Turtles-Great Blue Herons-Kingfishers etc

[kennethdaysale]

I'm sure most of you vets have made this connection but since there's lots of beginners here I thought it wouldn't hurt to share. Spring is coming (sooner than later for some of us) but no matter the latitude.....it happens. Early in the spring fish are drawn to warmer water like a magnet....doesn't have to be much, even .5 degrees will pull them...find a bank or cove thats 2-3-4+ degrees warmer and wonderful things can happen. You can play by the book and look for sheltered coves on the NW side..you can fish wood and rip rap thats been in the sun all day..you can run all over staring at your temp gauge...and thats all good or it wouldn't be in the book. But(i don't want to come off sounding all Rick Clunn) the fastest way to find this highly productive water is to look for turtles, springtime turtles will always be in the warmest water. Then as the spring progresses you should always be aware of the fish eating birds like the Herons and such. The Herons fish for a living and don't just land on some random bank willy nilly. If he's there so are the baitfish he wants. If you spend more time looking for the signs of life in and around the water instead of your Humminbird you'll be suprised how much you'll learn.

[WTL]

Personally, I drive around the lake looking for tournament fishermen who are catching fish, then pull up a few yards away and start casting.

[keithdog]

All good things to watch for Ken. An experienced angler knows to watch for "signs" as he is fishing throughout the day. Mother nauter has plenty of them for sure. Another example takes place after the bass have spawned. Generally, durring the first full moon after the bass have spawned, the shad will spawn. And the bass will be there in force to take advantage of the shad. Gulls and herons will often identify where the spawning shad are located as they will also be taking advantage of the easy meal.

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by WTL

Personally, I drive around the lake looking for tournament fishermen who are catching fish, then pull up a few yards away and start casting.

Hey Don't Bogart that Hole!Don't hide it divide it

[wallywallace]

Originally Posted by WTL

Personally, I drive around the lake looking for tournament fishermen who are catching fish, then pull up a few yards away and start casting.

hahahhaha
hey i actually do this when i am lucky to have a boat, thought this was some dumb redneck knowledge, i just figured,

[wallywallace]

not the tournament, i ment the turtles

[bamabassman]

good things for sure. here is another one ol ZOOKER taught me. first thing in the morning, go where the sun hits the ROCKS first. the rocks will heat up faster thus bring in the bait fish, thus bringing the predator fish, ala; bass. i have actually done this and had great results in early spring.

[kennethdaysale]

Here's another tidbit I learned as a boy from my Uncle ( I may have posted this before somewhere...?? sometimes I suspect early onset Alzheimers).........whenever we went fishing he would gut the first couple of bass we caught and examine the stomach contents to find out what they were eating. That was back in the late 60's early 70's, these days instead of killing a perfectly good bass just to see whats in there, I carry a big turkey baster...works great..just fill it with water insert down throat..gently fill stomach with water...and tah-dah..everything comes pouring out..kinda like a reverse enema.
***interpreting the collected data and understanding how to change/tweak your lure/technique/presentation as a result is the subject of another thread***

[wallywallace]

jeez, Ken, thats hardcore, probably wouldn do that unless in a tournament

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by wallywallace

jeez, Ken, thats hardcore, probably wouldn do that unless in a tournament

Nah....Turkey baster $2.00 15 seconds of time
Useful Info .......priceless
No harm-No foul........softcore

[bassinbob]

Hey ken what do you usually pump out of them?

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by bassinbob

Hey ken what do you usually pump out of them?

All depends on the BOW, time if year etc, but biggest % is always baitfish of various kinds and sizes. bluegill>pumpkinseed>shellcrackers(redear sunfish)>shiners>minnows>shad.....wide variety of insects...the occaisional crawdad etc.....they usually will be targeting a specific species and size . Last year out of 86 LMB I flushed 42% had an empty stomach.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

good things for sure. here is another one ol ZOOKER taught me. first thing in the morning, go where the sun hits the ROCKS first. the rocks will heat up faster thus bring in the bait fish, thus bringing the predator fish, ala; bass. i have actually done this and had great results in early spring.

Rocks also hold the heat longer than stumps and such

[nofearengineer]

This is so true.

Turtles and birds are far more skilled at finding baitfish than any Lowrance or Humminbird will ever be.

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

This is so true.

Turtles and birds are far more skilled at finding baitfish than any Lowrance or Humminbird will ever be.

One time I was fishing the lily pads with a Bobbys Perfect Frog. Every single time I threw that frog onto the pads, this stupid Fisher would launch off his branch and dive at the frog!
Picture me cussin like a sailor at the top of my voice and reelin my arse off to save the bait.

Stoopid bird....

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by MallenManson

One time I was fishing the lily pads with a Bobbys Perfect Frog. Every single time I threw that frog onto the pads, this stupid Fisher would launch off his branch and dive at the frog!
Picture me cussin like a sailor at the top of my voice and reelin my arse off to save the bait.

Stoopid bird....

Fishers taste just like chicken. Salt, pepper, a little garlic, and a hot pan with a little oil in the bottom...

Good advice about the turtles, though. I'd never thought of that.

