catching shad on lake cumberland

wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. If youre fishing from the bank and youve gotten in the habit of pulling up to your fishing spot, throwing a dozen times up and down the bank and catching bait, thats not going to work for you in the winter. Best lures for striped bass: Kastmaster spoon lure, soft jerk shad, soft paddle shad, swimming mullet, hard mullet swimbait, floating minnow, bucktail jig, slashbait, flutter spoon, lipless crankbait, topwater pencil popper In the Eastern US, the best place to find shad is in the Connecticut river. BUNDLE. It is 11.6 miles from the put in at the state park beach below Cumberland Falls to the Mouth of Laurel Boat Ramp which is within the national forest. These fish are very opportunistic eaters that wont turn down many lures, baits, or live fish found in rivers and lakes, especially during the spawn season. TEAM OLD SCHOOL -This is a \"FOLLOW-UP\" to\" Fresh Water, Live- Bait, Striped Bass/ BASICS-Old School \" on my channel that has been very popular. Its still going to be a lot of work, but the shovel will work much faster than the gardening spade. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Although live baiting with shad is increasingly becoming the most common in the fall and winter months, other methods have also proven successful. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Use a lightweight rod and line to cast upstream, then let your line float downstream a bit with the current until you get a bite. % of people told us that this article helped them. Our water has been unseasonably cool and the shad have been really scattered with some of them still in deep water so I headed out to catch some bait and try to catch a. few blue catfish. (Lures jigs, minnows). And fishing there in the fall is great because the fall foliage ranks with New Englands and also the summer crowds thin. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you. Indian Creek, just south of the dam and a little upstream from it has proved in the past to be a fantastic trout fishing spot. The last several miles are flat water. Video of Lake Cumberland taken February 2007. So if you are fishing for largemouth bass in a heavily fished area near shore or along the rivers, consider using live shad instead of an artificial lure in order to make a catch. A friend of his fished Lake Cumberland last Sunday and caught an 18-pound and a 22-pound striped bass. To catch shad, fish for them within 30 feet of coastal river banks during the spring and summer. I couldnt stand to watch him any more. The hook should be nice and sharp and there should be a minimum of 12 inch (1.3 cm) between the point and the shank, to avoid catching undersized bass. They will sink further and faster than a fly. Aeration can come in the form of naturally moving water such as a feeder creek or a connecting riverhead. Three reasons you're not able to catch shad for catfish bait in the winter time and how to easily fix them. Flathead, Channel, and Blue catfish will all very eagerly take shad. October 10, 2022 September 16, 2022 by Brent Pollock. How can a fisherman get started shad fishing? This article has been viewed 226,201 times. Antsy anglers can stand in the bow and cast a bass plug over to the shore. There are several different types of American shad, though anglers will most likely be dealing with one of the two most popular; Threadfin shad, and Gizzard shad. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Brent grew up spending his summers out on the water, exploring the many rivers, streams, and lakes of the region. Vexilar FL-Series Flashers/Fish Finders: Which one is for me? That way the shad can easily see and go after it. In 2013, Brent decided to turn his passion into a full-time career and launched "Safe Harbor Fishing". Enjoy! Catfish . Stripers eat gizzard shad at Lake Cumberland so lures or flies in the 2-inch to 5-inch or 6-inch range that replicate these are the key when presented at the proper depth. Its common to find bait in every depth of the lake, or at least most of them and because of this blind luck often pays off. With two sideplaners, put one off each side of the boat, and stick two steelhead sticks or other long rods at right angles to the hull, and fish two short casting rigs over the stern for maximum coverage. Its a rare day when a striper refuses to strike a shad. Spread out your tip-ups over different depths. Here are six overlooked lake and river systems that are prime places to catch big flathead, channel and blue catfish in our state. BUNDLE. Striped Bass Lake Basics- Catch Shad, Fish Finder TIPS/ SECRETS for Freshwater Stripers 241,161 views Mar 21, 2012 331 Dislike Share Save Mike Smedley 67.9K subscribers TEAM OLD SCHOOL. If you buy any Navico-Simrad-Lowrance- Airmar products using these links, you will receive LIFETIME setup and adjustment help from myself by email or text. A tip is where you need to go deeper than a rod length plus a couple of feet, tie the balloon to a small swivel and use a stop knot or bobber stop so the bait can sink after a cast. Sideplaner TrollingGuide boats may spread six to 10 sideplaners some use floats for the three or four rods in the wake. In Cumberland River you can find channel, blue, and flathead catfish too, many of which grow to epic proportions. GREAT HOOKS! This shad fishing method does not deliver as many fish at once as a cast net, but does have the potential to keep supplying fresh and live shad throughout your fishing day. Though there are fish to be caught up near takeoff, the lower end of the lake is historically where anglers find the best fishing, especially for smallmouth bass. The shore bound are somewhat restricted although balloon drifting and bottom fishing produce, and lures and flies work. