How do you guys tell what is a school of bass now that there are so many Asian carp in Ky Lake? I scanned for 4 days last week and could never really figure out what I was looking at.
How do you guys tell what is a school of bass now that there are so many Asian carp in Ky Lake? I scanned for 4 days last week and could never really figure out what I was looking at.
Size of the fish and size of the school.Originally Posted by Esnow76
Usually the size of the dots and how they are schooled up, downscan deff makes it easier, sometimes its hard to tell. Just have to make some cast at them
One group hugs the bottom while the other suspends off the bottom. I could tell you which one , but that would take all the fun out of it, wouldn't it !
We were there last week and I saw arches from top to bottom!!! Lol
And what kind of carp is in that lake with black forked tails? The one calm day we could stay offshore there were schools of them that came by and looked like they were feeding on plankton or something. And I'm assuming they were carp.
Whenever a bird went over the whole school would jump. More than once we thought they were schooling bass.
Brian Howard
2023 Phoenix 919 Pro XP
2023 Mercury 225
That's the Asian carp everyone is talking about, it's full of them now. I'm taking my bow next time
Last edited by Esnow76; 06-28-2017 at 01:00 PM.
Crap! Every school that went by looked like they were about 24" long.
I've seen the videos with them going ballistic and jumping but we never saw any of that.
Brian Howard
2023 Phoenix 919 Pro XP
2023 Mercury 225
I caught several good fish off this one last summer. Not a big school but is still cool finding them and then catching them.
Basscat!
I'm doing ok finding schools when no carp are around but with the amount of carp I'm seeing it just clutters up my screen so bad
Remember that there are two types of Asian Carp.
The Bighead, which has been in the lake a very long time, doesn't jump and is probably what you saw as they cruise just under the surface. At maturity they average 70+ lbs, 100 lbs is commonly found.
The Silver, which is smaller than the Bighead, is the one that does all the jumping that you see. They average about half the size of the Bigheads at maturity.
Gotcha. You learn something new everyday, didn't know there was two strains.
Brian Howard
2023 Phoenix 919 Pro XP
2023 Mercury 225
I caught several good fish off this one last summer. Not a big school but is still cool finding them and then catching them.
That's exactly what to look for. Those are catchable fish. Backed off the drop or suspended fish can get you excited but are very difficult to catch. Fish stacked on the bottom will eat. Even better if you see this and baitfish nearby.
Dang, which I would have gotten to see that picture before photobucket removed it.
Brett Graham
Louisville, KY
L\'raisin Anglers
There was a picture??? Dang it!!!
'06 Procraft 205 Pro Mercury 225 Optimax
When you go over the school with your downscan does it spook the school? Do you have luck when you turn and fish for them and can you spot these schools on your sidescan ?
No those were 25',yes and yes
How much do you use Downscan vs. Sidescan while you were searching. I was there last week and I feel like I could interpret the downscan as far as telling bass from whites/yellow bass and the dreaded carp, but sidescan really kinda confused me a little as far as the fish go, stumps brush and stakebuckets no problem. Sorry for late reply.
the sidescan will help show you were they really are on the ledge, like top middle bottom, use your curser to mark the school drop a pin, turn around and see what they look like at a different angle. I know guys will get pissed at me, but the bass are gonna be on the bottom, the carp off the bottom, if the bass suspend the do it typically right over the middle of the drop, or at the top of the drop, harder to catch, for sure, but catchable, think winter time baits, but not at winter time pace, water is 80+ and will react to a certain type of retrieve (wink, wink). the bass on the side imaging will be grouped up in a circular pattern, or criss crossed, never really in a straight line (ever watch them in a large tank?) Asian carp will almost always school parallel to each other, bass sometime will, but even with current being pulled hard (which its not right now) they will still be at all angles, this is just what Ive found for myself, but really doing it on your own and doing it for hrs and hrs is what makes you good at figuring out what kind of fish they are, and what they're doing.
I don't think anyone will get upset at your info. It's really basic stuff you can figure out in 30 min on the web. Just because you can see fish on your units doesn't mean you can catch em either. Different species definitely set up differently in certain situations and that is where experience sets in. When you start throwing in other species like white bass and hybrids it can become even more difficult. Adding to the frustration is when you mark a bunch of fish and can't draw a strike to know for sure what they are. I am prob a novice/early type level but after 3-4 yrs trying to figure it out I feel more confident in finding fish and good looking structure. However I still find myself marking what I believe to be bass every trip and trying out 3-4 different lures to no avail. However, when you get a school to fire up there is nothing like it.
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