Shiner Fishing

[Bassba11ar21]

How do you shiner fish, I have done it before but it didnt go so well. Where do you throw the shiner, do you put a bobber on it, or do you let it free.  Im fishing at a place where the bass hit on top like crazy when they hit its like someones just jumped in the water, its that big. I think shiner would be a good thing to use. I was jus wondering how you do it, any secrets about it.

[BASSMAN1301599783]

This is a post i made a little while ago on the subject of live baits.

Here are some ways to fish with live bait.With a shiner use a #1 or #2 live bait hook tied straight to your line and hook it through the nose or the back, just under the spine, and cast it out and let it swim around. The other way is to put a bobber on the line at whatever you would like the leader to be, I usually make it a two to three foot leader, cast it out and it will swim around.

Another good live bait is the crayfish or crawdad. You should be able to get these at the local tackle shop. With the same size hook as the minnow pull off one or both of the claws and hook it through the middle of the tail, cast it out and let it sit on the bottom. But you might want to reel in and recast every 20 min or so because they like to get under rocks or stums and other types of cover.

Another choice is the muddpuppy or waterdog. As the two before youl need the same size hook and rig it the same as a crawdad. Or with these you can hook it through the face, I like the base of the tail becase they tend to live longer. Cast it out and let it sit on the bottom.

These are a couple of live bait options. You could also use a number of Craink baits and plastics and all kinds of other things and im sure these guys will have something to add, so I hope this helps. Good luck.   ;D

[BASSMAN1301599783]

A popper or buzzbait should work in your situation too. Just try to match your lure size to the size of the baitfish in your lake.

[roadwarrior]

I fish live shiners for smallmouth on the Tennessee River. Here's how:

Equipment:

7' spinning rod and high quality reel. Yo-Zuri Hybrid #4 & #6. Gamakatsu #6 Octopus Circle Hooks. #4 or #5 split shot.

Bait: The biggest minnows you can buy, they cannot be too big. Rig them with the hook through the lower lip and up through the top. Don't put it through the head, the minnow must be alive to be effective. Replace dead minnows, they don't work.

Approach:

Position the boat so that you can reach the bank or within 5' or so (25-35 yards out). Cast at a 90 degree angle or straight to shore and fish upstream (never downstream) at no more than a 45 degree angle. It is important that you maintain occasional contact with the bottom, the current will dictate the amount of weight you will need. Bring lots of hooks and weights, you will get hung up...a lot!

Depth & Structure:

We fish both sides of the river and most of the shoreline as far as fifteen miles below the Pickwick Dam. Although current breaks, riprap, pools and big boulders seem to produce the biggest smallmouth, we also pick them up on gravel bars, near boat ramps, dikes and just about any transition. We do NOT catch smallmouth on mud banks or bottoms. We sometimes fish the channel drop, mainly in the late winter, near gravel bars on the inside of the river. The vast majority of our 5lb + bass are caught in 5-15 ft of water, smaller fish (bankrunners) are shallow.

Current:

Current is everything. We can fish with two generators open (~20k cfs) but the preferred water flow is 40-80K cfs. We have caught big smallmouth with some gates open (140-180k cfs), but it's hard to run the boat and the water tends to muddy up at the higher flows.

[bassackwards]

excellent posts!

about putting the hook through the spine of the shad...  I take the point of the hook and flake off a scale and then put it just under the skin right behind that dorsal fin.

depending on where I want to fish, whether its towards the top of the water, I use a bobber, or the bottom structure, I sort of carolina rig it.

I wish they sold live crayfish around here.  I've been wantin to try them out.

[BASSMAN1301599783]

I wish they sold live crayfish around here. I've been wantin to try them out.

You might be able to find them at pet stores in your area. They are a bit more expensive but you can get a couple to try them out. Or you can make your own trap and catch them. The trap I made is just a two litre bottle cut off about an inch below whare it gets to be the full circumfrance of the rest of the bottle. Take the top that you cut off flip it around and duct tape it so the cap end is pointing twards the bottom of the bottle (dont forget to take the cap off before you tape it, I have done this)then drill some 1/4" holes in places around the thing to get it to fill up faster. Bait it with dog food, bologna or cut up macaral(sp) and just put it out about ten to twenty feet off shore. Leave it overnight and you should have some free bait in the morning. Or I think cabellas sells a trap. Ill check. Hope this helps ;D

[BASSMAN1301599783]

here ya go

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0002258014322a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=Ntk=Products&QueryText=+trap&_D%3AhasJS=+&Go.y=7&Nty=1&hasJS=true&No=40&%2Fcabelas%2Fcommerce%2FCabelasCatalogNumberFinder.giftCertificateURL=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Ftemplates%2Fgiftcertificate%2Fgiftcertificate.jsp%3Fid%3D0005586990011a%26podId%3D0005586%26catalogCode%3DIB%26navAction%3Djump%26indexId%3D&noImage=0&Ntt=+trap&Ntx=matchall&_D%3A%2Fcabelas%2Fcommerce%2FCabelasCatalogNumberFinder.giftCertificateURL=+&N=4887&Go.x=28&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form9&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&returnPage=search-results1.jsp

[bassackwards]

thats one great idea!

besides that, I can see if they have many crayfish in an area, like in a small lake.

[BASSMAN1301599783]

You would be surprised as to what waters hold them. Small ponds, big lakes, creeks, rivers. Creeks and rivers are usually your best bet. Find a pool or a cove where the current is not so bad and toss out your trap.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

When I was a kid I once got smart with my father before I left to go fishing,and he knocked me one in the eye. Would this count as shiner fishing? :

[BASSMAN1301599783]

LOL. I guess it would

[JaxBasser]

Down here in FL the ditched are LOADED with crawdads,i just take a net and drag it across the bottom,instant bait  ;D

And boy do the bass love those things lol