Hybrid Fishing (and Rockfish) is very good at Tim's Ford right now.

[aero320]

The hybrids are not quite as big as the ones at JPP but they are growing and appear to be very healthy. Have been catching them trolling for the last month. Also an occassionally walleye and smallmouth. The fish seem to be in the 20-25' range and we are downrigging and trolling with snap weights. It is a very pleasant way to fish (and you don't have to catch shad with the cast net). The hybrids are also jumping occasionally. The largest fish we are catching are still Rockfish. I prefer hybrids for eating, though.

[fairweatherfisherman]

Good report. Thanks

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Thanks for the report Aero!! I have been wanting to go pretty bad to Tims for a while, don't want info on a specific location, but a general description of type of water you are fishing would be appreciated, did you fishthe main lake or a creek channel?? type of bottom rock gravel etc??fishing humps or drop offs and what pattern are you using??, crankbaits, live bait, soft plastics?? like i said any info is appreciated!!

[aero320]

Sent you a PM.

[Transplanted Sportsman]

Good deal Sir!!, I certainly appreciate the info, hopefully we will give it a try this weekend!!

[StriperFan]

I was camping out there a couple of weekends ago and there was a lot of action on top water, I caught several in the 3-6# range, but that only lasted till around 7 am. As far as size on Tims, the hybrids are as big as they are on Priest in my experience, just harder to catch on artificial. My best success for larger fish is slow fishing live bait, even bluegill. But 10-13# hybrids are not uncommon in Tim's. The action I saw was mostly on the main channel, back to the first secondary point.

[aero320]

I went back to Tim's this afternoon and trolling for hybrids was very good. They bit all afternoon. The fish are about 20-25 feet deep. An easy way to catch them is to troll a 1/2 or 3/4 oz. white saltwater jig head (from Bass Pro). Use a 4" chartreuse Sassy Shad on the jig head. Boat speed is critical only because of lure depth. I am trolling at 2.6 mph. Let out 50 feet of line and attach a 3 oz. snap weight. You can also use a 3 oz. bank sinker and a rubber band. After attaching the weight, let out another 75 feet and you will be at the right depth. I also have downriggers, but the snap weight method is producing more fish. Side planers will allow you to get away from the boat and produce more fish.

The fish I am catching over 10 pounds are Rockfish. Have also caught some very nice walleye as well as smallmouth. If you don't know if a fish is a hybrid or Rockfish, look at the anal fin. If it is a hybrid, the second spine will be 2/3s the length of the third spine. If it is a Rockfish, the second spine will be 1/2 the length of third spine.

Hybrids are very good eating if you remove the red meat from the fillets. The easiest method is to fillet them and leave the fillets in the refrigerator overnight. It will be much easier to remove red meat once the fillets are chilled.

[StriperFan]

I went back to Tim's this afternoon and trolling for hybrids was very good. They bit all afternoon. The fish are about 20-25 feet deep. An easy way to catch them is to troll a 1/2 or 3/4 oz. white saltwater jig head (from Bass Pro). Use a 4" chartreuse Sassy Shad on the jig head. Boat speed is critical only because of lure depth. I am trolling at 2.6 mph. Let out 50 feet of line and attach a 3 oz. snap weight. You can also use a 3 oz. bank sinker and a rubber band. After attaching the weight, let out another 75 feet and you will be at the right depth. I also have downriggers, but the snap weight method is producing more fish. Side planers will allow you to get away from the boat and produce more fish.

The fish I am catching over 10 pounds are Rockfish. Have also caught some very nice walleye as well as smallmouth. If you don't know if a fish is a hybrid or Rockfish, look at the anal fin. If it is a hybrid, the second spine will be 2/3s the length of the third spine. If it is a Rockfish, the second spine will be 1/2 the length of third spine.

Hybrids are very good eating if you remove the red meat from the fillets. The easiest method is to fillet them and leave the fillets in the refrigerator overnight. It will be much easier to remove red meat once the fillets are chilled.
Good report. I went this morning just to get some topwater action. The schools I was working this morning were up and down very fast making them hard to get on. But I did catch a couple of nice smallies on top. Only was able to fish a couple of hours.
I don't look at them that close to determine rockfish or hybrid, all of the rockfish I catch have a straight back, lean body and mostly straight lines, hybrids develope a bit of a hump, with a deep body and more broken lines, real easy to tell on fish of 10# or more. Most of the fish over 10 are rockfish, but some are hybrids. All my fish are frozen by the time they make it home, so red meat goes straight out with the head and guts.

[StriperFan]

Here is a picture, bad quality as it is, of a 12.5 hybrid from Tim's. I didn't measure tail spine length, but due to the large hump from head to dorsal, I deduced this to be a hybrid.

[vincent]

Nice fish...The real solid lines towards the tail makes me think it's a striper...I may be wrong - I have hardly ever caught 10 hybrids and 1 striper in all the fishing I've done in last three years from the bank. :o

[Travis C.]

Nice fish.

It looks like a striper to me though. I kinda agree with Vincent the lines look too clean/dark and body too streamline but I am not one to go to for id on those things..LOL

[aero320]

Good report. I went this morning just to get some topwater action. The schools I was working this morning were up and down very fast making them hard to get on. But I did catch a couple of nice smallies on top. Only was able to fish a couple of hours.
I don't look at them that close to determine rockfish or hybrid, all of the rockfish I catch have a straight back, lean body and mostly straight lines, hybrids develope a bit of a hump, with a deep body and more broken lines, real easy to tell on fish of 10# or more. Most of the fish over 10 are rockfish, but some are hybrids. All my fish are frozen by the time they make it home, so red meat goes straight out with the head and guts.

Striperfan, I think the long slender rockfish are the males.

[aero320]

The anal fin test that I described earlier is the definitive method to separate the fish. The male rockfish are more slender but the females can be shaped more like a hybrid. The size of the head and bump above the nose makes me think the fish in the photo is a hybrid.

So many fish and so little time!

[wsm2c]

Here are a couple of stripers we caught at night on Tims about a month ago at night. The two biggest stripers we have caught on Tims after 10 years or so of fishing the lake and we got them within an hour of each other. I went out two weeks ago and caught several in the jumps out in the main channel. Some in water over 100' deep. Wind was blowing the shad into one of the islands and there had to be 1000 fish jumping around me. There is no feeling like have two fish on at the same time by yourself. If I catch stripers I usually keep them on Tims because of the high death rate when releasing them during July, August, and September.

[StriperFan]

Here are a couple of stripers we caught at night on Tims about a month ago at night. The two biggest stripers we have caught on Tims after 10 years or so of fishing the lake and we got them within an hour of each other. I went out two weeks ago and caught several in the jumps out in the main channel. Some in water over 100' deep. Wind was blowing the shad into one of the islands and there had to be 1000 fish jumping around me. There is no feeling like have two fish on at the same time by yourself. If I catch stripers I usually keep them on Tims because of the high death rate when releasing them during July, August, and September.


I think it is gearing up to be a heck of a fall season for topwater, they have been very active. Those are some nice fish. Had to throw in a pic of my sister in law with a nice Tim's Striper, that one weighed in at 18#.