Night time striper?

[stripernut1]

Fishing tough for us Friday and Sat nights. One short fish Fri nite before dark and one borderline keeper Sat. It was on a Bomber off the bank. Lower end had water temps 61-67. Alewives in decent, but not like the good 'ol days. Only heard 2 stripers blow up in two nights. The rest of the stuff were walleyes, which pestered my partner's jointed topwater to no end. Trees made casting at night interesting. I waited 7 years for this????

yup, the bite is SLOW, casting the banks is tough to just da near impossible depending on where your at, and getting to and from can be treacherous due to the floating debris. and yes this is what we waited 7 years for, as the shoreline continued to grow thickets of saplings i knew it was going to be frustrating trying to nite fish. i dont see it getting any easier in the near future as these trees die off they wil still be standing for a very long time.

[HURRICANEBOB]

yup, the bite is SLOW, casting the banks is tough to just da near impossible depending on where your at, and getting to and from can be treacherous due to the floating debris. and yes this is what we waited 7 years for, as the shoreline continued to grow thickets of saplings i knew it was going to be frustrating trying to nite fish. i dont see it getting any easier in the near future as these trees die off they wil still be standing for a very long time.

Well....I guess I'll be fishing the dam breast all spring. No trees, and at least the ramp is close.

Ya know if ya fish the right part of the dam, you can still hit the thiefs snooping around your truck with a .22 long rifle shot.

And come to think of it, I might just let the boat tied up to the dock and downpole under my own light........shhhhhaaaaawing......no gas, no hull dents. :-)

[apb]

yup, the bite is SLOW, casting the banks is tough to just da near impossible depending on where your at, and getting to and from can be treacherous due to the floating debris. and yes this is what we waited 7 years for, as the shoreline continued to grow thickets of saplings i knew it was going to be frustrating trying to nite fish. i dont see it getting any easier in the near future as these trees die off they wil still be standing for a very long time.

Know what you mean! Fishincreek and I had to really chose our banks. Skipped over some past producing banks cause there was too much brush on them to fish. What do you think about the brush/trees that are a little deeper off the banks. Will this keep stripers off those banks too? I know stripers are much more of an open water predator, so not good at chasing bait around trees and other structure.

[Duayne]

It is true that stripers do not maneuver in cover as well as, say, bass. But spawning bait is easy pickins' even with cover on the banks. They will move up with the bait when the bait moves up. I am hearing the bait just hasn't moved up yet but they will. IF I were going to night fish right now it would be with bucks off the banks or large red fins (or APB plugs) old style. ie: Perpendicular to the bank and more than a full cast away from the bank. That used to be the way to get it done over 20 years ago and it would be something that would be worth a shot right now.

[apb]

Yep, we tried parallel and perpendicular to the banks. Surface and subsurface plugs and bucktails. Some alewifes in, but not real heavy. Only heard two striper blow ups all night. Plenty of walleye around to harass us, just none of our striped friends. Thought it somewhat weird to have that much bait on the bank, but hear only 2 stripers. Could also be that we just picked a bank that the stripers were not on at that time. Alewifes were also scattered from 3/4 the way back to the main lake, which may have also contributed.

[ttwigg]

I just want to here more about slip owners owning the water under them and the light in the sky. Guys you own whats floating on the water, not the water. I can't believe a true fisherman would make that claim. I guess the structure you sank is yours too. Because you work as a guide or whatever doesn't give you the right to tell someone not to fish your water or artificial light. If I am wrong please show me the document you live by and I will say I am sorry and move on. I read all this stuff and sometimes can't help but ask for clairification.

[kentuckykingfisher]

I just want to here more about slip owners owning the water under them and the light in the sky. Guys you own whats floating on the water, not the water. I can't believe a true fisherman would make that claim. I guess the structure you sank is yours too. Because you work as a guide or whatever doesn't give you the right to tell someone not to fish your water or artificial light. If I am wrong please show me the document you live by and I will say I am sorry and move on. I read all this stuff and sometimes can't help but ask for clairification.

