I'll try and answer all the Qs here

None of my stripers were caught in water deeper than 50 ft. I pulled up on a main lake flat and fan casted 8 lines from 10 ft off the bank (10 ft of water) out to about 50 ft. The biggin came out of 50 ft. Seemed the fish got smaller the closer they were to the bank, but i had more action on the rods in 25ft or less of water. Mainly because the bass kept biting. Others had better luck with landing the bass (I use bigger hooks) but a guide got 7 keeper size smallies Saturday bottom fishing shad in the same area. The lake is waaaay down - you can see cofins and bones at Cemetary Point. I know the lake was dropping too b/c i had to jump from the marina to the shoreline when i got back in - the water dropped enough to make the walking ramp fall into the water. The mainlake temp was around 65 degrees last weekend.

I think you need a lot of bait when fishing this way. Most of my bites came not long after i casted out a fresh shad - so change your bait often. They don't stay alive much longer than 1/2 hour on your hook, even in this water temp. A good bait tank can easily hold 4 alwives per gallon. Make sure to use plenty of salt.

Good luck - I hope everyone makes it out for a little fall action...