Friday Night Fishing Report

[LittleBoyBlue]

A bad report is better than no report. We put in at Hibernia at 8 pm Friday. Anchored up next to Loose Ties on the trestle and fished live herring till midnight with no takers. Ran to the bridge & got some bait, then went down to Uncle Luthers Point and anchored in 55 ft:fishing2:. Spent the rest of the night there with 6 cats and 2 stripers to show for the night. Good Luck, Scott

[Looseties]

LBB, it was nice hitting the water with you. After launching around 6:30 PM, we took a look from Hibernia to Satterwhite Point and saw little to interest us, but tried the trestle as you mentioned. We were set up on the northern slope of the trestle hump in about 28' of water. Our only excitement for the night came at the trestle; one 7" striper (feisty little thing) and one at about 16" that was caught on an ultralite rod with 4# line......on a Sibiki hook. The only thing we can figure is that the striper tried to pick a herring off the Sibiki and we hooked up. Other than that, we had two other take-downs and didn't hook up......but ended up with mutilated bait on each take-down. Left the lake around 4:00 AM to head back home.....it was a nice night on the water.

[JBee]

LBB, Thanks for breaking the ice on the reports, I was beginning to wonder if anybody was still fishing.
Looseties, How successful is jigging for bait? I've done a lot of that at the coast but never done it in freshwater. Do you use lights to attract?

[Looseties]

JBee,
I'm no expert, but found it to be pretty easy. I had three people in my boat and we each used a different Sibiki rig (actually, two were using them alot while I was laughing at them having more fun catching bait than worrying about stripers). We used two sets at #6 Japanese size and one with #8 Japanese size. The smaller #8 out fished the slightly larger by about 2 to 1. We had two lights in the water, one floating crappie light (headlight mounted in Styrofoam) and a 15’ submersed 300w halogen light. We caught herring from both lights, but the majority came from the fringe of the lights in the shadows (I guess this make sense). We would bait up the big rods as soon as we caught a herring and then tossed the rest in the bait tank for later. All bait caught were herring, about 6-7 inches long. The only problem was getting them off the Sibiki hook….real small hooks…I would suggest a set of hemostats or very small needle nose pliers. Also, as this was a learning experience, we found that once you pull a Sibiki rig in with a herring, there is very few ways to avoid getting stuck with the one of the other 5 hooks hanging on the same line as the bait you caught. Note: it pays to pull in your floating light after you kill the power and move to another place…..those ¼” quick connectors on the back of a light don’t hold out too well at speeds above 1 mph. I have one floating somewhere between Hibernia and Satterwhite. Regardless, we had a great time and I just got back from West Marine in Raleigh with another Sibiki rig (only place I can find them). I am planning on hitting the lake again Friday night to try again….weather permitting, but will probably launch mid-lake. Also, my friend who fished with me last Friday had a great time and is interested in joining the club…so I will sign him up soon.
Sorry for the length of this reply, but it's pretty fun stuff.
Looseties
Tie em’ tight

[JBee]

Looseties,
I have a device my brother-in-law used for removing bait. He was a mate on a charter boat. It is a wire device with 2 fingerholes and a wire hook on the end. I think it is made by American Tackle Company (sure it's made in China). You basically shake the baits off. It works pretty good for cigar minnows and spanish sardines so I guess it would work for the herring. I get all my tackle from Dudley's in Swansboro, quite a roadtrip but I have a place near Broad Creek. I will have to try your technique soon. Maybe next new moon. Thanks for the details....

[Looseties]

JBee,
I've seen something similar to what you're decribing on a fishing show awhile back and will have to look into it. The quicker the better in getting them off the hook; my boat is covered in scales.
It's all a learning experience.
Looseties