Bass Ivy

Went out Sat. Evening for awhile by myself. Ran into a Striper Guide coming off the water at 12 Bridge. I talked to him, and he said there are alot of stripers in the area between Prairie Creek and Coose and around the North Sides of the Islands. And also around the main point East of the Islands. On the south side of the lake. It would be the point straight across the lake from Pebble Beach. Anyhow I did locate stripers although I did not fish for them much. Then I fished from the mouth of Coose toward the marina. After awhile I ran across some good activity on the fish finder. Lots of shad and some bigger fish moving around. So I pulled out a jiggin spoon and went to work. I probably got to fish about 30 minutes like that before it got dark managed to pull in two big whites. I wish I had gotten lined up on that spot earlier I might have caught myself a good mess. Water temp was about 47.

The last time I posted on here two days ago on this thread I said I wish they would start burning the Military Park off every year. That is the weirdest thing because they burned a big chunk of it off yesterday and last night. The smoke was so thick around the house here last night off the North side of the Military park. They must have gotten a bunch of cedars out before they burnded. Wich is good to get good use out of them for fish habitat instead of just burning them.

The last two times Ive went I launched at Lost Bridge South. I fished up Big Clifty both times. I pretty sure I found some stripers, but Im not very good at catching them just yet. The first ones I spotted on the finder were as you go past point 5 heading into Big Clifty. The first good size cove on the right you come to is where I found them. In the mouth of the cove. There were also some there yesterday. in the same area but there is a point that runs out in the center of the two coves they were off that point in about 80 feet of water. Also found some over a week ago way up in the back where the channel makes the hard turn to the right. Also thought I found some on the main lake side of point 5. And straight across the main lake from Molder Hollow is a nice size cove I found some in there too. Now Im not very good at Striper fishing so just because I thought I found stripers doesnt meen anything. So I really hope that nobody reads what Ive put here and takes it very seriously because I dont think im very good on the stripers. I found shad from shallow all the way down to 40 feet. I know the water is warmer in the deep end of the lake. I probably should be up the rivers, but the water was so muddy and I know stripers dont like the muddy water.

I guess back in the Civil War times there were no Cedar Trees in the Park area. My ancestors Homesteaded the land that I live on now. And I live right off the North side of the Military Park. My Grandpa just passed away recently he was 92. He told me several times that his dad told him that You could drive a wagon all over that Military Park. Most of it was big hardwood timber and it was really open in around the timber. It was just scattered big Hardwoods. Ive heard stories it got that way from the Indians burning it off frequently for 100's of years. Now the park is mostly a thick tangle of brush and cedars on alot of it. It really needs the ceadars removed, and they are doing a very cool thing putting them in the lake. If they clear all the cedars they need to there will be thousands of them. Personally I think they should revert back to the burning that the indians did. over time it would make the park look like it did in the Civil War days. they olnly need to burn after they remove the cedars and put them in the lake though. I launched at Monte Ne the other day and when I was coming out there was a guy who rolled up with a christmas tree on top his car he came over to me and asked if I wanted that tree to put in the lake. I told him that I was headed in for the day. I told him that if he would just throw it out by the ramp someone would pick it up and put it out somewhere. So I guess that is what he did. Ill bet it didnt lay there very long.

Wich one would be a better choice. Would you say the Horsehead with the spinner blade. Like a big giant Roadrunner or just the bucktail jigs wiht no spinner. I already make my own bass jigs. The ones I make myself are better than anything Ive ever been able to buy. The ones I make I can sometimes fish for two days and not hang them up and lose them. If I had a lure retreiver I probablly wouldnt lose them hardly at all. Anyway I love using roadrunners on whites. And sometimes I do good on kentuckies and large mouth with them. Ive been bass fishing with guys before who think they are pretty good, and they think they have to use the most expensive lures they can buy, and I pull out a Road Runner and spank them. LOL You are right about the colors. In clearer water in the daytime the best color is white with a red head for whites I would assume it would be similar for stripers just use a bigger bait. BUt if the water is somewhat stained trying for whites a chartruese with a red head is a killer. If the wind and waves is slamming into the shoreline and there is a mudline or stain line that is when the chartreuse comes out of the box. The red head does make a difference too for some reason. Ive also caught kentuckies, and blacks using the same methods. Ive caught crappie like that too, but crappies seem to like the chartruese without the red head. Ive got along way to go on the striper fishing. Right now Im pathetic. ive made up my mind Im going to figure out these stripers. I would like to make my own jigs for them. I would think the Horseheads with the spinner would be the better choice, but I want your opinion on it before I buy me a mold. I could just start making my own roadrunners too I guess. And thanks for the tips. Im really one of these people who truly loves fishing. I can be out there all day and never get a bite and I still love it. Ive wanted to get into the striper scene for many years, but I have just never really tried until last year. I went once with a guide several years ago and never caught a striper. And Ive only went about 5 times in the last couple years and all those times the water has been below 45 degrees. But Ive done just as good on my own as I did when I went with the striper guide and it costed me a whole lot less. LOL! This info that you are putting on this forum I truly appreciate. Thanks again!

