Dropping a Line

Well, we finally went out to see  on Beaver to see how the night bite was going. Thirteen-year old Ryan Womack from Arlington, Texas, was about asleep about 2:30 in the morning when the rod went down with this nice 34-inch striper. Big shad are what they like in the warmer months in the deeper, cooler water from Rocky Branch to the dam – that’s where they roam now. Look off the river bends, off the flats and creek mouths with the lake bottom running 40 – 80 feet. Add enough weight to keep your bait in the 30 – 40 foot range, about the 3rd contour line out if you have a GPS.

If you don’t find bait or fish, look in the main channel at the same depth but in water as deep as 200 feet.

Trolling an umbrella rig about 120 feet behind the boat with a shorter line out each side, with diving baits that get past 20 feet deep, or find the fish and set on top of them working a spoon from 1 to 2 oz. On their noses can get the job done, too.                 

Here at Holiday Island we’re still getting good fish going up river between the Beaver bridge and Houseman Access. Go up till the water cools from generating and you see little schools of small shad on top. Fish here whatever you have that looks like a shad – a couple big minnows in our net, some small shad to run about 12 ft. deep and you might just have fish for dinner. What kind you never know here, could be white bass, walleye, a big trout, large mouth, spotted bass or maybe even a crappie.

If you’re just able to fish off the bank, the bigger perch have moved in close to the shoreline to feed and are pretty easy to catch with a worm and float. If at night, get some bait down off the bottom and you might get a big ol’ cat coming in close chasing those perch.

Well, I better get off here and get some work done on the boat. Doing a split trip tomorrow starting with stripers on Beaver at 5 a.m., then taking the same bunch out for the evening bite here at Holiday Island. ‘Bout time for a 40 pound pic. We’re ready.

Robert Johnson, fishofexcellence.com, (479) 253-2258