bait during the day

[Shellkat]

I know how to catch shad under the lights. But with a 2 1/2 hour drive to the big c, what would be the strategy for catching them during the day if you didn't make a midnight run to the lake.

[peter]

I know how to catch shad under the lights. But with a 2 1/2 hour drive to the big c, what would be the strategy for catching them during the day if you didn't make a midnight run to the lake.

You could try for gizzard shad up in the backs of some creeks. Look for them on the graph or flipping on the surface. It can be some real work. It can also be a long way up the creeks on a crowded weekend in the summer.

Sometimes threadfins will be flipping on the surface half way back or near the back of some creeks between first light and sunrise. Pretty easy when you can see them but it can be hit or miss so you will need backup bait or plan.

That's a good question. Let me know if you come up with anything.

Best idea...drive down the night before and catch your bait before first light.

Those first couple hours are the critical fishing hours as far as I am concerned and its best to be fishing and not throwing a net.

There are always shhhhiners if you want a more relaxed trip.

[striperfishin]

I caught all my stripers (3 of them all around 28 inches) on shiners last saturday in wolf creek. i have unfortunately spent days on cumberland without bait and its not fun. some dont believe in the shiners but i have always caught fish with them.

[Shellkat]

Anyone ever use 3-4 inch sunfish. They should standout and be seen a mile away.

[kstonich]

I use to use bluegill allot for bait in the Delta. The stripers loved them. I've tried them at Cumberland several times with no luck. But that could have just been I was fishing where there were no actively feeding fish.

[cghuntcms]

I routinely use these little panfish up to 5 inches. I think they work just fine. I'll use them along with other baitfish as a choice for the striper. I did learn early on to NOT use a treble hook with them. As stripers inhale the bait most of the time & you wind up with a gut hooked fish. I use a wide-gapped hook (any brand) from a four up to a one depending upon the size of the sunfish. Only once in 4 years have I gut hooked a striper using this technique. If your rod tip isn't jumping around, your sunfish released itself & you need to check your bait. Shiners/shad apparently are not as active & it's harder to tell if you've still got a live bait.

[Shellkat]

If sunfish /bluegill work good then I have a unlimited supply. I live on Elk horn creek and you can take some wax worms and catch a boat full in a hurry. What size is a good for trolling for striper. New to the trolling game take it easy on me

[TroyRalph502]

I have used bluegill for striper bait. It works, but the size of fish is smaller and I didn't get as many hits as with shad. I almost prefer to jig for them over trolling a bluegill.

[cghuntcms]

My wife, my father, & I were trolling between the dam & Indian Creek 3 summers ago with shiners at most all depths with no luck. No wind, water was flat, & the sun was scorching hot. There was only one other couple trolling as well in their pontoon boat. It was quite apparent they were catching fish from all the excitement on their boat. Very late in the morning the pontoon pulls up close to us & announces they've got their fish & would we like their leftover bait. Out of curiosity as to what they were using, I said yes. Normally I'm too proud to admit failure, but I must be mellowing with age. It was several dozen small sunfish & bluegills. I got the new baitfish & the instructions to use treble hooks.

We returned the next day & trolled across the face of the dam & my Dad had two fish in the boat in the first pass & announced he was limited out & we could go home........ I caught my second fish about 3 hours later & I was ready to leave. Sunfish work well for me, but I don't like using treble hooks. The wide-gapped hooks almost always catch the fish in the lip, enhancing the chance for undersized fish to survive catch & release.

I generally do better using sunfish when marking fish below 50 feet, but last Labor Day week things were so slow, I tried them on the surface & they worked when shiners didn't.

I always carry a short, ultra-light rod to add a few sunfish to my livewell.