Fish the dam end of the lake and look for fish in 80+ ft of water. I got mine in 83-86 ft of water mostly 70 ft down last weekend. I got two jigging baits off the bottom when I marked them.
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I'm thinking of going down next week. Maybe do a little striper fishing. Can anyone give me some tips to catch my first Cumberland striper??
Fish the dam end of the lake and look for fish in 80+ ft of water. I got mine in 83-86 ft of water mostly 70 ft down last weekend. I got two jigging baits off the bottom when I marked them.
peter, fishincreek liked this post
Trolled for my fish hooked 3 before I landed my first fish . Fished till noon then decided to down size my baits .Hooked up within 5 minutes. Booth fish 27"-28". 65ft deep in 100+ foot of water. I should have figured it out sooner, the first fish I landed was hooked in the side of its face. Must have been just trying to stun it. The night before I slept on the lake and put out lights to see what was active. All the shad were in the 2"-3" range. So the 1/2 bucktail looked about right to them. Of course it could have been a coincidence and I'm way off base.But I'll stick to my story it makes me feel smart
jcb liked this post
I marked fish higher. Our bait was in the 5-7 inch range and came from 70 ft down (no lights above 55 ft so I didn't attract the smaller bait). That larger bait didn't last long on the hook in the higher water so it didn't make sense to focus on those fish and it made all the sense to focus on the deeper fish where the bait was comfortable and lasted longer on the hook. I would fish higher if I were using that smaller bait or trolling artificial (then higher or lower depending on what fish wanted to chase). We only had two fish under 28", three over 30" and one of those was 36". Sometimes it isn't fishing for all the fish you mark, but more focusing on the fish that can give you the best chance for success.Trolled for my fish hooked 3 before I landed my first fish . Fished till noon then decided to down size my baits .Hooked up within 5 minutes. Booth fish 27"-28". 65ft deep in 100+ foot of water. I should have figured it out sooner, the first fish I landed was hooked in the side of its face. Must have been just trying to stun it. The night before I slept on the lake and put out lights to see what was active. All the shad were in the 2"-3" range. So the 1/2 bucktail looked about right to them. Of course it could have been a coincidence and I'm way off base.But I'll stick to my story it makes me feel smart
kstonich liked this post
I have a request of some of you striper fellows that do this regularly. I have a throw net and can spot a ball of shad and net some to fish with however I could not imagine throwing a net to shad 55-70 foot deep. I would enjoy seeing this done in a short video clip if any of you fellas have done so. It would be a good learning tool for this novice if you had something like that. Thanks fellas.
I can try to put something together if I can remember to do it. The mind is a little foggy at 3 am. LOL Keys to deep bait.. Use a light at night to pull the bait close. Get the light down there. A 20 ft deep light will attract 20 ft deep small bait. Put tape around the bottom of your net. I used two rolls of duct tape and sandwiched the tape together around the net an inch or two above the lead line. You can buy them pre-taped. http://castnets.com/ss-1000-with-tape.htmlI have a request of some of you striper fellows that do this regularly. I have a throw net and can spot a ball of shad and net some to fish with however I could not imagine throwing a net to shad 55-70 foot deep. I would enjoy seeing this done in a short video clip if any of you fellas have done so. It would be a good learning tool for this novice if you had something like that. Thanks fellas.
The nets without tape tend to close as it drops and ends up being the size of a frizby once it gets down there. Nets with tape do the opposite and open more and more as the net drops because the tape works like a wing to flare it open.
I got quality bait for 4 boats last weekend... Probably 500 or so larger than 5". After you catch deep bait you have to be able to keep it.. LOL that's a whole nother topic.
You would think. It's hard to get a good bucktail I used to have a guy that made the best, but he quit making them! LOL I've only had one bad trip this year and I was playing the mad scientist on that trip. You need to get up to Cumberland and troll those jigs. They'll catch some good fish if they don't break you off.
What's your method for extending the cord on the light to that depth? I've been looking to add another light to my arsenal with this deeper light concept in mind but the longest cord I've seen from the factory is 25 foot long.
I solder the extension wire on and seal each connection with waterproof\lined heat shrink. I do the connections at different lengths so they don't match up. Then I cover both connections with the same type heat shrink that can fit over all the previous work.
Pay attention to your wire gauge\distance. The longer the wire the heavier gauge. I am going with 14 awg on my lights that pull up to 10 amps.
PS
Get lights that are rated IP68. Those are still not rated to go down that deep so you may still lose your light to leakage under pressure. Don't leave them down for more than a day or two at a time. Anything less than IP68 will be doomed a swift death. LOL