Back on Beaver Lake for the big fish of the week. Took out James McGuire from Lancaster, South Carolina, on Saturday morning and he landed this 20 lb. striped bass by dragging shad at the campground point of the dam. We have caught some good fish every outing now since they have moved up here to our end of the lake.
Stripers are liking that cooler water below the thermocline now which is running about 28 feet deep. The hotter we get, the more the bait will move toward the deeper water of the dam, with the fish right behind them, so no matter how you desire to fish for them you need to get it down below 30 feet deep.
Best live baits now are #1 shad over 5 inches long. #2 small perch, and #3 large shiners and suckers. Best trolling bait is the umbrella rigs with large white bucktails or rigged with LG swimbaits. If you troll umbrella rigs you need to look up how much line out for how much weight. 120 feet is a good start. If you don’t have line counter reels, then measure out how much line it takes for a baitcaster to pass from one side of the reel to the other and go from there.
The best time to go out is with the sunrise with some catching through the night.
As for here at Holiday Island on the Table Rock side of the dam, trout are the best from the shoreline closer to the dam and being caught on flies, small lures, power bait and worms off the bottom. Crappie are in the deeper standing timber closer to Beavertown and the Island, with minnows and jigs being the best bait.
Walleye and white bass are liking that cooler water coming in when they’re generating in the afternoons into the early evening with the best area being upriver between Houseman Access and Beavertown. We do best trolling crankbaits down 7 – 14 ft. deep on 3 – 5 in. crankbaits. When you find them you will also see the schools of bait on top, and can catch on minnows fished under a float or throwing about anything that looks like a minnow or crawdad.
Well, I guess I better get to work on that bait. I do have a couple of my evening $160 Holiday Island specials booked this week so maybe will have a big walleye pic for next week, or if I get a trip on Beaver this week maybe that 40 lb. striper that stripped out line like a freight train before breaking off 20 lb. line might make it to the boat this time.
Good luck and don’t forget to take a kid fishing when you can.