Right after Christmas I was fishing the exact same spot. There were alot of shad on the finder right in the middle of the no wake zone along the North Bank across from the marina. I never seen anything on the finder that I thought was a striper though. I did mark fish, but nothing big. I trolled planer board and balloons from that area in the no wake zone toward the swimming area across the main point between Prairie creek cove and Avocal Hollow. Then I would go back up along the north bank and inot the no wake zone again. All I caught was a big Kentucky. We were trolling shiners. There were also two other boats pretty much doing the same thing, but nobody caught anything worth mentioning. Sounds like I was a couple weeks behind them.

Im getting me a Lowrance HDS-7 Gen2 with Structure Scan I will be sniffin out them brush piles. I think this little piece of equipment will help. I cant wait. Ive been fishing lately, but Ive been trying to catch stripers and Im not very good at it. I havent been Bass fishin in awhile, but I always like using jigs this time of year. When the water temp gets like this I just love a jig. Are they making a massive pile of cedar trees? I live right by the Military park. And they have plenty of cedars that is for sure.

Ok this is great info. Just today We were winding up our lines and I had stopped trolling While we were doing that on of balloons got a hit on it, a big hit. But that was it the fish was gone. Now what you have decribed here is what happened. I had my balloon tied right on the line. The fish felt the resistance and he was gone. I figured there was a right way to rig a balloon and a wrong way, but I didnt know. So I just tied it to the line. Like I was saying in another post Im pretty sure Ive been finding a few stripers just cant get them to hit. Also if been using fairly light weights on my lines when trolling. i try to pull the live bait just fast enough to keep my planer boards running good. My boards will pull way out to the side even though the boat is moving slow. Seemed like today I was finding stripers at 45 feet. The shad was about 40 feet. But I also found shad from the surface to 45 feet. Also seen some marks I thought were stipers and 20 feet. The balloon that was hit was set at about 40 feet but it had a light weight. But we were sitting still. So in making this clip work. The hole needs to be drilled in the handle of the close pin right? and the tie the snap swivel to it. Then make the loops and put them in the business end of the clothes pin. I have off shore release clips on my planer boards. I usually twist the line a few times and then put the loop end in the release clip. It keeps the clip from sliding on the line. Do I need to just put the line in there strait so a fish can pull it lose easier. The other day I had a big hit on my planer board and nothing just like on the balloon today. Im assuming he felt the board and spit the bait. My boards only weigh just over 5oz but maybe im trolling to fast and I need to set the lines in them to release alot easier. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. Ive already learned alot from reading your posts. Thanks a milion.

I havent been on this forum in awhile, but I wish I had. This Thread is a good one. Last winter I tried catching stripers on Beaver and all I caught was some nice blues. The water was in the low 40's when I was trying. I didnt get a chance to go fishing at all since then until this month. Ive been 5 times havent caught a single striper. Now Ive fished Beaver my whole life. I know the lake really well. I think im an alright fisherman on everything in Beaver except for stripers. Stripers frustrate me. Ive rigged up 12 rod holders on my bass boat wich I can take in and out really quick. And I didnt have to drill holes all over my boat either. Ive got 6 planer boards ive figured out how to build my own and they pull good. Ive been using Brood Minnows and this last trip I used Creek Chubs. Ive looked for stripers from Hickory Creek Marina to Lost Bridge South and I think ive found stripers, but I cant even get a sniff. I know all the striper folks say to go up river this time of year, but the water was to muddy at least it was a couple weeks ago. From about Horshoebend and down the lake is where I think it was clean enough. A buddy of mine caught a 15 pounder up in Big Clifty about 3 weeks ago way up in there almost all the way in the back. So I went there last week. I thought I did find stripers on the graph and I did get a monsterous hit on one of my baits but failed to hook him. The water temp in the Lost Bridge area was 3 or 4 degrees warmer. Than it was up around Hickory Creek. But anyway my next plan is to fish upriver from Hickory creek Marina. Up War Eagle and up White River. After reading all the good info on this thread I think one mistake im making is using hooks that are to big. Also im fixing to bite the bullet and order a Lowrance HDS-7 Gen 2 with Structure Scan. I know I probably dont need the structure scan for stripers, but I like to bass fish too. Maybe this new fish finder will help me out. The one I have is not even close to being as good as the new ones. One question I have is this? Right now the stripers should be up in the rivers, but what if the water is really stained in the rivers? Does that mean the stripers will move back down to clearer water? Or will they hang around in the muddy water, but be really hard to catch? I was going to hang it up until warmer weather, but after reading this thread I think I may try some more.

I hope the ramp by the marina at Hicory Creek is a corps ramp. We have went in there twice and just launched and took off. We never paid anyone. They did come out and talk to us everytime we launched though, but they didnt say anything. We have one of the Annual Corps Passes we carry with us. Ive always thought both of the ramps at Hickory were corps ramps.

Yep they sure are tasty!! Have you guys ever tried mustard with hotsauce to dip your deep fried fish in? I had not even heard of that until last night and I tried it, and it was good. That school of shad we found was massive it was easil as long as a football fields and wider than a football field. Im stoked now Im ready to get back out there.

