Stripers

[Stump bumper]

Hey Stump Bumper,

Where is houseman's? My old man and I are considering making the trip down from Springfield again this weekend, but we'd really like to find some shad. Do you (or anyone!) have any other shad-wisdom you'd like to share with us? We'd really appreciate it.

We called the only bait shop we could find near Lost Bridge and they want $9 a dozen for broods, or something outrageous like that, so we're trying to avoid that route.

Any help you guys can give would be awesome!

Eric

Houseman's is on off Hwy 62 about 2 miles west of the darn road and is clearly marked on the Hwy by Corps signs, it is a little hairy of a launch with no docks and a rocky shore line, the Holiday Island launch is much better, but is more of a drive and further a run.

If you time the discharge from the darn by calling the hotline and keep right in front of the cold water, the shad will be stunded by the cold water and you can scoop them up with a dip net. That discharge is usually 3-5 in the hot afternoons right in time to fill a tank for night fishing, and while you are there it is a great time to catch whites,blacks, trout and waleye feeding on stuned shad.

6lb rainbows are common in that area and I have seen a 8lb waleye caught on that streach, but getting into a school of 3lb plus whites is my favorite.

You can get some better reports on that area on the Table Rock site where some of the Holiday Island residents hang out.

[mchunter]

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the advice. I had to cut my trip short yesterday due to electronics problems. I have the Humminbird 798ci HD SI and this was the third time I have used it. Depth readings started going crazy, reading down to 1.7 feet and jumping all over the place in approximately 180 feet of water! I spent most of the morning floating around on the lake talking to 3 different techs. Just when we thought we had it fixed it would mess up again! It also has another issue with not tracking well with GPS under 2mph, but that is another story.

Hummingbird is going to send me a new transducer to try and if that doesn't work I will have to send the unit in.

I decided to just cut my trip short, because I can't even hardly find the stripers with the unit, so I figured I sure couldn't without it!!!!

I do have another question I would like to ask. When people say Striper are being caught in such and such area, what should a person look for in that area? Lost Bridge South for example, do you begin by checking points sticking out in the lake, mid lake humps, any and all cove mouths, etc.? Lakes are big, so where should a person start looking and what should he look for?

I wish someone would put together a freshwater Striper 101 or Striper fishing for dummies book for guys like me just trying to catch their first one!!!!! I would be the first one to buy it!!! Thanks again and good luck.

[Quillback]

Your problem with the depth finder sounds like a problem my fishing buddy jeb had with his after an upgrade, there was a setting he figured out needed changing and once he made the change he was good to go. I'll email him to check this forum.

As far as finding stripers (not that I'm an expert), I would look for shad, chances are if you find shad around deep water the stripers will be around or will show up at some time. Look for the striper boats. If you're out early or late you may see the stripers busting topwater.

[Quillback]

Do you check the AR fishing reports? Here's some striper info from the report, it at least gives you some starting points:

Bailey’s Beaver Lake Guide Service (479-366-8664) said the lake is fairly clear, especially from Point 3 to the dam. Fish early because surface temperatures are high. Stripers are good on live shad fished on free lines and balloons from 2 to 20 feet deep, above the thermocline. On the mid- and lower sections, check out Point 1 (The island is still holding some fish, but most are going deeper with the rising temperatures.), Indian creek (Good fishing), Lost Bridge South (Good fishing), Lost Bridge North (Excellent fishing), Big Clifty arm (Good fishing), Point 3 (Good striper activity in front of Starky Marina) and Point 5 (This area is a hot spot and fish are being taken under lights.). Try Horseshoe Bend in the upper section where walleye are being caught near the hatchery pond. Most walleye are about 10 to 20 feet deep near Point 5, Point 3 and Point 1. Flat line troll over shallow bars with Rapala Tail Dancers, Shad Raps, Reef Runners, or Ripstiks in natural blue or black back combos. Jigging spoons around brush and rock piles are also producing. Put your Dipsy Divers to work above the thermocline with a Rapala in tow.

Here's the link to Bailey's home page, more good info:

http://www.beaversafari.com/

[mchunter]

Thanks Quillback. Any help on the fishfinder is appreciated too, because honestly I don't think a new transducer is going to fix the problem with the depth. Supposedly they are working on an update to fix the Gps.

I do check Bailey's report all the time. Being as unlearned as I am about Striper fishing, I would like to know where or what would be the first place or topography to look for when an area is said to be holding fish?

Considering how spooky I have been told Beaver Striper are, should you use your boat motor or trolling motor to motor back and forth over an area looking for fish?

I know I have lots of questions, but I sure appreciate all the tips and advice everyone is giving. Thanks.

[jeb]

Thanks for the heads up, Jeff. I was not reading this thread since I don't striper fish, at least on purpose.

The problem I had with my 798 was after one of the updates last year. But it was shallow water related. If I got under 5' of water, the depth reading would bounce constantly from 0-10'. It would never hold a constant depth. You could work around it with splitfire settings, but the best bet was just to watch the depth on the 2d screen. But the next update fixed it. If you have the latest software installed in your unit, I don't think we had the same issues.

Best of luck getting it running. HB is great to work with.

[mchunter]

Thanks Jeb. I will try those settings if I still have problems after getting the new transducer just in case. I have already downloaded the latest software also. Thanks again and good fishing.

[W. Heisenberg]

Houseman's is on off Hwy 62 about 2 miles west of the darn road and is clearly marked on the Hwy by Corps signs, it is a little hairy of a launch with no docks and a rocky shore line, the Holiday Island launch is much better, but is more of a drive and further a run.

If you time the discharge from the darn by calling the hotline and keep right in front of the cold water, the shad will be stunded by the cold water and you can scoop them up with a dip net. That discharge is usually 3-5 in the hot afternoons right in time to fill a tank for night fishing, and while you are there it is a great time to catch whites,blacks, trout and waleye feeding on stuned shad.

6lb rainbows are common in that area and I have seen a 8lb waleye caught on that streach, but getting into a school of 3lb plus whites is my favorite.

You can get some better reports on that area on the Table Rock site where some of the Holiday Island residents hang out.

That's awesome! Thanks for the info. I definitely wouldn't mind finding a school of monster whites like that.

Time is going to be of the essence for us since we're driving about two hours to get down there, so we may not have time to look up in the river. Are there any good places in the lake to look for shad in the Lost Bridge Area?

I really appreciate the tips.