[kennethdaysale]

**note** those springtime cooters will eat a finesse worm..especially ones with bacon fat cooked in. check the claws on that booger!

[MallenManson]

Where's the pic of you lipping him?

[kennethdaysale]

This is after it healed

[MallenManson]

Originally Posted by kennethdaysale

Attachment 7477

This is after it healed

lol Nice....

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by bassinbob

Hey ken what do you usually pump out of them?

I somehow failed to mention catfish fry (madtoms). Almost never see them in a bass' stomach except in May/June/July. During that time they are often the main thing you pump out, especially in a bass over 15-18". Worth noting if any of you guys fish where there's a good cat population. Small white grubs or cranks or maybe a 3" gulp minnow on a shakey head? While I'm at it every summer I will catch and eat a few catfish and do you know what they're stomachs are almost always full of? It's not chicken liver or mullet guts or doo-doo. Its Mussells yes mussells. I cleaned a mess of catfish last summer (4-6 lb blues) and they were so full of mussells (about the size of a quarter) I wondered how in the world they could possibly pass those shells without tearing the exits. One more thing I'm sure most of you vets already know but some people don't. Once a catfish reaches about 3 or 4 lbs they are in direct competion with bass for the exact same food.......bastards. (well not the mussells of course but the minnows-shad-gills-shiners-craws)

[joedog]

Blues have always fed on native mussels, a diverse group with about 300 species in North America. Over the past couple of decades, however, exotic mussels have colonized many rivers and reservoirs where blue cats live. By the 1970s, the Asian clam, Corbicula, originating in southeast Asia and first introduced to the western U.S., was found throughout much of the Mississippi basin and Gulf Coast and eastern states. Zebra mussels, native to western Asia, were first discovered in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s and have since spread to many large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the eastern half of the U.S. These small and prolific exotic species threaten populations of native mussels and are providing a new food source for blue cats and other fish, such as freshwater drum and redear sunfish.
In lakes Marion and Moultrie on the Santee-Cooper system in South Carolina, a food habits study conducted in the late 1970s revealed that the most important foods for blue catfish were shad, Asian clams, and mayfly nymphs. Overall, clams were found in 37 percent of stomachs containing food, making up 34 percent of food weight. Fish were most important in winter and clams and mayflies were most important in spring and summer. Mayflies were eaten, mostly by smaller blues, while larger individuals ate mostly fish and clams. One 16-inch blue cat contained 157 clams.



A similar seasonal shift in diets was observed in Lake Norman, North Carolina. Joseph Grist, who studied the reservoir’s blue catfish for his Masters degree at Virginia Tech, found that from 2000 to 2001, the most common items in winter diets were fish, primarily shad, and Chara, an aquatic macroalgae. From spring through fall, however, Asian clams were the dominant food, making up over 80 percent of food weight in summer. He also used transmitters to monitor blue cat movements, finding that blues with smaller home ranges were often over areas of clam beds. Grist reports that clams were more important to smaller blues, while fish were most important to the largest blues.

[joedog]

Blues have always fed on native mussels, a diverse group with about 300 species in North America. Over the past couple of decades, however, exotic mussels have colonized many rivers and reservoirs where blue cats live. By the 1970s, the Asian clam, Corbicula, originating in southeast Asia and first introduced to the western U.S., was found throughout much of the Mississippi basin and Gulf Coast and eastern states. Zebra mussels, native to western Asia, were first discovered in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s and have since spread to many large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the eastern half of the U.S. These small and prolific exotic species threaten populations of native mussels and are providing a new food source for blue cats and other fish, such as freshwater drum and redear sunfish.
In lakes Marion and Moultrie on the Santee-Cooper system in South Carolina, a food habits study conducted in the late 1970s revealed that the most important foods for blue catfish were shad, Asian clams, and mayfly nymphs. Overall, clams were found in 37 percent of stomachs containing food, making up 34 percent of food weight. Fish were most important in winter and clams and mayflies were most important in spring and summer. Mayflies were eaten, mostly by smaller blues, while larger individuals ate mostly fish and clams. One 16-inch blue cat contained 157 clams.

A similar seasonal shift in diets was observed in Lake Norman, North Carolina. Joseph Grist, who studied the reservoir’s blue catfish for his Masters degree at Virginia Tech, found that from 2000 to 2001, the most common items in winter diets were fish, primarily shad, and Chara, an aquatic macroalgae. From spring through fall, however, Asian clams were the dominant food, making up over 80 percent of food weight in summer. He also used transmitters to monitor blue cat movements, finding that blues with smaller home ranges were often over areas of clam beds. Grist reports that clams were more important to smaller blues, while fish were most important to the largest blues.

[lilmule]

As for a seasonal shift or a different diet when larger thats always been true not just something new or different,those in the ohio and missippi river when adults feed on skip jack and gizzard shad heavily.About the only difference is asian clams make up a larger portion of the young ones diet instead of native,not due necessarily due to a preference but availability.

[kennethdaysale]

@joedog...interesting cut and paste, where'd you find that info? you know that's intellectual property don't you? you're treading on thin ice pal
ps you posted it twice