Well I tried them out. Didnt catch any stripers but I caught a 12# Blue Cat off of one of my planers. Caught another one on a line just straight down. I need to make some adjustments to them to make them track a little better but they worked pretty good. There had to have been stripers there where I was fishing, but they were probably stuffed with shad. One of the blues had like 15 shad in its stomach. The shad were just stacked in there in the spot where we were fishing. The shad was so thick If there were stripers below them I could not see them on the FF. They shad were so thick The FF was saying it was only 20 foot deep, but we were in over 100 feet of water. When I would get in areas where the shad cleared out I could mark big fish. The shad were From 20 feet to over 40 feet deep.

We put in at 12 Bridge yesterday. The water temp was 42 degrees. Went around and went under the bridge I noticed a striper boat just south of the bridge along the bluff. I idled up through there and there was just a huge amount of shad showing on the FF. The water there is over 100 feet deep and at times my FF was showing 20 feet because the shad were so thick. There were gulls and ducks all over there picking shad off the surface. Anyhow we went on and fished for blacks, and spots. We never caught a fish, Ive been fishing about once a week out there and it was the slowest day I had seen on Blacks and spots. We tried Jigs, Rogues, and grubs. On the way down I stopped and got some brood minnows, so we could maybe try to catch some stripers if we came across any. So we went back to where we found the shad. I just made 4 planer boards and I was wanting to try them out anyway. So we rigged up for stripers and Right after I put the second planer board out It got hit. So im thinking Ive just caught my first striper well after a pretty decent fight got it up, and not a striper, but a 12# Blue Cat. So we kept on fishing around there. I tied on a 3/4 oz silver buddy blade. I was ripping it through the schools of shad I was seeing on the FF. Sometimes I would snag 2 shad at a time on that lure, because the shad were so thick in there. I put one of shad on my sons pole. Just a medium action spinning reel with 8# line. As soon as it got down about 25 feet It got hit. I didnt think at first there was no way we were going to land that fish on that little pole it took a little while. So im thinking striper again, and again It was a Blue Cat. This one about 2 pounds bigger than the first. I was wanting a striper, but I guess them Blues were kinda fun anyway.

What are you using to get those kind of pictures. Whatever it is I want one.

They say in the winter if you have a real heavy cast net with a big radius, that you can find shad on your graph and throw out your net over them and catch them like that. Ive read also that guys would add on to their throw net rope to make it long enough to reach down 30 feet or even deeper. They say you need a heavy net and a big one. Ive never tried it, Ive just read about it.

Im just about rigged up for stripers. Ive been wanting to fish stripers for years and just havent done it. Ive been bass lately on the Beav and seeing some big balls of shad and stripers on the graph and Im just about ready to give it a try. Im building me some inline planer boards. Ive got one done and 3 more to go before I go out and test them out. As far as catching shad on Beaver all I can say is its not very easy. That is one reason Ive never gotten into the striper thing before is because shad is the go to bait and they are hard to come by. Ive heard in the winter they are easier to catch if you know how. Which I dont. So Im planning on using Brood Minnows I guess. Looks like you did pretty good on your trip out I hope I can do that well my first time trying. LOL Mostly where I seen the shad and stripers on the graph was in the first left hand bend as you first go into the mouth of War Eagle. A couple weeks ago they were there. Then the next time I went they were gone from that area.

that wart does look good. Im thinking about painting up some myself, if I can make them look as good as yours it will be good enough for me.

I had an old Bagleys killer b 2 that did not have hardly any paint left on it and it would still catch fish. It was just the color of wood. I finally broke it. I think the action of the bait is whats important and then just have the basic shade of the color you are wanting. i mean can a bass really see all that fine detail on a crankbait when it comes cruising by? These custom painted baits look real good. These guys are some very talented artists. I just dont think a bait has to be that pretty to be effective. If I had some all i would do is look at them because they were purty. Id be scared to death to tie one on for fear of loosing it. Ive actually been thinking about painting some of my own baits. Id like to buy old baits and color them up with the basic color patterns and go fishing. Ive heard for starters the paasche dual action is one of the better ones to start out with. Ebay is probably a good place to get them. Have you guys seen the H2o Express lures carried by Academy Sports? They look good and i mean real good. And they are really reasonable on the price.

It will probably keep going down until spring gets here and some big rains come. I think its something like 7 inches a week its dropping, but it will steadily increase on the dropage per week because the tributaries are going down. id say she will go down another 8 or 10 feet maybe more. before we get some good rains. sometmes around the first of march or the end of feb we will get some big snows. then when that is melting it comes a big warm front and melts the snow with a big rain that will put some water in there. I like the fishing when the lake is low.

Hello Everybody. I grew up right here in NW Arkansas. Beaver Lake has been my stomping grounds since I was old enough to fish. I like all kinds of fishing. I also like making fishing tackle. I also hunt just about everything too when I get the chance. I cant wait to get on the forum and swap some stories and learn something new.