The current lake level is 1070.96 feet and the water temps range from 85-87 degrees. The main lake is clear. As is typical for August, the stripers are south and will stay there for next few weeks. Look to Shoal, Bald Ridge, Young Deer, and Big to have the biggest concentrations of fish so far this summer. To catch these fish, down lines are the ticket right now. You can pair your Okuma Striper rod with an Okuma Coldwater line counter with 15-20# Hi-Seas monofilament. Tie on a 1.5-2 oz Capt Mack’s swivel sinker, 8-10 feet of Seaguar Tatsu 10# leader, and a #2 Gamakatsu circle or #1 octopus hook and put your herring down 30-60 feet. Look for the fish to start moving out deeper into the creek channels in 70-90 feet of water and out of the pockets they have been. You will find the stripers are getting into bigger and bigger schools and locating them with your Humminbird Helix or Solix is the way to target these schools.
Keeping herring alive during the summer can be difficult, but lively bait is the key to catching fish in August. Chill your bait tank water throughout the day with no chlorine ice (available at Oakwood Bait and Tackle or Hammond’s) or ice bottles (milk jugs or 2 liter bottles) and use a 02 system to introduce pure oxygen into the water. Never use lake water in your bait tank when water temperatures are this hot as it too warm and has too little oxygen in it for herring to survive. To make sure you can keep lively baits down in front of the fish, you need to plan accordingly when purchasing your bait. This time of year we are starting with at least 7 dozen baits for a 4 hour trip as we are changing out baits for fresh ones approximately every 5 minutes.
The lead core trolling bite is really starting to pick up and the Striper Tackle HAWG Fat spoon in nickel/silver or pearl/blue and the 1.5 or 2oz Striper Tackle HAWG Super Spin Shad in white with glow/chartreuse tail body or crystal with pearl/black body 6-8 colors out will be what to start with. The HAWG SSS is a large shad head with an under spin blade and a custom 5 inch shad body fitted to it that was designed for lead core and down rigger trolling. The Capt Mack’s 1.5 oz under spin buck tail in white or chartreuse with 6 inch trailer will also be a go to lure this month.
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Call us at 678-300-4865 to book your Striper Experience today!