So here we are in early December and the past 10 days of striper fishing using artificials (fly or light tackle) has gotten tougher. This is usually the time of year we are counting on for consistency yet the last 10 days have been anything but that. Fish are holding deep for the most part and are located in the coves mostly on the south end (both lower and mid-lake). There are some fish being taken real shallow on intermediate lines but it is mostly a hit or miss deal. There are plenty of small bass being caught shallow as well. Most of them are in pockets on the south end (lower and mid-lake) off of rocky points. All in all it is a bit disappointing right now. We had some absolute PERFECT weather for some late fall top water but it is not happening. I suspect that with the full moon occuring this Fri (Dec 9th), we will see a spike in activity starting today and running thru Dec 12th. After that…..who knows! FIsh are still eating small baits and a somethin’ else is your best bet. Best to go with both an intermediate line as well as a sinking line in case you happen upon a big school of fish 20 feet down. Leave the floting lines at home now as we are really in a winter mode. Look for loons and terns to help locate feeding fish both just under the surface as well as sub surface (10, 15, 20 feet down). We JUST got our terns and gulls on the lake this week which tells you that we are running 2-3 weeks behind in patterns. Burn gas, have faith and you will find a few to toss a fly to. See you on the pond! HC
match the hatch w/a somethin' else
Nice report and prediction for increased activity. I assume the warm cloudy weather helped too but we found some nice surface activity today. Had a couple nice ones on bucktails and 2 takes OTF and both came unbuttoned. Not real sure what happened. You ever noticed issues with folks hooking up with big stripers (15+lbers) on smaller flies? Probably was on a Mustad size 1 so not real small.
Thanks for sharing your reports. Though we don’t fish on Lanier hoping stipers act similarly.
Chris,
Anytime you are using small hooks on big fish there is the possibility of slippage and a lost fish or two. But for me it is worth it as matching the hatch w/small baits is critical to get the eat! What lake you fishing?
We are fishing the Sav River lakes – Hartwell, Russell and sometimes Clarks Hill. It does seem like you have to match the hatch for sure. This fall at Hartwell fish were schooling hard on tiny bait and it was very difficult to get bit, even with small flies. But those were mostly hybrids. Hard to chase big stripers with tiny flies. You tying that fly with something like a #1?
Size #4….you really need to “feed” these fish on small baits. There is a technique to feeding striped bass, hybrids etc…on small baits. Once applied you can feed them way easier. I see sooooo many folks not hooking up due to retrieve.
Hmmm size 4. Thanks. Yes sounds like you have put in your time out there. I assumed there were certain things you could do to improve your success.