Preston Morse from Denver, Colo., had a group of six Saturday so we called on Johnny Glantz of Big1s to be our second boat. We both had a lot of cleaning with 8 of the10 stripers they kept in this week’s pic.
They hit on shad, shiners and even got two on the black salties. Trolling big deep diving baits and umbrella rigs can also catch them now. We did have to drop our lines down to 40 feet to get them to hit due to the surface temps getting warm.
We caught all our fish before 10 a.m., which is about the time it gets a bit warm for us, also. So we our now going out at 5 a.m. and coming in at 10 on all our day trips.
The night bite is also good from now into September, so we are also doing a 4-hour special, midnight to 4 a.m. for two for $240. $60 each extra adult. Kids under 16 free with adult.
One good thing about the summer is the stripers in Beaver Lake are now being caught at the dam and the water between the dam and the Big and Little Clifty Creek arms, so we’re going out from the dam and also doing pickups from Starkey Marina.
Here at Holiday Island, look for the crappie and bass in the old standing timber. I would start with a jig or minnow about 12 feet deep in the main channel. Look for the walleye where the flats drop into the river channel between the island and Beavertown. Working a jig with a minnow or night crawler or trolling a deep diving crankbait should find them for you.
When they’re generating in the afternoon, try heading upriver following the small schools of shad and you should catch some white bass mixed in with some trout the further you go up.
If fishing off the shoreline, the sunfish are near the rocks and brush now and all it takes is a worm on a hook to make a kid happy. Lake Leatherwood can be fun too, for bass. Crappie, catfish and sunfish from the shoreline. Or rent a paddle boat.
If you’re looking for trout, find some shade below the dam and let a worm sit on the bottom with a bit of power bait to float it up and you should catch a few. Make sure you have a trout stamp along with license.
Well that’s it for this week. Enjoy the shade or the moon, both can be cool.