catman529
Well-Known Member
well I spent the day in my boat from around 7am till late afternoon below old hickory dam. The fishing was so slow I pulled out and went up to the lake and rode around and fished there a bit.
Below the dam all I caught was a few shad in the cast net and caught a drum with one of those shad. I was between the spillway and Mansker creek multiple times and nothing was biting, I could not even catch a single skipjack despite throwing jigs everywhere and changing the retrieve speed and depth. There were also very few fishermen out there on boats.... most people were just the usual bank fishermen. during the morning I trolled a shad rap from the boat ramp all the way down to the green bridge, with not a single fish (usually I would at least catch a drum this way if not a catfish, bass, walleye or sauger)
once I got into the main lake I rode around a bit since I don't know OH lake at all. I cast a weightless fluke along the shoreline for a little while with no fish, then put on a trout magnet and caught a couple of bluegills for bait. Took the bait to a cove and dropped cut pieces down on 2 lines for a while hoping maybe a catfish would find them... nothing there either. I wanted more shad but every school of shad on the surface was about 1 inch long fish that slipped through the cast net.
On the plus side, the weather was perfect and I got to trailer the boat and run it with the gas motor for the first time. I switched around the head on my tiller trolling motor so I have it mounted on the bow and it still pulls the boat in the 3-5mph range. I'd say I get maybe 10-15 mph on the 5 horse. Everything yesterday was great except for the bite. Hope it picks up again soon. Been wanting to get into some more rockfish.
Below the dam all I caught was a few shad in the cast net and caught a drum with one of those shad. I was between the spillway and Mansker creek multiple times and nothing was biting, I could not even catch a single skipjack despite throwing jigs everywhere and changing the retrieve speed and depth. There were also very few fishermen out there on boats.... most people were just the usual bank fishermen. during the morning I trolled a shad rap from the boat ramp all the way down to the green bridge, with not a single fish (usually I would at least catch a drum this way if not a catfish, bass, walleye or sauger)
once I got into the main lake I rode around a bit since I don't know OH lake at all. I cast a weightless fluke along the shoreline for a little while with no fish, then put on a trout magnet and caught a couple of bluegills for bait. Took the bait to a cove and dropped cut pieces down on 2 lines for a while hoping maybe a catfish would find them... nothing there either. I wanted more shad but every school of shad on the surface was about 1 inch long fish that slipped through the cast net.
On the plus side, the weather was perfect and I got to trailer the boat and run it with the gas motor for the first time. I switched around the head on my tiller trolling motor so I have it mounted on the bow and it still pulls the boat in the 3-5mph range. I'd say I get maybe 10-15 mph on the 5 horse. Everything yesterday was great except for the bite. Hope it picks up again soon. Been wanting to get into some more rockfish.
so maybe my setup is better than I think.
