fished today,finally got to go,SMOKED them on freelines and down rods,10-31ft deep in and near the river channel,upper end,a beautiful day catching some beautiful lake murray stripers.
Lee, thanks for posting! We appreciate the contribution of outstanding anglers. This should spawn a little more activity on this forum.
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175 Yammy Jammer
Yes, thanks for the report. I think I know where you are talking about but would you be so kind to post the club map coordinates so I can be sure?
do not have a club map,gets me in trouble at times,look in the channels around the upper portions of the lake,they will be there,when you find them it will be large schools of fish.
quote:
Originally posted by catchalldo not have a club map,gets me in trouble at times</font id=“red”>,look in the channels around the upper portions of the lake,they will be there,when you find them it will be large schools of fish.
Umm…okay. </font id=“red”> 
I do appreciate the extra information, though.
Helping my fellow enthusiast is one of the reasons I joined MSC.
The best fishing days I’ve ever had was when a helpful tip was passed my way. Not sure what that says about my ability as a fisherman, but it’s the truth. I try and return the favor whenever I can, especially to people willing to listen and who act responsibly.
Do we have two Lee Thomas in the club?
I’m right there with Catchall on not having a map and posting coordinates. I used to, but some people didn’t want to fish with me because I supposedly talked too much:smiley: I will tell you things like Big River, Little River, Elbow, Bear, and Big Pool along with depth range and technique on the board. Lee actually gave useful info in a few words.
First of all, 10 to 31 feet deep. If you look at an LM map at the river forks or have experience, you know above the river forks there are limited productive areas that meet that description. You’d be hard-pressed to find water 31 feet deep above Blacks. That leaves below Blacks, up Little River, and down to say Ramp 4. You can ride a little and find fish. Get too far up LR and there’s not 31 feet of water. We’re talking maybe a 4-5 mile stretch. Get out there. Ride, look at your graph, and fish. Anyone who wants someone to say “drop lines here” should pay for a guide. Not trying to be a wiseacre, but finding your own fish is part of the fun.
My .02.
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175 Yammy Jammer
Good stuff Fog and great advice. Nice seeing you and your Dad today on the water. See you at the banquet
TOM GITTO
Tom, I’m glad you got to meet Diddy(Yes. I mean to spell it that way. Jennifer’s father is “Daddy.” Mine is “Diddy.”
) Put the man on perch and he’ll rake em in! We ended up keeping 51 perch and one nice keeper striper on 4 pound test line. There were plenty of short stripes in the mix on tuffie minnows. It was great to get him on the water! Getting together to clean fish after church tomorrow. Thanks for your custom bucktails and streamers. I’m sure they’ll come in handy!
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175 Yammy Jammer
I have been wanting to fish for perch … any info on technique, bait, “general location”. Anything is more than I know now.
Chumin
Fogman and his Dad are two of the best I’ve seen at perch catching. I’m usually fair at it.
That being said, perch will hit almost any live or small artificial bait. Including minnows, worms, cut bait and of course my favorite the small spoons. The location and depth can change almost daily depending on water depth, temp, clarity and available forage. Your best bet is to be prepared with some type of live, manufactured, or cut bait even if you plan to fish artificials. Turn your depthfinder on and look for pods of bait normally close to the bottom and drop your baits to the bottom. I always let the spoons contact the bottom if I’m fishing for perch. With the natural baits I usually raise them up 6" to 2’ off of the bottom.
Being honest, I have several spots where I’ve consistently caught perch, off and on for years, when showing next to nothing on the depthfinder. I usually fish those spots for atleast 5 minutes every time I’m out before leaving them. When you locate the perch, remember what the conditions are like. On your next trip out if conditions are similar you will already have a good starting point. Also, I change out the treble hooks on a lot of the spoons to larger red treble hooks. I’ve lost some pretty big fish over the years due to the hooks bending straight. The red probably doesn’t really help, but it seems like it does, so I figure if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Spoonmaster has taught us a lot about perch jerkin over the years. He’s too modest:smiley:
As far as what to look for on the graph, his comments are spot on. However, I’ve found that what we often think is bait is the perch themselves. They school very tightly to avoid predation just like shad and herring and will give the appearance of a double bottom.
Elbow area was where we fished yesterday in 45 feet of water off the river channel. Contrary to what some people have been saying, we did catch around 20 on the Berry spoons. However, they were biting the minnows so well that we didn’t jerk as much as usual. I would recommend, Michael, that you get a bucket of small minnows and some ultra-lights with 4-6 pound line rigged down rod style with a 1/4 sinker. The lead should only be about a foot to a #4 gold Aberdeen hook.
Find em, spotlock or anchor, drop to the bottom, and tighten up. Tapping the bottom of the boat also helps. Go get em!!
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175 Yammy Jammer
Appreciate the help … I’ll post after I get out and back.
Chumin
Another thing I forgot to mention. Experiment with different name brands, sizes and colors of spoons. I have been surprised more than once at the color preferrence on certain days. Once in very dingy/muddy water the only color they wanted was the gold (not pretty in my opinion) Berry spoon. They simply would not hit any other color.
Also, I usually bump two different colors of spoons on two rods starting out to try and find the best color sooner. I like Berry’s White/silver, Gold, Chartreuse with the reflector removed, and the small silver CC spoons for starters. Always be prepared with a big dipnet because you will hook some pretty big fish on the spoons.
You can also drop shot 2" white Berkley minnows in the perch. They are surprisingly effective at times.
Chumin, do let us know how you do with the perch. Spoonmaster and I have coached you up pretty well:wink:
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175 Yammy Jammer
Will do … appreciate it … just need to get it all together and get out.
Chumin
I understand if someone keeps their fishing honey hole close to their vest. Especially if they have been burned in the past. It doesn’t hurt to ask though. Everyone has their own way of doing it- me personally, I’ll give you the GPS coordinates if I have them. I just feel there are plenty of fish for everyone.
I agree finding your own fish is part of the challenge but I wouldn’t say it is part of the fun. When a man works 70 hours then finally gets a chance to hit the lake, getting in the right area to start looking can make the difference between a fun day and a frustrating, gas-wasting day. Even with the Club map it still only gets you in a general area- not a pinpoint place to cast. I look forward to the time in my life when I can keep tabs on where the fish are and be a lot more consistent in my search- I still get skunked pretty regularly. As I said, I do appreciate Lee pointing in the right direction- it’s a big lake!
Though I’ve been fishing for Linesiders on Murray for over 10 years I still don’t know all the terms that the seasoned veterans use such as Elbow, Big Pool, and Bear. Can I get a translation?
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Originally posted by scgmcThough I’ve been fishing for Linesiders on Murray for over 10 years I still don’t know all the terms that the seasoned veterans use such as Elbow, Big Pool, and Bear. Can I get a translation?
Usually when someone says upper lake they usually mean above spinners/#4, Big gap is around dreher, the elbo is right below Rocky Creek (if you look on a map you can see the river bends like an elbow)Big pool is anything below, Bear is Bear Creek, crystal lake is the water on the west side of dreher.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
Thanks! Anyone got any more to add?
I know the Little Gap is the entrance side of Dreher. What about Towers? Is that the dam towers? Condos? Is that the condominiums on the right just before the Dam?
scgmc - Most of those locations you’re asking about are detailed on the MSC club map. Do you not have one? If not. I’d suggest snagging one at the next meeting.
War Eagle 754 Ducks Unlimited - Yamaha 75