Hey Chatt,
were you fishing Hillsdale yesterday. I saw someone pullout as I was getting to boatramp. They had a center console CrissCraft (sp?) and a new Red Chevy tow vehicle. Driver had no beard though. Hope you had better luck that I did.

Brent

Not me!! I got a gun-metal Dodge Dakota pulling a white Alumacraft Bay boat. Went to Pomona Friday after I cancelled a trip to Banner because of the rain. Man-O-Man am I pleased that happened. Went up the 110 arm to the trees. OOO baby were the biguns hitting!! Thought for a moment I was at Toronto!!! I'll be heading back now that I can see more stumps instead of hitting them with the lower unit! <*)}}}><

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You'll see the difference,,,on the end of your line!

i think my eagle unit may be shot....water temp was reading about 82 degrees at 3pm. Thought it was too cool to try your technique, so i tried drifting the wade branch...aka crappie cove from waverly rd to the boatramp. tried fishing some shade under a bridge, and different depths in the trees. I was graphing alot of fish....just didn't catch many. Gonna try some night fishing Friday night.....

OOOhhhh.....Pomona....I get goosebumps about that lake....Chatt I know what you mean...I was there last week and those bigguns really were hitting.....First time there this year with the water levels finally normal....Hope to get back this weekend if I am not out of town....

BA, 4 most important things to remember doing this technique. 1) lively bait, 2) a lot shallower than you think. 3) just a light tick(no slam hits). 4) Fish the tree a lot longer. I sometimes will hold it still for up to a minute then just shake it just a little to get that tick. You prolly won't even feel the hit, it will just get heavy, get light, or move off. That's when you set the hook!! <*)}}}><

__________________
You'll see the difference,,,on the end of your line!

i had discovered a somewhat similar approach after the spawn using minnows in the trees at Hillsdale.......I had switched to high-vis line and watched the rod tips very intently for any small twitch - tick. Rods were resting in the boat. As soon as I saw a twitch, i would feed the rod tip towards the water as to not let them know I was just waiting to set the hook. After I got the twitch and lowering of the tip, I would raise the rod tip slightly until i felt a little pressure on the line, I would be watching that line and as soon as the crappie began to swim with the minnow or take it down, I would set the hook.

Maybe I will have to run back to Pomona Sunday. Does any particular jig-head color work better than others? I picked up 10 packs of 1/32 oz chartreuse and pink...Do you think the minnow size is important....

BA Chatt tought me all about this. He is right on...It took me a few times to get used to it. I was used to that familiar thump and set the hook technique, but that does not always happen when fishing like this. You might miss a few fish in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it you'll love it. The biggest challenge for me still today is finding the right depth. You really do not mark fish all that often with this technique. Using a bobber stop can be a big key in finding the fish. Good Luck. It works on Hillsdale. Keep at it....You can have those 9 3/4 fish! Man they drive me nuts there. Minnow size does not seem to matter...I always get Mediums. But the 1/32 is key. Many colors work. I like black or Chart.

Why sit there and wait for the fish to bite ? Drop a Beaver Tail by the stump if you don't get a bite got to the next stump. I will hit several stumps in one day and catch more fish that way. Go get the hungry fish, and don't wait for the fish to bite.

Chadku wrote:
It is hard to tell the wife you want to drive an hour to Pomona when the nearest boat ramp at Hillsdale is a mile away

I caught several right on the trees yesterday, not a fish on the graph at the time. I thought I had spooked them even though I was taking great pains with boat control....shading the tree etc.......I do not have a foot controlled trolling motor, I have converted a bow-mount on the front on my aluminum boat....do you need both hands free to make this work?

Another question: lively bait....what are the secrets to keeping minnows alive in 95 degree heat. I have an insulated minnow bucket and WAS using ice. However, there is another thread on here somewhere.....this past weekend, i added some lake water. I was going to buy an aspirator....but they were all out. They seemed to last much longer in the water this way. Iced minnows were dying rapidly once on the hook and in the lake.

that is easier said than done......i am still trying to figure out which stumps to fish. Hillsdale is loaded with them. Do I fish the channel where it is 30' of water....do I fish 20? 16? 12? points? channel bends? steep banks next to the channel? I have a a alot to learn. Kinda frustrating me...Guess I need to oil the billfold so it'll open and call Chatt