Tuesday Evening Report

I got out last night from 5-11pm on pool 2. What agreat night to be on the river. I think I saw 6-8 other boats all night, and the best part is only one barge. My plan was to hit a few main channel spots, but with a SSE wind it made anchoring a little difficult. I got set up on 2 spots and got nothing, no runs, no nothing So I packed up and headed to some side channels and backwater areas. First spot was a long outside bend with minimal current. Picked up 1 channel that went 27″ and had 3 other runs that I missed. Moved about 50yds upstream behind a huge root mass and tossed out a bullie.As Iwas grabbing some dinner my rod bounced really good and couple seconds later line began pulling off the reel. Set dinner down, grabbed the rod……set the hook and………..pulled my bullie from the grips of death . Being a little frustrated I put cut bait out again and picked up 2 channels. 1-20″ and 1-24″. I spent about an hour all together behind this root mass. Hit one more spot in the area I was and got nothing. Moved back up river a little ways to my final spot for the evening and ended the night at 11 with 3 channels and two bullies that I rescued from being dinner

It was a perfect night to be out, minimal traffic, not unbearably hot and a few decent fish.

That’s very nice of you to save your bullheads like that. I wonder if there is some sort of stinger hook rig a guy could make that wouldn’t snag up too often. Maybe a treble hook in the corner of the bullhead’s mouth if you hook them through the tail??

Nice report Mate,
If you miss the fish next time and he doesnt get your bait. Put your bullie back down there. The fish thinks (if they think) that it missed the boat on dinner, and will be glad to see the fresh bullie is back on the menu. Some times it seems that the fish is a little pissed that it missed dinner the first time and makes darn sure that it wont miss it again.
Sounds like you got the channels dialed in good.
thanks for sharing
Larry

Good point to make Larry I did put him back out both times I got a bullie back, but to no avail. I always try to place my bait, if I still have it, back where I got bit. I have noticed on a couple occasions, that placing your bait slightly in front or back of where you first got bit produces also. I kinda think the fish may be searching for whatever it is they just killed. I also have heard that flatties will come up and kill that bait first and come back to swallow it. Kind of explains the short burst from the clicker you here before the fish turns and runs.

As far as the channels go- yes I do have them dialed in When I first started fishing cats I only fished channels. Probably close to 4 yrs chasing just channels.

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that placing your bait slightly in front or back of where you first got bit produces also.

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Excellent advise. Because with other fish I have gone after in the current, when ever I missed a bite I would cast right back out there only down current a ways. My thinking was if they wounded it they would know that the current would carry it down a ways, and that they would be looking for it down river a little bit.

The picture I get in my head is a flathead slamming a bullhead and crushing it. Then just sitting there taking it’s sweet old time watching it and then *POOF* we yank it away. I’d imagine that might confuse them a little.

Its channel cats tearing up your bullheads right now. I have had flats crush them… but in this neck of the woods right now it seems that everything that is down there when the dinner bell rings is getting tore up by channel cats, including bullheads.

I think its what would be called the post-spawn channel at bite right now. When they come through, they seem to do it with their mouth wide open.