Cumberland striper fishing

[elishaman]

I am new to striper fishing so I would appreciate any info that you guys can pass on the me. I have a 20' Ranger, planer boards and down riggers. Where to fish, best times to fish, etc. Been told lower part of lake near Beaver Creek? Its been years since i have been on Cumberland but I live in Northerner KY so its not too far away. Thanks.

[Duayne]

I am new to striper fishing so I would appreciate any info that you guys can pass on the me. I have a 20' Ranger, planer boards and down riggers. Where to fish, best times to fish, etc. Been told lower part of lake near Beaver Creek? Its been years since i have been on Cumberland but I live in Northerner KY so its not too far away. Thanks.

Almost any time but right now. Striper fishing is horrible right now. Stripers are more interested in making whoopie, the lake is up in the trees and full of junk, Pollen gets on any line you put in the water and ruins it.

the area of the lake depends much more on the time of year. The lower lake will pick up soon enough but right now most of the fish just aren't interested and most of the ones that are are feeding at night.

[elishaman]

thanks for the input

anyone else have any advise? What to throw or troll. What time of year?

[stripernut1]

Ive said it many times before....I will say it again....book a trip with a guide, you will be years ahead in time and a small fortune saved in money spent on the "wrong" stuff.
This striper fishing gig is pretty specific and specialized, the equipment the guides use is on the boat for a good reason, its been proven to work. They will teach you how to use it the right way. The average trip will cost around $300-350...get a couple buddies to go and youre talking $100ish Per person. You will spend that much over and over banging your head against a wall from getting advice that was yesterdays information . Also Im not trying to make it sound difficult, but striper fishing is not a "what bait is hot right now" what spot is producing right now, its a process that is learned over a period of time, the guide trip will reduce that time.
Or you can enjoy learning the process on your own over the years lol.

[Duayne]

Ive said it many times before....I will say it again....book a trip with a guide, you will be years ahead in time and a small fortune saved in money spent on the "wrong" stuff.
This striper fishing gig is pretty specific and specialized, the equipment the guides use is on the boat for a good reason, its been proven to work. They will teach you how to use it the right way. The average trip will cost around $300-350...get a couple buddies to go and youre talking $100ish Per person. You will spend that much over and over banging your head against a wall from getting advice that was yesterdays information . Also Im not trying to make it sound difficult, but striper fishing is not a "what bait is hot right now" what spot is producing right now, its a process that is learned over a period of time, the guide trip will reduce that time.
Or you can enjoy learning the process on your own over the years lol.

^^^^ This ^^^^

I'm 53 and I've been fishing for them since I was 20. I've taken around 12 guide trips over the years and I'm thinking of doing another one soon. As much as I know, I always learn more when I get with the right guide. Stripers can move 20 miles in a day. Knowing WHY they moved is infinitely more valuable than knowing THAT they moved.

As Stripernut says, there is so much more to this gig than just picking a spot and throwing out bait.

Honestly, I think a guide could clean up if they offered courses on thing like, Techniques for catching bait, net selection, light selection how to know how long to let the net drop, how to manage the bait after you catch it. Bait tank management and keeping bait, tackle selection, how to really use planer boards effectively, how to know the depth of planer board lines and down lines. A course on night fishing during the day so you know how to position the boat and properly use the lures. I had two guys on my boat that I helped get close to right this past weekend for a few hours and they would have never caught a fish by throwing the right lures the way they started out. They had the right tools but were using them wrong.

There are hundreds of things that lead to a successful day that the average fisherman never know about when they get on a guide boat. If you do take a guide trip to learn ASK A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS!!!

[jcb]

Pollen gets on any line you put in the water and ruins it.

Duayne, can you explain this? The pollen is bunching up so much you have to pick it off?

[Duayne]

Duayne, can you explain this? The pollen is bunching up so much you have to pick it off?

Sure. A bunch of the trees and bushes are blooming in the area and the water has all this brown stuff in it. When you cast (or probably troll) that brown stuff gathers on your line and travels down the line to your bait. By the time you finish a cast there is a glob of brown gunk attached to the line and you have to pick it off with your fingers. It doesn't just flick off; you have to use your fingers to pull it off. If you don't you are going to cast with this brown glob on your bait or just above it.

Maybe it wasn't everywhere on the lake or maybe it's just close to the shores but it was everywhere we went in a short period of time.

[MrPike]

^^^^ This ^^^^

I'm 53 and I've been fishing for them since I was 20. I've taken around 12 guide trips over the years and I'm thinking of doing another one soon. As much as I know, I always learn more when I get with the right guide. Stripers can move 20 miles in a day. Knowing WHY they moved is infinitely more valuable than knowing THAT they moved.

As Stripernut says, there is so much more to this gig than just picking a spot and throwing out bait.

Honestly, I think a guide could clean up if they offered courses on thing like, Techniques for catching bait, net selection, light selection how to know how long to let the net drop, how to manage the bait after you catch it. Bait tank management and keeping bait, tackle selection, how to really use planer boards effectively, how to know the depth of planer board lines and down lines. A course on night fishing during the day so you know how to position the boat and properly use the lures. I had two guys on my boat that I helped get close to right this past weekend for a few hours and they would have never caught a fish by throwing the right lures the way they started out. They had the right tools but were using them wrong.

There are hundreds of things that lead to a successful day that the average fisherman never know about when they get on a guide boat. If you do take a guide trip to learn ASK A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS!!!

Duayne, do you have any recommendations on a guide for me? You can PM me a response if you want. Thanks

[Duayne]

Duayne, do you have any recommendations on a guide for me? You can PM me a response if you want. Thanks

My first choice is Lance Sasser but I know him the best. As a matter of fact, I was having trouble figuring out rod holder placement on my Brother-in-law's new boat and he swung by this past weekend and helped me out just as a favor. He's very hard to get as his schedule is usually months out but it's worth a try. Jared Harmon is a member here and posts quite a bit. I don't know him, haven't talked with him other than posts, but he seems very knowledgeable and helpful from my interactions here. They both write reports for fishin.com

http://www.fishin.com/forums2/member...6-Jared-Harmon

Supporting them supports this site. Having said that, there are plenty of guides down there and several people here will also be able to point you to their favorite. Most of the guides are going to be polite and answer your questions. Ask if they are willing to talk through what they are doing as they do it and take notes. Also ask if you could show up early during bait catching. PROMISE to not get in the way and you'll just watch without interaction. You are not always going to know what questions to ask. If you did, you probably would already have the answers. Ha!

I asked Lance a year or so back if I could hire him and take my boat and my equipment. He said yes without hesitation. Now, asking a guide to do that who doesn't know you probably won't fly but Lance knows me and knows my boat. To me, that will be the ultimate learning experience and I'll probably learn a 1000 things I am doing wrong. LOL

[stripernut1]

when talking to a guide planning a trip
BE SURE YOU EXPLAIN UP FRONT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.
Believe it or not it makes a difference, there are different methods of preparation involved in say taking a family with four kids versus 1 or 2 guys taking a learning trip, you will show up at the dock waaay earlier than the family with the kids for starters, and it goes in different directions from there. the family with kids will probably want to get out there, get the fish in the box as fast as possible, get back to the dock and eat breakfast and start their day of swimming, pleasure boating etc etc. you arent looking for that trip lol, so the guide will need to plan for that.