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I am planning on fishing this weekend and was wondering if anybody had any recent reports. Was wondering what depth the stripers are holding at and also was wondering if it is still possible to catch bait. Any info would be appreciated.
Senior Member
I haven't been in about a month. Back then water was 82 degrees and they were hitting at 15 to 25 feet. The water temp hasn't gotten much warmer since then. I would start out with lines from 20 to 35 feet and see where the bites come in at. Running planers I would do 20, 25, 30 out one side and 23, 28, 33 out the other.
Senior Member
and also was wondering if it is still possible to catch bait. Any info would be appreciated. ,
catching the fish aint gonna be the problem, they are coming quick and easy....catching bait is gonna be the big adventure. 3-4hrs throwing a castnet for 20-25 alewives (and im talking a 20foot baitbuster net).
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What has been the average size of the stripers you have been catching?
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Originally Posted by JimDi
most fish are in the 24-30 inch range, summer schoolies. however i have seen 5 fish over 42 inches come to the dock in the last 2 weeks, one of those fish was 32lbs caught by a 16 year old girl, it was a beautiful fat 42.5 incher, awesome fish for these days for sure.
the fish are looking really good, fatties, and man when they hit they are rattling the rod in the rod holder, and making long screaming runs. not the weak, pitiful fish of the last couple of years
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Jeff thats the biggest one from the lake I have heard of in quite some time, really good to hear this bro. The lake is on the way back I think, the fish look really good right now and have all year, fat and healthy. Still seeing that parasite in the mouth and Gill areas but the biologist say that is nothing to worry about and I believe that.
Good fishing to ya Pal...
Senior Member
well this is what happens when you brag about how easy the fishing is....the striper gods kick you right in the .............shinbone! never got a hit this morning! AAARRRRGGGGHHHH! full moon, east wind, trolling motor was making a wierd humming noise that spooked the fish, all the scales fell off the shad, too many water skiers last week, water is dropping too fast, parasites, and last but not least....somebody had a bananna somewhere on the boat ! thats all the lame excuses i can think of right now.
p.s. mark , check p.m.
Senior Member
This probably is a dumb question, but when you are trolling are just using the trolling motor and not the big motor
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If you are trolling shad the trolling motor is all you need. Last time I was out the gps was showing me going between .5 and 7 mph pulling live bait. For artificial bait you need to go faster than that and the main motor works fine.
Senior Member
not a dumb question at all. there is a bit of science to it though. the first consideration in determining speed
1. what size wts am i using and how much drift back do i want, if i am trolling in aggressive fish that are on the move i will use a heavier weight, to keep the bait down in the strike zone, while i cover more territory looking to cross paths with the school. this pattern can mean you might troll up to 2.0mph.
2. if i am fishing a stationary lethargic school and i want to "soak" the bait in front of them i might be using the same heavy weight but just bumping the motor to kep the boards on a slack line but still in position, also keeping the boards close to be able to u-turn quickly if needed.
3. if the fish are stacked and tightly concentrated i will use the trolling motor to just "hold" on that spot and drop 8oz downrods on their head, if the sinker dont knock em out they wil hit the meal in front of their face.
4. if the fish are aggressive and shallow i will freeline and 1/4 oz em and cover as much territory as i can , sometimes up to 2.7-3.0 mph. the hits are violent .
the biggest thing is being able to interpret what your seeing on the graph, the structure of the school and how they are oriented will tell a big story and in turn determine how you are going to approach the troll .
and like i said, somedays NONE of it works, like this morning....but this afternoon its on!
Senior Member
How long will shad/shiners live being trolled at 3mph? I know they can swim faster than that but there is a difference between burst speed for a short distance and being drug around at a constant speed for hours. Even going 1mph I can see my equipment starting to stress due to the extra speed.
Senior Member
i cant tell you for sure about the shiners, i dont use them. as far as shad go, it depends on the time of year , water temp, depth etc. it also depends on what your using, gizzard shad will almost outswim the boat lol so they are good at high speed. threadfins not so good at high speed, also when a threadfin dies rigormortis is almost instantaneous so the shape of the threadfin acts like a blade on a spinnerbait and twists your line up into the neatest little spring, so they dont do well at high speed. alewives do very well at higher speeds, as long as they are not in hot water. if you are seeing stress at 1mph you might have other problems? not sure? hook size/type?where are you hooking the bait exactly?
i can tell you this , with a proper chemically balanced bait tank, with the optimum water temp for dissolved 02, a good 02 system and good lively fresh bait, speed will not be an issue. if the alewives are premium they will actually outswim the speed of the boat pulling hook and leader and all when you hook em up and drop em in the water, you can watch them do this right beside the boat before you start dropping them down, i immediately pull a weak bait back in and change it before i even give it a chance.
also i do not keep my bait on for hours, 15 minutes is a long time to go without checking bait. i will change bait often even if i dont have much bait, weak lifeless bait is as good as none in my opinion,
all this stuff that i discussed is just what works for me, i wouldnt suggest anybody run out and pull the gills out of their freshly bought 2 lbs of shiners they just gave $30 for, if youre not comfortable with it dont do it. just remember there are a hundred ways to catch a HUNGRY striper, and zero ways to catch one that aint hungry
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