The water level is 1066.38 (4.62 feet below full pool) with water temps at 58-60 degrees. Turnover is mostly done on the lake and water clarity is clear on the vast majority of the lake, but you will still find some milky water where turnover is hanging on. Stripers are all over the lake already as the “breakout” has been in full force for a month or so now. November will be a two pattern month depending on where you are on the lake. The north end, above the Hwy 53 bridges, will be predominately a down line bite on large schools of fish found towards the backs of all the main creeks up the Hootch and the Tee. These fish have followed the bait to these areas and are feeding hard on the large bait schools that are in 35-50 feet of water. Search in these water depths with your Humminbird Solix or Helix for large “clouds” of bait. The fish will be close by and can be caught using a mix of smaller herring or even large minnows. Shorten up your leaders from your summer rig to a 4-5 foot length of 10# fluorocarbon attached to a #2 or #4 Gamakatsu Circle Hook. This lighter leader and hook will allow your bait to swim more freely and look as natural as possible. The jigging spoons available at StriperTackle.com will be the best artificial bait to use on these fish this month. The ¾ oz white/glitter or white/silver spoon will be the colors to use on sunny days and the chartreuse/chartreuse or white/blue colors on cloudy days will be great options. The fish in these areas will be closer to the bottom so this vertical spoon presentation works great. Once you find the fish put your MinnKota trolling motor on Spot Lock and drop the spoon to the bottom. Typically in this warmer water, a sweeping motion up with the rod about 6-8 feet will get you the most bites this month. A lot of your bites will be on the fall so make sure you are paying attention as the spoon falls back to the bottom. Our tackle set ups will be 15-20# braid with 7-10 feet of 10# fluorocarbon on a medium action bait casting rod. There tends to be lots of spin with a vertical jig so attach a small swivel to the spoon and at the braid flouro connection. The south end of the lake will continue to see lots of schooling activity thru November and chasing these fish is a lot of fun. They will be from the mouth of Flat Creek all the way down the river channel to Big Creek. They will come up and blow up on bait for just a little while so make sure to keep your head on a swivel and be ready to run fast to them. This month our favorite bait will be the Striper Tackle JR Hawg spoons in nickel or nickel/silver on sunny days or pearl or pearl/blue on cloudy days. These casting spoons can be thrown a long way which will be the ticket to getting to the schools before they go down. A medium action spinning rod with a 40 class reel loaded with 30# braid attached to 4-5 feet of 12# flouro will be the tackle set up to launch the JR spoon. A steady reel or a fast retrieve with a pause is the best way to work this spoon around these schooling fish.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful steward of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10. We all have gifts. Go out and serve someone else with that gift. If you are a great hunter or fisher take someone with you or volunteer at a kids or first timers event and show them the greatness of The Lord’s creation.
Call us at 678-300-4865 to book your Striper Experience today!