GSP on Saturday

[Jim]

I may get out to the steam plant tomorrow afternoon. I haven't been out in a while so I will just try a bit of everything to see what is biting. I hope to get enough eaters (cats, whites, crappie) to make a dinner.

I'll be in an old bass tracker with brown seats so stop and say hi if you are out there fishing.

Jim

[Jdkxtreme]

I am going to be out there the first half of the day

[Jim]

I have to get my honey-do list done first so I probably won't be out until 11. Look for me if you are still out there.
Jim

[Jdkxtreme]

I'll be in a bass tracker also. PT17

[Jim]

A slow day for me on Saturday. I didn't get out until noon and then spent an hour and a half looking for bait. Ended up with a dozen large gizzard shad, but could not find the threadfin anywhere around the steam plant. I ended up fishing cut bait most of the afternoon. Ended up with 4 striper from 2 to maybe 5 lbs and a couple small catfish.

Most people seemed to be fishing for crappie and tilapia, and some were being caught. But overall it looked slow for most people. A few folks were fishing skipjacks and were catching them pretty well.

There was a nice bald eagle on the bluff across from the Stream plant most of the afternoon, so that was fun watching it.

Hope everyone else did better than me.

Jim

[TroutFiend]

Jim, I usually just fish large top water lures in rivers for striper. What technique do you use with cut bait if you don't mind me asking?

[nofish]

I went Saturday and Sunday. The water was 55 degrees in the canal. That's the coldest I've seen it. Why is the water so cold? It's usually around 60-64 this time of year. The river/lake is 47.

[old sailor]

Have seen it in mid 50's a lot over the years. Usually when river temp is 45 or lower. Stesm plant will normally raise it 10 to 12 degrees.May have to do with heat exchanger settings. TK will know.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by TroutFiend

Jim, I usually just fish large top water lures in rivers for striper. What technique do you use with cut bait if you don't mind me asking?

No real secret. I fish live and cut shad about the same. Use just enough weight to drift along the bottom with about an 18 inch leader to the hook. Cast a little upstream and out to the side of the boat and let the bait bounce downstream along the bottom. You will have to lift it occasionally to keep it moving and give it line if it goes into a hole. I usually leave it at the bottom of the drift while I cast my second rod and follow it down. then I pull the first, change baits and do it again.

Catfish, drum, stripers take this method equally well, it just depends on what your bait is drifting through. I catch many other species as well, but bait size really limits the smaller fish species. It is pretty common to catch good size bass even on cut bait.

I prefer to drift live threadfin shad, but big gizzard shad work if the striper or cats are running good sized. Skipjack are too strong of swimmers for this method, you really have to let them swim and follow them with your line.

I also cast lures a lot while the baits are soaking. One of my stripers came on a big deep-diving crankbait on Saturday, but that was mostly because I knew exactly where they were holding and after the boat traffic cleared in the evening I was able to move into casting position. My next cast after hooking one, I snagged and spooked them all getting it unsnagged. Oh well, I guess it was time to go home

PS - this is almost the same method I would use for jig fishing in the river.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by nofish

I went Saturday and Sunday. The water was 55 degrees in the canal. That's the coldest I've seen it. Why is the water so cold? It's usually around 60-64 this time of year. The river/lake is 47.

It does seem cold and where are all the threadfin shad? They are usually jammed in the canal at these temps. Anyone finding the threadfin in the steam plant area?

Jim

[nofish]

Originally Posted by Jim

It does seem cold and where are all the threadfin shad? They are usually jammed in the canal at these temps. Anyone finding the threadfin in the steam plant area?

Jim

In one of the threads on here someone was talking about them being stacked up by the lock wall at cordell hull, but thats to far for me to go. I was blessed to be able to find bait with ease for the last several months. I've taken that for granted. I used to put in at a certain spot at the lake, go catch my bait, load my boat back up and onto my destination. I think I'm going to start doing that again but my luck they won't be there anymore and they've always been there.

[TroutFiend]

Thanks Jim, do you use egg sinker?

[Jim]

Originally Posted by TroutFiend

Thanks Jim, do you use egg sinker?

Usually, but small ones on my lighter set ups. Sometimes I use split shots if the current is light.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by nofish

In one of the threads on here someone was talking about them being stacked up by the lock wall at cordell hull, but thats to far for me to go. I was blessed to be able to find bait with ease for the last several months. I've taken that for granted. I used to put in at a certain spot at the lake, go catch my bait, load my boat back up and onto my destination. I think I'm going to start doing that again but my luck they won't be there anymore and they've always been there.

If you are finding bait, stay in that area to fish. The fish will be somewhere around the bait. I may have to check a few other spots that the stripers frequent. Maybe they just haven't moved to the steam plant yet.

Jim

[nofish]

Pm sent