On Lake Jordan in NC !!
its been over a year now since ive hooked into a decent striper. Moved from the midlands of sc to the midlands of nc due to the offer of a lot better job in chapel hill. I always thought I was pretty good at catching stripers on Russell,Clarks Hill and Murray but I cant buy a dang fish on this lake right down the road from me now . its just south of Raleigh and about the size of lake greenwood . I know they stock stripers in it every year and ive heard rumors of them being caught but I cant prove it! anybody have any pro tips on how to catch a striper in a smaller/shallower lake than the ones ive gotten used to fishing in? there is a massive amount of shad here ( gizzard and threadfin) but I believe most people around this area fish strictly artificials which ive never really been into unless it was a good school on top to cast to . my boys are losing faith in their dads ability to put them on good fish ! I can easily find the crappie on this lake but no luck with the rockbass as they call em round here… Help before I have to tell my wife im quitting my job to move back to where I can catch a striper
Last week surface temp was 84. But down about 6 ft there was a definite cooler spot. I’m pretty sure the fish are hanging in the deepest part of the lake right now which averages 60 ft but I have yet to see any activity on the graph looking around there. If it wasn’t for the fact that jordan is less than 10 minutes from my house I would focus on kerr lake bout an hr away. Probably still gonna try to get familiar with kerr this winter when they are in the creeks
But if anybody ever wants an easy place to catch slab crappie and don’t mind traveling to nc I’ve got the place. Average this spring was a limit of 14" fish. Not very many under 10" I’ve fished every lake in sc for crappie and have never consistently caught so many big fish as I have here
On Lake Jordan in NC !!
its been over a year now since ive hooked into a decent striper. Moved from the midlands of sc to the midlands of nc due to the offer of a lot better job in chapel hill. I always thought I was pretty good at catching stripers on Russell,Clarks Hill and Murray but I cant buy a dang fish on this lake right down the road from me now . its just south of Raleigh and about the size of lake greenwood . I know they stock stripers in it every year and ive heard rumors of them being caught but I cant prove it! anybody have any pro tips on how to catch a striper in a smaller/shallower lake than the ones ive gotten used to fishing in? there is a massive amount of shad here ( gizzard and threadfin) but I believe most people around this area fish strictly artificials which ive never really been into unless it was a good school on top to cast to . my boys are losing faith in their dads ability to put them on good fish ! I can easily find the crappie on this lake but no luck with the rockbass as they call em round here… Help before I have to tell my wife im quitting my job to move back to where I can catch a striper
I assume, knowing the angler I’ve come to know in our exchanges, that you’ve been tapping/drumming on the boat, along with power reeling and fishing cut bait on down rods. If the lake is similar to Greenwood, you might try medium and large shiner minnows. Sometimes, I find those to do better than herring and shad on Greenwood. However, these are just shots in the dark since I don’t know Jordan. I do think you’re on target in focusing on the deeper parts of the lake… I wish I could be of better assistance. You’ve give me a lot of good Clark’s Hill info
Now that it’s been an hour or so since I replied, I do remember a guy I met who claimed to catch some good striper on Jordan pulling bucktails with chartreuse trailers on leadcore. Not something I like to do, but might put some in the boat.
Actually haven’t tried power reeling with live bait. Have used medium to large spoons over a couple smaller schools of what I would think we’re stripes. Been doing the trolling in the channels and next to ledges with bucktails,a-rigs and leadcore with various diving crankbaits. They used to stock hybrid several years ago but stopped for fear of them getting in the cape fear and messing up the striper strain that runs up. Shame to. Lake would be the perfect setup for hybrids You know my son and I were talking about drumming last trip out and figured the locals would think we were nuts beating on the boat. Has helped me pull many out of the hill tho!
From talking with a buddy of mine (he is trying to get a report for me) Jordan suffered from a huge fish kill about 5-6yrs ago. The lake is coming back but not no where near what it should be like.
Funny thing though he said you can take everything you know about striper fishing and what you know about striper and throw it in the trash when it comes to jordan. These fish are very weird and extremely hard to pattern. I will try to stay on top of getting some info.
I did look at a topo of the lake. I would be fishing around horseshoe island as well down by the dam where the 2 rivers meet. There is a couple very nice 50’ deep points there. (Granted that’s what I would do but my buddy said “it’s just different there”)
Here are a couple screen shots of where “I” would be looking if I were launching a boat for the 1st time.
