Blll

With live bait, I had been using braid with a fluro leader too and it broke (not at the knot) on a couple stripers recently when I tightened down on them. I Went the other way to straight fluro and have had good luck so far. Still use braid & leader for lure trolling just to get the better line/depth ratio. JMO... Off topic: there are currently no fish in PC!

Thats some mouthful & serious hook. Seems too large until you look down the mouth of a 16 lbr. Way to go!

J-Doc, you're right. As soon as the walleyes' tail touches that magic line, he's a goner. I've not caught a keeper sized eye since April. Plenty of almosts but with the limited amount of fish it will be hard to grow many 4-5 lbrs. Next year should have lots of "just made it" fish. Lower limit of keeps or lower size minimum?

Great looking hybrids! Still a virgin on hybrids. Did manage several stripers( 2-10' 2-15' 1-20) on brooders yesterday from HB To the intake. 3- 19"little guys too. Really slow speed (under 1 mph) into the wind. All on free lines w/split shot over 45-70- FOW. Water temp still 54-55. Lots of boats in MN.

I know how you feel Dan, I just have not found the "feast" bite lately. Fished brooders for 5 hours yesterday around the islands. 1 Spot, 1 crappie, i break off, could have been a striper or flathead. Too short a fight to tell. Went screaming for the trees and I tightened down too much-ping! Pretty miserable weather and not enough fish to brighten it. Glad to be out. Rt.12 ramp had 8 cars when I went out (7am) and zero when I came in (1pm). Hot coffee & football sounded good to me.

Dan, you are hardcore. I was at the slip this morning and it went from drizzle to downpour and I went home. Glad you were rewarded!

My wife & I are so thankful for moving here 20 months ago. We love the area and Beaver Lake. Thanks for the help you all have provided after I searched the first time out for a good weedbed to fish. Wow! I've learned plenty from you guys. Thank you. Be safe, enjoy the day! (Do the Bears have any chance tonight?)

Wow, that's a beauty. On a swimbait? You get extra credit for fighting through the Wife/Dog tag team. Like we talked yesterday, you never know on this lake. I have not seen a keeper eye' since April. Nice.

Dan, nice fish! More guts than me. Atta boy!! Glad to hear the brooder bite may be picking up as I can't catch a shad to save my life. Early week will be out there. Free lines or weighted?

After the Thanksgiving meal a card game or a board game was next in line. Now everyone is gearing up for the next buying orgy. I worked PT for BP for many years and black Friday was always a favorite day to work to watch the crazy people. Used to arrive at the store around 4:30 and people would be in line already. And in Chicago its pretty brisk out at 5AM. I guess there is real magic in $10 hoodies & jeans. But traditions are always evolving. Now my kids & their cousins meet up for breakfast after early morning shopping. Thats become their tradition. Hard to accept our memories are not what everyone still wants. I never worked on Thanksgiving but plenty of people were who did not have families or welcomed the extra pay. Stores would not be open holidays or even Sundays if people didn't shop then.

Real beauty! Good for you eyeman! Terrific someone is catching em'. Itching to get out but won't fish in a gale. Tomorrow may be interesting with a mid day wind shift.

Hi. Pretty new to Striper fishing on Beaver Lake. Is there a local Striper club?

OK. Heavy overcast, slight drizzle,slight breeze. Perfect day to fish right? I made the effort, got wet, tried topwater, trolled, drifted brooders, and jigged a spoon. Saw lots of bait around Rt.12 bridge. Result...1 nice 2# spot on the spoon. That's it! Came in to watch Nascar (on rain delay). Still learning Beaver. Lots of boats out but did not see much success. Weird screen on the Hummingbird, can there still be a thermocline? Solid line at 50' near bridge. WT 61.

Do you guys troll these spoons or just cast/jig with them. Does not seem like they would troll very deep. I Need to learn about these things. I've only caught some whites with a Kastmaster that were tearing up the surface with a race retrieve.

Still a new guy to Beaver Lake. My notes tell me that I've learned a few things and have caught many more fish this year than last. That said they have all been much smaller, tiny. Have not caught a keeper crappie or walleye since April. Missing my fish fry. From Beaver posts it seems I'm not alone. Even the whites I've caught have been smaller. zero 19" this year. Lots of 12".

