Samkam1

Heading down to fish Saturday -- looks like the weather is going to be outstanding, even if the fishing isnt! We will put in at Lost Bridge South. Anyone been striper fishing lately? SK

Take a look at Thompsons report -- he has some great info. We have been 4-5 times in the past couple weeks hunting walleye -- they are so full of shad that they are a bit finicky. I would try both points and flats, concentrating on the thermalcline at ~20ft. We tried everything from trolling bottom bouncers, harnesses/spinners, jig and minnow/crawler and we caught a few, nothing spectacular though like we got early spring -- its all about being in the right place at the right time. If you ever get a chance to hit Erie...it is such an awesome walleye fishery! I posted from our trip back in April in the U.S.A North Region forum on Ozark Anglers. What a trip!!! Best of luck out there! SK

Lake Erie

Im laughing so hard tears are falling...

dang nipple biters!

You can get in some good fishing from a deep v -- dad has a 21 foot starcraft and we've had it on taney quite a few times. They run cruise ships up and down the lake -- so if they can make it a deep V fishing boat should be fine :-))

The best lake on the white river chain? I would have to disagree heartily on that one, but everyone is entitled to their opinion :-)

Very cool! Dad has had his for 17 years....we have a lot of memories on that boat. It is pretty much a cherry -- going to be a great find for someone. SK

I have found that Craigslist can be addicting! Sold some old things sitting around in the garage that I didnt think I could even give away. Dad put his old Glastron on there -- click here

We were marking 87-89 degrees on the surface last Saturday -- feels like bathwater. I've never seem so many shad in the lake, its unbelievable. The flooding and slow receding worked wonders for the fish and bait population. Should be an excellent next few seasons. The guides have been taking a lot of 30-40lb fish the last few weeks. We will be down there on this Friday and Saturday in the black Starfcaft. Good luck guys! SK

That is really cool -- It sounds like they are doing well in there. They really wouldnt need to be stocked...once they get a good foot hold. They are a proliferate species. Do they have a limit set on them in BS?

Has anyone tried trapping or seining bait in the James? Any good access to do so around the FR 141 bridges? We are looking for shad, golden shiners, and suckers -- anyone seen any in that area? Thanks in advance! SK

It was a bit slow and hot on Saturday -- we started around point 3 and moved towards coppermine looking for fish. We got off the water at 10 when it started roasting. There wasnt a lick of breeze. Caught a few around Rocky Branch area (nothing great, biggest was 12ish), had a couple others hooked but lost them. I rared back on one to set the hook and the pole snapped clean in 2...felt like a good fish :-( that gave him slack and he was gone. Marked most fish and shad in the Rocky Branch area and on down towards coppermine. They have soooo much shad to eat this season it seems like they were hard to talk into taking our shiners. I think if you have the right bait you can catch the fish early and late...from about 5-8am and then again from about 7pm-dark. We saw a few coming up top, very scattered though. Most of the fish and shad we marked were suspended 20-35 in 35-50 FOW. Looking forward to the three day weekend!!!! It really takes more than one day to figure them out, they move so often. Good luck, tight lines. SK

That's quite a perch, saw him last evening down at BPS on the landing. The fella is in a quarantine net until he gets used to the tank and the other fish get used to him. I think they should go ahead and stock them if they do ok in there -- quite the table fare!!! Have had some from Lake Erie trips. SK

Our prayers are with you guys as well. Sorry to hear about your g'pa. Hope you are all doing well. Sounds like you had a great time down at RR.....we fished the 18th-22nd down at Norfork -- the fishing was tough out on the lake and we couldnt get any good shiners or shad for stripers so we only caught a couple the whole time we were down there. Caught a few black and white bass, tons of perch, but mainly spent most of the time floating in the water because is was SO HOT. The lake was beautiful -- bathtub clear down to about 15 ft or more. We fished for a few hours down in the tailwaters (because we couldnt get the stripers or walleye to bite on the main lake ) where the Norfork meets the White....they had just started generating so the river came up quick and tons of moss with it...we did end up catching a few stockers on power bait which was cool. Man that river is awesome...I want to rent a river boat and go catch some hogs. The stripes are biting good down at Beaver -- we will probably be going every weekend for a while. We'll call you next time we head down and see if you can hop in and head down with us. See you soon! SK

Hey man thanks again. We are going to give it a try this weekend -- I think we have plenty of baits to try. I know there are some huge walleye hiding in there...did you try any daytime fishing or was it all at night?

Which size reef's were you using? Did you run them out on planers? Did you have to add any weights to get the depth you wanted? Sounds like you guys had a great time...congrats on the awesome trip, and thanks for the info!! SK

Heading to the lake this weekend!! We will be down thursday-sunday. How high is the lake right now? We're hoping the stripers are in the trees like they were last year this time. We are going to be staying at Hand Cove -- fishing that end of the lake around the dam, frog pond, koso, hudson, etc. Anyone seen any bait balls around there with shad big enough to catch with a cast net? Is the sand beach at the island under water? Can't wait to finally get in some good fishing! Looks like it is going to be a hot one. tight lines and good fishing, SK

MDC seasons page click here

Dad got sick on Saturday so we werent able to go down -- had to settle for a mess of Crappie at Stockton on Sunday. :-) how did you guys do?

heading down for Saturday evening and Sunday -- likely will put in at Lost Bridge South -- Any reports for up in that area? will be looking for topwater bite early and late and bait fishing in between. Thanks in advance! SK

Awesome pics, looks like you guys had a great time! Did you have to take a long boat ride or were they pretty close? I'm ready to get down there the next few weekends. You're hooked now, striper fishing will bug you the rest of your life SK

I threw together a video of the trip

Any stripper action is good stripper action, no?

Yeah they have made some serious changes and improvements and the lake has really turned out awesome. If you get out a few miles, the water is emerald clear. I believe the numbers on walleye for 2008 were 67 million, and perch was around 150 million. They seem to be doing great in there! We tried to stay away from the pack of boats most of the time -- found our own fish. It was a spectacle though to see 500 boats stacked up fishing like that.