Where is all the strippers at?
quote:
Originally posted by RustyHookerWhere is all the strippers at?
if i knew… i would share. i’ve been told they are still in the mid lake pattern, 60-80’ of water 40’ down and some others have said they are in to the summer pattern, river channel and deep humps 60-80’ down in 100+ water. i know that doesn’t really help, but that’s what i’ve heard from people much more experienced than myself.
When the lake was drawn down they cut the stocking from 1,000,000 to 600,000. Maybe this is the result. Plus we had a pretty good fish kill last year. This is only my third year of fishing Murray and I have had no trouble catching a lot of nice fish this time of year until now.
I have lived on the lake or nearby since 1978. I have pulled 30-40 lb stripers out without much hard work up until early 90’s. Striper fishing was a little tougher afterwards and you could pull out limits dailey of go quality 28-36 inch fish with regularity. Up until last year (maybe 06) I noticed no more big fish-not even my guiding buddies were able to pull a fish much more than 20 lbs. In March of this year I went religiously,morning,noon,night,30 degrees-no problem. I was catching legal fish-seems like about May when fish were supposed to start coming back down to start to get into the summer pattern, they just broke up and scattered. What scares me is not knowing what is REALLY going on. All waters below the dam are pretty much on a no keep policy and the fish are either short or floating. I can still catch keeper fish and find lots of them too-just no real size to them. Questions I have:
- Overfishing?
- Understocking?
- Gill Maggots? (Don’t really think so-newer issue)
- Amount of boat traffic? (pollution/de-oxygenation)
- Amount of water being pulled through inlets at towers?
- Competion with other fish (ie: bass,pickeral, etc)
- ???
I can remember putting in at Little River Marina, never start the engine, and limit out in less than an hour. I used to do this at either end of the lake whether live,cut or artificial. I can ride and find fish, make some of them bite some of the time but just not like it usetabe
…What you say guys?
Epic Failure=When everyday,run of the mill failure just won’t do
i’ve only been fishing 2 summers, so i have no measure of comparison. you can look at tournament results from years past and see the significant drop in creel weights.
triton…what’s changed since the “glory days”? size limits reduced? stockings reduced? SCEG water flow? anything?
I used to fish as triton said “religiously” about 5 years ago and did great doing so. took about the past 5 years off because of work issues and just this year i am starting to get back on the water. the change i have seen is dramatic. i can still find the fish but no big cows are hitting the deck. but one thing i have noticed is that every tom, dick, and harry goes fishing for stripers now. kinda makes me wounder if that has anything to do with it, also i have noticed that they aren’t fighting as hard. i used to tell people lake murry had some of the hardest fighting stripers on the east coast. now i don’t know if that would be true. the outcome of the hydroglow tournament should be interesting. i’ll see yall there. will be my first striper tourney. i just want to weigh in 4.
Side note: if i catch what i want to and feel like going home. can i bring the fish back to jake’s from land or do i gotta stay on the water till 10. don’t really want to keep harrassing msc with phone calls since i can’t make the captains meeting.
Phish-wish I knew. I really have no idea, nor any of my buddies who fish alot. Anthony Drafts is a friend of mine who is a guide on murray. We’ve talked about it at length but are unable to come to any real conclusion. I know years ago that striper fishing was a little thought of hobby. Now, there are 5-8 guide boats fishing 5-7 days a week, plus many more have picked up the sport as well. Maybe overfishing, too many short fish to sustain a good balance of food? No clue. If I was a bettin man I would say overfished. Over the last decade, Murray has risen to the forefront of fishing circles mostly because of the FLW and BASS bringing alot more pressure to the lake. Dunno…Just a shame though:frowning_face:
Epic Failure=When everyday,run of the mill failure just won’t do
quote:Mm, If you limit-out early, you can leave and return to weigh your fish. The top three, maybe five, teams will be polygraphed and it is pretty obvious if your fish are fresh, or not. I look forward to seeing everyone Friday. Yellow 22' Sea Chaser Bay Tunnel. Flatlander standingby on 72.
Originally posted by MurrymakerI used to fish as triton said “religiously” about 5 years ago and did great doing so. took about the past 5 years off because of work issues and just this year i am starting to get back on the water. the change i have seen is dramatic. i can still find the fish but no big cows are hitting the deck. but one thing i have noticed is that every tom, dick, and harry goes fishing for stripers now. kinda makes me wounder if that has anything to do with it, also i have noticed that they aren’t fighting as hard. i used to tell people lake murry had some of the hardest fighting stripers on the east coast. now i don’t know if that would be true. the outcome of the hydroglow tournament should be interesting. i’ll see yall there. will be my first striper tourney. i just want to weigh in 4.
Side note: if i catch what i want to and feel like going home. can i bring the fish back to jake’s from land or do i gotta stay on the water till 10. don’t really want to keep harrassing msc with phone calls since i can’t make the captains meeting.
Guys, There a lot of questions about what’s going on this year. If you want a report from the DNR biologist for Murray come to the December MSC meeting for the annual State of the Lake presentation. It’s always very informative and you can get an idea of what goes on behind the scenes. Be assured, DNR is equally concerned about the quality of the fishery.
just my 2 cents. there is a noticeable difference in the amount of big fish caught during the spring/summer months. plenty of fish were caught in the winter but they were all small. i’d like to know what happened?
Connect the dots.
Santee used to have a great striper fishery, but it suffered from increasing fishing pressure, decreased water flow, and the final nail in the coffin…an aggressive campaign to eliminate hydrilla and other aquatic vegetation…
Murray…increasing fishing pressure, decreased water flow, and an aggressive campaign to eliminate hydrilla and other aquatic vegetation.
Every single lake in the US that has had an aggressive campaign to eradicate hydrilla and other aquatic vegetation by spraying and the use of grass carp has had fishery decreases for many species of fish.
looks like some people are doing O.K.
http://www.blueheronguide.com/catchof.html
The more you fish,the better you lie.
14.5 'yak 175 lb motor
quote:
Originally posted by murrayfishermanlooks like some people are doing O.K.
http://www.blueheronguide.com/catchof.html
The more you fish,the better you lie.
14.5 'yak 175 lb motor
they have been doing good that’s for sure. interesting to see where they are launching out of too. wonder if that has anything to do with it. i know both of those launches.
I have seen him at the dam and fished with him out of dreher(typically)… I sure would like to know where he has ben fishing lately !!
The more you fish,the better you lie.
14.5 'yak 175 lb motor
quote:
Originally posted by RustyHookerWhere is all the strippers at?
Rusty …I have "heard " there are some pretty nice ones being spotted at platinum plus in greenville 
The more you fish,the better you lie.
14.5 'yak 175 lb motor