fishing 6-17 and 20

[merc1997 Bo]

brownie fishing at night is still good, but changing.  i took linda out friday evening to go chase the brownies.  the bite seemed to be a bit slower, but we still managed several of the slick critters.  ended up with 8 keepers and linda had one that was 3 1/2 plus.  the rest were just keeps.  still caught a good amount of shorties.  depth was still around 15 ft.  it did seem that something was changing though.  still caught them on the 1/2 jig with bluegill skirt.

last night was a different story.  could not get one bite in areas that had been working.  remember be saying that it seemed something was changing?  well, the difference was the bait was not present in the areas that had been working.  so, several stops later, i located some areas that had bait fish present and got back to work.  we caught multiple fish from to different spots.  depth was still the 15 ft. range, but we caught them on some pretty flat stuff.  especially when comparing to what we had caught them on previously.  the 1/2 jig was still the ticket.  ended up with some pretty nice ones.  10 keeps total.  in the brownie department, one pushing 4, one black in the same range, and 4 other brownies over 17 inches.

the presence of bait fish is really key to fishing the right area.  you can fish areas with bait present and not catch anything, but we did not catch anything without the bait there.  really do not know just how much the shad are going to move now from day to day, but does appear to me that it might be a go look for them every trip.  spring fishing is that way too.  they change daily, but more do to weather.  this time of the year, it is really based on where the food is at.  never forget to spend some electronics time to help with location and depth you need to be fishing.

bo

 

 

 

 

[Al Nancy]

Good job.

Yes! Gotta trust those electronics. Down & side scan really helped us. Early morning, we are getting keeper k's & good lm's when we find the baitfish.  Did get a 3lb smallie Sat morning & a shortie brownie yesterday. Fishing in 30 to 40 fow with trees.

[m&m]

Bo, thank you for the information.  Very sound advice.

Mike

[Nitro 750]

Thanks for the detailed report, good job.

[jackman724]

What kind of stuff should I be looking for? Heading down this weekend and would like to do a little night fishing. Will be in a rented boat with limited electronics but can get around ok.

Staying in the Lower James River area...am I looking for bluffs, bluff ends, flats, points, main lake, secondary?   Not looking for specific spots just structure type, etc.. I see catching in 15ft, pretty flat - how deep are you sitting the boat?

 

Any and all input is ALWAYS appreciated. I will post over the weekend if I am able to figure anything unique out. 

 

Thanks to all!

[Bill Babler]

54 minutes ago, jackman724 said:

What kind of stuff should I be looking for? Heading down this weekend and would like to do a little night fishing. Will be in a rented boat with limited electronics but can get around ok.

Staying in the Lower James River area...am I looking for bluffs, bluff ends, flats, points, main lake, secondary?   Not looking for specific spots just structure type, etc.. I see catching in 15ft, pretty flat - how deep are you sitting the boat?

 

Any and all input is ALWAYS appreciated. I will post over the weekend if I am able to figure anything unique out. 

 

Thanks to all!

Take another quick look at Bo's post, he answered every question you just asked.  Got to read this stuff very through and you will be surprised the amount of not only locations, but methods you will find.

Good Luck