Noel Pirtle from Arkola, Mo., had a good day last Friday on a striper trip with Zach Penland of Get-N Hooked-On Guide Service. Zach lives right here on the Island.
The water has warmed and stripers are coming to the top, full of eggs and still wanting to spawn. Some will go up the bigger creeks all over the lake, but most want to go up the river which runs south of Hwy. 12 bridge all the way up the War Eagle and the White River south of 412 bridge as far as they can go.
So where do you start? Hire a guide or fill that boat up with some gas, these fish like to travel. The rain gives them the current the need to lay their eggs and also brings in mud, which they don’t like much this time of year. Find the mud line and fish north of it. Backs of the rivers and creeks will be the first to clear up, so it’s best to be north or south of the mudline and start looking at your graph and the surface for bait and fish.
Trolling or dragging big shiners or shad should get you some meat in the boat.
Here at the Island the white bass are in creeks and running up the White River toward the dam. If you can find a clear place to cast a small crankbait, jig, or rooster tail you might catch a few. You might find walleye or trout. If you’re upriver south of Beavertown, look for crappie moving closer to the shoreline brush where they lay their eggs. Working a minnow or jig under a float or a long crappie rod to reach them without spooning is the best way to get some slabs to take home.
Bass are moving closer to the shoreline to lay their eggs, also. They make their nest in pea gravel as shallow as 2 feet. Spoonbill are still being caught below the dam. Watch the chart showing how much water they’re releasing and go after its been running a few hours. Throwing a big rod with an 8 or 10 or treble hook and a 3 – 6 oz. weight then jerking and reeling in the slack line ‘til you hook up is the only way.