Thread: Cherokee 10/18/08

Made the run to Cherokee Saturday morning. Couldn't get anyone to go with me. They didn't miss much anyway. Water looked perfect. If it's turning over (as some of the Bass fishermen have posted on other sites) I didn't see it. Surface temp ranged from 68F to 71F. The lake lacks just a few more feet from being down to winter pool. There were no leaves or surface junk to speak of. Made for clear trolling. Which I did - a lot of . Not much catchin' but plenty of trollin'. The bait is so thick in the river channel that you can just about scoop shad up with your hat. I trolled from 5' deep to 23' deep. Fast slow and every speed in between. I tried over 40 colors of jigs - I know because I counted the dead soldiers left on the deck when I got home. Crank baits didn't get a sniff either except from a few stripers that tried to spool my little spinning reels. Got two of them to the net both about 5 lbs. The channel cats really seemed to like the red/chart jig tipped with a minnow. Must have caught 20 of the litte devils between 12" and about 18". Wind was a pain in the neck on and off all morning. Scenery was beautiful. Even saw an eagle. Had to look twice but it was indeed a bald eagle. Boat ran perfect. That made me happy. I'll be ready for Douglas. I may just head that way until after the cookout. Those Cherokee slabs are just too good at hiding from me.

Killer

it about time killer

Are those striper anygood to eat? A buddy of mine said the ones with yellow on the bottom were good but I have never tried either one. Thanks.

This cold front moving through should help things on Cherokee. I have to take my kids on the Juv Hunt this weekend, but next weekend I will be on cherokee.

hopefully I can sneak out one day this week an possibly sunday.gotta run to basspro an pick up some rod holders an couple of 10ft rods before i head to the lake...

Elyj, still got the boat i got from you.

Good luck if you go to Cherokee. If I knew where there were some brush piles down in the main lake, that's where I would be fishing. I marked tons of fish and bait up the lake. That may be part of the problem, just too much for them to eat right now. The stripers and catfish I caught were literally busting at the seams. Many of the fish I caught were puking up shad when I pulled them in the boat. I am rushing it a bit. I know the water needs to get a little cooler for the bite to turn on. Speck has been coaching me, I'm just a slow study and very impatient . It's Douglas for me until after the cookout 11/8/08. Any help down that way would be greatly appreciated as well. I haven't been on the lake since May!

Killer

They are not bad. When you clean them make sure to cut all the red meat (blood line) away. Rinse the meat really well, several times. If I cook them, I'll cut the meat into 1" chuncks making sure I get all the red out. I'll soak them in buttermilk over night or at least a few hours. Rinse them thoroughly - again - and then into House Autry, then egg/milk wash - back into the House Autry again and then fry them up - hit them with a little Sea Salt as soon as they come out of the grease. A little hot sauce and you are in fat city! Another way my old buddies "Down East" in NC cook them is bacon wrapped on the grill. Clean the fish and chunk it and soak it just like before. Now marinate the chuncks in your favorite italian dressing for about an hour. Get some good thin sliced bacon (you want it to cook fast) and wrap each chunk with it. Run a toothpick through the wrap to hold it together. Get your grill going, not too hot, low to medium is good. Make sure and rub a little oil on the grill so the bacon won't stick. Put the wraps on and turn them often until the bacon it done. Get a some iced tea, or a good glass of white wine or a light lager or amber beer and enjoy. Crap - I'm getting hungry... :D.

Originally Posted by bulldog007

Are those striper anygood to eat? A buddy of mine said the ones with yellow on the bottom were good but I have never tried either one. Thanks.

Originally Posted by bulldog007

Are those striper anygood to eat? A buddy of mine said the ones with yellow on the bottom were good but I have never tried either one. Thanks.

Striper - Hybrid Striper - White Bass - Yellow Bass .... are all decent eating fish, but ... yes ... you do want to cut the dark meat off the outsides of your filets, on any of them. Not doing so will result in the extra heavy "fishy" taste, that most people don't particularly care for

Your buddy is referring to the Yellow Bass A strong fighter, for its size. But, watch out when you bring one in to remove the hook/bait .... they clamp their jaws shut and puff out their gill covers - - and those gill covers are very sharp !! They also like to raise all their fins, too ... so watch out if they start to struggle while you're handling them.
Alot of people find them to be a nuisance fish, because they don't get as big as White Bass or the Striper family members ... but, properly cleaned and dressed, they're edible enough to warrant cleaning a stringerful.
One nice thing about them, is that if you find a school of them ... they'll hit about any bait you throw at them (jigs, slab spoons, Kastmasters, spinners, minnows, etc).

Back a dozen years or so, I got into a school of them, busting schools of Shad back in a bay on Watts Bar ... about this time of year. Myself and two buddies caught them until our arms were so sore we couldn't cast anymore :D I made the mistake of laying my rod down, with the Kastmaster hanging about 6" down in the water ... BAM ... I had one come up and grab my bait, and nearly jerk the rod into the lake ... needless to say, I didn't make that same mistake a second time ... LOL !!

... cp