Striper 12/30

[Devan S.]

Put in at Ventris this morning with the intent of running south looking for Striper. 

My boat has not been running correctly at WOT. It cuts out and sputters. I change my fuel line/bulb assembly last week so this was a test run. Right off the bat there was gulls diving mid-lake right off the boat ramp. I trolled through with an umbrella rig. During my first turn around my boat died like it was starved of fuel. I hoped it was the fuel line being pinched in the assembly between the boat and motor.. After pumping the bulb it re-started and ran fine all day but I did waste about 2 hours trolling worthless areas before I felt comfortable taking off and going farther. Eventually I made a WOT run between Horseshoe Bend Marina to 12 bridge without cutting out so looks like that was the issue. 

I did find a bunch of bait and stripers pushed up against a steeper bluff/large chunk bank from the wind. My first pass with an umbrella rig on the inside channel roll off yielded a 6lb striper and a small what looked to be white bass. I made 12-14 passes total without another bite. These are the first fish I have landed on an umbrella rig as the previous 3 or 4 hookups pulled off. I was beginning to think I needed a different rod to keep them buttoned. There was a lot of boats running but very little fishing taking place. 

WT 46 between Ventris and Horseshoe bend Marine. 

 

[Quillback]

Congrats on the striper!

[rps]

Congrats. What kind of rod/reel are you using? What hooks are you using? Both can make a difference when trolling and keeping fish on. I learned that the hard way.

[Devan S.]

Rod is a Bass Pro rod from the "Musky" section. 7'6" Heavy Power, Fast Action. Rated for 2-10oz.

Reel is Ambassador C3 6500

Line is PP depth hunter 20lb. I've hung up 2x and both times I wrapped line around a cleat and managed to pull it free without breaking line. Really should get a knocker but so far I've managed. 

Hooks are whatever comes with the Captain Macks umbrella rigs. Rigs are 3oz. 4 arm, 9 baits each jig is 3/4oz.  

This is something I'm just making due with at this point. Its a lot of weight and the rod seems to be handling it. Its just a stiff rod and braid. Part of me thinks the correct way would be for me to switch to a line counter reel and use a mono to gain some shock absorption but the other part of me thinks that I should literally winch them in and never let them get a chance to use the weight of the rig to try and sling the hook.

[rps]

Good starter rig, but consider how stripers fight. They run, hard, down and away. Surges, with comparatively little head shake compared to bass. However their surges are very strong. I would suggest that, for trolling, you do not need a rod that could throw the rig.

I have found that for trolling you need a more moderate action rod to absorb the lunges and surges without ripping the bait from their mouth. Yes the rod will bend with the drag of the weight while trolling. Even so, there will be flex enough for the strike and from there on you rely on that flex and your drag to absorb the fight. In other words, patience, not winching is your ticket. Bass Pro has a 8'6' Berkley Lighting trolling rod with a 1/2 to 1.5 ounce bait rating, medium heavy, rated for 20 pond line for $60. Later you can upgrade if the concept works.

I have one of your reels that I use for lead core line. They have good drags, can load a lot of line, and don't break under stress. Stick with it.

Find 20# Metered PP line and avoid the cost of linecounter reels that really don't work well (unless you want to spend $400 for the Shimano)

Last of all, make sure all the jig hooks have the sharpest point you can put on them. Consider making your own jigs with high quality Owner or Gama hooks. Stripers have a great deal of bony parts in their head. You need something that will penetrate.

Think on these things, and good luck.

[Devan S.]

I fished again today and caught another 6lber.

I was really frustrated though. I rolled up to the boat ramp and could visibly see topwater action. Not aggressive like spring but active fish slurping. I made a couple passes with the rig with nothing. Everything was on top and looking up. Lots of bait balls. 

I started throwing topwater and nothing.  All my swimbaits/ect I had with me are the big stuff. I keep some 2.8" Keitechs in the boat but on my swimbait rods they just wont throw at all. I had some rattletraps I threw but nothing doing. The fish really seemed to be keyed in on the lazy slow moving groups of 2" shad which means they were predictable on where they would surface but not interested in bigger or faster moving baits. 

I really think if I would have a smaller rod to really throw the little swimbaits on lighter heads or even a fly rod I would have caught fish. 

The actual fish I caught was later in the day after the fish pushed deeper. 

[Quillback]

Something that has worked for me on those dudes is a white tube on a 1/4 oz head.  Tail spin like a Little George is worth a shot too.  Those scattered top water stripers are tough to fool this time of year.  

As for those Keitechs, I'll put a 2.8 on a 3/16 oz head.  I can cast it pretty well, but sometimes, just throw it out behind the boat, let out a lot of line and slow troll it, those Keitechs will kick pretty good on a slow troll.  I like heads that have a 1/0 hook as it leaves plenty of free tail on the bait so that it kicks well.