Stripper tips/ tricks

[quack head 11]

Me and my bud are fixing to start trying to hit the stripers-hybrid as hard as our time will allow.

I have been a total of 5 times ever.

The times I have been we trolled live bait and had a top water plug of some type in case a school came up nearby.

We will mainly be fishing Clarks Hill.

Any advice or tips would be much appreciated.

I know time on the water is the only way to catch em but if you have any ideas that may save us some heartache that will be great.

Is trolling the best way?

[Tha Dick]

Don't fish the hill much, but Hartwell a lot. Trolling should start picking up with the hot weather. Try in the channels and basicly try to find where the fish are holding. There are really scattered right now. Good luck

[quack head 11]

Thanks, should we try to key around the timber under water, or ledges in the creek channels?

Will stripers lay around structure like a largemouth?

[Dook]

Thanks, should we try to key around the timber under water, or ledges in the creek channels?

Will stripers lay around structure like a largemouth?

Hell naw

Ride the river channels, creek channels, road beds, points, and "blow throughs".

Your gps is your friend. Reading it is hard work. If you pass over a school of fish, remember one thing for me. You can't catch them if your bait is not within sight.

slow, steady, and make sure to keep fresh bait on da hooks.

Clarks hill is hot striper fishing, lots of hybrids. Start down around fishing village.

Also remember that Herring is the preferred bait there.

good luck.

[quack head 11]

Hey Dook, what do you mean by "blow through"? Sorry, I prolly should know that.


I am gonna have to check out down the lake near the dam, we normally fish up the lake behind the Russel dam

[cedarcreek89]

I'm not a striper expert by any means and I usually fish at lake murray. But last week I had luck with free lined live herring and we caught a few using down rods between 20 and 30 feet.

Also had a bite on yellow 3/8oz bucktail with a yellow trailer as soon as it hit the water.This may not apply where you're fishing but it worked for me. Good luck

[buckshot1224]

give me about three weeks and I'll tell you where they are on the Hill........

plenty there, size is the only issue at times

[Dook]

Where's my fillets?

[tprice]

Don't fish the Hill either much, Hartwell is the lake I spend 90 % of my striper time on, other is Russell and Lake X (LOL)


This time of year most guys do well night fishing but I hate night fishing with a passion but some live for it. Anchor up with two anchors and put out lights on main channels and drop baits down deep

To me right now is kind of in between live bait and trolling, the trolling normally starts getting good in July thru Sept. I troll the main channel and big water of Hartwell with leadcore line and I also have two downriggers. I can run up to 4 lines with ease when alone and if I have a buddy in the boat we sometimes will break out the outriggers and run 6 lines (4 with leadcore and 2 on downriggers)

The downriggers are lot easier than leadcore since you can use normal tackle, leadcore will take saltwater size reels to hold all the line. I troll the road runner lures with big trailers.
Lot of guys on Hartwell also use Cisco Kids, they do something to the lip to give them better action. I have a couple but never have much luck with them.

Also the deep diving crank baits like Manns stretch 25-30's, Bomber CFD's , etc will work well. You just have to keep playing with lures and colors to see what works

I have my best luck on days when a strong front is trying to come through, I have actually had a guy get sick on my boat on Hartwell it was so rough(21' CC) (I did not think it was that bad) and I hated to leave due to we were wearing the fish out

Late summer will also find huge schools coming to surface on Hartwell around the Sadlers Creek area which is right at the start of the big water. Keep couple of light spinning reels loaded up with jigs or top water lures and these things are a blast.

The trolling works good until deer season and live bait (freelines) will normally start back around early December if water is colder.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

You can read the Midlands Striper message board as well as the Striper Queens (Kings) and just follow reports. You will get some good reports on there and most guys will give you plenty of tips but you also get some jerks too, or as they think "Professional Striper fishermen".

[Dook]

Hey t you have any real luck on the plugs? We fish some, but like you have read before we find very few south of 12 foot of water this time of year.

