Lake Murray Herring

Hey
i was going fishing in the morning and was wondering if anybody knew if the bait guys were out there this time of year. if they are, are they at the dam or at billy dreher? also, anybdy have any fising reports lately. i was planning on slow trolling herring up by the river on points in about 10-20 feet of water. anybody have any other suggestions. i dont do much winter fishing.
thx
chris

Richard is at the dam with bait till 8:00. I may go myself…Not sure if im ready to freeze my balls off…

poe400
05’ Pioneer 197 Sportfish

Dooley’s has herring also. This time of year large shiners seem to work better; find schools of bait with fish under them & drift shiners freelined & on down lines. Try from Holland’s to several miles up the river-and of course, look for the birds.

thank you guys for the replies
i have a few more questions.

i herd that small baits work better this time of year than large herring. i might put up some lights and try to cast net a few herring in the morning, should i use the small or big ones?

where can you get shinners?

i have never fished up in or even near the river. is it safe to take a 24 foot pontoon up in the river with the lake being down.

where is dooley’s? i see holands on my map but i dont see dooley’s.

again thx for the replies and ill post what we catch.
wish me warmth
chris

Dooley’s is on 378 heading out of Lexington; any decent bait shop will have large shiners.

If you don’t have a GPS take a good Lake Murray map with you. The part of the lake where the river runs in is a bit confusing if you’re not familiar with it.

The river is fairly deep so you shouldn’t have a problem with your boat; just exercise more caution on the lake-the water level is dropping fast. Swing way around any major points & watch out for stumps.

hey
well we went and it was miserable. i have never really gone fishing in that cold of weather and it was awful. we slow trolled 4 shinners in about 15-25 feet for about 3 hours and nothing. we got out there at about 8 and left at about eleven. we saw a bunch of birds diving everywhere but there were not concetrated enough to chase them. we trolled on the back side of billy dreher about a half mile twoards the river. i saw some other boats in the area. the whole trip basically sucked lol. i think that was my one and only winter striper fishing trip. ill stick to the warm weather adn wait untill arpil or may. well thx for the advice guys and sorry i couldny report better info.
untill the spring
chris

Took Autobahn out yesterday caught several and a very nice one! Clear water 40 ft deep is the ticket…Can’t tell ya where.:smiley:

poe400
05’ Pioneer 197 Sportfish

Teaser…

I was wondering the same thing, I live right at the split in the rivers, and in the summer when the action is more toward the dam, getting down there to get bait isn’t a problem, this time of year, is anyone out selling any closer than that? I know there used to be a guy that was right at the landing at Dreher Island, is he there anymore, and this time of year. Also, there was a guy at holands that had a place on the docks, I’ve eaten up there a good bit this year, looks like he is gone. I’ll drive if I need to, but it sure would be nice just to ride somewhere and pick up bait.

While slow, the fishing was very fun, got to learn a lot of info from poe400. got bbh from PDQ, which was very frisky all day.

PDQ between chapin and ballentine sells it.

“Stay here Texas fans as the Armadillo Band plays a tribute to Gun Racks and Open Containers!!”

Chris,

Don’t feel like the lone ranger. I’ve been the last two weekends in a row and been skunked both times. Seeing plenty of baitfish and larger fish (stripers?) on the graph but I can’t get them to bite anything I offer. I don’t have downriggers or lead core line so the experts tell me that’s why I’m not getting anything. I just troll slowly with anywhere from a 1-2 oz. egg sinker with a 24 to 36" leader attached. I’m interested in any info that might turn this run of luck around.

Kevin
1720 Sea Hunt w/ 90hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness

slow trolling with an electric motor.
bait just above the depth of bait on a graph
shorten the leader by a foot

or, don’t troll when you get over them, just stop and keep your bait there (with the shortened leader)

or try a slider jig, and just let it hang down.

I am going this weekend. Keep the fingers crossed

chris scout 202 john150

Good advice. When I mark fish under & in the bait I usually do a controlled drift over them. Always set out at least one freelined bait-that’s the one they usually hit.

The bite can really slllooow down when the water temps get below a certain level. If the water gets too cold they get a bad case of lockjaw.

The PDQ in Chapin has herring all year long and they open at 4:30 am. The Hilton Public boat landing is less than five miles past The PDQ. It’s a one stop spot…gas/grill/bait & tackle. We stop by there every day.

Just so no one makes a long trip for nothing - be sure the ramp you intend to use has water (the Hilton ramp doesn’t). Currently Lake Murray is 11.5 feet below normal pool. Most ramps, docks and small coves are dry.

Kevin
1720 Sea Hunt w/ 90hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness

Anybody know if the Dreher Island ramp is dry?

CarolinaCrazyMan.

quote:
Originally posted by CCM

Anybody know if the Dreher Island ramp is dry?

CarolinaCrazyMan.


not positive if they do, but I am fairly certian that at least a couple of their ramps run deep. their number is (803) 364-4152 if you want to find out for sure. there are still plenty of landings that do have water if they don’t.

When I used to go I anchored off the dam in maybe 20 feet of water with 1 or 2oz White/pink bucktails.I out fished the herring guys with me all the time.I also jigged with the diamond jig and did well.:smiley:

Stonoman

Acapulco’s ramp is definitely usable-and it’s close to where the fish are now. :smiley: