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Good luck, youre going to need it. bait is darned near impossible. you will see plenty of fish in all the right places but they are extremely finicky and maybe they bite and maybe they dont. you will start the day with a couple short stripers, a smallmouth, a couple largemouth, and then you might hit a keeper...maybe on the keeper though.
the only thing i know for sure is you wont catch anything if you dont go.
p.s. snow bothers fishermen a lot more than it bothers stripers lol
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Bait has picked up for me and I haven't had any issues getting fish to hit. Granted, I am getting tons of small\mid sized bait and not getting lots of large baits (15 a drop Saturday and 30 a drop Sunday) but the stripers are eating mid sized bait just fine on down sized hooks. Short fish were a tad more up the creek than the keeper stripers. Down lines 30, 37, 20 and 18 and shallow boards. I got four keepers back to back to back to back Saturday and Sunday mornings in a few hours along with several shorts. If you are getting shorts, move down the creek just a tad. Pulling bait is a pain in the behind due to the trash but it's worth it. Put out a lot of bait and cover ground until you find them. The fish I found chased quick baits just fine.
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[QUOTE=Duayne;567314]Bait has picked up for me and I haven't had any issues getting fish to hit. Granted, I am getting tons of small\mid sized bait and not getting lots of large baits (15 a drop Saturday and 30 a drop Sunday) but the stripers are eating mid sized bait just fine on down sized hooks. Short fish were a tad more up the creek than the keeper stripers. Down lines 30, 37, 20 and 18 and shallow boards. I got four keepers back to back to back to back Saturday and Sunday mornings in a few hours along with several shorts. If you are getting shorts, move down the creek just a tad. Pulling bait is a pain in the behind due to the trash but it's worth it. Put out a lot of bait and cover ground until you find them. The fish I found chased quick baits just fine.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the great report. Really appreciate it! That makes me feel good about my plan. Thx to everyone for the information! Be back soon thx!
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yep, bait is better where youre at duayne, there just isnt any useable size in the jamestown area. and to make matters worse as you know its not safe to run anywhere in the dark to get to better water. meh, its ok, i have 10 months left this year to get back on em lol
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[QUOTE=bsg2121;567316]Thanks for the great report. Really appreciate it! That makes me feel good about my plan. Thx to everyone for the information! Be back soon thx![/QUOTE]
just an idea, i know you are staying at jamestown, but trust me, they are catching more bait AND fish in the indian creek area and the creeks down on that end of the lake. you might consider trailering from jtown to the dam and catch bait before daylight and fish that area.
this is just an idea based on very current conditons, they could change as you know.
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[QUOTE=stripernut1;567323]just an idea, i know you are staying at jamestown, but trust me, they are catching more bait AND fish in the indian creek area and the creeks down on that end of the lake. you might consider trailering from jtown to the dam and catch bait before daylight and fish that area.
this is just an idea based on very current conditons, they could change as you know.[/QUOTE]
Thx buddy! My plan was greasy and wolfe first. Maybe lilly but beaver and otter as well. Indian is a haul by water and i am not really wanting to pull out and drive to damm. U think beaver and otter might ok? I can take my time and get there.
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[QUOTE=bsg2121;567324]Thx buddy! My plan was greasy and wolfe first. Maybe lilly but beaver and otter as well. Indian is a haul by water and i am not really wanting to pull out and drive to damm. U think beaver and otter might ok? I can take my time and get there.[/QUOTE]
yep, there will be fish in beaver and otter. the problem is good bait in jamestown. its muddy at jamestown and the light wont penetrate the water well enough to draw good bait. you can use shiners but they are a last resort to good alewives
p.s. let me save you some time and eliminate some unproductive water, lilly is still very cold water temps.
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I pretty much only fish Indian and the main lake down to Beaver so I am no authority on the other parts of the lake like Stripernut is. He's your source for the upper ends. I did notice the main lake in front of the dam is a muddy mess. Indian has maintained good water color through out the level rise in most parts.
The best advise given is do NOT try to run in the dark, even in Indian. There aren't a lot of season enders out there but there are plenty and all it takes is one. I wait until I can see some color before I leave the docks. That could change some this week but don't taken anyone's advise that it has cleared. Decide on your own. Also know that it may clear one day and a wind change can throw it right back out there the next.
Shiners may work but I am not a fan. They are better than nothing and now's a pretty good time to go to them if you have to. Be very careful launching if you go to Indian. The "go to" ramp over by the wall is under water. The newer middle ramp is what I would use but know there are guard rails and such under water. Back straight out and make a right turn to go under the bridge or park next to it.
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Thanks guys. This really helps out. My plan has changed but now i dont need to waste a day figuring it out. Going to start with beaver and otter with indian on the table. We have all day to fish so will leave when its light and take my time. Plenty of time. I will report back each day sun mon tues to let you know how it goes. thanks again!
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My dad ran down to jamestown yesterday to repair a sink on the houseboat that broke over the winter. He said the water was looking clearer so that sounds like better news. Ha. It was around lunchtime and one of the guides was cleaning some nice FAT stripes. Also he mentioned jamestown wasnt selling gas??? It was roped off? Anyone know if state is? Beaver? Grider? Surely they are. That could cause a potential problem. Its going to be cold! 52 hrs and out of here! Thx again.
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[QUOTE=bsg2121;567403]My dad ran down to jamestown yesterday to repair a sink on the houseboat that broke over the winter. He said the water was looking clearer so that sounds like better news. Ha. It was around lunchtime and one of the guides was cleaning some nice FAT stripes. Also he mentioned jamestown wasnt selling gas??? It was roped off? Anyone know if state is? Beaver? Grider? Surely they are. That could cause a potential problem. Its going to be cold! 52 hrs and out of here! Thx again.[/QUOTE]
The harbor is roped off (until further notice is what im being told) so you cant even get to the gas pumps. Call the state dock and ask, under normal conditions you dont need an attendant at the state dock, you just put your plastic in and pump, very handy at 2am