This board is................

[rapprunner]

DEAD!

[FishPrintGuy]

The new largemouth bass board split it up too much. Maybe when trophy catfish season starts up this board will get some attention.

[madtom]

largemouth board? Do you think I can ask them guys to save them for bait? Shad are hard to find right now. A cat might like something to eat.

[FishPrintGuy]

It seemed to me that the freshwater forum was more active before the Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass forum was opened. Maybe not enough posts to split up - neither are very active boards. I do a mix of fresh and saltwater fishing but 99% of my freshwater fishing is for Bass although I catch the occasional crappie, catfish and bluegill. I'm hoping to get on some Pickerel as soon as the weather clears.

As for shad ... where are you? The creeks off the James River have shad right now. I cast netted half a dozen 8" stinkers the other night while shrimping. I'm freezing a few bags of shad for the winter giant cat action on the James. If anyone thinks shad are always small - check out the photo.

[racn35]

NOT LIKE THE WINTER MONTHS THO...DUTCH GAP HOLDS 1000'S OF 20 INCH BATFISH.....

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/RACN35/Bait-/March8th2008006.jpg

[CaptainK.Salmon]

Thats were all the shad are going.

[Hookman571]

Where is Capt Joe Cannon?

He don't answer calls, he don't post here anymore. Has he become so famous that he forgot his old friends?

If we all took up a collection do you think we could get the $5.00 for his ransom or should we charge the kidnapper $20.00 for us to take him back?

[cgBosun3]

Sorry to be such a rookie, but...how do you catch your shad for bait? I've been a saltwater guy till now and this big catfish thing has all my attention! I've tried large minnows, but not the same as what y'all are throwing out there. I caught my only decent-sized cat on an eel I caught earlier in the day, and I can't find anyone that has eels for sale between Chestefield and Hopewell.:helpsmilie:
Any useful advice would be appreciated!

[martineta]

Learn to throw a cast net. Not to hard. Watch u tube how to videos. Or cheat and buy a gill net. (my choice)

[mini moe]

Sorry to be such a rookie, but...how do you catch your shad for bait? I've been a saltwater guy till now and this big catfish thing has all my attention! I've tried large minnows, but not the same as what y'all are throwing out there. I caught my only decent-sized cat on an eel I caught earlier in the day, and I can't find anyone that has eels for sale between Chestefield and Hopewell.:helpsmilie:
Any useful advice would be appreciated!

They have eels, call before you go.
Sandy Point Superette. It's about 5 or six miles from Jordan Point.

804) 829-2537


17701 John Tyler Memorial Highway,
Charles City, VA 23030

[JPritch]

Fin and Skin on Rt 5 in Varina has the biggest eels I've ever seen for sale. Leave some for me if you go.

Shad has been very tough this year. Nets full of catfish every set. Wonder when the state will catch on and what they will do about it?

Time to catch bluegill and crappie near home and bring them with me.

[madtom]

I would love to see a no gill net law with the man pwer to enforce it.

[martineta]

So Madtom,,,,You a Biologist or what? Didn't think so!

[redcat]

Are you kidding? The little bit of pressure the catfisherman are putting on the population is tiny compared to the vast resourse and available water acreage.
This is probally a natural swing in location and population.
Not to be feared but it should be monitered.
The answer to the question is not more regulation!!~!!!

[cgBosun3]

Thanks for the help! Cast net - I'll practice on my wife's cats. They don't swim too fast.
JUST KIDDING! Eels it is; by the way, the Gulp! eels don't seem to work with catfish. Not stinky enough, I guess. Rockfish seem to like them okay.

[madtom]

I have been fishing the river for 6 years. I spend a lot of time on the river. (2-3 days a week) Bait has been hard to find since the summer. I still have a few hot spots, but as for going to DB and throwing the cast net a few times Doesn't work for me anymore. I also think it puts a little skill back into fishing. I spent a cpl of years learning how to throw a net. I just got a gill net this Jan. and that bc someone gave it to me. I am a fairly young guy and would love to see my grand kids be able to cach these big ones here. If they don't have anything to eat they aren't going to get big.
So if you know when a giant pod of bait is that is like it used to be few years ago at Deep Bottom, turkey island, or by Jordan, let me know.

[fatcatonthejames]

I wish you would tell me where these HOT SPOTS are... I will agree with Madtom. When I first started doing this there was only a couple of us who had gill nets and you could catch bait anywhere. Now with everyone on the river with a gill net the bait is a lot harder to find than it use to be 5 years ago. I put my gill net out the other day for the first time in months in a really good spot and caught no cutters. The bait is not as plentiful as it was years ago.

[wasabi]

I just checked my fishing logs. I fish for catfish less and less now so kinda forget about bait efforts. Turns out my last trips over the past year all were slow to catch bait, both cast net and gill net. Surprising. I just assumed river was freaking full of them and I sucked with picking the right location those days. Kinda disturbing. Maybe thay have just moved from the norrmal spots I try.

[RANGER690]

Wayne, there are still plenty. I was crappie fishing today. Idled thru this spot. Look at the gizzards! They are hanging out in different spots. Call me and I will tell you where this is.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p256/Ranger690/bait.jpg

Dayton

[Capt.Nick]

DEAD! You guys need your own "Catfish Board"

[BBCroaker]

Then it would really be dead cause not to many others post even though they fish for stripers ,crappie, bream, L M bass and small mouth up river and also surrounding lakes and creeks.

[mini moe]

That's cool Dayton. Is that showing 80ft to each side in 13ft. of water? Looks like your cone angle would shoot out of the water that shallow and hit a bird.

Dennis

[racn35]

Launched out of HOPEWELL on Sunday and over by the plant with the big pilings ( you took me there once Dayton,with Chad ) and the bait was stacked up thick we didnt even set a net out- just threw Tony's 10 foot cast net and got bait in 2 throws - 8 the first time and 5 the second time.......

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b318/RACN35/KEELER%20and%20CAPT%20TOM/FishScope.jpg

[JPritch]

How did the fishing go?

[mini moe]

Ditto, Jamie. What's up with the no report?

[racn35]

Ditto, Jamie. What's up with the no report?

ok ok if you insist >
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/virginia-angler/249150-eeln-reeln-3-dec-2008-a.html