4/15 - Big Bait Bummer is Almost Here

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As usual, I arrived way too early at Hardy this morning...1.30 am. This is a record for me. I wanted to get on the water early because I figured bait would be tough and I planned to hit water below the bridge so that I could do some water wolfing in clearer water. Additionally, I decided to not bring the GoPro today!

On my first toss (2am), I landed a nice 10 inch money maker. By 7.30 am, I had a total of 1 money maker. I did a creek tour this morning and it didn't work out. Once the morning started up, I then started to land really big ales with an occasional dollar bill and money maker mixed in using my 7/8 inch net (BigT). Based on Brian's report, I figured I would give the ales a shot and I even put in a few peanuts (1/2 inch net). I called the little guy in the bunch LilUn.

After securing enough bait to fish, I then got out BigT again and gave him one more toss for good measure. As shown below, a 22 pound flathead got in the way. This is my new weight record for my nets! 


 

So then I set sail for some water around the state park. To summarize today...no matter where I went from the State park all the way back up to Hardy, I had no action on the bigger shad (NO WATER WOLF ACTION) and constant action on ales and peanuts. And...just about every fish I caught today was around 24 inches and weighed 4-6 pounds.



But then it happened...as soon as I contemplated "summerizing" my boat (around 6:30 pm), a loud popping sound grabbed my attention. I really thought some gremlin kid threw a firecracker at my board.

....but then it happened again...and I could clearly see that this was a big fish smacking my money maker! I have never heard this before. And then the board buried and the fight was on.

To make a long story short, over an hour period, I caught 6 fish that all weighed between 14-16 pounds and were only between 30-32 inches. FAT PIGS.

Here is a shot of one of them...It was hard managing this melee.



And of course, these fish seemed like whales after catching 24 inchers all day long.

What a rush! 

And then the sound that tells me to go home occurred as it has been doing the past month or so...it sounds like.."WHO COOKED THE MEAL....WHO COOKED THE MEAL whaaaaa" The awesome call of the Great Horned Owl. 

I think I might have one more trip left in me before I summerize the boat.

Is Fall here yet?

[HookedUP]

Nice report, way to stay after them and it seemed to really pay off. Did you encounter more fish from the hales ford bridge to the dam from the bridge to Hardy? KUDOS on a good trip.

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Apr 16, 2015 10:43:45 GMT -5 HookedUP said:

Nice report, way to stay after them and it seemed to really pay off. Did you encounter more fish from the hales ford bridge to the dam from the bridge to Hardy? KUDOS on a good trip.

I encountered and saw (Sonar) many packs of stripers south of the bridge. I never saw one mark of a fish above Indian.

[mntneerfan]

Nice report Yam. Planning on being there Thursday., Friday, and Saturday nights May 14, 15, and 16. Staying at the Harbor Inn. Hope to see you again this year.

[Deleted]

Well....I thought I wasn't getting any action on my big baits until I looked at the film!

Here is a close shot of the side STUN! I am definitely seeing a pattern in which the stinger gets removed many if not most of the time via the stun.




And here is a shot of the striper right before he eats the stunned shad head first.




I totally remember now missing this fish. All subsequent frames are out of camera sight.

And here is a shot of a Bass getting a quick sniff!

[Brian]

When you see this happen, do you stop the boat or keep going?

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Apr 16, 2015 16:28:25 GMT -5 Brian said:

When you see this happen, do you stop the boat or keep going?

I'm not sure if this is a Brian clever question or if it is genuine query.

Regardless, It's a great question and one that I wrestle with. When I see my board move around and it is clear to me that my bait is getting messed with, I have slowed down, continued at the same pace, and have sped up. All have produced strikes but I would say that slowing down has performed the worst and that speeding up has performed the best.

The problem with speeding up is that if the strike doesn't happen, you might then blame yourself versus just blowing it off. But...speeding up seems to get them pissy like running from a dog.

However, if the bait is sufficiently stunned, my pictures tell me that slowing down would maximize the chance that the striper will engulf the bait properly and at the proper angle. But knowing when they are about to eat it.....uhhh...I would need real time video slowed down 30 times. Work on that problem...Mr. Engineer!  

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Apr 16, 2015 14:14:09 GMT -5 mntneerfan said:

Nice report Yam. Planning on being there Thursday., Friday, and Saturday nights May 14, 15, and 16. Staying at the Harbor Inn. Hope to see you again this year.

Hey..how's it going? If my memory serves me correctly, you are a night time thunderstick throwing machine.

Good luck!

[HookedUP]

Super cool pics Yam,  I have a troll pro for my gopro that I use offshore trolling for pelagics but havent ever seen a setup for freshwater fishing.  What kinda setup are you fellas using?

[bodywarrior]

Got two big 10 inch gizzard shad in the net and only about 15 smaller ones 4-5" . One of the big ones on a free line got smacked repeatedly on the surface this evening and when I reeled him in he had 3" skin and scales missing. Just after that I caught on a 15lb channel cat on a small 5 inch gizzard. I think a striper stunned the big gizzard and the cat tried to eat him. The board was going down and I tried to hook set the hook and probably pulled it out of the cats mouth and he just went to eat the fish on the next board . I guess the big schools I encountered at R60 Sunday evening are south of the bridge now?
I will go south tomorrow then!

[striperjohn]

Yam,
More then likely you have one fish strike the bait and subdue it and another hitting it to eat. Being pack hunters stripers are constantly taking bait from one another. In topwater action you can hook one fish, be fighting it back to the boat and have 4-5 fish striking at the bait and following it. Your video may appear to show the same fish but it may very well be multiple fish as that is how they attack, subdue and eat.

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Apr 16, 2015 21:25:50 GMT -5 bodywarrior said:

 I guess the big schools I encountered at R60 Sunday evening are south of the bridge now?

ummm, nope.....  the fish may be heading south, but there are still alot of fish north......

[BentRod]

Haha one yam post about fish below the bridge and everybody thinks they're heading south - if I told you how many citations we had BELOW the bridge already this year, you wouldn't believe me. This is why I don't look at reports to find my fish, I explore and find them myself - it's not that hard, just takes a willingness and an inquisitive mind - you'll surprise yourself by what you stumble upon. Rant over! Happy Friday!

[Deleted]

Dang, I'm glad it's friday, you need a break.

[Deleted]

Apr 17, 2015 6:31:10 GMT -5 striperjohn said:

Yam,
More then likely you have one fish strike the bait and subdue it and another hitting it to eat. Being pack hunters stripers are constantly taking bait from one another. In topwater action you can hook one fish, be fighting it back to the boat and have 4-5 fish striking at the bait and following it. Your video may appear to show the same fish but it may very well be multiple fish as that is how they attack, subdue and eat.

John, that is exactly what I am seeing. I actually wrote it up on one of my many posts. They travel in packs.. One fish comes in to stun.. And another comes out of nowhere to eat. Happens in less than a second. This is what happens when they are aggressive.

But then... There's the lone wolf scenario. It seems bigger fish may hang out and do the entire job alone.

Intriguing to say the least.