CF report

[chanda]

I was in the water at 6:15 am with 6 sawbellies of which only 3 survived by the time I was ready to use them as baits. i don't like this about sawbellies. for the past 3 outings I had used shiners and it was a no show for the trout.
3 bellies, 3 hits. 1 hooked and my knot broke off! felt like a big fish. was fishing  15 to 20 ft deep. there were 4 other boats. One with 3 FM's in it and 3 others..single FM. spoke with one of them, who was passing by close to me to hear my cursing over the broken knot. asked him how he is doing..his answer was nothing so far in the CF. the other boat with 3 guys in it, had 4 rods out and had no action. they were in the water possibly at 5 am. I did not see any other FM getting any hits while I fished. I was out of bait by 7:30 am. trolled with dead bellies and then called it a day at 8:30 am.
at least fish was taking the bait and I got one solid hit which I hooked but lost it due to my own stupidity. my line had a blood knot connecting 2 different lines. this mornign I had looked at it..considered getting rid of the line in front of it but with bellies dieing on me, i was anxious to get my bait in the water asap...
a good fisherman once told me... after a hook, change all the knots..retie. he also said, trophy fishermans change their lines daily.
ah..well.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

Thanks for report. Hope to try CF again this weekend. 15-20FOW, how far away from your boat?

[chanda]

one on a bobber, 30 ft away and 15 ft down..is where i got the hit that i hooked and lost. other rod st down about 6 ft away from the boat and 20 ft with a sinker. I got 2 hits and it was weird...l use a strikeguard which popped. fish started to take the line for may be 5 seconds. I grab the rod, get ready to hook and line goes dead! I hooked in desperation to return an empty hook both time.
This has happened to me before in the same reservoir with shiners but close to shore.
btw: was fishing 40-50 ft deep water.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

one on a bobber, 30 ft away and 15 ft down..is where i got the hit that i hooked and lost. other rod st down about 6 ft away from the boat and 20 ft with a sinker. I got 2 hits and it was weird...l use a strikeguard which popped. fish started to take the line for may be 5 seconds. I grab the rod, get ready to hook and line goes dead! I hooked in desperation to return an empty hook both time.
This has happened to me before in the same reservoir with shiners but close to shore.
btw: was fishing 40-50 ft deep water.

Thanks.

[jager61]

Thanks for the report Chanda. I lost something today that felt pretty good too on Gleneida. We were saying that next week we're gonna spend sometime on CF. Continued good luck out there!

Mike

[John]

Jager when the weathers hot like it was today sometimes i buy a bag of ice and keep adding ice to the water i like using a small cooler the colder they are the longer and lively they stay. Save some lakers for me in glenida i was out there sunday morning and no luck. had a few hits might try this week sometime.

[chanda]

I have a small bucket..hate carrying all that weight down the slope and then back up. I did not think, my bellies will die within 30 minutes from bait shop to the boat! shiners are much durable but in CF trouts are not taking them.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

I got this Aerobait Bait Saver Bucket from Cabelas for $40. Best investment I ever made. It runs off just 1 D battery and this 1 battery gives you 60+ hours of use, so for me thats a couple of months.....has a simpe on/off switch.


http://www.cabelas.com/product/Aerobait-Bait-Saver-Bucket/1164628.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dbait%2Bbucket%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=bait+bucket&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

[jager61]

Thanks John that's a good idea to bring some ice. I was able to keep all the bait alive until I went through them the last three days mainly by keeping them in my basement in a large cooler periodically adding ice and sprinkling kosher salt in the water per the advice Mike gave me at Bob's. Worked well. I use a heavily insulated Frabill ice fishing bucket that I put ice in before heading out but I will def bring some more with me as you suggest. Don't worry, there are tons of lakers left in Gleneida! I see them all sitting fat and bloated on the sonar on the bottom in 95 FOW! They have so much to eat that it's tough to get them to bite sometimes! I use a copper wire set up and drag spoons on the bottom when they go that deep, similar to yanking lead but with a heavier spoon and a single O'Shaunessy hook. Try to drag it past them or bop them on the head to entice a strike! Old Adk method but VERY effective in mid summer!

Good luck-Mike

[new2titicus]

Hey Biz,

With the motor sitting on the bottom of the bucket, do you get a lot of vibration?  I would assume since it only takes one battery, its probably putting out the minimum amount of power to keep fish alive. 

My biggest problem is keeping the aerator quite?

-Paul

[chanda]

good advice all of you...problem is, I have 8-10 different buckets and have a battery powered aerator and electric one as well.  Every time I have to use the battery powered, my cell is dead and 5 in the morning, tough to find a battery. My schedule is such, I have to fit in fishing when I can if weather permits. I am always forgetting something or another. When I go upstate, I have my list, I work it a night before, also I have never used bellies in upstate reservoirs. I get browns with shiners all the time.
So large bucket, ice, kosher salt ( never heard that before) and cabella saver bucket...all great ideas.Thank you guys.
Next time I go to CF, I am going to post my next CF outing so any one of you guys posting here, are planning to be there, give a holler. I should be easy to spot..my boat has CK on it and it is Bk and white. I also sometimes wear a felt hat. I would love to go this Sunday..but calling in thunderstorms.we shall see.

[Biz-R-OWorld]

Hey Biz,

With the motor sitting on the bottom of the bucket, do you get a lot of vibration?  I would assume since it only takes one battery, its probably putting out the minimum amount of power to keep fish alive. 

My biggest problem is keeping the aerator quite?

-Paul

Yes it vibrates, but if im fishing directly under my boat i turn it off....I keep it on while rowing and driving in the car etc.

[chanda]

vibrations drive away fish? i did not know that. i never use the aerator in the boat but if i am using bellies in CF then I guess, I need to get used to it.
Wonder if anyone has luck with crappies this year?..in cannonsville I used to fill up my cooler in 2 hours. I have yet to fish for crappies there but my friend tells me it is dead..and so are other FM's. I have heard that crappies can have a off year every 2-3 years. they go thro' cycle..
anyone has any experience in CF this year/

[ChrisM]

i don't think you need to worry about scaring fish away with an aerator. i think any fish that are that sensitive, like browns, wouldn't get caught that close to your boat anyway. i've caught plenty of fish right under the boat with my aerator humming away, and i have a cheap noisy one. i think it bothers me more than the fish really. you can always put a piece of carpet or something under it if you find it's effecting the bite.

[chanda]

Thanks ChrisM. Once I went fishing with my wife and she was shushing me constantly...ultimately blamed me that I was  making too much noise that's why I did not get any bites! Not that my wife knows anything more than I do about fishing but it was mother's day and I did not argue. Your post puts me at ease..I know she is wrong about me making noise!