Just Wondering . . . Need Advice
 

I've never fished for Stripers before. I've caught a few 3-5 lbers while bass fishing. I have a relatively new bass boat (Triton 189TRX) and would like to try. Is there anyway I can troll with this boat and catch them like ya'll do ? Love to hook into one of those biguns, but never have and know nothing about striper fishing. Not looking for spots or anything like that. Would just like to go out on my boat and try to find some and catch. Any advice, hints what to look fors would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guy .

michael

Absolutely! I have caught plenty from a much worse boat than that.

Few things.

Electronics are a big help. You need to find them before you fish for them. Once you figure out how to locate them, then you can catch them various ways.

Catching them: They turn on and off. So even if you are on them, they may not bite. Because of this, it is easiest to learn striper fishing by fishing with large gizzard shad. If they are biting, they will usually eat a big shad. You can fish shad many ways, but slow trolling and down-lining are most common.

Lures: Anything that resembles a big shad works. Big topwaters, crankbaits, jigs or spoons all work at various times. You can cast or troll. Alabama rigs are really good for trolling. (They were called Umbrella Rigs and were standards in striper fishing long before the Alabama rigs hit the bass fishing world). As for colors, I only use white, chartreuse, or silver, but I am sure they will hit more than those colors.

As for your boat, you need a couple good rod holders for trolling and down-lining. A cast net and livewell for shad is a must for me.

Striper fishing is not really that hard. What is hard is finding feeding fish consistently. They move a lot. When you find feeding fish, most of the standard methods can work. You just need to get your baits to the depth of the fish.

Hope that helps,
Jim

I don't have much experience, but I've caught a few. i mostly go to the Gallatin steam plant this time of year. I use baits that I already have in my boat for bass fishing. I don't use live bait and I don't troll. I'm only stating this bc you don't have to make it very complicated. A big crankbait and a big topwater are my favorite lures. There doesn't seem to be a lot of stripers at the steam plant yet, but they will be there from now til spring. Last winter I caught 2 over 30# and 1 over 40#, and I was just sitting at the barrier chunking and winding. Daylight and dark, or cloudy days are the best time at GSP. Good luck. I don't think there are any big secrets. If you can't figure out how to find them on your electronics then just give the steam plant a try.

Lots of good advice started here already.

First thing to key in on for me are low light periods. First light and last light are the two best times of the day to catch big stripers. If you find the bait you'll have a head start on finding the fish. This time of year fishing the birds is a good start.

Stripers feed every day...so persistence and time on the water is key. Unfortunately they can easily and regularly swim +\- 20 miles a day so you may be on them one day and eating your own baits the next. Stripers are also very wary and will shut down if spooked...no dropping the anchor on your front deck, stoping around the boat, tossing tackle, etc. Use your trolling motor whenever possible to sneak around especially if you do hit the steam plant...most of us use trolling motor from out in the channel all the way up to the barrier (I have caught them along that entire stretch so just because everyone is crowded around the barrier doesn't mean it's the only place.)

Lastly they aren't called "Rockfish" for nothing. Look for transitions and rockslides alone bluffs, shorelines, and heads and tails of islands. Any ambush point may be holding a big striper!

Good luck!

Alex

Thanks So Much !
 

Appreciate all the good advice ! Wife recently fell and broke her back. Waiting word from surgeon on next moves. If all is ok, I'll get a sitter for her and maybe get out next week when it's supposed to be in the 50's ! Haven't been out in over a month and a half so you know I'm itching !

Thanks again. Btw, I live three mins away from Poole Knobs ramp on Priest. If any of you need anything around my neck of the woods just holler. .

michael

Wishing the best for your wife's recovery. Take care of her. There will be more days for fishing.

i fish the steamplant like others have mentioned. chuck bigger baits as far as i can. as mentioned, stealthy fishing is best. caught a 35" fish on Tuesday this week on topwater.

that is some fun! link to pic below.
https://scontent.fbna1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...b8&oe=5AD4D425