07-27-2012, 02:06 AM
@Matt: Smelt is just 1 of 5 baits I have tried the last 3 trips. Crappie fillet rib sections saved from my last successful trip have been my main bait. Why do you prefer skinless cut bait? The roe sack is a good idea, I keep forgetting to add some of that material to my tackle box for soft baits like shrimp.
@Ron: Thanks for the additional tips. Interestingly, toward the end of my last time on the water, there was a lot of surface activity by what I presume were smallmouth bass. Most of the jumpers were within casting distance of my boat - or where I had just moved my boat from. Yes, I can easily drift. My boat is even set up with oars for controlled drifting.
The section of river I am most familiar with (Marsing to Walters Ferry) doesn't have much in the way of rocks, logjams or overhangs that I have noticed over the years. I passed one island with huge trees overhanging the water by at least 10 feet that may be good, if there wasn't a mass of weeds 20 yards wide between the island and floatable current.
@Maxcat: I used to use bluegill too, and I recall my better trips were with that as bait. I'm thinking I may need to spend my next after-work opportunity for fishing to catch a stockpile of those for my next more serious catfishing excursion. Thanks for the water and technique tips.
@Smartweed: Maybe I have the wrong mental picture of "riffles." In that section I didn't see any currents I thought of as riffles. If it was shallow, it was covered in mats of weeds. Too bad about running aground, I've been there and it's not fun for a 30-something man.
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@Ron: Thanks for the additional tips. Interestingly, toward the end of my last time on the water, there was a lot of surface activity by what I presume were smallmouth bass. Most of the jumpers were within casting distance of my boat - or where I had just moved my boat from. Yes, I can easily drift. My boat is even set up with oars for controlled drifting.
The section of river I am most familiar with (Marsing to Walters Ferry) doesn't have much in the way of rocks, logjams or overhangs that I have noticed over the years. I passed one island with huge trees overhanging the water by at least 10 feet that may be good, if there wasn't a mass of weeds 20 yards wide between the island and floatable current.
@Maxcat: I used to use bluegill too, and I recall my better trips were with that as bait. I'm thinking I may need to spend my next after-work opportunity for fishing to catch a stockpile of those for my next more serious catfishing excursion. Thanks for the water and technique tips.
@Smartweed: Maybe I have the wrong mental picture of "riffles." In that section I didn't see any currents I thought of as riffles. If it was shallow, it was covered in mats of weeds. Too bad about running aground, I've been there and it's not fun for a 30-something man.
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