Cumberland winter stripes

[Duayne]

Geeeez now i am starting to wonder how all this rain and flooding is going to affect the fishing. I still have 2 weeks and i am pumped!!!

Which part are you fishing? Debris will be the biggest issue if the lake holds and drops slowly. Lots of wind and some dryer weather will be your friend. Having said that, fishing around debris fields can be frustrating but highly rewarding. Look for fish to move closer to the banks real soon. They were staging closer last weekend.

[bsg2121]

Which part are you fishing? Debris will be the biggest issue if the lake holds and drops slowly. Lots of wind and some dryer weather will be your friend. Having said that, fishing around debris fields can be frustrating but highly rewarding. Look for fish to move closer to the banks real soon. They were staging closer last weekend.

Coming out of jamestown. I will definitely be trying greasy and wolfe. Might check out lily, beaver and otter. Will head towards back of creek and hug that shoreline pulling planners and balloons. My spread will give me nice coverage off the bank to deep.

[bsg2121]

The countdown is on. 5 days and im out of here. I hoping i can count on a few of you on some striper input and lake conditions. I want to look like a striper genius to my friends im taking who have never been. Ha! Dad rode down to jamestown to get a few things ready for us on the houseboat yesterday. He said the water was muddy and high. Guessing lots of debris too. Hopefully that improves but some of this might be a little tricky. I know we will have fun either way! Im sure i will find those fish eventually too if not maybe some crappie off the dock. I will report back to thread daily on the trip with good or bad news. Thx!

[luvtohunt]

Seen some good shad and was reading good fish on the graph up in fishing creek Sunday while I was looking for crappie. Made me regret leaving my striper stuff at home. May give them a shot this weekend myself. That is if the forecast rain isn't crazy.

[bsg2121]

Seen some good shad and was reading good fish on the graph up in fishing creek Sunday while I was looking for crappie. Made me regret leaving my striper stuff at home. May give them a shot this weekend myself. That is if the forecast rain isn't crazy.

Spoting fish thats good. Fishing creek is a haul from where i will be but will be focusing on creeks in my area. Im in no matter how bad it gets. Ha. Weather channel says 1-3 inches of snow sun night. Mon. Tues. look good. Cold but dry. I got the gear to be warm so as long as it is daylight i will be out.

[stripernut1]

Good luck, youre going to need it. bait is darned near impossible. you will see plenty of fish in all the right places but they are extremely finicky and maybe they bite and maybe they dont. you will start the day with a couple short stripers, a smallmouth, a couple largemouth, and then you might hit a keeper...maybe on the keeper though.
the only thing i know for sure is you wont catch anything if you dont go.
p.s. snow bothers fishermen a lot more than it bothers stripers lol

[Duayne]

Bait has picked up for me and I haven't had any issues getting fish to hit. Granted, I am getting tons of small\mid sized bait and not getting lots of large baits (15 a drop Saturday and 30 a drop Sunday) but the stripers are eating mid sized bait just fine on down sized hooks. Short fish were a tad more up the creek than the keeper stripers. Down lines 30, 37, 20 and 18 and shallow boards. I got four keepers back to back to back to back Saturday and Sunday mornings in a few hours along with several shorts. If you are getting shorts, move down the creek just a tad. Pulling bait is a pain in the behind due to the trash but it's worth it. Put out a lot of bait and cover ground until you find them. The fish I found chased quick baits just fine.

[bsg2121]

Bait has picked up for me and I haven't had any issues getting fish to hit. Granted, I am getting tons of small\mid sized bait and not getting lots of large baits (15 a drop Saturday and 30 a drop Sunday) but the stripers are eating mid sized bait just fine on down sized hooks. Short fish were a tad more up the creek than the keeper stripers. Down lines 30, 37, 20 and 18 and shallow boards. I got four keepers back to back to back to back Saturday and Sunday mornings in a few hours along with several shorts. If you are getting shorts, move down the creek just a tad. Pulling bait is a pain in the behind due to the trash but it's worth it. Put out a lot of bait and cover ground until you find them. The fish I found chased quick baits just fine.

Thanks for the great report. Really appreciate it! That makes me feel good about my plan. Thx to everyone for the information! Be back soon thx!

[stripernut1]

yep, bait is better where youre at duayne, there just isnt any useable size in the jamestown area. and to make matters worse as you know its not safe to run anywhere in the dark to get to better water. meh, its ok, i have 10 months left this year to get back on em lol

[stripernut1]

Thanks for the great report. Really appreciate it! That makes me feel good about my plan. Thx to everyone for the information! Be back soon thx!

just an idea, i know you are staying at jamestown, but trust me, they are catching more bait AND fish in the indian creek area and the creeks down on that end of the lake. you might consider trailering from jtown to the dam and catch bait before daylight and fish that area.
this is just an idea based on very current conditons, they could change as you know.

[bsg2121]

just an idea, i know you are staying at jamestown, but trust me, they are catching more bait AND fish in the indian creek area and the creeks down on that end of the lake. you might consider trailering from jtown to the dam and catch bait before daylight and fish that area.
this is just an idea based on very current conditons, they could change as you know.

Thx buddy! My plan was greasy and wolfe first. Maybe lilly but beaver and otter as well. Indian is a haul by water and i am not really wanting to pull out and drive to damm. U think beaver and otter might ok? I can take my time and get there.

[stripernut1]

Thx buddy! My plan was greasy and wolfe first. Maybe lilly but beaver and otter as well. Indian is a haul by water and i am not really wanting to pull out and drive to damm. U think beaver and otter might ok? I can take my time and get there.

yep, there will be fish in beaver and otter. the problem is good bait in jamestown. its muddy at jamestown and the light wont penetrate the water well enough to draw good bait. you can use shiners but they are a last resort to good alewives
p.s. let me save you some time and eliminate some unproductive water, lilly is still very cold water temps.