Wipers or Stripers
Since the ice is starting to form around the edges, I guess it is time to start thinking ahead. I was thinking I might try for some wipers or even stripers this next spring and summer so I have some questions.
How do you target them?
Whith what gear? (line wt, sinking, floating)
What flies do you use?
What are their habits?
When and where do they spawn?
Anything else that you think might be useful.
Thanks,
Don
Don Rolfson
I think Robert McMahan fishes for them (in Oklahoma.)
Why don't you send him an email?
Target: Mainly stripers, I target them with a fly rod from shore or if I'm lucky a boat.
Gear: 9 1/2 foot 8 wgt rod, Reddington reel overlined with 9 wgt weight forward floating line on one spool and an intermediate sinking line on the other. I'll also use a 9 foot 6 wgt with three spools, Weight Forward Floating, Intermediate sinking and a Depth Charge fast sinking line.
Flies that imitate the local baitfish. Salt water that would include Silversides, Peanut Bunker, Bay Anchovies, Mullet and Sand Eels. Fresh water, flies that imitate Herring and Shad.
Decievers, Surf Candy, Spread Fly, Clousers,
Siliclones, Hollow Fleyes, Semper Fleyes, Jiggies.
Salt water tyers use a lot of artificial materials...Unique Hair, Ultra Hair, Mirror Image, Kinky/Slinky Fiber, Fuzzy Fiber. What they do is preblend the flash into the material. Angel Hair is most frequently used, but Polar or Sparkle Flash can also be used. Ratios vary with the tyer. I use a 1:1 ratio.
Habits: True in salt and in fresh water. They follow their food source. If you're fishing a lake with thread fin or gizzard shad, the bass will be around them. They also prefer cooler water. Around here they start moving into the rivers in the spring, but they usually won't start hitting flies until the water temp is in the mid to upper 50's. As the water warms up in the summer, fishing for stripers becomes a dusk to dawn activity. In lakes, where the schools of baitfish are dictate where in the water column the bass will be.
Stripers spawn in the spring, up the rivers from the ocean or the lake. Wipers just dream about spawning though they may have the migratory urge in their genes.
Other thoughts
Stripers will "ball" up baitfish schools and crash them. Often the smaller fish are the most active. The larger fish will sit down lower in the water column, and pick off the dying and wounded baitfish, dropping down. Break out your sinking line.
Follow the diving birds.
Learn from the bait fishermen. If they're live-lining 2-4 inch shad than match your flies accordingly. If they're live-lining 8 inch or 9 inch shad or 12 inch rainbow trout match the "hatch". If they're fishing at night, don't expect much sleep. Otherwise dawn and dusk will be the best time.
Good luck in the spring.
Why would you want to wait until spring? Stripers, and their fast-growing cousins the wiper, are true cool water fish. They are at their most active when water temps are in the mid to low 50's.
Here in Ohio the wiper bite is just heating up - even as the air temps are plummeting into the 30's. Starting about 4 weeks ago I was having 100+ fish mornings fishing below a lock-and-dam system on the Ohio River. The quantity will now decline, even as the average size goes up. I expect when I hit the water on ThanksGiving day that the average fish will be 6lbs with the toads topping 10lbs.
Since I'm fishing a fresh water environment, the baitfish of choice is the gizzard shad. They average 3.5" long and wipers are VERY selective to size. Try to match the size of your local baitfish population. And remember to include eyes on the patters - an important strike trigger.
Tight lines.
Joe C.
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This has been a very helpful thread: I'm going to Tulsa to visit my inlaws and i've been having trouble deciding between a day on the Lower Illinois with my 6 wt for trout, or a day on the Arkansas with my 9 wt for striper.
Does anyone know anymore about the Tulsa area striper habits? I'll be sure to mention the afore mentioned Okie.
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"d" and "O.N.",
Lots of good stuff covered by others here.
Don't know if it applies there, but around here, the retrieve is a BIG factor. USUALLY our stripers want a burning fast (at least partial) retrieve....usually. Some pauses are generally done along the way, but the retrieve usually starts with your line hissing in the water. If no sizzle sound, you ain't fast enough....usually. A woolybugger retrieve or dead drop retrieve is occasionally what they want.....but danged seldom.
....lee s.
Striper and Hybrid fishing is just starting to swing here in N. Ga. I usually fish the tail-races at Carter's Lake, Blue Ridge Lake and Lake Allatoona. The other day (25 Nov.) I caught 15 fish (Stripers, locally known as Rockfish, Hybrids and Sand Bass, aka White Bass)in less than 2 hours. The stripers (7) were fron 5-20 lbs. The hybrids (6) averaged about 3-5 lbs., and the Sand Bass (2) were 2-1/2 and 4 lbs respectively.
I used a white zonker tied on a 2/0 hook, and a chartruese zonker tied on a 3/0 hook (I lost the white one). I used my Scientific Anglers 10.5' 10wt rod with a butt extension (very useful for stripers), a Scientific Anglers reel with a disc-drag (an absolute necesity-never try to palm your reel on a running striper unless you want a really bad friction burn on your hand), a floating shooting taper and a 9' heavy-test leader. I put a few drops of "Smelly Jelly Shad Gel" on the fly every so often, just to cover up any human scent that may have gotten on the fly. I fish from the bank and cast towards the eddies at the edge of the floodgates. When it drifts down far enough, I usually roll cast (difficult with a shooting taper) or re-cast back upstream. If you try this, all I can say is "hang on tight"! This is my version of big-game fishing, and not for the faint-of-heart. They hit viciously and do everything they can to try to pull your rod and you into the current.
Hope this helps.
[This message has been edited by Gigmaster (edited 28 November 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Gigmaster (edited 28 November 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Gigmaster (edited 30 November 2005).]
Gigmaster,
I live in Marietta and fish Alatoona all the time. I would love to go out with you one day and learn this technique.
Email me at bjgtrading@aol.com
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