hey guys so i have been hearing about striped bass for a while now and have been wanting to catch one. i am a saltwater fisherman and the only freshwater i do is in a pond and a little cove of lake lure NC to catch bluegills. so i normally fish the folly beach or stono area. i do not fish upper stono but will launch at limehouse if i have to. i normally launch wappoo cut, sol legare and folly ramp. i know stripers can live in fresh and salt so are rivers that are freshwater fed the only places to catch em? like trashley or cooper?What are the best times to target stripers?
What rivers are they found in?
Do i have to make a huge run to cypress gardens or bushy park to cathc em or can i catch em certain times of year in saltwater near ocean or just downstream?
What kind of tackle(line, weights, hooks, leaders, rod strength, reel size, ect)?
What bait do they readidly eat? can i find them on flats with reds?
do they fish docks or fish creek mouths, oysters, grass lines, sandbars, flats, or open water, or laydown trees?
what are striper tactics(trolling, casting, drifing)?
Do you guys have any spots anybody is willling to share through pm?
i don’t think anybody really targets them so i’m sure if giving a spot is gonna make people too upset. if me asking upsets you, i apologize in advance for trying to catch a new species to add to my list…
thank you guys!
There is no greater fan of fly fishing than the mud minnow.
I can’t help you a lot but I have some knowledge that I have gotten from this forum. The stripers in this area are called riverene stripers. They don’t, or at least I haven’t heard of them, get out on the beaches like they do up north. They supposedly spend their lives in the rivers. As the water temperature drops, they push further down river. There is a person, much more knowledgable than me, he went by the handle SC Surfman or Willie, I believe that targeted them from the bank on occasion. He doesn’t post much on this forum any more, but maybe you could do a search for some of his posts on the subject.
I fish for em in Ashepoo and Edisto below the salt-freshwater dividing lines. Big mud minnows and plastic shad looking baits,also white bucktails. At the end of this month,March and early April is when I go. I went to Ashepoo last week and nothing. I haven’t caught any since March of 2009.I never see anyone fishing for em so they can’t be overfished, I think they are just a thing of the past which is sad. I don’t even think the shad fishermen catch many in the nets anymore. Good luck and please post if you catch any.
Years ago we caught them on the edisto below Jacksonville! I would think you could launch your kayak at he bridge at jacksonville and float down river to Edisto beach casting bucktais and catch a few! Should be able to do in 6 hrs depending on tides. Try it and let us know! I am to old to sit in a kayak over an hour or I would go with you!
yakman, talk to your dad about bringing you up to Columbia sometime this spring or summer and we’ll try and add a new species to your list of fish you caught
Long float from “Jacksonville” to Edisto Beach,just kidding its “Jacksonboro” but its still a long a-- float and a lot of big river and tide when you get past Jehossee.
We have caught a few in the Cooper River near Bushy Park on the saltwater side not very far upriver from the landing. We were fishing for reds and caught a few small ones…no keepers. We haven’t really targeted them, but we have been marking schools or fairly large fish near the barges where folks usually drift for catfish. I am thinking that they may be stripers and will get out the planers to see if they really are there…in about 20-30’ is where we marked them and have found them consistently. We haven’t really seen folks fishing for them up there so we haven’t really tried. I know you can catch them on Lake Moultrie near the Pinopolis Dam. Folks fish deep with live bait and cut bait and also troll for them. At certain times of the year when they are schooling they can be caught using top-water lures (striper swipers and spoons). That’s about all I know. Check with the folks at Atkins Landing and they can help you out. It is a good place to launch if you are going to fish hear the dam. Good luck and let us know how you do.
PioneerLouie
Pioneer Venture 175, Johnson 90
Summerville, SC