This is what I call shad on dope. No, they’re not dead but if left in this drugged water they would be in about five minutes. These are adult threadfin shad that stress worse than the bigger gizzard shad. Stress and lost scales will leave you fishing with dead bait, so I drug them both with a tranquil at a cost of $190 a gallon – well worth it for good bait on the hook.
Instead of 1 teaspoon per 30 gallons for keeping them calmer, I do one teaspoon to 3 gallons so they go to sleep within 30 seconds. Then put them in the boat tank with 1 cup of water softener salt per 30 gals. The 3 gals. of drugged water I then put in a 5 gallon bucket and use to load and unload from 300 gal. air-conditioned yard tank till it loses its potency, in about four days. The yard tank also has about 10 cups of salt to start.
Then dilute out, along with their waste, with water changes the first 3 days. They’re hardened then, and if done right, they stay tough up to three months.
This is good for bait. Or just call me. I’m back with lots of open days due to motor problems the last six weeks. Finally got tired of messing with it and a good friend everyone here knows as Pops said he had a good motor for me, and he was right. It’s now on and I’m happy, but need to get Pops paid off so I’m running another special ‘til the end of May starting at two people for five hours of striper fishing for $250, or Holiday Island fishing for $180. Up to two kids under 16 free with adult.
Due to high muddy water here at the Island, trips for bass, catfish and crappie will be going out of Lake Leatherwood.
Now Beaver Lake is a different story. We are clear from the dam to Rocky Branch. Stripers don’t like mud, so they come to our end of the lake, and with water temps just getting into the 70s we’re still catching them with no weights, and top water lures on the bigger creek arms and off the major points.
So we’re going out from the dam from now ‘til September. Most the bass and crappie are now being caught in water less then 10 feet deep in all our waters. Both are liking shoreline brush and backs of the creeks where the shad are wanting to spawn.
Well, I better go. You can get your boat in at Beaver Dam and here at the Island launch. Beaver Bridge will probably still be closed but can go over the top with your trolling motor. Kinda cool looking down and seeing the bridge under you. Drinking will get you a BWI, and for kids under 12 the law says life jacket stays on. Be safe and courteous to others. Watch for stray floating logs.
Johnson Guide Service www.fishofexcellence.com (479) 253-2258.