Stripers on the Cumberland
 

I've been reading some great articles by the "Cumberland River Boys" in a In-Fisherman July 2012,

Last summer I explored the Cordell Hull Lake up to Granville Marina and saw some huge Stripers. I trolled a little to get the feel for using planer boards and a couple of different rigs but didn't hook up with any fish (there are some BIG logs in there) . I haven't tried live bait yet.

The large mouth were generally cooperative and plenty of smaller stripers. Pitching large skirted jigs w/creature baits trailing straight into the brush would make them react.

I took a look below Cordell Hull dam last week on down to the Caney. Longear were biting (I think they're Longear, look like a blue gill to me) at the dam, average about 13oz. I was using minnows and the bluegill hammered them. Missed some good hits (do that pretty well) my plan is to use some Clouser Minnows I tied when I go next week and drift with a Wiggling Minnow (Found the pattern on Fly Tying Nation)

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps79569311.jpg

This is a new pattern I tied but haven't tried yet. It articulates hopefully attracting huge strikes.
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps88a22068.jpg

Another hopeful, Clousure Minnow for Skipjack?
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps800dfbec.jpg


at the Caney
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps084ccba1.jpg

Tom D............

I have a fishing boat at Granville Marina, been fishing Cordell Hull Lake a bit this Summer, not as much as I should. The fishing up north took precedence this year.

I've been experimenting with some stuff, maybe we should compare notes. My schedule is flexible, the boat is there, and I have a pretty good assortment of tackle.

Call or text me, 931-260-3181 ............

Gary

Looking forward to it P.M'd you. We'll talk and see about doing something.
Tom

Hire a guide if you're looking for short cuts. It will take 10 years of trial and error to equal it and the ten years would be much more costly in the long run.

My very sentiments. I hired a guide when I was on an assignment in Mahwah NJ combining business and trout fishing. I had 6 months I knew I could dedicate every weekend to fishing. He had me in fish the first day and the next 5 months were a bonus and I made a good friend in the process which is priceless.

A guide is the best way to find the fish and how to catch them. I will never forget my first trip up the Caney with a 14" Skippie!!! Who would of thought to use a 14" live bait and still catch fish! LOL!!!

I dont wanna come off as trying to be slick or anything but i guess from an etiqutte standpoint, should you let the guide know up front your wanting knowledge or do you just show up and be an observant customer? Ive never hired a guide but ive wondered that from time time. I can understand it from the guides point of view trying not to divulge too much info since that is thier money maker and it wouldnt be good for business if 1 guys pays the fee then tells his grapevine of buddies how and where and when then the guides fish start getting sore mouthed or fried! Maybe some guides would change thier plan of attack knowing your looking for info as paying $300 or so for a good chunk of knowledge it took him possibly years and years to aquire.
Moral/ethical dilemma on both ends in my opinion....i dont know. Just curious.

A lot of guides are guarded due to this and simply won't take many people who are deemed local to the waters they fish. Especially if you fish with the same techniques for example trolling or live baiting.

Be up front and honest about it then if he still takes you out you'll learn way more than trial/error anyways whether the guide unveils his whole bag of tricks or not.

A good fishing partner can cut the learning curve. I know the presentations the guides put on at BPS really are informative and can always help justifying another rod maybe a reel

Makes sense. if I were a guide I sure wouldn't want to teach everyone in Murfreesboro where the holes are in JPP. I would think someone who doesn't frequent the area would be a little different.

Yeah i was thinking about that watching southern woods and waters the other night. Ofcourse they didnt give gps location but they gave ya alot of other info.....and that was the guides themselves. They seemed like really cool guys. And said they dont take ya unless they are very confident they can put you on quality fish.
Guides have a tough job....people are putting thier hope and money in your skills to produce memories and fish....thats gotta be some pressure no matter how knowledgable and confident you are.

Thanks Bronzeback. We take a totally different approach to a guided fishing trip. I want to teach you things to make you a better angler. If the river conditions are not right or the fish haven't been biting were not going until it's right. We are always going to be on the best spots at the best times, I don't feel a guide is doing their job if they do anything less. That being said it's still fishing, sometimes it just doesn't happen, but if you come wanting to learn, you will receive your moneys worth regardless. Nick

I know one guide here in the Nashville area that takes you out KNOWING the conditions aren't right and what little catching to be done will be done in the first hour of daylight.

He'll even tell you to bring swimming trunks so you can start swimming around 10:00AM. Then he strongly suggests that y'all head over to the marina for lunch at about 11-11:30. So you'd spend a good portion of your trip doing non fishing related things.

And he will only book for a full day trip (6-12:30) in the mornings but will book afternoon trips of a half day.

LOL, and his estimation of your fish's size is wildly exaggerated. We caught one hybrid and he's exclaiming it weighs ten pounds. I asked him to bring out a scale, it weighed 6 1/2 lbs.

He may have been guiding on the lake for many years and maybe he's pretty good, but I'd never recommend him.

So to hear ojibwa say he won't take anyone out if the conditions aren't at least a little favorable is refreshing to hear/know. To some guides, it is just a living and the customer is just another "john" in a long line of customers.

It was like once when a friend and I hired a guide a coupla months in advance. A few days before we met up I talked to him and we were discussing a spot gboyce and I had been fishing for sauger for the past week, me telling him we hadn't had much luck fishing that particular spot.

Come "guide day" where did we wind up fishing? You got it, the exact same spot I had been fishing for free the past week was now a sauger hotspot, costing us $320.00 for the day. I boated NO saugers, not even shorties, my buddy caught two. I was highly unimpressed.

I have fished with Ojibwa before and can vouch that he is a fantastic person and fisherman.

As a Charter Captain on the Great Lakes for 28+ years, I can agree with Ojibwa, more times than not , most guides/captains do not want to take a customer out unless we have a good chance of being successful, as the business is a "repeat/referral" type of business.
The problem we had up North was "weather related conditions" , the lake would be way too rough to fish, but sometimes the guys had driven a long way, and just couldn't see not going because of the wind. When ever possible, we would call the groups a day or two ahead and advise them of the weather, and the % of chance the fishing would be good.

I hire quite a few guides/captains in my travels, and while I'm sure every area has a few "bad apples", I notice that there are more problems in high traffic tourist areas, as some of these guys have the attitude they have enough new faces that they don't need the return business. JMO.

Over the years, alot of my customers became & still are very good friends, as I'm sure TK and some of the other guys can agree, that doesn't happen if they didn't get their monies worth.

Gary

I suppose whether fishing or hunting the initial investment to be a successful guide has to be substantial, boat or bush plane, whatever the case may be repeat business and and a good rep have to go hand in hand if a guide can consider themselves successful or even last in the business.

Some just seem to get away with short changing folks no matter what the game.