Just so this transplanted yankee is clear, we are not talking about a "spoon" like a Daredevil for pike but rather a jigging spoon like a Kastmaster or Vibrato right?

Missed the last one. Will really try to make this one as I need all the help I can get. Jerk baits sound like a fine topic.

Tried PC this morning with brooders. Could not find much bait or fish. Wound up with a just short eye' and a nice 15" spot. Both hammered the brooders. Not a white bass to be seen. Had a couple small fish fooling with the bait but nada. Stone dead after 9am. Spent next couple hours shedding clothes as it really warmed up. Oh well, I've still got a bucket full of bait for later this week. WT still 64+

And an old school compass just won't help that much. Love my GPS! Last few foggy mornings it made the difference about going out or not. Just remember to clear old tracks.

Well I guess the consensus is to troll several different baits and let the fish tell you what they want. Almost ready to switch to live bait only but lots of good baits mentioned. Thanks for all your input. By the way my working Bandit was bone color and perhaps color was the key.

Just wanted to share an interesting fact. I've caught 18 fish my last 3x out. About 10 hours of trolling. Pretty poor results compared to my 2.5 fish per hour up till now. My trolling motor is being repaired so big motor trolling is what I have. Since this is my 1st season here trolling, I've gotten the impression that Flicker Shads are the lures of choice, with discussions on best size/color, speed and distance behind the boat,line size etc. My regular trolling spread of 4 lines usually included 3 flicker shad and a flicker minnow. A friend of mine, also new to Beaver, mentioned that a guy at Cabela's suggested the Bandit 300. With nothing to lose, and after Ventris took my last 3 Flicker Shad in one pass, I've tried the Bandit 300. The above mentioned 15 fish, included White Bass, Crappie, Walleye, smallmouth, and Gods gift to Beaver, Spots. Of the 18, 14 came on the Bandit 300. Even though the Flicker Shads out numbered it 3/1. While this tiny sample does not prove anything, I found it a real surprise. Anybody not including a Bandit 300 in their arsenal may be missing out. I've tried many walleye lures that worked for me up north, Shadings, Shad Raps, Reef Runners,Lazy Ikes, Original Rapalas on Beaver with almost zero results. Anyway, the Bandit seems to dig harder and run deeper than a #7 Flicker. I'm using 10/2 Power Pro and know I'm hitting 15-16 feet with 125 fol out. Have yet to lose one to a tree . Maybe you guys know all this but it was a surprise to me. Any one have another successful lure?

Just wanted to share an interesting fact. I've caught 18 fish my last 3x out. About 10 hours of trolling. Pretty poor results compared to my 2.5 fish per hour up till now. My trolling motor is being repaired so big motor trolling is what I have. Since this is my 1st season here trolling, I've gotten the impression that Flicker Shads are the lures of choice, with discussions on best size/color, speed and distance behind the boat,line size etc. My regular trolling spread of 4 lines usually included 3 flicker shad and a flicker minnow. A friend of mine, also new to Beaver, mentioned that a guy at Cabela's suggested the Bandit 300. With nothing to lose, and after Ventris took my last 3 Flicker Shad in one pass, I've tried the Bandit 300. The above mentioned 15 fish, included White Bass, Crappie, Walleye, smallmouth, and Gods gift to Beaver, Spots. Of the 18, 14 came on the Bandit 300. Even though the Flicker Shads out numbered it 3/1. While this tiny sample does not prove anything, I found it a real surprise. Anybody not including a Bandit 300 in their arsenal may be missing out. I've tried many walleye lures that worked for me up north, Shadings, Shad Raps, Reef Runners,Lazy Ikes, Original Rapalas on Beaver with almost zero results. Anyway, the Bandit seems to dig harder and run deeper than a #7 Flicker. I'm using 10/2 Power Pro and know I'm hitting 15-16 feet with 125 fol out. Have yet to lose one to a tree yet. Maybe you guys know all this but it was a surprise to me. Any one have another successful lure?

Sorry I was not home to participate in the chat. How did it go?

Dan, at least you had some topwater excitement. Thank the Lord for Spotted Bass. Saved many a trip from "the skunk" I was out yesterday in the fog. Thought it would perk things up but not even. A few whites for the grill was it. Saw that the Loons are back loading up on shad on their way south. Wt was still 67 yesterday. Lots of bait in PC and around the islands.