Tip

Late into the fishing season baitfish are very important. Bait fish are identified on the fish finder as giant gray or black masses on your screen. These clouds of baitfish though they may be high in the water column are still being marauded and eaten by walleyes, and though the bait fish are suspended often walleyes that relate to these bait fish, are hanging near the bottom.

The reason I posted this is I get guys asking how to approach these clouds, and I work the bottom still, this has proven most successfull for me versus looking suspended.

Will suspeneded work? I do not doubt it, but again this is my approach.

Keep Catchin

Turk

Quote:

---

The reason I posted this is I get guys asking how to approach these clouds, and I work the bottom still, this has proven most successful for me versus looking suspended.
Will suspended work? I do not doubt it, but again this is my approach.

---

Very cool post Turk

Two different species we are fishing for but, I believe when going through the cloud of bait fish, someone on the bottom is still going to smack easy prey when presented correctly

If it does not work slow and close to the bottom, a quick troll will tell you if the suspended fish want to play
If not, move on

Thanks for the read

I\’ve also had the theory of long lining through them, because the ball of bait will probably move away from the boat, and come back together after the boat has passed, so long lining the cranks allows the bait to come back together, then your cranks come by it.

Any Input on that theory? Something someone passed on to me that used to fish the great lakes a lot.

Turk – I have had similar experiences when drifting for channel cats on the St Croix. Locate the large bait pods and drift through and around them. The channels are on the bottom in the vicinity – they must suspend at some time to feed on the shad but even when not actively feeding they do not get very far away and they will definitely take a hunk of fresh cut bait drifted by them. It seems if you can find the bait, you can find the channel cats. When you get the channels in the boat you will find them fat and round and just full of shad. Watch out because they will crap up your boat.

I have also had luck following the gulls which will signal those bait pods near the surface and then trolling through the bait schools. It seems like a good way to find some of those fall season white bass. Those shad pods are the primary forage for a lot of different fish species – channel cats; white bass; walleye.

Good conversation… In terms of the bait moving from the boat, I think they could care less about boats and move based on some form of collective thought. But who knows for sure? I’ve seen schools near the docks, under the boat, by the bridges, over breaklines they aren’t shy.

The clouds I find or like to find for fishing, go from nearly 6 feet deep to the bottom, there must be 1,000 shad in these schools, how and when they move is something I’d like to know.

I agree Steve, I’ve always believed fish run with each other, meaning species mixing in with each other of like size, channel cats and eyes together, a common occurance in my book.

Keep Catchin’

Turk