Cumberland Striper Report?

[headbanger]

I'll be heading down for a few days around the 13th, just wondering if anyone's having any luck and what the pattern's like. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[boskeet]

I haven't been since the beginning of August so my report is a bit outdated....but, I was fishing live bait behing planer boards anywhere from 25-45ft on the main lake. Live shad has been the ticket all summer for me. The bite has been great up until a few weeks ago when according to other reports, things have slowed a bit (Again, I haven't been in a month). Bait was becoming difficult to catch too so plan accordingly.

I think the down rigger has been decent as of late. I don't do much fishing that way but I've heard of guys catching some fish that way on the main lake.

If you're lucky, you might spot a few in the jumps and you can hone in on where the big schools are. They don't stay up very long though, if they come up at all.

Hope that helps.

[headbanger]

That helps, thanks Bo!

[peter]

I fished Sunday morning with shiners. Had bait 25' to 45' and 70'-75'. Caught them at 40' by the dam at about 7:30 am est. Saw one fairly big school that was 25'-50' in size but caught none out of that. Consistently saw some fish moving around down there. Shiners were not big by any means but big enough to comfortably fit on a #2 hook. Unlike several weeks ago when the only shinners I could find were very small. It was overcast with a slight drizzle and all the poker runners must have been asleep.

[awfol]

Thinking of heading to LC Thursday or Friday. If you don't mind my asking. Where could one find some decent sized shiners? Last time I was down there the two places I stopped had really small ones.

[headbanger]

Peter, thank you very much!

Awfol, that "Bass Pro" store at the BP station in Jamestown usually has some pretty nice shiners.

[stripernut1]

Peter, thank you very much!

Awfol, that "Bass Pro" store at the BP station in Jamestown usually has some pretty nice shiners.

hey guys a little update...it used to be a BP station, now it is a "valero", and the name of the store is "lake country outdoors" 270-866-7575. call ahead and inquire about the shiners..they go fast this time of year.

also, no worries about the shiners being on the small side this time of year, these schools of stripers will rocket into a school of baitfish that are an inch long and massacre them like they were 8 inch alewives.
just remember to downsize not only your hook size but go with a lighter lb test leader so the smaller shiner doesnt struggle so much to swim naturally.
you should always take minute during the trip to bait up with what youre using and put it in the water at the side of the boat and troll it to watch the action, adjust accordingly. you wont be able to do this right now with shad as the surface temps are warm enough to stress them immediately and wont give you an accurate picture of whats going on (but the surface water wont knock the shiners out so bad)

[boskeet]

anyone tried to catch alewives lately? like i previously posted, i haven't been in over a month and they were getting hard to find back then. i'm sure it's a lot worse now.

i'd like to fish again soon but i really despise shiners.

[peter]

Seems like the alewives are hard to keep alive this time of the year. You really have to know what you are doing and have a good filtered bait tank with a bunch of additives. I hear ya on shiners.
I had hadn't really used them since about a year ago.

Tried them last Sunday and had some pretty quick hookups. Just takes one god trip to get the confidence in the little devils back. I hat forgotten what good escape artists they are. Gone try something different to keep them on the hook.

Stripernut may chime in with better info on alewives this time of the year.

[stripernut1]

there are still a couple guides that are using alewives. the bait gathering process right now is hardcore and very labor intensive with many consecutive throws bringing up zero bait. also the water used to fill the tank is being pumped from 60 feet deep in the lake to have cold lake water instead of room temp city water that only adds to the stress levels. yes you can use ice to chill the water but you have to know what the water temps are down at the depths the shad are staying right now to match that temp, so just look at the graph , note the depth of the bait schools and lower the pump to that depth.
a serious bait tank set up is going to get you through for a couple/few hrs at best in the morning. you will need to keep at least 75+ alewives for a 2-3 hr trip, heres the math;
8 rods= 8 pcs of bait
total bait changeout every 20 minutes= 24 pcs of bait per hr
3hrs fishing time X 24shad/hr= 72
this doesnt count short fish, catfish, gar bites and short hits
unless...you hit a big school and get done in 10 minutes

i will use shiners if i have to, and as soon as my boat is back up and on the water....i will use shiners or suckers, a lot less work

[awfol]

thanks for the info guys. if all goes well i will be heading out friday. i'm a beginner at best when it comes to striper fishing but if i have any luck i'll ya know.

[headbanger]

there are still a couple guides that are using alewives. the bait gathering process right now is hardcore and very labor intensive with many consecutive throws bringing up zero bait. also the water used to fill the tank is being pumped from 60 feet deep in the lake to have cold lake water instead of room temp city water that only adds to the stress levels. yes you can use ice to chill the water but you have to know what the water temps are down at the depths the shad are staying right now to match that temp, so just look at the graph , note the depth of the bait schools and lower the pump to that depth.
a serious bait tank set up is going to get you through for a couple/few hrs at best in the morning. you will need to keep at least 75+ alewives for a 2-3 hr trip, heres the math;
8 rods= 8 pcs of bait
total bait changeout every 20 minutes= 24 pcs of bait per hr
3hrs fishing time X 24shad/hr= 72
this doesnt count short fish, catfish, gar bites and short hits
unless...you hit a big school and get done in 10 minutes

i will use shiners if i have to, and as soon as my boat is back up and on the water....i will use shiners or suckers, a lot less work

If you save your empty water bottles you can fill them back up and freeze them, then put them in your bait tank. This works particularly well in a partitioned bait tank like mine. I've had very good results keeping alewives alive using this method.