fresh water striper

[jelli]

the lake i fish on is kinda deep at 120 foot and holds some big stripers i have never fished for these before and i was wondering what to use and how to do it thanx for all opinions

 

[RicMic]

Re: fresh water striper

Hey jelli, you aren't being ignored, you just didn't give enough information. What lake, where, when, do have a boat, what kind, fishing gear etc.

 

[ahoy49]

Re: fresh water striper

Here in Missouri we use the same lures for Strippers as for Whites. Nothing big or fancy. A spinning reel, 6,8,10 pound test line and white maribu jigs or a white buck tail with a spinner. The one thing we always do is have lots of line and keep our drag very loose because the strippers will really take off.

Good luck,

Ahoy

 

[fishrdan]

Re: fresh water striper

the lake i fish on is kinda deep at 120 foot and holds some big stripers

How big.....

I go after the big ones on Lake Mohave and use light saltwater gear, 6.5' 40# tuna rods and 40# test line or surf rods with 25# test line. These stripers are feeding on stocked trout and carp, 20# common with a chance of 40-50# fish. We use trout imitation lures, 10" or bigger.

 

[ahoy49]

Re: fresh water striper

Wow, that's some big fish. The biggest we catch here is around 10 pounds.

Ahoy

 

[dingbat]

Re: fresh water striper

How big.....

I go after the big ones on Lake Mohave and use light saltwater gear, 6.5' 40# tuna rods and 40# test line or surf rods with 25# test line. These stripers are feeding on stocked trout and carp, 20# common with a chance of 40-50# fish. We use trout imitation lures, 10" or bigger.

Why so heavy? We chase the big ones on the Chesapeake and Atlantic using light freshwater gear. 6' ,#12-17, med-hvy, fast action bass rods with 10# braided line. A 10 wt fly rod is even more fun.

 

[jelli]

Re: fresh water striper

Hey jelli, you aren't being ignored, you just didn't give enough information. What lake, where, when, do have a boat, what kind, fishing gear etc.

sorry for not much info. i fish on claytor lake in sw virginia i do have a small jon boat and id like to fish sunday for them i just got back into fishing from when i was a kid and have fished this lake a few times with no luck catching anything {locals that have lived here all ther life call this lake the dead sea but there are lots of fish in it it is stocked just hard to catch anything} i have or can get what ever gear i need and have talked to a few locals around here but none are verry forthcomeing with info

thanks for all opinions

 

[mike243]

Re: fresh water striper

a fish finder would be my first purchase,knowing what depth they are holding in will save a lot of time & trouble.then a couple dozen shiners some circle hooks & small balloons to use as bobbers.strip off your line in 2' pulls in order to set the depth of your bait,then loosley tie a balloon on to keep your bait at the correct depth,when you get a hit the balloon will slide so dont worry about taking it off till you get the fish in,its easy to fish several rods like this & keep the bails open to give you time to grab the rod,good luck,mike243

 

[RicMic]

Re: fresh water striper

Mikes got it right, a good depth finder would be the best piece of equipment you could have this time of year. As the water warms up, the stripers go deeper, BUT they are only going to go where the temperature and oxygen levels are acceptable and that could be anywhere from the surface to 120', its also quite likely that they will move up following bait at night, so lots of guys fish then. Its quite likely the locals don't really know, as the saying goes, 10% of the fisherman, catch 90% of the fish. On the other hand, most guys aren't going to give away hard learned info to a stranger, so find a tackle shop somewhere near there and start making friends and the info will slowly come out. Generally this time of year its going to be live bait, fished at the same depth, that the stripers are hanging at. If the water is very clear at three or four foot fluorcarbon leader tied to a swivel is a good idea, put an small egg sinker on the line above the swivel and your live baitfish hooked through the nose on the hook.

 

[dingbat]

Re: fresh water striper

Suggest you read these articles. Lots of informative information for targeting striped bass using light tackle. Its easy and very effective

http://www.chesapeakelighttackle.com/2009/01/31/light-tackle-jigging-the-basics/

 

[fishrdan]

Re: fresh water striper

Why so heavy?

Reefs, cliffs, trees... If you don't get them out into open water ASAP they will either wrap you up or saw you off. One of my buddies used to say "I can land anything in the river with 17# test" until a couple of them busted him off, tree, rock. There are times when I'm trolling close to shore, weaving in-out of coves, around corners and if a fish hits, the line is coming tight against a cliff or outcropping. Light line will snap, while heavy line just sustains some damage. I know there is a 60#er swimming around down there somewhere and I'm not going out undergunned

jelli, I fish the Colorado river for big ones from a jon boat, stealthy. I won't take it out on the Lake Mohave though, weather gets nasty too quick and the jon boat doesn't like 2'+ waves...

If there are big ones in your lake, 20-30-40-50, troll around with a couple huge lures, the kind that will make the locals laugh and ask where the sharks are at Match the hatch, if there are shad use a huge shad lure, trout, use a huge trout lure. They will be laughing right until you pull a 3-4' fish out of the water. I can almost guarantee you that you won't catch 1 the first trip, could even be 10-20 trips before you catch a big one, but you have to put in your time to figure them out. Big striper fishing isn't for everyone as you have to half expect to come home skunked, but that's what it takes.

 

[RicMic]

Re: fresh water striper

I agree with Fishrdan, that using big lures or baits catches big fish and I do it myself, sometimes, but they catch a lot less fish. In my old age, I am a lot less concerned about catching the one to hang on the wall and a lot more concerned with having fun and trolling for days on end without catching any fish just isn't fun for me. Also those big lures get kind of expensive when you tie them up in the stumps. I would go out and catch a bunch of fish first, then you can always go after the wall hangers and in fact, you may just catch a big one on a small bait. You can also do both at the same time, put some live baits out and cast with a big lure, or put a big live bait out and cast with a smaller lure, often this works out great as a fish will follow the lure in, then hit the live bait.

 

[dingbat]

Re: fresh water striper

I would go out and catch a bunch of fish first, then you can always go after the wall hangers and in fact, you may just catch a big one on a small bait.

Elephants eats peanuts too. Don't forget that.

 

[jelli]

Re: fresh water striper

thanks for all the info guys i do have a fish finder but am just lerning to use it from a guy i talked to today at the tackle shop he says the same thing as everybody here but says use live shiners and to troll really slow thanks again every one