In line Chumming ? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Fishguts · 03-13-2002, 07:14 PM

Recently while reading I came across a technique that was pretty interesting.
I found it in an English fishing book “the complete book of sportfishing. It is used primarily in fresh water applications.

What it is, is an in line chum pot, you fill the pot with cut bait enough led to keep it on the bottom or in the fish zone wherever that might be add 24-30 leader and your off to the races.

This may be a well-known method for all I know. If so I would be interested in hearing from someone that has used this method in the past.
If you have not, what do you think?
It seems to me that it would allow you to target an area that you may not otherwise be able to. That is with chum.

Smokey · 03-13-2002, 07:35 PM

I never tried the chum pot for stripers but I have for catfish in fresh water. I think it will keep the critters off your chum and it sould last longer. It will attract lobsters and crabs and stripers like them too.

Fish_Eye · 03-13-2002, 07:40 PM

Hello Fishguts,

We have had some fun fishing near a herring creek and letting a basket of live herring float out into the area we were casting our own live offerings. Every now and then we would yank on the line and get the "herring in a basket" all worked up. There were plenty of large openings in the basket for the scales to fall through and between the sparkling scales and the frantic fish vibrations, we had pulled in a large group of hungry stripers. It was sort of live bait chumming and it worked!

Have you ever fished Elephant Butte Lake for stripers? I understand there are some dandy fish in that water with a lake record of 54 pounds.

Mike

Fishguts · 03-13-2002, 08:29 PM

I am not even sure where that lake is?
Although I fish Lake Powell a couple of times a year. The fishing really heats up this time of year. The stripers tend to congregate by the dam and at any inlet.
There is no limit on stripers. Once you locate a school it is not unusual to have fifty plus days. Mix that with some spring
water skiing and you have it made.

They where using them for carp. Englands form of sportfishing!!
I dont know why I say that I picked up a carp on a 5weight once. had to break him off before he spooled me, lot of fun!

Fish_Eye · 03-13-2002, 09:52 PM

FishGuts,

The lake is in New Mexico and I didn't know if it was one of those destinations that was worth the trip. As a Rhody native a trip from Utah to New Mexico is like a trip to the moon and back.

Tom Meade, our local outdoor writer had a ball catching carp on a popcorn fly he made and used in Lake Mead. It seemed that the carp were conditioned to eat popcorn that was thrown in the lake to feed the ducks. He would chum with the real stuff and then cast his popcorn fly into the mix.

Stripers are great and carp are cool. The fish I love the most...is the one on the end of my line.

Mike

Jaiem · 03-13-2002, 10:22 PM

Years ago I read an article about a guy who put a bunch of live killies in a clear glass jug and sunk it in known fluke grounds. Then he dove down and observed the fluke. He said fluke came over very quickly and tried to attack the killies in the jug. He concluded by suggesting "chumming" with killies in a clear container as a viable technique. Haven't see anyone do it though.

Fishguts · 03-13-2002, 11:20 PM

I have a brother that lives in Florida. I fish with him when the airline rates are good. He primarily hits Homosassa, Yankee Town, Cedar Keys area, just north of Tampa. On one trip we took little break from fishing and picked up lunch at one of the riverside restaurants.

Congregated by the shore where a group of people feeding what I thought where ducks. After lunch we took a walk over. to our suprise they where tarpon. It was incredible! 60-150 pound surfacing for bread.
We talked to one of the waiters, who also loved fishing. He explained that they, the locals had developed a (bread fly).
Shameless!! I only wish that I had my tying gear….

JohnR · 03-14-2002, 08:19 AM

Carp just love that bread and canned corn!

Fishguts, on a rare occasion, I have used various chum pots at depth when boat fishing. It certainly doesn't hurt but the hard thing to do is to keep your baits in the slick. Something which helps a little is to tie the chum pot off the front of the boat if the boat is staying fairly stable. This will allow the baits drifting off the back to spend more time in the slick instead of the periphery of the slick. The best chum slick if you are drifting baits is to sneak in behind some other anchored boat's chum slick and drop your own.

Personally, I'm not much for chunking/chumming from a boat as I'd go stir crazy too quickly.

Next time in Vegas (in-laws) I plan to give Lake Mead a shot - some big stripers are coming out of there...

Jaiem, interesting about the bait in a jar approach

Scotch Bonnet · 03-14-2002, 09:16 AM

The best chum slick for the shore bound angler is at the Co-op in Galilee when they are unloading the draggers.Theres a group of Oriental anglers that have this method down to a science(I think they work at the Co-op and have some inside information).If you launch in Pt. Judith and see this going on,stop and give it a try, it could pay off LARGE.

Fish_Eye · 03-14-2002, 09:36 AM

SB,

Get yourself a bucket of clam bellies and fish down current from those folks...no weight, just a circle hook and lots of decoy clam bellies on the bottom. Not exactly greeting a new dawn under the cliffs at Gay Head, but if you want a bend in your rod.

Any good clam belly fly patterns?

Saltheart · 03-14-2002, 09:45 AM

It helps to freeze the chum in small chunks that will fit inside the chum pot. That way all the juices etc make it out there to attract fish. Better than letting all the juice drip through the holes onto your shoes.

Canalratt1 · 03-14-2002, 11:57 AM

Chumming from shore doesn't work! Especially in the Ditch

Saltheart · 03-14-2002, 01:51 PM

I wouldn't say that Canalratt. Lots of guys will chum the early part after the turn and then drift chunks with a hook in with the chum. We like to set up down current from them. far enough away so we don't bother them at all but close enough to cash in on the chum slick.

Anyway , its done by some good fisherman.

JohnR · 03-14-2002, 01:59 PM

Uhh - Saltheart, I think he ,umm nudge-nudge wink-wink, approves of chummin' at the ditch

BTW - I'm back at my desk...

Canalratt1 · 03-14-2002, 02:01 PM

Saltheart you missed my sarcasm! I have caught more keeper bass by chumming and chunking there than all methods combined! Its great when you chum up so many bass that you can see them pick-up the bait and pull it away from the small ones.

Saltheart · 03-14-2002, 04:26 PM

In the immortal word of Homer Simpson....DOH!!