All road runners ? No bladeless bucktails?

[tprice]

Hey t you have any real luck on the plugs? We fish some, but like you have read before we find very few south of 12 foot of water this time of year.

All road runners ? No bladeless bucktails?

Have some luck on the plugs but the fish mostly come on roadrunners, I think it is the blades. I also use the biggest trailer I can find

I do also use just plain bucktails but I will be honest when you see the fish on your graph if you can get your depth right above them they will bite most of the time.

Trick is the depth

[DRDUCK]

You need to fish with us from October to April on Murray TPrice! Do not fish in this heat.

[Stripa Swipa]

Travel North....

[Dook]

T - I beleive if the depth and the fish are there they will hit anything any color. They real key to depth is "fish feed up".

You know, we went to weldon this year, and I was overall disappointed, not to the point that I won't do it again next year, but the massive crowds and overall 17" fish population, I didn't fin that 50lber I was looking for......but they limit how you can fish for stripers there (and rightfully so i guess)

I wanna go Chesapeake fishing some time soon.

[Rubberhead*]

I used to could catch a fair amount trolling green/black back Stretch 25+ on Lake Moultrie. I'd run two straight off the back of the boat in 7' rods, and two off of flat line clips right at water level. They were always particular about color. It would get hard to find the green with the black backs so I'd get the straight green and use a Sharpie to black the backs. Yes, it mattered.

[tprice]

You need to fish with us from October to April on Murray TPrice! Do not fish in this heat.

I do prefer to fish the winter and spring, my problem is I own an Accounting/Income Tax business so my work is slammed from January thru end of April however I will pick a couple of days in March to slip out on the water

I really like the freelines and planer board fishing more than anything but the trolling in summer gives me something to do when I have time off and is normally productive

I have a spot to go in mid summer if conditions are right that we don't catch much but when we do catch one it is normally 20+lbs(we release these) but it is such a short window of opportunity I do not do it a lot and this is freelines in middle of summer

[Dook]

I do prefer to fish the winter and spring, my problem is I own an Accounting/Income Tax business so my work is slammed from January thru end of April however I will pick a couple of days in March to slip out on the water

I really like the freelines and planer board fishing more than anything but the trolling in summer gives me something to do when I have time off and is normally productive

I have a spot to go in mid summer if conditions are right that we don't catch much but when we do catch one it is normally 20+lbs(we release these) but it is such a short window of opportunity I do not do it a lot and this is freelines in middle of summer

So what is the reason you don't fish your planer boards in the summer, the fish go deep or something?

[cedarcreek89]

T - They real key to depth is "fish feed up".

I've heard this too and usually try to get my bait 1-2ft above where im marking fish.

My question is how far do they "feed up"?

[Dook]

I've heard this too and usually try to get my bait 1-2ft above where im marking fish.

My question is how far do they "feed up"?

Well most of the fish we are catching are laying 10-12 ft deep over 25-30 ft of water. I am catching them on freelines, and down lines at 5-7 feet deep. I am just a believer in they can't eat what they can't see, and their eyes are on top of they head....Hence fish feed up.

Distance of feeding up is prolly determined by water clarity and whether they are actually "feeding"?> That is where Rick Taylor's "Prime Times" pays off.

[cedarcreek89]

Well most of the fish we are catching are laying 10-12 ft deep over 25-30 ft of water. I am catching them on freelines, and down lines at 5-7 feet deep. I am just a believer in they can't eat what they can't see, and their eyes are on top of they head....Hence fish feed up.

Distance of feeding up is prolly determined by water clarity and whether they are actually "feeding"?> That is where Rick Taylor's "Prime Times" pays off.

Good points. Are you in major creek channels? Or closer to the banks? I've been sticking around the dam at murray-marking fish 15-30

Not familiar with Rick Taylor's Prime Times I assume they are feeding times?