags. Too much weight also leads to snags. The right combination of parts means the bait will stay right under the boat (20 to 80 ft down) and touch bottom occasionally, but not hard enough to snag. With it all right, you can slowly pull the rig over and through rockpiles and wood snags with few lost rigs. Many big fish bite right after it pops over a snag, ledge, or rock pile.

It is kind of like bass fishing with a jig along rocky banks where too light of a jig means you cant feel anything and too heavy means endless snags. Just right and the jigs slides along over the rocks hitting them but not snagging. That is the combination I am looking for with downlining on Old Hickory.

There are a few places that I can do multiple rods in the rod holder style downlining on Old Hickory, but mostly it is one rod in hand to feel your way through the holes and snags. Also, a big fish can quickly wrap multiple lines together and get away. That is both disappointing and expensive.

One other thing, use circle hooks. Live bait leads to gut hooking and circle hooks cut way down on this. Plus, the hook up rate is better.

Big striper and catfish should be released as there are plenty of eater sized fish out there.

Good luck,
Jim

PS - I still put a bead between the swivel and weight to protect the knot as any weakness in the rig will quickly be found by a big fish.

[nofish]

I catch them with a cast net. It is sometimes the hardest part of the fishing trip. Other times it is one cast and all the shad you want.

Here is a medium size gizzard shad.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VeDb8S9w3-8/TrKaxVxTVGI/AAAAAAAAAms/SzZORkqbhJw/s400/IMG_0188.JPG

Keeping them alive is a whole other problem. You need to have a good bait well with filtration to keep them lively.

Jim

Generally when I throw my castnet into what I think is baitfish I usually just catch threadfin shad or a few skipjack, but I rarely get gizzard shad. Am I missing something? I guess my question is how do you find them? Me and a friend are going to go fishing for stripers at oh lake tomorrow and I'd like to try using gizzards. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[bd-]

Gizzards tend to school near the bottom, unlike threadfin. I used to find them by going up onto a relatively shallow flat and watching for them "flipping" - meaning individual fish will occasionally come up to the surface and splash with a distinctive flipping sound. I'd throw the net where I saw a lot of fish flipping and usually do okay. You can also catch gizzards around dam discharges and other outflows where they stack up in the current.

Usually, when you see baitfish in large schools near the surface, it'll be threadfin rather than gizzard shad.

bd

[nofish]

Gizzards tend to school near the bottom, unlike threadfin. I used to find them by going up onto a relatively shallow flat and watching for them "flipping" - meaning individual fish will occasionally come up to the surface and splash with a distinctive flipping sound. I'd throw the net where I saw a lot of fish flipping and usually do okay. You can also catch gizzards around dam discharges and other outflows where they stack up in the current.

Usually, when you see baitfish in large schools near the surface, it'll be threadfin rather than gizzard shad.

bd


thanks for the help.

[Jim]

Gizzards tend to school near the bottom, unlike threadfin. I used to find them by going up onto a relatively shallow flat and watching for them "flipping" - meaning individual fish will occasionally come up to the surface and splash with a distinctive flipping sound. I'd throw the net where I saw a lot of fish flipping and usually do okay. You can also catch gizzards around dam discharges and other outflows where they stack up in the current.

Usually, when you see baitfish in large schools near the surface, it'll be threadfin rather than gizzard shad.

bd

Good description. Also make sure it is a mud bottom flat. Lots more gizzard shad feeding on the mud bottom and you wont snag your net in the rocks. Also, make your first cast count as they get spooky and harder to catch the more throws you do in an area. Let your net hit bottom as Bd said they school near the bottom. Usually they are harder to net than threadfin shad.

Good luck,
Jim

[Jim]

nofish,

If you get skipjack, they are the best bait by far, just super hard to keep alive. Use them first and hold on :)

Jim

[TNtransplant08]

I don't know where you are located at but if you are ever at the Jefferson springs boat ramp on priest in Smyrna you can often catch all the wizard had you need there. There is a mud flat about 100 yards south of the ramp. I once found a dead gizzard on the bank that was the size of a dinner plate. Biggest shad I ever saw.

