General Info for fishing the Nuke emoPlease

[salecreekaviator]

I have my wife's family emoWelcome in town next week at the lake. I emoAngel am thinking of taking off Monday emoDance and taking the kids fishing emoGrouphug . I am most confident of finding bites by going catfishing emoFish at the Nuke since this seems to be such a popular place and I have heard a rumor you can catch fish there without having skill or knowing how to fish emoLaugh ... sounds like a place tailor made for me. (I am making them bring books, Game Boys and DS', in case they get bored)

It is about a 30 minute jaunt by water to the Nuke so it will be about 6:30 - 7 a.m. at the earliest. Is that a good time?

Over the last month or so I have accumulated a Pflueger spinning reel and 3 baitcasters (Quantum KVD Signature Series, ABU Ambassadeur 6600 BCX courtesy of Wally World (do they downgrade their reels for that place?) and will pick up an ABU Ambassadeur 5000 from Fat Albert tonight). I assume these are sufficient (they will have to be). Rods are 6'6" to 7' medium and medium/heavy.

I have plenty of3/0 - 5/0 hooks and 12 lb line. I am taking chicken breast as well as bream and a small drum caught from the dock and frozen as cut bait. I see on another post about catfishing with light tackle that they use a 20-30 lb leader, is this standard tackle or only for trophy pursuits?
If memory serves me EricM posted his setup recently so I plan on looking that up. I think Eric suggest his sinker line to be 5-10 lbs lighter than his line, is 6 lb line sufficient for a sinker drop?

I am terrified of baitcaster backlash for the kids. Since we are not casting these things a far distance, should I set the baitcasters to jigging mode? Will this reduce the danger of backlash?
I have weaved my way through the channel parking lot there a few times when passing through but have never stopped to fish or watch. Are people drifting or sitting over specifc spots? emoScratch
Do I just pull up to the crowd? emoParty emoAngler
How close is too close 50-100ft? emoBadLanguage


I know part of the challenge is finding the fish and it changes day to day or hour to hour. I assume from Eric's post my best odds are setting on the bottom. If the bite isn't happening on the bottom what set up do I use to suspend?

I know lots of questions emoDoh, I was the nerd you hated in class. emoBang

If someone in the know would prefer talking than typing answers to all the topics, feel free to call me 423-605-5029.

Many thanks for the all the information and comraderie shared on this site. emoThumbsup

 

[foodsaver]

I will call you this afternoon when I get off work. Do you have a depthfinder?

 

[drumking]

You don't cast for the cats. Just push the button on the reel and fish straight down. Let it hit bottom and maintain contact with bottom, jigging it up and down as you drift in the current. The cats will probably find you. Up there, you will need 2 or 3 oz bank sinkers.

 

[salecreekaviator]

Thanks, drumking. I will try to find some of those sinkers.

 

[SpurHunter]

salecreekaviator - 7/24/2008 11:35 PM Thanks, drumking. I will try to find some of those sinkers.

</p>

I get mine in town at Jacks bait shop Across from the old Governers Lounge. </p>

 

[rsimms]

I'd suggest heavier line.... 12 lb. is fine if you're catching eaters, but if one of the youngsters sticks one of the big boys, they'll probably never see it. Also, when you're fishing 12 lb. mono 50 feet deep with a heavy sinker, there is lots of "stretch" in your line. That can serious hamper your ability to "feel" your way along the bottom when you're drifting, and makes it harder to get a good hook set. I prefer braided line for that reason (with mono leaders)
When fishing the Nuke I always go "over-gunned." If somebody sticks a big one, I want to see it come to the boat. I believe I mentioned that I do like a lighter action rod than some folks use, but I want the line to hold fast even if the rod is bent double.

 

[polo-dog]

SpurHunter - 7/25/2008 8:41 AM

salecreekaviator - 7/24/2008 11:35 PM Thanks, drumking. I will try to find some of those sinkers.

</p>

I get mine in town at Jacks bait shop Across from the old Governers Lounge. </p>

It's not the Governor's any more. The Pheonix or something like that.

 

[2jigs]

UUUT-OOOOHHH!!!!! Now we know where Polo's been hangin-out! I can just see Doc. on the dance floor now. LoL!

 

[Buoy-Master]

Shoot..the way its been there this year, 10 feet from another boat seems fine..LOL! Crazy area to fish but loaded with them. Good Luck!

 

[SpurHunter]

Yup, thats why I said the OLD Gov's lounge Polo.

 

[salecreekaviator]

Thanks for all the help. I assume you all are talking about a drop shot type rig with braided line from reel to the hook and the mono from the hook to the sinker?

 

[SpurHunter]

Here is a link to a diagram one of the members drew-up for the forum.http://ragsman.com/flow/riverflow.html

 

[3CRAZY2KHM3R]

well in my personal experience at the nuke i always use circle hooks and light line but i use alot of drag but my line id 14 pund test it a chicken rig set up i use a medium action to light i love to feel the fight so i use drag ..but for bait i use chicken livers becuz chicken breast dun give off a scent like livers and the liver are tied on the hook wit a piece of thread..i've caught many fish including some bass on liver..lolz it was one strange striper dat hit it..but i think it was more of a hybrid tho..but anyways use circle hooks and u;ll have a better chance of a hook up.. i'll b at the nuke next satuday aug 2nd wit my dad and a few friends...i'll b in and ugly pontoon..wit two really tall asians...lolz

 

[polo-dog]

2jigs - 7/25/2008 9:32 AM

UUUT-OOOOHHH!!!!! Now we know where Polo's been hangin-out! I can just see Doc. on the dance floor now. LoL!

Gosh Steve, I didn't know that they danced in there, maybe I'll go in one of these days! emoDance emoDance