Cumberland live bait

[RTodd]

Could anyone give me some info on catching live bait this time of the year? I never seem to have problems catching bait under lights later in year but coming down a couple months earlier than in the past (coming down Easter Weekend ).. Thanks

[Lowerider]

you should be good to go with dock lights Easter weekend.

[JoeB]

Bait should be plentiful under the lights by Easter, but right now they are very hard to come by. If you can't catch your own, buy small shiners. I've had a couple of pretty good days with them this week.

[ChickenLeg]

Bait should be plentiful under the lights by Easter, but right now they are very hard to come by. If you can't catch your own, buy small shiners. I've had a couple of pretty good days with them this week.

JoeB, if you don't mind sharing...did you catch them drifting bait or on the bottom, in the creeks, points, etc... anything will be appreciated...haven't been down this year, didn't know what pattern is working this year with the cooler weather.

Thanks!

[JoeB]

The last two days, I caught them drifting small shiners behind planer boards. Best lines were 1/4 & 1/2 oz lead pulled 14 - 18 ft. behind the board. Also caught a couple on dollflys w/ a very slow retrieve. Haven't tried bottom fishing since I haven't been able to catch alewives. Never had any luck w/ shiners on the bottom. Today, I couldn't buy one. Fished the same areas as the last two days, but fish just wouldn't go for me. Lots of fish on the graph, they just didn't like what I was offering today.