Good Night at Nickajack for Stripers 8/5/05

[JerDog]

Went out to Nickajack last night from 7-9 and caught 3 nice fish. 10, 6, 5, lbs. Fish were on the top busting all over the place. One of the stripers spit out a bunch of 6" threadfins. The bite was on for a real good hour at sunset. They were popping and chasing bait all over. Did not catch the fish with a topwater bait, but used a big redfin and Matuzo down about 6-8 feet, trolling. There were several other boats out there but did not see anyone catch anything. Need to get the Zara Spooks out for that topwater action!

 

[polo-dog]

It sounds like you have done a lot of trolling and feel really comfortable with it. I would like to learn more about it. I have a bass boat with rails front and back and rod holder mounts for all four. The rails in back are not on the transom but on the lateral sides of the boat. When I think about the spread behind the boat, I can see that if the two front and two rear lines are that close together they will be a problem when I turn or get a fish on. How do you deal with this potential problem? Do you just run two lines?

 

[JerDog]

You must have a plan if you are going to troll. Very difficult to do by yourself. I only troll two lines when below the dam. Both my pole holders are attached in the back corners of the boat. When a fish hits, the boat goes to Netural. One person fights the fish and the other gets the other rod up. SAFETY always comes first so the other line is reeled up only when it is safe. This works out perfectly. On days when there is little boat traffic I will put out a 3rd rod and set the rods at different angles.

 

[polo-dog]

JerDog, thanks. I do fish alone alot and thought that it would be tough to fish the river by myself, especially if I had to use my outboard.

 

[DHaun]

Great post Jerdog and Nice fish too! I really want to see that topwater bite, I saw some guys in the right spot from shore do very well with spooks a month or so ago... I have my spook tied on and ready for next time I can get down there! It is very important in my opinion to have two or more fishing in the boils. It can be fast action and with hang-ups, driving with one hand and trying to navigate the drift properly with a rod in the other is not recommended. Being safe is important, but certainly manageable provided one pays attention and respects that environement.