It doesn't matter about documents... It's called common decency and being courteous to others that have put the time and effort and money to ensure they have baitfish when they head out to fish. I see lights on a dock slip I try staying far away as possible just because I believe it's the right thing to do (respectful I guess)! Sure those guys don't own the water but put yourself in the slip owners position it would be frustrating as hell having people spook off your bait. You have to look at it in another perspective not just the paperwork. OK I'm done with that.... In other news I've made a few trips down this year. The lake is all new to me never even saw the water until last year. Went out with my cousin who lives down there and he agreed thing we're slow but heard a couple fish bust the top of the water but never had any strikes. I've been skunked quite a bit but I'm excited over just hearing the fish nearby. can't wait to hook up on one.

[kstonich]

In several replies members mention pesky Walleye, are you catching walleye or short striking your lures.I normally don't have problems catching stripers during the day tossing lures/ bait but I hve no luck catching walleye never had them back home.Any advise would be appreciated.
Also If tossing a bait net was my only options to feed myself I would starve to death quickly. I have spent hours in the front lawn watching you tube videos ect.. I not completely stupid but Im missing something. I'm heading down to the lake in late May for 4-5 days for my annual fishing week and would (1) love to catch some Walleye ,and (2) learn to trough a net. any suggestions.

[Duayne]

Walleye do move up to the banks when the bait goes into spawn. They are more prevalent at night but I have caught them in the first hour of daylight. All the baits that work for stripers will work for walleye this time of year. I tend to find them on points or close to points where stripers could be on the points or on the bluffs. If you find them on one type area, look for more of those type area and you will probably find more of them.

It's hard to say what the issue is with casting the net without seeing it. There are 100s of ways to cast one and you might find that one way works for you better than another. But they all work for someone.. LOL The two mistakes I see the most are not getting the arms out and spinning too hard. Most methods do not take a lot of force, but almost all of them rely on the length of the arm to help generate the centrifugal force needed to open the net. The best advice is to start with a small net and work your way up. That means on the water too. There is nothing more funny than getting it down in the yard, getting next to a wad of bait on the water, and completely blowing it with a V8! LOL Seriously, it's better to get a small net open over the bait than to V8 a large one and get nothing.

[boskeet]

I agree that you should try different methods of throwing. My dad and I can both throw the net decent enough but we use entirely different methods. He's tall (almost 6'5) and has long arms which help him with the way he throws. I'm 5'10 and can't do it using dad's method. Youtube is how we learned.


Duayne makes a good point. Just because you can throw it good in the yard does NOT mean you can do the same in a boat. A few years back when I made my initial attempt at catching bait and throwing the net from the boat, I hurled that thing and ended up netting my own person. That's right, I hit the water before the net did. I lost a good cell phone and a little pride that day

[kstonich]

Im 6-4 and I can make one in 20 throws look good, guess I just need to keep practicing,break out the ipad and spend the day in the front yard until I get a little consistancy with my throws.The lake is 2 1/2 hrs from the georgetown area where I live so I like to be prepared.
OK now back to the original non hijacked post Night fishing, does anyone throw underspin jig heads I saw a post awhile back where one of the members made some real nice looking ones. I was looking at tackle wearhouse and ran across a bait called the triple spin elite jig head, in sizes from 3/8 to 1/2 oz with hooks up to 6/0. Its suppose to run fairly high in the water column and should come though the new debris feild fairly well. Has anyone ever used these here? I couldnt help it I did buy several.They feel fairly well made with decent wire basically A spin off of the alabama rig concept, which I have caught allot of fish on but hate throwing.

[Duayne]

@boskeet:
One of my worst nightmares is ending up in the drink and in the net! Glad you made it out OK.
@kstonich:
Don't know anything about those jig heads. I throw Slivers, Bucktails, Redfins and Gizz 4 baits. Maybe some thundersticks. Those baits have always done will for me so I don't go outside that box much.

Here are some things to consider when you are looking for a method for cast netting.
How long does it take to load?
How much room do you have to turn?
How heavy is the net?
Size of the net?
How wet are you willing to get?
How much room do you have from the ground up?

The last one is a factor for me. My boat rail comes up to my knees on the bow and my waist in the stern. I also cast net wading in FL so my method keeps the entire net above waist high. It takes longer to load and you get more wet. It will also drain you pretty quick if its a heavy net.
I throw one differently if I have plenty of room around and to the ground. That method takes less time to load and I don't have to hold the net up as long. It is also more dry.
I also have a lightening fast way to throw if its my 6' net. Those you can almost grab it, open it some and sling it around.