I didn't start fishing until the pogies were already severely depleted so don't know much about there patterns. So a few ??s. Do they usually show in spring? Wed my friend landed one in a river, tonight I got one in another river. Also, both fish hooked right in mouth area, not snagged, supposed to be purely filter feeders right???Hopefully they stay around

Hopefully they stay around

:uhuh:

What happens alot of times is the line(especially braid)seems to get caught in there gill plate area an they end up getting hooked as u reel in.Bass don't really wanna chase a lively bunker in cooler water.poke his eye out an trim some fins or just drop em on the ground to take some of the steam out of em an put a hook in his back an send em out.hook em towards the head to control em an towards the tail to make em swim away.I like 8/0 owners.keep a light tension on em they will keep swimming out against the pull of the line.chances are if u have big bunker around there are big fish around also.Not sure of the patterns of the bait in ur area.They like to swim into the current.off shore winds will put em right on the beach.they like lights at night makes em feel safe.easier to find em by a light in a dark moon like now.Chunk em,heads are best part for bigguns.fish it 15 mins reel it in stomp on it an pitch it back out.if u have plenty thro a 1/2 of one.

How could I forget this part.if u se fish on em don't even bother tryin to snag one.Use a pencil popper.Hold on tight.

poke his eye out an trim some fins or just drop em on the ground to take some of the steam out of em an put a hook in his back an send em out.hook em towards the head to control em an towards the tail to make em swim away.
God, that sounds so mean.

-spence

some times u gotta do what u have to do.
It's a blood sport man.
I swear it works.I had em in front of me an they wouldn't even chase em was driving me crazy. I took the bait an gave him the crash dummy test into the rocks an pitched him back out 2 little twitches of his drunken tail an wooomp.

heads are best part for bigguns.fish it 15 mins reel it in stomp on it an pitch it back out.if u have plenty thro a 1/2 of one.



You got that right. Got my biggest to date on the front half of a big pogie and also lost what was probably the biggest I'll ever hook the same way, in the same exact spot. Only had about 6-7 years in the surf under my belt at the time and that fish still haunts me. She took me to school.

[QUOTE=NIB]What happens alot of times is the line(especially braid)seems to get caught in there gill plate area an they end up getting hooked as u reel in.
Sounds reasonable..Thanks

When I lived on the shores of Western Long Island Sound -- back in the1970s and 1980s, the pogies would come into that part of the Sound in May, often stayed a little further west until about mid to late May, then they would set into all the local harbors for the season until October.

If the fish are under them, hooking in front of the head is a good idea. If you have some that are barely alive that cannot really swim all that well, use those first. We used to hammer the larger stripers on those, in fact one of the old timers in my area said the whole, freshly dead pogy is the best for big bass and this guy would catch 50s on a regular basis -- late 1960s and 1970s, so a different story -- but don't hesitate to fish a whole fresh dead pogie on the bottom, it too will bring big fish, but the half of the head will work well too. Smaller fish will try to eat the larger pogies, and sometimes will, but your chances for a big un are better with the pogies as they are a prime bait.

If they are too lively and the fish are not chasing them all that much, and you don't feel like poking their eyes out, cut off their pectoral fins, that will make them squirm pretty much in place and draw in hungry predators, but keep an eye on the bait if it is sitting on the bottom to avoid crabs, snails, etc.

I never "caught" a pogy in the mouth using "normal" fishing methods, they are a filter feeder. They are great bait, dead or alive. Use them for chum. Kinda early for pogys to be up the river.

fishing whole pogys is a science. a lot of the commercial guys here in mass use this method and when you know how to do it, you can really slay the fish. the proof is in the pudding, and the pudding is a lot of fish over 40 pounds and up caught using this method. i have no clue how to rig them, but ive heard.

They'll mix in with herring at times. This has been the case where I've been going lately :angel: NIB good stuff :D Me like'em do that to shad :angel:

Herring an Bunker will sometimes inhabit the same water but the herring don't like it.I have observed this from the top of a bridge many times.Bunker are bullies they are much stronger than herring an make the her's nervous.

There is alot to know about fishin poge's...spend time off known pogie bridges, near lights in harbors that produce year after year. Listen for eratic splashes one or more hrs after dark,, late may into early june, spinning outfit & snag will get you started. Around buzz bay your better off chunking once you've snagged a few, fresh pogies on the bottem is the ticket around here:btu:... This isn't like NJ, if it where I would have seen a big bass caught live lined...I been live linning poges and watchin others do it since I was a kid and have seen big numbers under schools of pogies. June is still early for big fish, if your lucky and there still around in the fall...then your live lining stats go way -up. .02 whether its eels, herrin, pogies...pages could be filled on each.

can't say I seen herrin and poge's in same school

Had my first experience with adult pogies last season as they showed up on the North Shore. Was able to snag a couple and live-line them. To see the huge bass swim up to, but not take them was intense. The one time a cow did grab my pogie it headed directly under the bridge I was fishing off of and I had ZERO chance at stopping it. Likely the biggest striper I ever had hooked. I have a fresh water set-up with a snag rig attached and waiting for their hopeful return.


spin

Spence...
You should see what we do to live scup :D
Or live Bluefish offshore...

In the 80's bass was slow and GATOR bluefish would inhabit the harbor all summer... drifting the mooring fields with 10-15lb blues on top chasin adult pogies.... I remember snagging them right off the dock and fishing them right on the snag hook....
now just babys show up like that all summer... biggest I saw in the lower bay were 4-6" tops.... between Omega and a cleaner bay (They are filter feeders less %$%$%$%$, less pogies??/) they arent what they used to be....
TOrlando...... sure they are pogies and not shad or Alewife?
I used to use a sabiki alot to catch tinkers and herring in the harbor and never mouth hooked a pogie....

I hear that RIR,,,nice write up in last weeks fisherman(first page)