Carthage Bust!

[TNBronzeback]

Got up butt crack early to head to Carthage to try for some walleye/sauger/anything....figured it was gonna be a rough day when i busted the trailer light getting the boat out of the garage.
LOTS of surface activity around the mouth of the Caney....shad jumping, big cannon balls busting the surface after the shad. I tossed an assortment of big topwaters and subsurface baits but no takers. Water clarity in the cumberland wasnt bad at all....caney was stained with 3-4 ft visability. I found some good structure in 16-18ft above the mouth of the caney and started jigging. Caught plenty of drum and eater cats on blade baits (when they didnt tangle up) but no sauger or walleyes.
I searched as far down as the 3-4th island from the mouth of the caney and found fish everywhere i found bottom structure....so that was good. Several places to hit once the saugers and 'eyes start thier run up river this fall.
Im developing a massive love/hate relationship with them friggin blade baits though....i need to change the hooks out or something cause they keep fouling up....touch bottom for more than a split second and it fouls up, extremly frustrating!
Then the rain came, generation hit me big time, water turned to coffee so i rolled out!
Didnt catch what i was looking for, but i got some fish in the boat so it was a success! Lol

[Alphahawk]

Hate to hear that. Was hoping you would find them tearing it up.

Regards

[Travis C.]

That stinks but you can always just chalk it up to a recon trip for winter. Those trips aren't supposed to catch many fish.

What kind of blade baits are you using?

[TNBronzeback]

I was hoping so too Alpha!
But like Travis said, the big picture for the trip was some scouting for winter and i did accomplish that. It was still fun catching them drums....those things hammer a blade bait....just crush it!
Travis, ive been using Po Boys blades. I loaded up at the fishing show at the fair grounds this past winter. In my opinion, they have the most thump in all sizes they make. And the 3/4oz model REALLY thumps. Them stripers in Melton Hill this past spring couldnt resist them. They outfished the live shad we had.
My experience with blade baits, all brands that i have tried foul up to some degree.
Cicadas arent too bad, but they had the dual hook on back, not a treble (and they are the most expensive). Cotton Cordels ive found foul up the least, but dont thump nearly as much as the others.
Its a give and take i guess. If i could weld a dual hook on the back similar to a jigging Rapala, i think that might help some...but im not gonna get into all that hassle. Lol.

[CreekWalker]

I've done well in the past with blade baits at the dams and the steam plant (pre-barrier) for little sauger. They are frustrating with snags but they work! Early spring in Lake Erie you can wear the walleye out with them.

I went to the lower Caney myself on Saturday night - just in time for the monsoon to hit. While waiting on the storm to pass my idiot buddy realized he left his keys and air on so the truck battery died. Then, I realized I had lost the key that unlock my jon boat from my trailer.

You know that one friend you have that, collectively, you find a way to screw everything up? That was us on Saturday. One hour each way - wasted!

[TNBronzeback]

OUCH! yeah we all have that friend, and some morning, i feel like IM that friend to myself. LOL. like when i cracked the tail light simply pulling the boat out of the garage saturday morning. or driving 1.5 hours one way to go duck hunting with a buddy, with his boat, get to the ramp and he doesnt have the plug for his boat, or a spare....good times!

It was kinda spooky when i decided to leave saturday. I looked downriver and seen the haze/rain clearly coming my way, so i reeled up and fastened all my rods down, got all my baits put up and headed up river. Started out pretty "fast" with the motor whining good, about half way back, the river changed. alot more surface disturbance (swirls, ripples, ect) my speed reduced about 60% and the motor sound certainly became strained. My guess is i hit the initial "wall" of generation water and the motor was struggling cause i know that stretch of river never has that much turbulance on top so it kinda freaked me out some. i could feel the boat shifting left and right on the water, similar to sliding on ice. where ya dont move the motor, but the boat almost slides back and forth....i quickly switched from the pull-cord inflatable life jacket, to the regular buckle style.
Still got rained on too!

[nomad60]

Are those Po Boys blades sold online anywhere? I just started using blade baits last winter for white bass and was doing ok but I was using the BP brand and they didn't really put out that much of a vibration.

[TNBronzeback]

Originally Posted by nomad60

Are those Po Boys blades sold online anywhere? I just started using blade baits last winter for white bass and was doing ok but I was using the BP brand and they didn't really put out that much of a vibration.

That i do not know for sure if they are sold online.
Ive found them at Walkers and some at Starkeys.
It depends on how you fish them and where you connect to since they have the 3 holes at the top. For vertical jigging, i use the middle hole and that gets me some great vibration but they must be vertical, if the boat turns or something and the bait slides away from ya, the action and vibration change.
for casting, i think you use the first hole back from the head, jigging use the center hole, then trolling use the back hole.
i have tried the BP brand and i wasnt impressed with the vibration personally. they still thumped, but not nearly as much. in stained water, you want that bait to be chattering like a dinner bell, the more vibration you feel in the rod, the faster them fish can find it and chomp on it.

[SAMBOLIE]

Originally Posted by nomad60

Are those Po Boys blades sold online anywhere? I just started using blade baits last winter for white bass and was doing ok but I was using the BP brand and they didn't really put out that much of a vibration.

Hoppy has all you need. Available locally.

http://www.hoppyslures.com/spin.html

[TNBronzeback]

another tip to maximize the vibration is use a stiffer rod and i always run braid with a short mono leader on a swivel. stiff rod and no stretch braid lets you deliver maximum pull on the bait with no loss in stretch so your thumping the entire vertical motion.
Johns helpful jigging tip #135! lol

[SAMBOLIE]

Originally Posted by nomad60

Are those Po Boys blades sold online anywhere? I just started using blade baits last winter for white bass and was doing ok but I was using the BP brand and they didn't really put out that much of a vibration.

Originally Posted by SAMBOLIE

Hoppy has all you need. Available locally.

http://www.hoppyslures.com/spin.html

Nomad, don't know what I was thinking with above post. Getting as bad as Merv.

The Silver Buddy was the first blade bait and IMO, the best.

Looks like they may still be available per this search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=silv...x-a&channel=sb

[TNBronzeback]

I havent seen too many silver buddys around here. Looking at the tail end, looks like the back hook may not foul up as much as other brands. I might have to order me a few of those.

[SAMBOLIE]

Originally Posted by TNBronzeback

I havent seen too many silver buddys around here. Looking at the tail end, looks like the back hook may not foul up as much as other brands. I might have to order me a few of those.

I haven't seen one in stores in years. They were designed for Billy Westmoreland. One of the best smallie fishermen ever.

I believe he recommended using a snap clip without a swivel to avoid/reduce hook and line fouling.

[TNBronzeback]

You are correct....and any blade bait that i have purchased always comes with a snap, no swivel.
I use a swivel, but about 18" up the bait where i connect my mono to braid.
I love using them things, they are like the original Mr. Twister....if it swims, its gonna bite it.

[nomad60]

Originally Posted by SAMBOLIE

Nomad, don't know what I was thinking with above post. Getting as bad as Merv.

The Silver Buddy was the first blade bait and IMO, the best.

Looks like they may still be available per this search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=silv...x-a&channel=sb

Thanks SAMBOLIE, I see you can order them directly from the company. I'll have to give them a try.