However, there are advantages to fishing the small streams for trophy summer stripers. Larger shad will be your best choice in this case, but they can be used in a variety of ways. Just be sure to include enough weight that the beads will bounce off the bottom. For more tips on finding groups of shad, read on! The Cumberland River boasts some excellent fishing of Bass and Trout, and you can also find walleye and sauger. It hurt worse than the blisters and tiny, bleeding cuts on . Flathead, Channel, and Blue catfish will all very eagerly take shad. Prepare the net to make it easier to throw and more effective by soaking it overnight in a washing machine or tub with hot water and fabric softener. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Spring offers green banks, pre spawn and post-spawn stripers, largemouth, smallmouth and other species and mild weather with the odd shower. When you do this youll have more bait than you need. In 2007, fearing a break in the Dam, the Lake was lowered to a level of 680 feet. Shad are an excellent bait fish to have around. Video of Lake Cumberland taken February 2007. Plan on 4 to 6 hours for the trip. http://traffic.libsyn.com/catfishing/Three_Reasons_You_Cant_Winter_Shad_-_21315_3.18_PM.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:19 59.3MB), Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:19 59.3MB). Finding schools of baitfish is critical to catching striped bass in Lake Cumberland. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 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. Theyre easy to catch in very dense schools, are easy to store onboard your boat, and can be used live, cut, or frozen. In the Western US, the Colombia and Sacramento rivers are the best places to fish shad. 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. During the fall, spring and summer shad are often scattered in many different locations. Overhead lights attract flying insects and baitfish, and many dock owners place crappie-attracting brushpiles nearby. Jig dead shad, spoons, and jigs here. Put out a few lines rigged with shad, alewives or shiners at different depths. For the best luck, fish for shad in the early evening or right before daylight. The shad is usually scattered enough that youll catch a few here and there (with enough work) that youll at least catch enough fresh bait to fish with. Not only does it look like a fish underwater, it also works in both clear and stained water. Heres the three reasons I see people having way more difficulty than they should catching winter shad. These electronic sonar devices are extremely useful in locating your targeted trophy fish, as well as schools of baitfish such as smaller shad and minnows. Beads should be used in the colder water to entice and attract the deeper shad. Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. https://amzn.to/2GY00xJB 175 H WIDE 20 DEG. 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. Spinners should be used when fishing from shore, floating from upstream to downstream. They can be up to a foot in length and can be identified by their silver color, as well as the 35 rays in their lower body fin. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Today we show you how to catch shad without bait. Anglers will find both largemouth and smallmouth, Kentucky bass, white bass, walleye, trout, crappie, bream, and rockfish / stripers. The incredibly clear and deep waters of Lake Cumberland, make it a premiere fishing lake and one of Kentuckys best lakes for both boating and fishing. Heres what I tell people about cast nets. What is the best month for crappie fishing? If you buy a product through links on the site we may make a small commission. Full pool elevation is 445 feet-mean sea level, and winter pool elevation is 444 feet-mean sea level. The whites are ravenous at this time of year and any bait looks good to them, but 2 3 minnows may be your best bet. As I left the boat ramp I noticed a young man throwing a cast net off in the distance. Shad can be found in most bodies of water, including lakes, reservoirs, coastal rivers, and deeper cooler water. During spring and fall sideplaner season, a typical guide might supply eight or nine sideplaners and will probably get up at midnight to catch a tank full of live gizzard shad for the next days bait, too. Chartreuse is a color you definitely need in your arsenal. Put out a few lines rigged with shad, alewives or shiners at different depths. Crappie like to spawn in areas of shallow water, usually around 2-to-4 feet deep, with cover such as brush, flooded timber or weeds, and with easy access to deeper water. Anglers looking for trophy stripers up the creeks need to move slowly, quietly, and they should be prepared for a more deliberate presentation. "I used the differant types of lure, the best time to fish for hickory shad, at what depth and where to place the. Where exactly the lower end starts is a bit nebulous, but the area around Conley Bottom Marina or Wolf Creek and Caney Creek is a decent approximation. If you are on a lake that freezes over, you can catch hybrid striped bass ice fishing. As always a good depthfinder can put you on the right depth. To get more in depth information on locating and catching shad check out the free preview of the How To Catch Shad ebook from Catfish Edge. Using The Wrong Cast Net This is the number one reason people go wrong catching shad in the winter and cannot catch bait. Theres no argument that fresh caught shad is one of the top baits for catching blue catfish. Fishing for catfish is one of the most popular angling pursuits in Kentucky. