Do you have any problem keeping your bait alive once you put it on you rod or are you catching those fish on dead bait?? I fished Saturday and my bait would die in about 30 seconds and I didn't manage to catch a thing.
Got on Murray about 6 PM. Downlined for several hours and trolled for maybe two. Caught 14 at depths of 40 feet to 60 feet on herring minnows. Used the hydroglow green 4 foot light. Fished the towers and drifted from Jacks creek back to channel. Largest fish was 24 inches with the balance 18 to 21 inches. Last day to keep 4 under 21. Water temp 85 degrees on the surface. The lake was very calm and there were a lot boats out to about 3 AM. Marked a lot of fish. All boats were catching fish around the towers and trolling the main channel up to spence island. Great night.
Last edited by Iamfishing; 09-02-2007 at 06:03 PM.
Do you have any problem keeping your bait alive once you put it on you rod or are you catching those fish on dead bait?? I fished Saturday and my bait would die in about 30 seconds and I didn't manage to catch a thing.
Ritchie,
I had the same problem last wednesday. The bait seemed to die within seconds. I also saw quite a few floating stripers. We fished over fish for hours and could not get one hit. I usually do pretty good, I think I may try some cut bait fishing further up lake this week.
We buy our bait from Jimmy Jones. He usually primes his herring with salt when he has plenty. When we put them in the bait tank we salt them too. On average 50% of the herring will live up to 10-15 minutes if you hook them through the nose or eyes. Bait that has not been primed will die in less than 3 minutes or so. Herring is difficult at best for us but we like to use it at Murray since that is the primary bait fish for the stripers there. As far as catching them on dead bait, yes we have caught them especially when the wind is five or so mph and the boat bobs them up and down. We have also trolled them with the trolling motor at speeds around 1.5 mph or less.Originally Posted by ritchie
Last edited by Iamfishing; 09-03-2007 at 09:38 PM.
Where is Jimmy Jones Located??
Jimmy Jones is on Hwy. 321 in Lowrys, which is about three miles north of Chester.
I've stopped there before. I wasn't sure if he still had bait as hot as it has been. Does he still come out early (4:30-5:00) to sell you bait?
I get mine from better bait on the lexington side of the dam. He has fresh, cold spring water and gives you the salt and bait saver stuff. Never have a problem keeping them alive except at the end of the summer when SCE&G sucks the oxygen off the thermocline. I have had them live for hours when the water is cooler and oxygen rich.
I usually call ahead to Jimmy make sure he will be there. Lots of times he is on on Clarks Hill catching bait. His wife will come out and dip them for you too. He has had bait all summer. Occasionally he will have shad which are easier to keep alive.
One of the ways to get your herring to live longer on the hook is to get them from the bait tank on to hook as quickly as possible and then drop them very fast to the depth you have marked fish. Herring are sensitive to warm water and the surface temp down to about 20 feet is warm. I get them down to 20 feet as quickly as I can by pulling the 10 pulls, 18-24 inches a pull, very fast. Once down to that depth I make the next pulls a bit slower but still getting them down through the warmer water on top of the water column. We use 2oz slip weights so you can usually see if the minnow made it down alive as the rod tips will bounce as the minnow swims. Hope this helps, it works for us if we have good bait.