I have been reading the Saltwater threads of this board for a long time and never realized there was a Freshwater/Striper/Lake Murray area. I have enjoyed reading the old posts and looking at the pics. I myself have just really started fishing for striper. My dad and I went fishing either late last year or early this year and figured we would troll with small chartreuse jigs for crappie, we ended up catching over 60 striper. they were all about 12 inches or so, but we were using ultra lights so they were still fun. I think it was April when we made it back out. We put in at Pine Island and started and went to some islands we use to bass fish when I was growing up. From 4:30 till about 8PM we caught about 40 and they were all 16 - 20 inches. At one point we stopped trolling and just started casting and were catching one on every cast. Although I was excited, I have never seen my old man so happy. He was pretty much begging me not to leave… He said he had never caught fish like that other than Spanish Macks offshore.
Anyhoo, we have been to the coast a couple of times in May and I am ashamed to say that my boat has not gotten wet since then. I am thinking about heading out either tomorrow night or Saturday morning. I have read all these posts about the lake turning over, and although I grew up and still live in West Columbia, and fished the lake 20+ years, I have no idea what that means. If someone could either post or PM a synopsis I would appreciate it!
Also, is anyone still trolling for these fish deep? I have yet to buy down riggers, so I will be trolling with artificials that dive 20 - 30+. I might also pick up some Blue Backs from the bait store and try fishing by the towers. If neither work, I can always go catfishing…
Some of you have mentioned a bait shop called Better Bait. Is this on the Lex side or behind the Exxon on the Irmo side? I dont know if it is still there, but the best deal on ice is the Twice Ice stand to the right of the Exxon if you a
better bait is behind the exxon.i don’t troll for stripers.i just use live bait.whippingpost or one of the other guys will be along shortly.ps check yuor pst in surf and pier.
no problem and welcome to the site.you have to give these guys a chance.they are a great bunch.one thing though we expect some reports from you good or bad.i gotta ask how did you come up with your name?
There is not a very good reason…
A certain beer brewed in Ft Collins Colorado that I happened upon one time and loved (http://www.newbelgium.com/beers_ft.php) and I also use to ride Mountain Bikes and a slang term for them is fattire as opposed to the skinny’s on 10 speeds…
i buy from them when i fish the dam.when i fish the upper end i buy from david he sells out of his yard.he is the brother of the lady that runs better bait and supplys her.as for as catching fish i don’t know.i’ve just had better luck keeping them alive when i buy from them.and they are super nice people.i have friend from nc that fishes the dam during the summer and thats the only he will buy from.he went elsewhere to buy them but the guy was a real peckerhead.
better bait is behind the exxon.i don’t troll for stripers.i just use live bait.whippingpost or one of the other guys will be along shortly.ps check yuor pst in surf and pier.
Better Bait is behind the Shell station at Jake's Landing Rd.
sparky that crapp is just wrong.i guess i’m getting to easy to get along with.just come in from the lake.the crappie are starting to get hungry.i caught 14. ididn’t get to fish long 8-10:30.my friend’s son broke his ankle at school so we had to leave.getting ready to head to charleston aroud 3pm.sparky the 10000 came in yesterday i like it.i’m going to get a couple more.i still might want to go next weekend.
I run Cannon Easi-Troll HS downriggers with Umbrella rigs with 5, 7, & 9 bucktail jigs. When the water starts to cool and fish start to move down lake (towards the rivers), past the State Park and into more shallow water, I switch to Cotton Cordell 5" deep divers or “redfins” flatlined (trolled without downriggers or planer boards) and run back 125’ to 140’ which will give the lures a depth of around 20’-25’ if trolled between 2.5-3.0 mph. I will also use the 7" shallow running “redfins” on the downriggers. If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them. I haven’t been doing this long but I catch a fish every now and again. I’m heading out in just a second, will report later on how we did.
Welcome aboard, i fish most weekends. This weekend I will be doing boat repairs. If all goes well I will be out next weekend. It should be getting good.
With the weather appearing to clear up I am thinking about going tonight. I will be pulling Mann Stretch 25s and a couple of lures I found that say they will go up to 40 ft. They have a double ring on top of the front spoon. Apparently one ring gives a deeper dive. These are 8 to 10 in. lures. Hope they will not be too big. I think I am also going to pick up some Blue Backs to fish with if the trolling is slow.
I guess the place to be is still Lexington side of the Towers between Spence and the Dam?
Do you guys just free line your BBs or do you weight them?
Both, I have not been out since the 25th. But then the fish were hitting freelines (small splitshot) and down lines between 15 to 40. I used 1.5 oz egg sinkers on the downlines although 1 oz is fine at that depth. As far as the lures go, bigger bait = bigger fish for the most part.
I guess the place to be is still Lexington side of the Towers between Spence and the Dam?
Do you guys just free line your BBs or do you weight them?
\ chance favors the prepared mind //
mate and I went out Sunday evening to wash the salt off after a trip to Little River and did a little scouting. the bait and fish had moved from in front of the towers to about 55 to 65' of water in front of the rocks. with the water cooling, look in creek channels and flats off of the river channel. the area between goat and bomb can get hot, also.
There is not a very good reason…
A certain beer brewed in Ft Collins Colorado that I happened upon one time and loved (http://www.newbelgium.com/beers_ft.php) and I also use to ride Mountain Bikes and a slang term for them is fattire as opposed to the skinny’s on 10 speeds…
fat tire is delicious. no doubt about that. cool company too, my wife went on a brewery tour.
try dale’s pale ale if you get the chance. not available in sc yet, but it’s coming according to my beer store guy. best canned beer in the world.
He said he had never caught fish like that other than Spanish Macks offshore.