Lake Cumberland "Jumps"

[mhall]

Speaking of jumps, I saw my most and longest jumps in November of last year up in Indian creek. And no, there was not a sign of the mysterious fleet of 79 striper boats anywhere in the area. Each year can be different, time, water temperature and fish population. But if you are a fisherman, would you trade one bad day on the water for a good day at work? PS: are there any recent publications from KDFWR on fish surveys for LC? I know they have to be down from pre Wolf Creel Dam work.

As stated in a earlier post the KDFWR did a gill net survey in the last two years. They feel the lake is brimming with Stripers and the numbers are as good as ever. Most experienced and CLand veteran fisherman disagree however there are still plenty of Stripers in the lake and the average size is increasing again. I also agree with Scott, ''Mean Morone'' that the lake could take more than 550 thousand a year especially now that the lake is receiving so much extra pressure. If you don't think the lake is getting extra pressure then get your eyes checked.
BTW, do you understand humor, its really a cool concept intended on light hearted banter back and forth to make things fun.

[buddy]

A lot of good comments and information.

Reading these comments has me thinking about what I usually throw at "jumps." I remember numerous times I have been in jumps and could not get anything to bite. I could feel the lure hitting the bodies of the fish but no bites. Do you all try to match the lure to the bait? I tend to throw a jointed red fin (red and white) or silver jointed sliver. I have throw a Gizzit 4 to get deeper--if the jumps stay up long.

It gets frustrating when you think this time of the year "jumps" are few and far between but equally upsetting is when you are fortunate to be siting in an area with fish jumping all around and you can't get any bites. I have never thrown anything small but when I see baitfish this time of the year--the baitfish looks smaller. Do most of you try to match the size of lure to the baitfish or find the biggest or heavy lure, so you can cast it far?

[Duayne]

I usually have several things tied on and try to get different things in front of them. My brother in law threw a small, heavy spoon in the jumps I referred to last Thanksgiving. They thumped that right off and he got two. I threw a large redfin that got smacked once or twice on my first cast then hooked up on the next. I pulled that fish in and threw the entire rig down and grabbed a bucktail that didn't get touched.

Many firmly believe that you can throw almost anything in when they are in a frenzy, and I think that is true a very large percentage of the time. But there are times that a bucktail will get slammed while a topwater is left alone.

The Smack Tackle Flitter bait is a fantastic bait for jumps and in general. I have both sizes but love the smaller one. You can throw it a mile and rip it. It makes a very "loud and tight" vibration then flutters down when you pause. I've caught many fish on it when I knew fish were in the area and I was just casting. I throw it on 10 pound test so good drag is a must. Ha!

[apb]

A lot of good comments and information.

Reading these comments has me thinking about what I usually throw at "jumps." I remember numerous times I have been in jumps and could not get anything to bite. I could feel the lure hitting the bodies of the fish but no bites. Do you all try to match the lure to the bait? I tend to throw a jointed red fin (red and white) or silver jointed sliver. I have throw a Gizzit 4 to get deeper--if the jumps stay up long.

It gets frustrating when you think this time of the year "jumps" are few and far between but equally upsetting is when you are fortunate to be siting in an area with fish jumping all around and you can't get any bites. I have never thrown anything small but when I see baitfish this time of the year--the baitfish looks smaller. Do most of you try to match the size of lure to the baitfish or find the biggest or heavy lure, so you can cast it far?

I'll make 2-3 casts with a topwater plug. If no interest, switch to a bucktail and vary the depth that I fish it. You can also throw a bucktail in the general area after the school goes down.


With a bucktail, I'll do a 5 count, then start reeling. Next cast, a 10 count. then a 15 count. Start back over at 5. Often, the larger stripers are hanging below the school and will eat the bucktail. A bucktail will also cast well.


When stripers get real keyed in on a certain bait, you pretty much have to match the hatch. I've seen them busting small threadfins before, but would not touch a large gizzard shad when thrown to the jump. A number of years back one of my fishing partners caught the biggest striper of the trip on a 1 1/2 inch deciever fly. Used a weighted bobber (launcher) to give him enough weight to cast to the jump. I have also fished similar flies in front of a slab spoon.


You also have to keep in mind that you may have several hundred stripers chasing 100,000 shad or more. Your one lure has to stick out a little from the rest of the school to have much of a chance of getting eaten.