Locating schools of fish

OK, this maybe some BS from an ole timer to myself, BUT it sounds as if it would work. He was telling me that he used to find schooling crappie by catching one he'd keep it hooked and let his slide float loose by adjusting the slide very deep. He would watch where the float would rest once the fish was released. This would show him where the rest of the group was congregating. He claims thats how he could find schooling crappie and bass. He'd catch a good bass and hook him with a float/bouy and release him. He'd watch where he went afterwards. He'd then fish that spot and find schooling fish.

What about it gentlemen.....WOULD THIS WORK? or does a fish recognize trauma and will not return to the school for an X period of time??????

I believe that theory smells like fish! I like to put a tracking beacon on a caught fish then use my sonar located in the electronics room to follow the signal.....

I call this baloney. But I have been wrong before....alot.

Ok i have heard of this too and it was with crappie. It was actually a well known fisherman that told me. The guy was Don Gapen. I met him at the Cincy travel, sports, and boat show when i was a teenager. He said he would catch a crappie and say if the water was 10ft he would leave the float on like a 15ft piece of line and attach it to the fish and let it go. He said he could follow the school of crappie all around and catch them and his exact quote was he could be greedy and go pick up the float and pull in the original fish he caught. I have never tried it but i have heard it works.

Tom

Ive fished scene I was a child and I have herd the old timers talk about taking a balloon on the wright length of line that they would take the first crappie and rig it that way, when I lived in Florida we would go out on my bosses boat we would go out off the coast and when we caught a Dolphin ( not a porpoise ) he would leave the first one hooked up and the school would stay around, I have never tried the crappie thing, but I don't doubt it, and I certainly would not make fun of it tell I knew for sure JMO

[QUOTE=floatman;388722]Ive fished scene I was a child and I have herd the old timers talk about taking a balloon on the wright length of line that they would take the first crappie and rig it that way, when I lived in Florida we would go out on my bosses boat we would go out off the coast and when we caught a Dolphin ( not a porpoise ) he would leave the first one hooked up and the school would stay around, I have never tried the crappie thing, but I don't doubt it, and I certainly would not make fun of it tell I knew for sure JMO[/QUOTE] I like the way you think, don't knock it till you try it. where it works or not, it's a pretty good tail. I liked it. and might try it. some fishermen will tend to tell some wild stories. i once heard a guy say, he caught a smallmouth so big, that the picture weighed 4 pound. it's hard for me to belive, but i never weighed the picture. so i don't know for sure.

It's called ballooning and it's done a lot with crappie, just make sure you detatch the balloon fish.:D

Hey guys, I too have heard of this, can't remember where though. It seems it was on one of those "old" fishing shows that TNN used to air... you know before they became SPIKE TV. It might have been on the Orlando Wilson show?? I think that was his name. I know the Orlando was his first name, can't be sure about the last name, but it sounds right. I remember he always fished out of a white ranger, and he had some of the best tips I had gotten from fishing shows. Wish someone would buy up his old shows and re-air them.

tight lines,

HDF

Don't see Orlando's show listed but plenty of other old shows are. Plenty to keep you busy on a cold winter day.
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