[TNtransplant08]

Also thanks for describing the downlone. I was curious what that was.

[Dakota]

Where did you buy the pump you are talking about here?.Dakota,

A 5 gallon bucket will work OK for a few big shad or more small ones and the air will definitely help, but the shad foul the water fast so filtration or water changes are needed. This is especially true with gizzard shad. I try not to use them unless I have to as they are tough to keep.

I have gone through a bunch of different bait tanks. I used to use the square ones in my boat, but they are not good except in the winter. I think I can keep about 4 big shad alive in one for about 4 hours before they are completely beat up. I have a pump on the livewell that I can run on a timer and it has to run almost continuously to keep them alive. It works for threadfin shad OK, if the water is not too warm.

Corners in a livewell are not good for shad as they get caught in them easily and struggle a lot. This leads to more stress, higher oxygen demands, bruised up noses, and more fouling. A red nose on a shad is a sure sign of a stressed bait and one that will not be very lively.

My current shad tank is a big bucket (20 gallons I think) from tractor supply, wrapped with insulation, and a wood lid. I put a recirculating pump on it and a homemade filter. I have a second pump that I can pump water into or out of the lake/tank for water changes.

Without the filter, 12 shad lasted about 4 hours at most. Now they are doing great after 4 hours. Big improvement. Adding salt to the water also helps the shad a bunch. I put a cup in to start and less after water changes. The salt helps with stress and the slime coat on the shad.

The other good thing about the shad tank bucket is that I can remove it from the boat when not livebait fishing, so it doesn't use up all the floor space.

You can buy super nice shad live wells for $300, but I am way to cheap for that :) If I was a guide or only fished stripers, it may be the way to go, but for the limited number of live bait striper trips each year, the bucket works fine.

My latest project is building tuna tubes for holding skipjack. If I can get this to work, it will be great for trophy striper. Still in the planning stages, but I don't really need them for another month or so.

Jim

[clean air]

On using salt,use sea salt or non iodine salt.The iodine will kill them.

[Jim]

Hi Dakota,

The pumps are just the usual livewell pumps that you can buy at Basspro or walmart. Nothing special. I think a 500 gph for the tank recirculator and an 800 gph for the empty and fill. That is mostly because I had extras of those in my boat junk box, so I used them. I doubt it is really that important. Any should work fine.

Jim

[Dakota]

Jim,
If I get an aerator thats 12v would you recommend just getting a stand alone inexpensive car battery??

Hi Dakota,

The pumps are just the usual livewell pumps that you can buy at Basspro or walmart. Nothing special. I think a 500 gph for the tank recirculator and an 800 gph for the empty and fill. That is mostly because I had extras of those in my boat junk box, so I used them. I doubt it is really that important. Any should work fine.

Jim

[Jim]

Dakota,

Car batteries are not rechargeable in the fishing sense. You need a deep cycle (trolling motor) battery. If you already have a livewell on the boat you can just tap into that.

I have an independent starting and trolling motor battery set up on my boat so this is just another accessory on the trolling motor battery. That way I cant run down the starting battery by mistake and end up stranded.

I am starting another post with the livewell pics.

Jim

[Adrian]

If he wants to go faster tell him to get on Uncle Adrian's boat :)

[Jim]

If he wants to go faster tell him to get on Uncle Adrian's boat :)

As long as we don't let him fish out of the front :) (inside joke)

Glad you found the forum, now post a few pics without giving away our honeyholes! Happy Thanksgiving!
Jim

[Dakota]

Thanks Jim I have two trolling motors along with my cranking battery. I'll connect to my trolling battery. Thanks for the pics too. QUOTE=Jim;17913]Dakota,

Car batteries are not rechargeable in the fishing sense. You need a deep cycle (trolling motor) battery. If you already have a livewell on the boat you can just tap into that.

I have an independent starting and trolling motor battery set up on my boat so this is just another accessory on the trolling motor battery. That way I cant run down the starting battery by mistake and end up stranded.

I am starting another post with the livewell pics.

Jim[/QUOTE]