Stripers on cumberland

[QUOTE=gforcetrivers;574151]Seen a picture of 60+ striper caught in KY last weekend.[/QUOTE]

wow!! new state record, cant wait to see it

To be honest, it is entirely possible and actually most likely that a guide could be fishing in 30' in the backs of the creeks and you would not be doing it wrong fishing the main lake! It happens much more than you think. Stripernut and I rarely fish similar water and, in fact, haven't all the way up until this past weekend. Research has found that stripers us much more of the lake than previously thought and they have upped the stocking rates based on those adjusted findings. The one thing that really serves me well is to do my thing and not worry too much what others are doing. There is a saying... It's really hard to catch someone else's fish and I think there is a lot to that. Last weekend I was catching my fish on the surface and really shallow when most people were fishing deeper. I picked up some deeper fish, but I didn't catch limits doing it. And I caught one at 55 when most were focused on 20-35.

I hate to say it, but a top guide trip probably wouldn't go the time limit from now until late summer. LOL You split the guide cost with a buddy. Let your buddy do all the cranking. You ask a ton of questions and take notes. Tell the guide before the trip that you are on an informational trip. A great guide will welcome it. I know of guides that will go on your boat if they know you well enough. If you do hire a guide, pick a time frame when you might struggle the most. And forget the month of May. Everyone has scratch you head days in May. Golf or play put put in May. HA!

Two pieces of advise: Learn to trust what you see on the screen. I use side imaging much more than others looking for bait and fish. And make minor smart changes. See marks at 20 and you aren't getting bites at 18, move up to 16. Not marking? move in and out to see if you can find bait or fish. Sometimes being over 90 foot of water may show nothing but you move in to 70, or out to 110 and you find them.

Right now is a great time to fish on your own if you are a beginner because the fish are still scattered which makes it easier to run into a few. They are starting to group up but the groups are small.

Thanks for the info guys and I wasn't feeling too much hate, I just wanted to make it clear it was only a passing thought, not to be taken seriously. Things just don't come across as clearly typing vs. talking to someone.

Duayne, thanks for the tips. I didn't realize a striper guide would actually indulge someone wanting to learn more than just catch fish. (Give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish - not good for a guide business!) I would take the whole family if I hired a guide. They could catch fish while I studied the sonar and quizzed the guide! :D

Since I seem to have somewhat hijacked this thread, I think I will start a new one. I can explain what I'm doing and the results I get, and hopefully get some feedback. It may be helpful to others like me that read and don't post to learn something along the way.

[QUOTE=gforcetrivers;574151]Seen a picture of 60+ striper caught in KY last weekend.[/QUOTE]

Can you post a link to it here please.