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Use a cast net with a larger mesh size (larger mesh sinks faster). For the most part clear as a bell. It might take you a while, it might be painful and difficult but if you work at it long enough you can dig a huge hole. All week long, Greg Bohannan talked about how Cumberland was fishing like an Ozark lake, which fits his style just right. If your state allows, you can rig tip-ups with live bait to include gizzard shad, threadfin shad, and alewives. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 4 I know the guides catch them at the marinas but not sure if they will let an individual. Although usually in shallow waters, lighted docks and marinas are also first-rate night-fishing spots. Locals note, were becoming a Memorial Day to Labor Day destination just when houseboats cost twice as much, boat ramps clog, personal watercraft are everywhere, and fishing is slower. Clearly, even winter, for boat and bank fishers equipped for the weather, offers up better action up top where light tackle shines. He pulls up to another location and starts throwing again and again. Clouds of them appeared on the electronics and surfaced around us, but the net repeatedly came up empty. 3. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. "I used the differant types of lure, the best time to fish for hickory shad, at what depth and where to place the. Youre going to have to plan ahead, youre going to have to put forth some extra effort, and you might even have to go a little bit out of your way to load up on bait but you can easily catch shad from the shore it if you put forth the effort. Team; Services. There are a variety of fish that will willingly take shad from your line. In Part 2, we will look at some lures to use, and some of the facilities available in this great striper fishery. This time, I started questioning him on what he was doing and why, and offered some advice on locating and catching shad. Based on the 2016 fish population surveys, creel surveys, fish stockings, and historical knowledge of the fisheries, the state has rated Lake Cumberland with an excellent forecast rating for crappie, channel catfish and striped bass and good for bluegill, walleye, and three other varieties of bass in 2017. Overhead lights attract flying insects and baitfish, and many dock owners place crappie-attracting brushpiles nearby. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The next time to fish for white bass is in late summer and on into fall. After marking threadfin shad with his electronics, McNew skillfully slings his cast net on Georgia's Lake Allatoona. Shad Trawl: A shad trawl is one having a mesh size no larger than 1 inch, a hoop diameter no larger than 48 inches, and a net length no larger than 72 inches. (After Dark Tips). 9 pin Evo3 end. Large schools of shad are always moving not only to different areas of the lake but also to different depths. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. When attempting to catch shad without a cast net, you should consider using the right type of lure or bait. It answers one of the biggest freshwater striped bass questions. He was in a rather odd location to catch shad and he was throwing a TINY cast net. Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. To create this article, 16 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Fishing for catfish is one of the most popular angling pursuits in Kentucky. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. This pattern of a shad fishing lure can be found on swimbaits, crankbaits, topwater, soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and spoons. It is a 10 foot radius net with 1/2 inch cast nets specifically designed for the deep water application we work with. Class: III Miles: 11.6 Hours 4-6 Season: All Striped Bass / Rockfish April thru June & September thru October. Both live and cut shad are much better than frozen, but striped bass will take frozen shad in many cases as well. Keep comments on topic. Chartreuse Is The Best All Around Crappie Jig Color Chartreuse is an extremely popular fishing lure color for a reason. This is the number one reason people go wrong catching shad in the winter and cannot catch bait. The anticipation grew as we searched for the bait that would help us catch some monster, bottom-dwelling blue catfish on Truman Lake. Be the first to rate this post. Cumberland is famous for its big, rod-bending striped bass, which in May are being caught mostly at night, and on surface lures. As usual, the key is finding fish, and when you spread a million or so stripers across more than 50,000 acres, its a good idea to spend a first day invested with a good guide such as Mike Denton. Overall, your best bet for finding crappie is fishing in large ponds and the shallow parts of lakes with sand and mud on the bottom. These highly oxygenated areas are not just good for baitfish, theyre also a prime spot to look for trophy fish such as bass, pike, and catfish during spawn months. Because of the diverse diets of crappie, they can be caught in many different ways, making them an excellent species for almost any angler to experience using their favorite technique. A friend of his fished Lake Cumberland last Sunday and caught an 18-pound and a 22-pound striped bass. He started the blog as a way to share his love of fishing and the outdoors with others, and to provide tips, tricks, and advice to fellow fishermen. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. To be successful catching shad in the coldwater period you have to use the right tools. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/ca\/Catch-Shad-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Catch-Shad-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/ca\/Catch-Shad-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid1357455-v4-728px-Catch-Shad-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"