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Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit #11621388 05/24/16 01:21 AM
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PKfishin Offline OP
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Finally got my new 17 gallon Grayline bait tank. I guess my journey from fishing lures is now complete. Just like one of my friends said, using live shad is like cheating. Had some challenges getting it set up mostly because I was unaware that it used a water spray to aerate.

I quickly caught a net full of shad in Neely slough. I dropped them into 5 gallon bucket and counted out three dozen shad as best I could. I forgot my minnow net so had to dip everything with my hands. I'll need to get one of those bigger bait nets at Academy because these shad stay very lively in the bait tank and are hard to catch especially by hand.

Those lively shad did the trick as I quickly caught a limit in about two and a half hours. I caught four fish in one location quickly and stayed there another 30 minutes without a bite because I could see the fish on my fish finder but they had enough of me. Crossed over to the other side and quickly limited out.



All day, I could barely get two poles in the water before the first pole had a striper on it. I've been using a small number 8 Gamakatsu octopus hook that I stick in the shads mouth as he gasps and down through the bottom lip. They stay real lively that way and the stripers almost always hook themselves as they swallow the shad. I have my drag on my spinning reels initially set very loose so they act like a baitcaster. That way the fish can take the bait with zero resistance and I set the hook usually in the top of their mouth as they run with it. I can adjust the drag up after they complete the first big run. With the drag real loose they pull a ton of line but cannot get that little hook out. These shad in the bait tank are very different from the red nose guys I've fished with using my 5 gallon bucket. I could tell when I was going to get a bite, as the tip of my pole would go nuts as the shad tried to avoid the striper. I could even tell my shad was there and lively as the tip wiggled constantly, as the shad were not happy being so close to a big school of stripers.

These stripers I kept ranged from 19-28 inches. I also caught a 17 inch Hybrid that I released along with several smaller stripers. PK is loaded with 18-22 inch fish right now. Bigger ones are more rare but they are there. Still catching a few 14 - 17 inch fish but not in the numbers I saw last year. Water is very clear in the lower third of the lake. As I pulled in my fifth striper to make a limit, My second pole bent double and I caught another legal fish that I released.


PK is fishing really well right now if you use live bait. As for the bait tank, Looks like I need to get some foam off, as the tank did develop a lot of foam after a few hours. I didn't use any salt or Hydrogen peroxide, as I wanted to just see how they would do with just the tank. The shad stayed very lively and I think the tank will help me allot in the summer. In fact, I had a heck of a time catching the remaining shad when I emptied the tank. ( I really need that tank net) I dipped most of the water out in a small bucket then chased those little rascals around that tank to release them. Grayline says you can put 50 shad in this tank but I doubt I need more than 2-3 dozen, as they stay alive in the tank and the stripers take them fast once you get them on top of them.


John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.
Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11621520 05/24/16 02:01 AM
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Good report and nice fish sir. Those are nice bait tanks! We fished in that area Sat and Sun and my kid caught a 38" Striper, and several smaller ones Saturday, lots of 15" fish. We used live bait and artificials. Sunday was more of the same minus the big fish. I also spotted a massive school of sandies on the 'Bird and we caught 60 or so in an hour. We released all our fish and got some strange looks from other near boats as we let them go. I didn't catch many myself, my son has a broke arm and I spent all my time removing fish and baiting his hooks. His mom would kick me in the crotch if he got that new age fancy cast that dang near depleted my fishing budget smelling like fish.

Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11621680 05/24/16 02:58 AM
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Solid post. Thanks for sharing. cheers


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Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11621693 05/24/16 03:06 AM
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Good post with plenty of good info. Thanks!
And some nice fish also.


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Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11622243 05/24/16 01:49 PM
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Any pics of the 38" striper?

Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11623964 05/25/16 12:49 AM
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Has anyone tried trolling


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Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11624006 05/25/16 01:02 AM
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Nice fish PKfishin


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Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11625175 05/25/16 02:41 PM
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From what I have seen in my short time on PK, there are to many trees to troll, even in 20-40' of water.


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Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: BassMan922] #11625436 05/25/16 04:20 PM
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Bassman: For the first 4 years I fished PK 2011-2014 I trolled and caught stripers. However, once we got the big rains last year and the BRA opened the floodgates so many stripers went out we got a huge bloom of baitfish. I never saw so many shad as I did last year. Once they get through spawing this year it will be even worse. Good for catching bait and getting fish to grow, but bad for trying to get a lazy full striper sitting on the bottom in 35 feet to come up to 20-25 feet and hit a moving lure.

I've often described this as like me watching a football game on TV and being to lazy to get up and get a slice of Pizza, but if my wife would bring it to me I'd eat it. That's why I'm fishing live shad. I get on top of those stripers and drop that bait right in front of their nose. It might be mid day, they might not be hungry but they will take that shad.


John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.
Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: Ruff n Redi] #11625462 05/25/16 04:28 PM
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Ruff n Redi: It's like Randy Wood says " you can't fight those trees". If you want to troll Pk you have to troll where there are no trees like Gaines Bend or mouth of Bluff creek. Some of the guys who troll like Dean Heffner have all those places mapped out. Over at Cedar Creek or Costello, you might as well open your tackle box and throw all the lures in the lake, because you are going to loose them. 70 year old petrified Cedar Trees never give up a crank bait. PK is not Texoma where you can peacefully troll anywhere.


John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.
Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11627140 05/26/16 03:35 AM
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Glad you like your tank. Been fishing with mine for over 7 years now. Lively bait is a HUGE difference. Use the salt it will help condition the shad. If it get foamy you might use peroxide but use Sparingly. Keep some ph conditioner around and use ice when needed. It cuts back on foam. Does yours have two powerheads? Foam Off is a great product as well and have used it with good success. Yep that shad dip net is the deal! That tank is the real deal! I catch threadfin and go to town on crappie and white bass in addition to Hybrids and Stripers.

Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: PKfishin] #11627184 05/26/16 03:51 AM
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PK I think you must have fallen off the crazy train. There are no fish in Kneelys Slew! I repeat no fish in Kneelys Slew.


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Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: Thunk] #11627867 05/26/16 03:51 PM
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Thunk:

What is PH Conditioner?

What is a powerhead?

I'm going to use foam off once I get some and definitely put salt in next time.


John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.
Re: Sunday May 22 Testing my new Grayline bait tank and a PK Limit [Re: RANDY WOOD] #11627889 05/26/16 03:55 PM
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Randy: I think we are catching all your fish from Cedar Creek that have come down to get out of that muddy water. I need to show you that dock where they all hide under for some unknown reason. Makes no sense to me but they are thick as fleas there.


John 21:3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee.
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