Striper Fishing Tips

[mchunter]

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum. First I want to say thanks for a good, clean website.

My family and I have fished for years, but are just getting into striper fishing. So far we are not having much luck. We went on a guided trip with Mike Bailey around the first of June and my two daughters each caught a fish, one being 15 pounds. We decided we would try it ourselves last weekend, so we took my mom and dad's boat and fished Friday and all night Friday night with no luck on stripers. We tried fishing around point 5, 6, and goat island. I just may not have been fishing these areas correctly. I have researched and read all kinds of material trying to learn, but so far it hasn't done me any good. We are planning on coming back in mid October and the week of Thanksgiving ( I'm not one to give up!). I have a lot of questions if someone doesn't mind taking some time with me.

1. What is the best topography to fish in the summer and what kind of structure should you look for?

2. How deep do you fish in the summer?

3. Are there certain sections of the lake that are better in the summer?

4. In the fall, how should a person change their techniques?

5. Is there different topography and structure that you should fish in the fall?

6. What is a creek arm? Is this the area from the mouth of the creek back towards the inland?

7. Do the striper usually hang around the main lake points or do they go up into the "creek arms" and their coves also?

8.When motoring into an area, how far away from your destination should you shut off and use the trolling motor?

9. Are there any books or videos you would recommend?

10.Last one for now? We are thinking about purchasing a boat. I would like a pontoon (16 - 18 ft.) for the kids, but is a pontoon feasible for striper fishing on Beaver lake?

I am sure your answers will spur further questions, but I greatly appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks.

[Stump bumper]

I can't answer half of those questions but I do know that stripers will move toward the river when the water starts to warm near 50 in the spring. Then once they leave the river they will be scattered all over the lake until the water starts warming into the 70s they move North. Once the water temp is in the upper 80s and 90s they will be close to the darn in the deepest water in the lake.

There seems to be some that live around point 12 all year also.

In the late winter and early spring when it still hurts your hands to fish, they are very active in the creeks eating the dieing shad and jerk baits in 6-10 ft of water rule and limits can be reached in an hour.

This time of year midnight to 7am seems to be the best times. The secret is to watch the shad and find what they are doing. The shad will move to the top to spawn all through the summer and anywhere you find shad all together you will find stripers.

I would not recommend a patoon boat just because they are slow and hard to get on a trailer. IMO a deep V fishing boat would serve you better and a center consol is more common for striper fishing. You will need to move a lot to find them and have some good electronics to locate both the shad and fish.

Pulling umberalla rigs is another proven method for finding those big fish.

There should be some real striper fishermen along soon, I am a bass guy that just plays with stripers when the bass are frozen.

[Quillback]

I agree with Stump Bumper, I have found them in the spring around the coves by the dam, you can get them on topwaters at that time. In the early fall I have seen the striper guides working the points around Honey Cove (near the dam) trolling shad underneath balloons, last year there were 3-4 guide boats in that area every day I was fishing there. That's another tip I would add, look for the striper guides.

I'm also one of those guys that mostly bass fishes, but every once in a while I find some stripers. They are definitley down around the dam (Indian creek, Lost Bridge, Honey cove) right now.

There's also a Beaver lake striper club that has meetings every month in Rodgers somewhere. If I see a notice in the paper I'll post the info here.

[mchunter]

Thanks guys. I appreciate any info or advice you can give me.