“All fisherman lie. And if they say otherwise, then they’re lying”
that is what I have realized - these fish are weird - ive trolled over those areas you marked a few times - haven’t really marked much in the way of fish but the schools of bait are massive - sometimes I have seen where the school is scattered so it looks like something is down there harassing them - im gonna try somre night fishing this weekend - maybe start with trolling right after dark then set up on a hump around the majority of bait that I find -put out the lights and chum em up- and no o2 lines in the water - they have these solar powered agitators anchored in the shallows of the river feeding the lake that are supposed to keep the water stirred up but im sure it doesn’t do much for dissolved o2 deeper in the water column
I read about the fish kill in 2011 but thought being 5 years ago the fish would have time now to rebound some
I figured my best shot at finding them would be now since they are pretty much pushed into the deepest portions of the lake and then possibly I could stay on top of them as they migrate out in the fall
Those fish might be like the ones on Greenwood and prefer showeler depths due to the fact it is dead from 20’ on down except at the Ox. lines! Just my 2 cents worth! Is ther timber in the lake? Can you catch live bait there? Thread fin or Giz.?
Those fish might be like the ones on Greenwood and prefer showeler depths due to the fact it is dead from 20’ on down except at the Ox. lines! Just my 2 cents worth! Is ther timber in the lake? Can you catch live bait there? Thread fin or Giz.?
Good bit of timber. Back of most coves put u in mind of russell. Except not as deep. Top of lake is scattered timber. Lot of live bait. Threadfin and gizzies. No herring whatsoever in lake. In the fall the Threadfin are so thick on the surface in the major creek mouths you can slap the water with a paddle and hit 30 of em. But I still couldn’t find a stripe around em.
Fish that were stocked 5 years ago should be hitting around the 10 pound mark. They could be way up in the rivers in that cooler more oxygen enriched water.
Actually haven’t tried power reeling with live bait. Have used medium to large spoons over a couple smaller schools of what I would think we’re stripes. Been doing the trolling in the channels and next to ledges with bucktails,a-rigs and leadcore with various diving crankbaits. They used to stock hybrid several years ago but stopped for fear of them getting in the cape fear and messing up the striper strain that runs up. Shame to. Lake would be the perfect setup for hybrids You know my son and I were talking about drumming last trip out and figured the locals would think we were nuts beating on the boat. Has helped me pull many out of the hill tho!
84 HYDRA SPORT 1800SS
89 Yamaha 150
‘BAD HABIT’
89 TRACKER 17 TX
MERC 50
‘OL LEAKY’
Tapping works for deep fish everywhere I’ve been… On Cherokee, they didn’t think we were crazy but knew we were from SC.
I have fished it several times. Used to catch them on lead core trolling around 12-30 feet. Lake is shallow similar to Wateree. They had a bad fish kill about 5 years ago that killed almost all of them. They may take a while to come back if at all. Try lake Kerr or lake Gaston if you want some real striper.
I have fished it several times. Used to catch them on lead core trolling around 12-30 feet. Lake is shallow similar to Wateree. They had a bad fish kill about 5 years ago that killed almost all of them. They may take a while to come back if at all. Try lake Kerr or lake Gaston if you want some real striper.
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did you ever figure out any pattern to their movements?
you know like up in the creeks in cooler months then back down to dam in summer or are they always just hanging in the deeper water?
ever had any luck fishing up the haw river ?
Have you tried getting involved with the Jordan Lake striper club? BTW - boatpoor is right, and the fish aren’t hiding from you…you’re just fishing on the wrong end of the lake for this time of year. We did have a massive fish kill in 2011 but they’ve made a nice recovery since then.
Have you tried getting involved with the Jordan Lake striper club? BTW - boatpoor is right, and the fish aren’t hiding from you…you’re just fishing on the wrong end of the lake for this time of year. We did have a massive fish kill in 2011 but they’ve made a nice recovery since then.
Yeah I sent an email to the contact info on the page but got no reply. Do they have regular meetings?
Yea, we have about 6 a year so just check the web site for calendar. For now, stay in the main lake between Johnson’s island and Hwy. 64 bridge. Threadfins on downlines 10-14 feet or leadcore 2.5 - 3 colors. This should get you on the right track. Good luck!
