Cumberland trip???

[Duayne]

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.html

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.

[apb]

.... After you catch deep bait you have to be able to keep it.. LOL that's a whole nother topic.

bucktails are pretty easy to keep

[Duayne]

bucktails are pretty easy to keep

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.

[apb]

... I used to have a guy that made the best, but he quit making them! ...

Yeah, I know that guy. He is a bum. Hasn't trolled for stripers in years so he has been making other baits. I'll see if I can't give him a swift kick in the butt and get him to tie up a few.

[peter]

bucktails are pretty easy to keep

Andrew good to her from you.

Tell us what you have been up to down in TN!

[apb]

Andrew good to her from you.

Tell us what you have been up to down in TN!

Mostly fishing tailwater areas around knoxville for stripers. Bank fishing with a surf rod and slinging homemade wood plugs and soft plastics. Also fishing cherokee spring time for the night time hybrid bite. Very similar to Cumberland with rock walls and alewifes. Occasional largemouth or smallmouth trips in the yak. Plenty of good fishing close to home.

[boskeet]

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.

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.

[Duayne]

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

[cman]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be staying around alligator 1 but I'll head up by the dam and try some deep trolling and see what happens. I'll post results next weekend