Question regarding stripers on top

[charlie1]

Last night (Nov. 30) I went out just before dusk on Watts Bar to catch some striper on topwater. Just before dark and through "dusk" I was catching fish "V-waking" a chrome and blue Redfin. I got lots of swirls and blow-ups, too, but as soon as it got completely dark I couldn't catch a cold. Even more frustrating was about an hour after it got completely dark there were fish blowing up within casting distance of the boat EVERY MINUTE (seriously) and I threw every topwater lure ever invented and got maybe two blow-ups. So then I tried throwing slivers and all kinds of crankbaits and jerkbaits and didn't catch a thing. Any suggestions from you diehard striper guys?

[Yank]

I have had that happen lots of times on Cherokee. Try a Hopkin Spoon ( Match Size of the shad or smaller . Let it fall below the breaking Stripers there are more underneath them . or a Bucktail white or pink .another trick is a White Rattletrap or little Fishy. If that don't work go home and have Beer... YANK

[charlie1]

Thanks Yank.

[tglass]

Hey charlie are you still seeing those fish breaking or have you been back out there yet? I usually fish cumberland and the river but want to get out and explore a few more areas. I am pretty much a catch and release guy but have kept a few from cumberland. I always leet my big river fish go so they can get even bigger. I love catching them on top. Would really like to get in on some of that action. If you could let me know how it is going down there i would really appreciate it. Thanks

Tom

[charlie1]

I haven't been back out since. My father-in-law had a heart attack and triple by-pass last weekend and he's still unconcious. I'm seeing a LOT of gull action about a mile upstream of the Kingston 58 bridge.

[tglass]

i am very sorry to hear the about your father in law. I hope the best for him. Thank you for your reply. i am thinking about hitting Norris when they are surfacing a lot. I know i heard a lot about Norris last winter and i want to get in on that kinda action. I love catching topwater fish. Thanks again.

Tom

[MeanMorone]

I've had stripers swirl at my lure during the day and then bust my lure once it got dark. Your situation is different. I aggree with Yank. I've been on Cherokee and Cumberland when the stripers were keyed in on small shad. If you don't throw something at least close to the same size, you wont get bit. Try throwing a small 1/4 once bucktail jig and let that bad boy sink slow before reeling it back.

[Moose1am]

Threadfin shad only grow to about 4" long. And the threadfin have multiple spawns so the YOY threadfins may be pretty small at this time of the year. I agree that matching the hatch is the way to go.

A dark colored lure will be more visible from below on a bright clear day. Looking up from the lake bottom to the surface one would see brigth blue lighted sky. Any lure that contrasts with that light colored sky will stand out like a sore thumb. On the contrary as it gets darker outside the sky appears much darker from the bottom of the lake looking up at the surface. So maybe a lighter colored lure would stand out and reflect any avaiable light to the surroundings. Unless you want the lure to blend in with the sky to make it harder to see I would use a lure of contrasting color as compared to the sky's color. More light in the sky use a darker lure. At least the bottom part of the lure would need to be a darker shad to stand out better from the lighter colored sky.

Sometimes you have to think like a fish to catch a fish. IE see things from the fish's point of view and then figure out what makes a fish tick!

Regards,

Moose1am