12-5. How not to do it

[johnr]

Though it's been 2 tough tournaments, I'm ready for the spring ones. I'm not much of a fall fisherman, too busy hunting, and it's been evident during these events.

The day started out by tearing a brand new 8'x3/4" cracker net, way beyond repair, on its 5th throw. I was able to catch enough bait with the backup nets to fish a bit. First spot, Indian Meadows, was loaded with fish and birds but by the time I got a spread out, it was over.

I quickly headed a few miles upstream and set another spread of money maker gizzard on free lines along some long points. Got into another good school right off, and lost 3 on bait and 1 on a jig all within a couple minutes. The fish were deep! Soon after, my alewives capped out for some reason so being out of gizzards, I dumped the tank and went and got more bait. 2hrs later...

Between 2 and 3 they turned on again at Indian Meadows. I had 6 good blow ups and nervous baits the whole time, and zero hooked fish. All the action was on BIG gizzards tight to the boards.

So it goes. See you in the spring, I'm Goin hunting..

thanks Mike and Tyler for a great series thus far.

[mwardncsu]

Thought day John. Sounds like you were in the right place at the right time but the hookups can sometimes be elusive.

[seajay]

I feel your pain John. We fished hard all day on upper part of blackwater marking fish but no hookups. Our bait wasn't big enough obviously. Better luck to you next time. Looking forward to the spring myself.

[KB]

Thanks john for taking time to show me tour new tank. Sounds like after hunting is all over you will be on a mission for spring stripers.

[Deleted]

Nice report. Any epiphanies to share on why you lost your ales?

[mwardncsu]

Dec 7, 2015 9:47:15 GMT -5 Yam said:

Nice report. Any epiphanies to share on why you lost your ales?

I was wondering this as well and talked with John some about it at the tourney..... I wondered if perhaps there was something in the tank from manufacturing... I think its always a good idea to give a new tank a bit of a wash-down, rinse/fill/empty a few times, and maybe even a light scrub with some baking soda and then rise again a few times..... though hard to know what could be an issue given the plastic is food-grade safe, etc....

Or maybe something in in the filter material? Some of that poly filter you can get has anti-fungal / mildew treatment which I could see causing an issue for baits - maybe the gizzards were more tolerant....

That, or it was water temp shock?


Inquiring minds want to know....

[johnr]

I'm not 100% sure yet about those ales. I'll give a full tank review soon, but I'll address the ale issue here and now.

First off, I had no salt. Or sunglasses. Or tournament paperwork. Or spare camera. Or spare filter material. Or luck....the list could go on.

Anyhow, I managed to catch a few dozen decent alewives as insurance baits, along with my 6-10 moneymaker gizzards and some large peanuts. However, the only additive I had was some very old Shad Keeper, which I never seemed to have luck with, ever. I was hesitant, but added some to the tank anyhow. It didn't take long before I started to notice the smaller alewives were struggling. By 10am, the larger alewives were beginning to turn crap. I don't know how to describe it, other than they looked rough. However, the remaining large peanut gizzard baits seemed ok, and still looked great. I dumped the tank, washed the filter good, and wiped out the whole tank with lakewater and a towel. I went into a muddy creek and caught some larger gizzards, sub mongo, and then threw in tons of larger peanuts as insurance and test subjects. I filled the tank with that muddy water, again no salt. I lost 1 large peanut the rest of the day, which was likely due to net damage. When I finally dumped the bait, they still looked great.

My thoughts on the ale deaths:

Manufacturing residue - I never cleaned the tank prior to putting bait in it.

Filter residue - I used the poly foam seat cushion material. I never washed it prior to use.

No salt - Ales typically suck without salt

Shad Keeper - I hate this stuff, and only God knows hold old this batch was. Likely nearing 10 years.

Operator error - I was fiddling with the tank all morning. I couldn't help it, I'm a "new product fiddler". I like to see what it takes to make it not work right, just so I know in the future.

Bad luck/helping hand from above - The fish wanted big bait. Had I been with a tank full of happy ales, I likely would have just fished with them the rest of the day. I had plenty of chances on big bait in the afternoon.....


Besides that, I have no idea.

[mwardncsu]

Sounds like no salt was the issue. Wish you'd mentioned it as I'm sure we could have found you some.....