Live bait for stripers

[Dave Clark]

There is plenty of water around Nashville and I was considering giving it a try. What are some for your favorite methods for rigging shad and alewives? Thanks in advance..

[peter]

Barrel swivel with a sinker and a 5' - 7' or so of leader. I use size 1 and 2 hooks and a light drag (depends on the size of the bait) ..those hooks are not big enough for a gizzard shad.. Many use larger hooks for everything.

If the fish are say..ten feet and above maybe no sinker and ten to 20 feet of free line behind a planner board with no sinker. If the fish are 20' and below I use 2 oz sinkers on everything.

Just me. Every body does it differently.

[cghuntcms]

I run two lines out roughly 40 feet on planer boards & about 50 feet behind the boat with no sinker. The second set goes out half way between the outside boards & the boat at least 40 feet back & about 60/75 feet back from the planers with .5 oz trolling sinker. The third set are long lines along side the boat with 1 oz sinkers and about 10 - 12 'lines' across the spool (equals about 100 feet). The trolling sinkers have swivels. I generally run about .7 to 1.2 mph. If the breeze picks up, I hafta' run a little faster & may need to increase sinker weight. The breeze causes irregularities in my trolling pattern, increasing the bait's chance to swim free or drag the bottom. I generally like a size 4, short shank/wide gap hook.

If I'm marking fish down deep, I'll run two live bait down on my downiggers just above their patterned depth.

And I encourage everyone in the boat to move about quietly, kinda' like my grandfather & father usta' require when I was little, so many years ago............

Sometimes it works, but I'm always willing to try something else........

[Dave Clark]

Thanks guys, I appreciate you two stepping up. Happy new year.

[Duayne]

As has been touched on, match the size of the hook to the size of the bait. I do the same as Peter and use number 1 and number 2 hooks for Alewives. I use 17 pound camo line on the reels and 17 pound fluorocarbon for the leader. The camo is tougher than the fluorocarbon. I use rubber core weights on my shallow trolling rigs. That way I can change weights quickly. I use egg sinkers for down rids. I use 2-3 oz down rods in the summer and one oz in the winter. The reason for the change is trolling speed. I troll faster in the warm months than in the winter. Stripers hit the lighter weight lines better but it's hard to keep one oz lines in the zone in the summer.

Planer boards and sliding bobbers are must have add ons. I use the off shore boards but there are better boards out there.

[Lowerider]

When fishing water near Nashville it is advised to use the small alewife to catch the bait you really need. Take said 3lb bait shaped like a tarpon and fish it on a double hook rig behind the boat. You can use a planer board but know the board direction is just a suggestion.

Happy New Year. I predict a new state record striped bass in 2015!

[Dave Clark]

When fishing water near Nashville it is advised to use the small alewife to catch the bait you really need. Take said 3lb bait shaped like a tarpon and fish it on a double hook rig behind the boat. You can use a planer board but know the board direction is just a suggestion.

Happy New Year. I predict a new state record striped bass in 2015!

Skip jacks?
I really appreciate all the insight fellas and happy new year to all.