Boiling in Good Hope Bay

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wayne gustaveson

wayne gustaveson

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Roger Sandall report:

This morning i went to red canyon and good hope. We didn't see a single boil in red canyon and figured we had missed them because it was about 10AM. On our way back through the north east end of good hope we found large boils and individual fish jumping close to shore in front of the many coves and points sticking out. In just under an hour we caught 45 fat healthy stripers off of strictly top water spooks. We caught stripers in anywhere from 50 feet of water to right on the shore in less than a foot of water. The most stripers we caught had the shad pinned against the shore in 3 feet of water. There was another boat that was fishing near us who had been out since the early morning and had been in boils from daylight till we met them at 10:30. They were catching so many they didnt have room in their boat. The boils are closer to shore and the stripers are more aggressive the closer they are to the shore. Ive seen a few slurps in the channel but they wont bite anything. We left good hope at a little after 11 there were still boils close to shore and only two boats in the whole bay. These were the largest and most aggressive boils i have seen. The next best has been around halls crossing also close to shore.
The shad have schooled up and we could see large dark clouds of them swimming under the boat trying to escape the stripers.
I am getting less than 10 shad per tow in my shad samples from both red canyon and bullfrog and am seeing more shad out in the open water.
A lot more people are out targeting stripers and less people after the small and large mouth.
 
wayne gustaveson said:
Roger Sandall report:

This morning i went to red canyon and good hope. We didn't see a single boil in red canyon and figured we had missed them because it was about 10AM. On our way back through the north east end of good hope we found large boils and individual fish jumping close to shore in front of the many coves and points sticking out. In just under an hour we caught 45 fat healthy stripers off of strictly top water spooks. We caught stripers in anywhere from 50 feet of water to right on the shore in less than a foot of water. The most stripers we caught had the shad pinned against the shore in 3 feet of water. There was another boat that was fishing near us who had been out since the early morning and had been in boils from daylight till we met them at 10:30. They were catching so many they didnt have room in their boat. The boils are closer to shore and the stripers are more aggressive the closer they are to the shore. Ive seen a few slurps in the channel but they wont bite anything. We left good hope at a little after 11 there were still boils close to shore and only two boats in the whole bay. These were the largest and most aggressive boils i have seen. The next best has been around halls crossing also close to shore.
The shad have schooled up and we could see large dark clouds of them swimming under the boat trying to escape the stripers.
I am getting less than 10 shad per tow in my shad samples from both red canyon and bullfrog and am seeing more shad out in the open water.
A lot more people are out targeting stripers and less people after the small and large mouth.
Click to expand...

That is what we ran into last week. I have some video of the stripers ramming the rocks on shore in large numbers. The schools were mainly along the banks, with Many fish in the open but not boiling. We would cast surface lures/flies at the occasional rings of disturbance in the open and hook up almost every time. Sometimes we just waited twenty minutes looking around, but we always found them and scored big.

TR
 
Roger Sandall - I went out sampling up at Trachyte and Good Hope yesterday. we did some fishing but couldnt find any boils. we were up there early but still nothing. I am still getting shad in my tows up there. the water temperature is about 84 degrees on the surface so if a boil does appear it goes down quick. on our way back we found boils and slurps in the main channel between halls launch ramp and the ferry ramp and I was able to catch them on some top water lures and rattle traps. I went back out in the evening with some cloud cover and cooler temperatures and we found boils and slurps in the same spot between halls and the ferry ramp. top water spooks and rattle traps worked great and we were able to catch 15. I went back out this morning to the launch ramp at halls and we caught a few chasing slurps. rattle traps worked the best. the slurps near the marina and the shore were the better fishing and they would hit more often while the slurps out in the bay wouldnt hit any lures we threw.
 
Striper Swiper said:
Wayne,

Once you stop seeing shad in your tows where do you expect the shad to go? Shoreline cover?

Thanks
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In May and June we go as far back in the canyons as possible to target larval shad. Then in July and August we take the big boat out in the main bays and try for open water shad. When shoreline cover is available shad will move into it for protection. When no cover is available they just have to school up in open water and hope the stripers dont find the school.
 
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