Decided to go to Murray on Friday afternoon, got the boat in the water about 6:30 and by 7:30 had the 5 fish limit, all over 21", all caught on herring. Left them biting, it was one of those days you wished you had had some help in the boat or either a youngster to really enjoy some hot action. Went back on Sunday afternoon at 5pm and again had the limit of 5 in an hour and a half, the difference this time was all were caught on bream, yes bream. It took me about 15 minutes to catch about a dozen little bream and the stripers didn’t care I offered no herring. Cheaper too, fifty crickets only cost $2.68. Anyway, the striper fishing is off the chain, it is time to go. ALl caught in the middle of the lake between Spence and the towers in about 80 feet of wter fishing about 10 feet off the bottom. Go get em fellas.
I appreciate the post highcotton… Going to try my luck maybe tomorrow eve…
Army (RET)-(C/S-Charlie22)
2010 1860 Duracraft
60hp Mercury EFI
What size bream were you using? Any pics of the fish or maybe the finder?
The bream were all very small, a size you would normally throw back. About the size of three fingers held together. To catch them, simply take a number 8 hook on a ultralight with a cork about a foot deep, throw right up against the dam wall rocks, you can load the livewell pretty quick.
I had planned on doing the same thing many times, but just got too lazy to do it. I always caught a lot of small white looking bream, that I guess were maybe perch or something and had planned to get up early and catch a bunch then fish for stripers. But then the hering got bigger from Lake World and I never thought about it again.
Now when I go to Wateree in a few months since they don’t have bait shops everywhere, you bet I will be trying to catch my own bait.
INDIGO BAY 170- 90 JOHNSON
have used bream on clarks hill many times–my largest striper this year so far (14#) came from pulling bream behind planer boards-- usually just toss the cast net on em at the boat ramp -they live a lot longer than herring on the hook – just remember they count towards your limit so you cant fill the bait tank up with em
84 HYDRA SPORT 1800SS
89 Yamaha 150
‘BAD HABIT’
89 TRACKER 17 TX
MERC 50
‘OL LEAKY’
Shouldn’t be a problem, I don’t think my tank will hold a limit of bream. Which would be 30 solo, or 60 tandem. Maybe I just need to build a bigger tank.
INDIGO BAY 170- 90 JOHNSON
Better not let the man see you keeping brem caught in a cast net!
is it ileagal? that figures ! i gotta check the regs on that one - i have been seen by the man doing it -all he said was i wasnt supposed to be casting the net that close to a boat ramp-but he never checked to see what i was casting on – he could clearly tell i was catching em for bait since i had nothing but striper rods in the boat - guess i got lucky that time
84 HYDRA SPORT 1800SS
89 Yamaha 150
‘BAD HABIT’
89 TRACKER 17 TX
MERC 50
‘OL LEAKY’
Boatpoor is correct - it is unlawfuol to catch and keep bream caught in a cast net. They must be caught using bonified leagal means - that is a hook and line. I notice too thaqt you will not usally catch a bunch of peanut size stripers on bream. Most fish caught are of the larger sizes of 20" and up. Other advantages of using bream is they are much easier to keep alive, live longer on the hook, don’t leave scales everywhere, you can cast them really far on a free line and usually are more frisky on the hook which, I believe helps when the fishing slows down. BTW - white perch make good bait too.
well thanks - yall saved me the hassle of a future ticket–guess ill throw a ultralight n the boat from now on and plan on it taking a little longer to get the bait–they do work well -especially on those last minute trips when the bait shop is closed
84 HYDRA SPORT 1800SS
89 Yamaha 150
‘BAD HABIT’
89 TRACKER 17 TX
MERC 50
‘OL LEAKY’
Just keep throwing the cast net and keep all the hering and white perch you catch. Just throw the bream back. White perch is not a gamefish any longer and can be caught by net with no limits.
INDIGO BAY 170- 90 JOHNSON
What size hook are u guys using on the larger bream? + stinger? Ever use them the size of your hand or maybe a lil smaller? T
I use a 1/0 Eagle Claw Live Bait Hook. I hook them in the lips on weighted downlines. Go from the bottom lip up if you want them to smim down while freelining. In the early part of the year I hook them just behing the dorsal fin , this tends to make them swim up, better for shallower water freelining. I have thought about using a stinger much like you do in saltwater for Kings but have never really thought I needed it on the stripers. However, I do notice I get a few more “pull downs” without a hook-up using bream because it is a little more difficult for the striper to get the bream swallowed than a much more slender herring.
how about another regs question (sorry for the hijack highcotton)i have access to a pond full of “roaches” (over-grown shiners)–would it be legal to use these for bait if they dont come out of the lake u are useing them in ?–they look like they would make excellent striper bait but have never used live ones–have taken a bag full to chum with in the past
84 HYDRA SPORT 1800SS
89 Yamaha 150
‘BAD HABIT’
89 TRACKER 17 TX
MERC 50
‘OL LEAKY’
It is unlawful to use any nonindigenous fish as bait that is not already
established in the water body being fished except the following
minnows: fathead minnows, golden shiners, and goldfish, including
‘black salties’.
INDIGO BAY 170- 90 JOHNSON
aren’t “roaches” golden shiners? I caught one when I took the kids to gibson pond when, looked like perfect striper bait. I also wondered why no shops sell trout for bait. I used them at Raystown lake and they were great.
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
Tom, didnt we buy golden shiners up at the marina on the big saluda. Forget the name of it. But its on 391 right at the river black’s bridge maybe?.. i just have never done real well with them. But then again that was back when i couldnt find a single fish in the winter…
Tom, didnt we buy golden shiners up at the marina on the big saluda. Forget the name of it. But its on 391 right at the river black’s bridge maybe?.. i just have never done real well with them. But then again that was back when i couldnt find a single fish in the winter…
Those were just shiners. the golden shiner I caught on gibson pond was about 8". Rick Kelleymeyer uses them (regular shiners) in the winter and does really good
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude