So anybody on here ever been there striper fishing? Possibility i might be moving to that area soon. Was offered a much higher paying position in richmond. Ive always heard there was some pretty good striper in those rivers but dont know anybody that has actually been there. Told the wife i aint moving anywhere i cant get sweet tea and catch stripers!! Well they have sweet tea just not sure about the stripers. Anybody frequent the area thats got some favorite spots / techniques? If i go i plan to have an extra bedroom so fishing buddies will have a place to crash
Depends on what side of Richmond you are looking at. There are plenty on both sides of Richmond. If your on the side away from the ocean look up captains quarters on smith mountain lake. Go see Dewayne Lamb there. Tell him your story of being down here and now moving up there and tell him u need a striper fix. He will hook you up with all the info you need. Smith mountain lake has some big girls. Dewayne also knows the ins and outs of the bay as well.
If u need a guide on smith mountain look up Kenny Short. Prob one of the best guides on SML. I figure I will be on SML at least once next year. If you need a guide for the salt (December is best) look up Mike Smedley with team oldshool charters…
“All fisherman lie. And if they say otherwise, then they’re lying”
I’m from Newport News, Virginia (1 hr. SE of Richmond) and still go home a couple of times a year to see family and friends. We fish for Rockfish (Va-speak for saltwater Striper) in the James and York Rivers and the C-Bay.
Our typical technique is to toss big, heavy lures (think Stretch 25’s and large bucktails) at bridge pylons or rock piles and sometimes vertical jigging. When the bite is on, it doesn’t require much finesse.
Recently, we added eels to our bag of tricks. Hook 'em and toss 'em at the same places. If the fish are there, don’t worry, they’ll devour them and you’re in for a fight.
The Bay is no joke, but if you stay on the Hampton Roads tunnel side during iffy weather and only venture on the other side during good conditions, you should be OK until you get your sea legs under you.
As with all saltwater fishing, timing your lines out with an incoming or outgoing tide is a good idea. Slack tide can make for a couple of boring hours and way too much beer consumption.
I fished for stripers with eels growing up and decided to give it a try in Murray one time. It was spring and we were pulling baits shallow. What a mess. I still would consider trying again at night on dowwnrods in the summer, but I believe it is illegal now to fish with baits that are not indigenous to the lake.
Yep your right Tim. You also are not supposed to to throw herring back if it was caught in another lake .what I mean is when you finish fishing you are
TOM GITTO
Team Shad Up and Fish member
20ft Sea Hunt cc Red T Top
Yep your right Tim. You also are not supposed to to throw herring back if it was caught in another lake .what I mean is when you finish fishing you are not
TOM GITTO
Team Shad Up and Fish member
20ft Sea Hunt cc Red T Top
TOM GITTO
Team Shad Up and Fish member
20ft Sea Hunt cc Red T Top
We’ll fish for Rockfish (Va-speak for saltwater Striper)…
“Rockfish” is also what some of us ‘old guys’ around Lake Murray call them, too.
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it’s lost and the story is told. - Me
-What’s the best eating fish, you ask? I’ve found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad
-Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased)
-RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I’ll never forget him. What a special friend he was.
-Team Gonna Fish
In NY it was “stripers”, but just as common was “bass”. I’m sure a “bass” probably referred to a largemouth upstate though.
Now that Chip mentioned eels being in the lake, I recall catching one off the rocks at the dam. Been 20+ years though and I haven’t caught or heard of any sinve.
I have caught a couple but not many. Usually bream fishing a long time ago. They are found in very rocky areas. Eels typically stay in their holes or under rocks in the day time. It’s at night that they really come out. You can catch them pretty good in the lower saluda, so I am guessing if you went way way up the big saluda above 121 you could prob do the same. Have thought about setting a couple traps for them in the lower saluda but never find the time or motivation…
Last year had a buddy catch 4 late in the evening on the lower saluda. Smallest was 2’ biggest close to 4’ talk about crazy…caught them on cut herring fishing for striper.
“All fisherman lie. And if they say otherwise, then they’re lying”