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. https://amzn.to/2FnuAQb Sonar Hub https://amzn.to/2Wy5xQd3D System https://amzn.to/2Ui0F43 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. Aeration can come in the form of naturally moving water such as a feeder creek or a connecting riverhead. On the first day, Bohannan fished a Skirmish Baits AIM-9 jerkbait. Most of the ones that are caught are accidental catches while targeting other species of fish. When attempting to catch shad without a cast net, you should consider using the right type of lure or bait. If you are looking to fish for sauger and walleye on Lake Cumberland the best location is the tailwater by Wolf Creek Dam. What is the best size hook for crappie fishing? Gizzard shad frequently reach over 12 inches and thus can outgrow being a good forage size for many sport fish. During the winter catching shad is more of an all or none deal. How can a fisherman get started shad fishing? ******Connect*****Subscribe if you like watching!Have questions, want to see more, suggestions for more videos?Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/catchcatfishInstagram: http://instagram.com/catchcatfishFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/catfishedge He has since expanded the blog to include gear reviews, fishing reports, and even recipes for cooking up your catch. Lake Barkley actually produced the state record blue catfish catch at over 112 pounds. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Once dry, the net will be more flexible and easier to use. Lakes are especially abundant because they have a wider range of wildlife and vegetation, providing food and coverage. You can dig that very same hole with a shovel. All week long, Greg Bohannan talked about how Cumberland was fishing like an Ozark lake, which fits his style just right. (Lures crickets, worms, popping bugs), Catfish April thru November. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Striped Bass / Rockfish April thru June & September thru October. When are you planning on going? There are a variety of fish that will willingly take shad from your line. 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. Deep trolling is the way to take Bass during the hot days of summer. In addition, you may notice they have what looks to be an overbite with the upper jaw pointing further out than the lower jaw. To catch shad, fish for them within 30 feet of coastal river banks during the spring and summer. Team; Services. 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. As a riverine impoundment, Lake Cumberland offers anglers many bays, coves and creek channels to fish. 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. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. 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. Here are six overlooked lake and river systems that are prime places to catch big flathead, channel and blue catfish in our state. Wir freuen uns, Ihnen das brandneue Lego 41027 einfhren zu drfen! Youre not catching bait and because you didnt load your bait bucket up in two throws your whining about it. No abusive comments, threats, or personal attacks. You can also get by with a light weight cast net during much of the year as well, but not in the winter. Where there's one shad, there are bound to be more, so keep casting in the same area after you hook your first one. Downrigger TrollingOnce stripers drop 15 feet or 20 feet or more below the surface you can slow troll with downriggers and the same rig. GREAT HOOKS! A taped cast net works really well when you get into deeper water as the tape around the perimeter of the net keeps the net open, which means you'll catch more shad so I'm covering the essentials of catching shad in deep water and then showing the ins and outs of catching shad using a taped cast net. It is one of the largest manmade lakes in the U.S. with nearly 1,300 miles of shoreline! If youre targeting catfish on light tackle during the spawn season or any other time of year, but have had trouble with these fish taking your lures or other bait, try most shad species for some almost guaranteed results. They're East Coast natives that are now found in abundance in the west, too. Both live and cut shad are much better than frozen, but striped bass will take frozen shad in many cases as well. Run one, two, three or four sideplaner lines off each side of the boat and two to four over the stern and you can cover a 100-yard wide swatch of lake. But in general, all of the following fish will take shad in almost any way you choose to fish it. An Aberdeen #2, 4, or 6 hook makes one of the best hooks for crappie fishing. {"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":"