Quote Originally Posted by stripernut1 View Post
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!!!