weekend fishermen needs advice

[2013skiff]

im sure all you guys put a lot of time in fishing and pretty much know what area the fish will be at during different months...I put in at hardy,catch bait then don't have the any clue whatso ever to start looking for fish...I really don't wanna ride all around all day looking and zig sagging back and fourth ita along way from hardy to indian point going slow....lol....any help would be appreciated....fished today and had all big gizzards and the fish couldn't or wouldn't take them all the way to the hook....pull shad in after they hit and they was tore all to pieces...any help on that?

[jon]

Some guys will put a stinger treble hook in the tail of big shad when they are short striking. You tie a short piece of line to a treble hook and attach the line to the first hook. Then just stick the treble through the tail near the tail fin.

Odd thing though, usually if I catch a fish on big bait the bait is in the fishes mouth head first. Maybe they try crunch them first??

Sometimes you can narrow your search a bit if you can figure out if the fish are currently on flats, points, deep, etc.

Jon

[2013skiff]

thanks for the input....what does a flat look like on sonar?

[jon]

Anywhere the water stays fairly shallow for a ways off the bank as opposed to steadily sloping deeper. Sometimes stipers like to push the bait into the shallower water so it is easier to corral and eat.

[mwardncsu]

I expect there are some fish up around Moormans but all the rain may have turned things off. We fished Sat am from 47 to Beaver and while we picked up 3 things were real slow and we didn't mark much - except a big layer of something from 20-30 feet. Too early for a thermocline so maybe water from the rain or mud.

As summer warms the area around the bridge and then on down a bit on towards the B&B will be a place to focus on. Might think about putting in at the State Ramp in the Waterwheel cove at that point.

[2013skiff]

thanks for the input mwardncsu...we went this morning and seen the samething from 20 to 30 feet...I go fishing with todd and it rained a lot and I remember he said it was muddy water line....made me feel alittle better know some other people didn't mark much too...we did manage to miss 7 so not a bad day I guess...thanks you guys if I ask to much tell me

[BentRod]

You want to look from Tns Cts down to dam this time of year. Focus on a few miles above or below Hales Ford for the next month if fishing Roanoke. I don't fish as much as I used to in the summer so I can't narrow it in exactly for ya, but there may be fish as high as tns cts and beaver for a couple more weeks. Should be fish from 30-37 right now. Should be fish around BNBs creeks, hickory, beacon, strawberry banks. As July and August approach, you'll want to focus from Hales Ford down to the dam.

[BentRod]

Yeah it's mud pushing down. Guess the hotter surface stays pretty clear and the mud sinks.

[2013skiff]

thanks bentrod for the info...I try to go out with todd different times of the year...guess he makes it look to easy