Oconee Catfish Meat Haul in July

[LittleDrummerBoy]

There was a parade of party barges and jet skis going past while we were fishing yesterday. Right after I caught the biggest fish of the day (10 lbs) one passed by blaring "Chicken Fried" and cheering! Good times. These Georgia peeps know how to live. A bit later some of the local teens were jumping off the railroad bridge (15 ft high) into the water a short distance away. We found redneck central. Water 91 deg F. 40+ lbs total. Details in video.

 

[LTZ25]

Great catch !!!!

 

[antharper]

Nice catch !

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

 

[Josh B]

I drove by the bridge on the 3rd but I didn't go on the south side of it. I was thinking about fishing under the bridge one day.

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

I drove by the bridge on the 3rd but I didn't go on the south side of it. I was thinking about fishing under the bridge one day.

Lots of appealing features:

Bottleneck for current
No wake zone so everyone slows down
Access to lots of depths relatively close together
Access to shade from sun and shelter from rain
Structure without lots of snags

And most importantly, we've caught fish under Oconee bridges both times we've tried it so far.

 

[madsam]

enjoyed !!!!Thanks!!!

 

[Cmp1]

View attachment 1025500

Dang man,,,,congrats,,,,gonna try to hit the water tomorrow,,,,

 

[bukhuntr]

Can you detail how you rig your noodles as well as your rods?

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

Can you detail how you rig your noodles as well as your rods?

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

Can you detail how you rig your noodles as well as your rods?

Don't have a video yet on the rod rigging. But 40-65 lb braid on the reel. Run braid through a 1 oz egg sinker and tie to a stout snap swivel. Leader is 30 lb fluorocarbon tied to a stout swivel at one side, 3 feet long, and tied to a 3/0 or 4/0 gamakatsu octopus offset J hook on the other. (NOT A CIRCLE HOOK.)

If the egg sinker won'd hold the bottom due to flow conditions, we have 1-2 oz pyramid sinkers we add at the snap swivel to provide more weight.

 

[GaMudd]

Why no circle hook?

 

[LittleDrummerBoy]

Circle hooks are designed to slide out of the stomach every time. They may or may not catch on the mouth on the way out.

A J hook that hooks a fish in the stomach is a fish in the boat - every time unless the line breaks.

J hooks simply give higher hook up rates. More meat in the boat. Unless you plan on catch an release, J hooks are almost always the better choice.