Springtime Striper Blitz

By Capt. Chris Foster

As the waters begin to warm in the months of April and May the fishing only gets better and better on our Piedmont lakes.  As the bait begins its annual move to the shallower waters, Anglers will want to turn to using stick baits such as a Heddon Zera Spook or a Bomber BaDonk-A-Donk or a popping style artificial like the Rebel Pop-R.  We prefer to use these in an array of colors that implement white, glow, or chartreuse; and have found that the best time to utilize these are in the early hours or late evening of the day.  An IRT Series 400 reel spooled with 12lb test monofilament on a 7’ medium weight, fast action rod will allow for you to be able to work these style baits properly with ease. With a stick bait you will want to apply the “walk the dog” retrieve and with a topwater Pop-R I have always found that the Stripers will often explode on the bait when retrieved with a “twitch-twitch-rest” style.  Fish these lures over schools of bait that are on the surface just as the fog is lifting from the water in the early morning, watch for the Terns to give you a good starting place as often they will be your eyes in the sky that find the baitfish first!

As the sun begins to come up and the surface temperature warms most of the time the baitfish will begin to go deeper in the water column, but the fish are still there feeding you simply have to adjust your spread and technique to target them.  Keeping with the same set-up as used with the aforementioned lures, simply switch out your artificial baits with a spread of Bucktails and jigs to be trolled.  A spread of ¼ oz and 1/2oz jig heads with a 4” Gulp mullet in chartreuse mixed with a horsehead jig that has a blade attached for extra flash equipped with a bass worm being slow trolled will have the rods bent in no time!  When trolling for Striper in the Spring months it is always good if possible, to run a line down to just above the schools of bait you are marking using a Downrigger; many times you will catch most of the days fish off of this downrigger rod.

If fishing artificial lures isn’t your forte then the Spring fishing season offers the ability to use live bait with all of the Shad moving into shallower waters.  Using a cast net, we prefer the Betts line of nets due to their superior quality and ease of use, watch the Terns in the morning and follow them to the baitfish.  After getting your livewell water established, fill up the tank with several dozen Shad and you are ready to go fishing! A simple Carolina rig tied with a small 1oz sinker in-line to a swivel with a 18” leader and a hook will get the job done.  Put out several rods with this rig tied on around the boat with a live Shad that has been pierced through the nose at differing depths.  Slowly drift your ‘school’ of bait around the other schools of bait that are suspended over drop-offs and near structure in order to find the school of feeding Stripers.  In no time you will be catching some really nice Stripers!

Capt. Chris Foster ~ Yeah Right Charters ~ (910) 845-2004 ~ www.yeahrightcharters.com