Hybrids on JPP
 

Anybody have any hot tips on catching hybrids on JPP. Where, what to use for bait, best presentations, trolling or downlining, early mornings, late afternoon, nighttime?

I've caught a couple downlining bluegills I've caught, fishing off of the river ledges by Gibson Pike Bridge but it doesn't seem to be real productive.

I have always used shad or large shiners trolling with planer boards.

I've got down riggers and planer boards. Guess I'll have to run down some shad and try that out.

I use riggers a lot on priest this time of year. Run them around 15-25' or wherever your marking fish. Try around the major creek mouths, and the islands. This one was caught off preist a few years back by my wife using a 4" swimbait, went 10#. One of the reasons I love using the riggers is to learn the lake. Another good reason is because the schools move. You will find that once you have some key spots located, they are good to return to. But when the spots are not holding you can cover a lot of water. There have been times I have searched a lot of water without hardly seeing a fish, then pull into a cove, or creek, or point, and there they are. The spots I have found as hot spots while rigging also excel when you return with live bait.

Thanks for the response. Now I have to get someone to go with me. It's difficult setting downriggers and planer boards and trying to manhandle the boat too. Then......you get a fish and it's panic city.

I'd be glad to go with ya sometime. But I have done it a bunch by myself. Hydraulic steering is a must, because if you cant take your hand off of the steering wheel, well, you need the extra person. I went this weekend by myself, check out my tim's ford post. When i started live bait fishing, I had two sets of doubles. That is where you are fighting one fish, and just watching the other rod go nuts, I landed one set of the doubles, but the other I just got one.

Well, I do have the Ipilot Minn Kota trolling motor so I can set the heading and set the speed to take care of the boat while I get things sorted out and in the water.

I'm thinking an umbrella rig on one downrigger, a live bait presentation with no weight on the other downrigger and two to four side planers with live bait on the sides. Now I just need an area/location to find bait. Last time out on Thursday at Long Hunter had trouble finding shad.

Try Stewart Creek for bait. It is pretty reliable. Look for 10' or less, with soft bottom. You will definetly be busy with the above set up.

OK, If I catch my bait in Stewart's Creek, where is the closest place to start fishing for the hybrids?

Would I need to run back to Long Hunter, Gibson's Pike bridge, Bear Island?

I'd much rather catch the bait close to where I'm fishing since I don't have one of those big round fish tanks. That would take up way too much room in my 18ft bass boat. And too long in the livewell, they probably wouldn't last too long.

What is the best size shad to use for bait? 4, 6, 8 inches?

I do most of my hybrid fishing closer to the dam. But when I really want live bait, sometimes I will put in one place for bait, then go to another place to fish. Preist hybrids respond really well to artificials. I troll artificials on downriggers with my 115 Yamaha, about 2.5-3 mph, and a lot of times I have a couple hybrids before I would have even been able to catch live bait. Other than that you will have to find shad spots on your own. I have been successful in a couple of coves with shallow shelves close to where I fish. Most shallow back waters hold some shad. For your best luck, get there at first light. Look for small surface activity in smaller feeder creeks and coves with shallow pockets. I would use 4, 6, or 8" shad, would prefer the 6" though.

Have you had any luck on the hybrids yet? I am going to do some trolling in the morning for them in the Bear Island area.

I haven't been out to JPP yet, been fishing below OHD the last week.
I was catching cats, walleye, white bass and saugers.
Probably get there next week.

Went to jpp seven points last week. Got skunked big time. Not even a bite.

Went today at 6am. Absolutely no bites until 8 am, and then it picked up. Got 54 bluegill, 2 cats, 1 crappie, 1 LMB. Then changed the shiner on my line with a bluegill. In about 10 minutes, got a 24" 7.5 lb hybrid. It was fun catching the bluegills. Some were big (the ones from 8-12 ft) and others were not as big.

I was very close to Seven Points this morning at 6am. Got my first fish on downrigger at 6. Then while reeling him in I looked at the depth finder and realized I had landed right on top of them. Over the next half an hour, I caught 5 more on Redfin. They were sending subtle signals saying, "THROW THE REDFIN, THROW THE REDFIN". I had reeled in the downriggers, and just had the jigs downlining in rodholders off of the back of the boat, set at about 15-20', I picked up two on them while throwing the redfin. Then at about 9am when I was getting ready to go home, I made a downrigger pass through the area and hooked a Jumbo Hybrid, that took drag until he was firmly planted in some nearby standing timber. Great day on the water. Here are the couple that I kept.

Nice fish, looks and sounds like you had a good day. I was planning on heading to Seven Points Sunday morning but Mother's Day happens. Monday morning for sure at dawn!

Yep, that sounds like a solid plan. I would try and take a popper like the one in the picture as well. It is heavy and can be cast a mile. I would have been throwing that one yesterday but some striper took it with him while I was fishing Tims Ford last weekend. Don't worry about the splash, these fish are aggresive. I was using that banged up 5" redfin yesterday, but I could cast that popper twice as far. I tried the 7" redfin as well yesterday, and there were no takers. So I switched right back to the 5".