Dave thinks I had a bite. What do you think???

Turtle??

BIRDDOG

Could be. A friend was with us and he said there’s an eel in the Mississippi River that does that too.

I would have to say turtle on first glance.

Looks very similar to the damge done by a softshell turtle.

I really dont know what to make of it.. It doesnt look like something a turtle would do either.. we have never caught or seen a turtle at that location either(many years), I dont think there are any.

If you look at the wound closely it appears to be more than one bite. chunks were bit off and not ripped off, and there was no stress to the area where the hook was. The bites are very clean whatever it was. Turtles will grab a bait and tear away at it with their claws(I have had them in aquariums) to rip chunks off. That is why turtles are often hooked in a foot.

I wont even try to guess what bit that shad, but I really dont think it was a turtle.

Maybe a walleye? Just thinking out loud here.

How was the current where you were fishing?

We were using shad in some pretty heavy current and when I would real in to move or re-cast, my shad would have big chunks missing like yours did. I am pretty sure it was the current rippin them apart. They are pretty mushy after being frozen and thawed.

Just my 2 cents……….

There wasn’t much for current, Tony. And if that was it, wouldn’t it happen to all of our baits? Mine was the only one looking like that. Who knows.
Whatever it was I didn’t catch it (and I’m not sure if I want to!). Tyler outfished us all once again!!! Here is his catch of the night… a 4½ lb channel. That’s our friend, Tom, with the Smallmouth.

We had a great time last night. Tom and Octavious joined us for a little cookout at the River. Food and friends on a beautiful night… what more could ya want?! Well… maybe some fish would have been nice.

Why do I have a feeling when Tyler gets older we might as well all just hang up our rods or start fishing for bass or something? The kid is a natural and catches more than most of us already. And in my case, I think he already catches bigger ones than me! Pretty soon he is going to be catching all the big pigs too!

No kidding, Mike!! Think about poor me… it’s pretty bad when your 5 year old tells you “Mommy, since you never catch anything you can reel one of my fish in tonight if you want to.”

gocatfish.. there is no current where we are fishing there. We get a brief period of minimal current when they open the lock, but its not enough to do anything.

Then I have no idea what was chewing on it. After lookin gat the pic of Tyler I know where you were and there is not much current there. I haven’t been down there since spring. That little guy is going to be one heck of a fisherman if he keeps it up. My dad says he regrets putting me in the boat so young, I was in the boat with mom and dad at 6 months old. After 27 yrs he has become a very good net man

Looks like a small gar to me.

Green Sunfish have been known to hit pretty hard.

Hello Dave & Sherry, Steve here. Could it be Crayfish. I’ve pulled many of those in fishing minnows on the bottom on lakes and creeks, but never the river?

Aha! I think crayfish was the answer that we may have been looking for!!!

Steve! Hi!
I hadn’t thought of crayfish, but I guess it could very well be. You’re so smart!

Looks like what a carolina blue crab does to some shark bait…my 2cents

I vote Crayfish if there is hardly any current. Otherwise turtle or gar. After using shad they are a really soft bait, still figuring them out.
thanks
Larry

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After using shad they are a really soft bait, still figuring them out.

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Yes, shad are a soft bait. We have been using small (3/0) cicle hook with the best results. We just hook them once right through the gill plate and out the other side on whole shad or heads, and the body section holds on ok with small diameter hooks if hooked in the thickest part of the meat just below the spine. If the hook is thicker, double hook it in the thick meat area. I think the reason the circle hook is working better is because it is lighter diameter wire the hook is made from and it doesnt tear up the bait putting it on the hook.

Most days the cats are hitting these VERY aggressivly and holding the bait on is not a problem.. the days the fish are being fincky and tearing away at the bait is a bit frustrating. If you have *kitty cats* in the area, they will rip them to shreds fast.

We had a decent night last night also. We had a range of bait out and shad were the only thing producing.

Perhaps it was an alien that ripped out of the little guy’s chest?

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Perhaps it was an alien that ripped out of the little guy’s chest?

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You seen the rerun of Alien vs Preditor recently too eh?

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Perhaps it was an alien that ripped out of the little guy’s chest?

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You seen the rerun of Alien vs Preditor recently too eh?

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Sweet movie….Got to admit theres no lulls in the action for that movie. Hope there is another sequel like they are leading onto.