Striper Fishing

[buddy]

A couple of questions:

1) When do you decide to bottom fish for stripers versus pulling planer boards?

2) When you are bottom fishing, what are the "spots" or locations to look for--points, flats, slate, gravel, clay/pebble shoreline?

Any help would be appreciated. I have been going every weekend for the last 2 months without any luck fishing on the main lake near the dam to Caney Creek the past two weekends. In addion, I have yet to see any "jumps" this fall--what has happen?

[striperfishin]

I am not a pro - but I bottom fish in the spring or late winter after fronts have passed through and you have bluebird skies. at this time of year, fish are back in the creek and are anywhere from 0-25 ft deep near the shoreline. Boards will work best with no weight or light weight. I will start out every morning pulling boards - regardless of the weather. Now, if there is bluebird skies and i have no fish by 10am, i go to the bottom. if i have no fish and there is cloud cover, i hang with it all day. i do not come off the lake until dark. 12 hours of trolling around 6-8 shad all day should result in a fish or 2 - even on a bad day. if the clouds are there, the fish will stay up in their normal patterns. if we struggle with seeing fish on the screen during the cloud covers, we may go back farther into the creek for warmer water or towards the main lake for warmer water. we will also look for murky or stained water.

no clouds means bright sun, and the fish will hug the bottom of the channel. try clay and dirt points or flats and fish carolina style with live shad. i will often find a flat where clay meets some shale bluff. there may be a change of structure or water temp in a spot like that. lastly, the bottom method can be effective all year long, not just spring/winter (that is just the only time i go). personally, i feel the fish are always on the move and always hugging the shoreline searching for food. in the SP/Winter, fish in the backs of the creeks. In summer/Fall, do the same exact thing on the main lake points and flats.