We joined the MSC (and also the tournament trail) to become better striper fishermen. I feel that has already happened though we have a way to go. So, in the interest of getting better, what kind of beneficial critique can be done on this past Saturday? While I had reasonable hopes, in the back of my mind I also had a foreboding.
Did the oncoming Sunday front just scatter the fish, or was it recent rapid swings in water temperature? All water we fished (Crystal Lake and above) was muddily stained while Monday at the Ballentine Creek area it had nice green color. Was clearer water the key?
Earlier in the week I had found fish (and several others from their posts and reports) in certain types of water, which is what we fished Saturday. Found some fish, but definitely no concentrations like earlier in the week, and even caught several fish, but unluckily, not a single one was a keeper. The day before one of our team members had good success in an area we worked Saturday. We wound up trying mid-depth, shallow, and deeper, all with about the same disappointing success rate.
So, what can really be learned from Saturday? I’m not prepared to just chalk it up to “bad luck” or a “poor day” as some people were reasonably successful, but am seeking out what could have been done differently, or better.
I don’t what you did wrong . I do know there were a lot of fish caught in the tx.it’s a big lake with plenty of good areas to fish…Our team weighed in over 22 lbs and finihed in 11th place.prefishing and good info is only part of the solution. A lot of other factors come into play as you know by reading all the info you get on this forum.Sometimes luck comes into play .A lot of really good fisherman and fisherwoman fished the tx yesterday. Keep plugging Mike it will happen Hero to zero can be one good fish.JMO Tom . Team Shad up and fish.
I don’t what you did wrong . I do know there were a lot of fish caught in the tx.it’s a big lake with plenty of good areas to fish…Our team weighed in over 22 lbs and finihed in 11th place.prefishing and good info is only part of the solution. A lot of other factors come into play as you know by reading all the info you get on this forum.Sometimes luck comes into play .A lot of really good fisherman and fisherwoman fished the tx yesterday. Keep plugging Mike it will happen zero to hero couldbe one good fish’JMO Tom . Team Shad up and fish.
We know how you feel. I had great success in the areas and depths we fished last Saturday. Team mate Gary also had a banner day in those areas Friday. I don’t know what changed, because we could only muster 12 shorts and one keeper all day even though we were marking well everywhere we went… A real head scratcher. Several good teams also had a tough day.
I have not been able to fish in a week or so and have not been in any tx yet with you guys. I dont even have a team but I will always share what I know. So here is a second hand report from Sat and I saw the fish in the mans cooler and he is pretty reliable. He fished in 7 foot or less of water pulling herring and caught some as shallow a 2 1/2 foot. He had some nice fish and a couple black bass 3 of 4 pounds each. he was fishing somewhere in the vicinity of little and big saluda junction.
Key West 1720 Sportsman
FISH: An animal that grows the fastest between the time it’s caught and the time you tell your friends about it!
I talked to a friend about bass fishing results this past week. One of his friends caught a bunch of big’uns in a relatively small area. He went back with friends the next day and zeroed. Murray in springtime can be tough for bass and stripers. That’s why I usually look for an area that is thick with baitfish instead of big fish. My motto, “find the food and you have found the hungry fish”. If I were fishing for people I guess I’d be at a fast food place. Just think about the lines at lunch time. I’m trying to fish with that mindset. When I hit that bunch of hungry fish I’ve found the honeyhole for the day. Some honeyholes are good places for more than a day.
Jerry and I had fished all day this past Friday and only caught two fish but experience has taught us to stick with what you know so we went back to the same area on Saturday. We fished in an area that has been a good area for us in February and March. We started off slow fishing in shallow water (3-8 feet). Our first bite came on a transom rod (2 feet deep) and then we had a fish hit a baited rod hanging over the side of the boat waiting to be put out. We pulled our lines in and put everything back out 4-6 pulls behind the planner boards and corks and that made the difference. The water was pretty stained and the temp was about 55 degrees. Somtimes it is just little things that make the difference. I can’t tell you why our fish did not like bait pull 10-15 pulls behind the boards and did like them 4-6 pulls behind the boards. I do know that it changed how willing they were to bite.
I fished with Shawn (Team Garheart) on Saturday and we only caught 3 fish all day, with 2 being keepers. It was by far my worst day fishing this year.
We fished several areas that I had fished the day before and had fished every weekend for the past month and had good success. Saturday that just was not the case.
It is just the way it goes sometimes and I have always said that is why it is called fishing instead of catching.
Dont feel bad…Saturday prompted me to decide to spend the next couple of weeks fishing and learning new areas/creeks that I never fish but know others do and have had success at.
If Saturday taught me anything, its that I’ve got a lot to learn about fishing for stripers. But hey, that’s what I got into this for - to try to learn.
Molon Labe!
Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. - Anatole France (paraphrased)
I’m with you, Mike … we have lots to learn … We took a chance and went all the way to the back of Jake’s and caught 7 fish, but only 2 keepers … The bite just turned off right around 9:00 … it was frustrating … Our water temps were 51ish and all fish came in 20’-30’ … I was watching all those fish get weighed in and to be honest - I was getting ticked off … not at the other people bringing in fish, but at myself for not being able to zero in on them … I can put out a good spread … I can keep bait in good condition … but my water reading skills … well … to say they suck is being too nice … I’ve tried to research this until I’m blue in the face, but there simply isn’t much info out there … short of approaching the right (and willing) people at the right time and asking them directly I don’t know what else to do … If we don’t figure this out soon it’s going to be (like it isn’t already - ha) very expensive (bait, gas, time, etc) fishing what I “think” is a good place to fish … Guess I need to work 4 days and fish 3 … LOLOL
Well, I felt that we gave much thought and consideration as to what we did and where we went Saturday based on the conditions and past reports for the week. Just wanted to see if there was some sort of obvious circumstance that we had missed or did not employ. Other than not returning first to the location where we had success a month ago, that doesn’t seem to be the case. We fished hard to the best of our ability, but it just didn’t work out. That’s why they call it fishing. We’ll be looking forward to next time, and if Lady Luck evens out, we’ll need a bigger ice chest.
