This one was 30.5 inches and 10 pounds. He was within an inch of the 18 pounder but didn't have anywhere near the girth. I'm thinking that its a old male fish. He straightened the front hook on the bomber but I had the back one in as well so he didn't get free like so many have done this year. Even the premium hooks I'm using now get bent up by these guys. If anyone knows a solution to this I am all ears.

Big stripers seem to be hard to come by down by the dam. I have some friends who fish with downriggers that are still catching some but the places I've caught them all summer no longer have the legal size fish in quantity. Lot's of little fellows though. I see a lot of top water blow ups all over the lake but it's a mix of small stripers and sandbass. Next year it will be a snap to catch 5 stripers over 18 inches.

Sorry I haven't posted much in the last few weeks. Fishing been tough with the hot weather and I've been fishing mostly at night with a green LED light. Night fishing for sand bass and perch using ghost minnows has been a lot of fun. A 14-16 inch sandbass is not much of a challenge on my striper poles but is loads of fun on my 10 foot crappie pole. I don't think a cooler full of sand bass and bluegill is worth a post.

It's surprising to me to see these big bluegills take the little ghost minnows. I never though of bluegills as a minnow eater but they are a significant part of what I catch on the Ghost minnows. The little number 8 trout hook I have to use to fish the little minnows probably helps me catch them. In addition to the sandbass and bluegills, I've been catching quite a few small stripers and catfish on the little ghost minnows. Still haven't caught a crappie at PK since 2012.

Nice Fish .. congrats ..

I think sometimes they get both hooks in their mouths and bite down. I think thatsa why they are bending them. Try single J hooks and see.

I have caught them upwards to 35 lbs and never had a hook bend. I use lite line and drag of course.15 lb test andes or big game. Nice fish BTW

Very nice fish Mike. Congrats on another PK striper. . You've caught some really nice fish on that lake. We need to hit Texoma in October.

Awesome fish and post. Thanks for sharing.

As always, great post PK. I too have been fishing PK with the green light but not with much success. I'm always drawing in lots of bait, but the fish mostly escape me some reason while using medium sized shiners. However, I did catch this guy on a Bobby Garland jig tipped with a minnow this past Sunday.

Sorry, for the sideways image, can't figure out why its like that. He measured 14". Never weighed him, though close to 2 pounds would be my guess.

PK, I would be interested to know what kinda depth your catching the bluegill in, and what size they were. I have some family that would absolutely love a mess of big bluegill. Also, regarding the green light. Do you have nights where the bite never happens and are just capable of fishing enough nights to get past that, or does it just work every night for you? I'm losing confidence in my efforts.

I am all for that Joe. I miss going to Texoma when we come back to town to buy groceries before heading out to PK again. That big ole lake was very mean to me this summer. The fish that used to come onto the points at night at Eisenhower just were not there anymore. Pk is like that some too, as the lower water causes them to hang out in different areas. None of this seems to bother Bill Blasingame. I swear he could catch stripers in a manhole.

I sure am jealous of that Crappie. I caught a lot of them in 2012 but with the water down they left Neely and went somewhere else.

The bluegills are really thick at the marinas down by the dam ( Bluff creek, The Harbor and the Cliffs) as well as any good collection of docks. If you have access to a dock or slip you can put a green light on a timer and make a pretty nice fishin hole. My neighbor did that at a slip in Nealy Slough and it's a great place to catch sandbass and small striper. He did pull a striper up that was 22 inches as well as all the little ones. Bluegills were thick as well. If you drop a white roadrunner in there after dark it will never hit the bottom before something grabs it.

As for catching the bluegills, try using those little ghost minnows that are all over the water at night. Get one of those million candle power spotlights and a long handle minnow net ( $6 at Academy) and you can get a dozen minnows per sweep with the net. The bright light blinds them and you can just scoop them up. With the price of minnows, you'll pay for everything in two trips.

The Ghost minnows are thin as a toothpick, so you'll need a thin wire number 8 trout hook. I hook them right through the back bone. This will kill them pretty quick but they stay on. Most of the time you get a bite in less than one minute anyway, and the minnows are plentiful and free. If you have kids, this is the way to fish, as the action is fast and furious. Those 14-16 inch sandbass are loads of fun on my crappie pole. You'll get some nice Channel cats as well on those little minnows. Pk Bluegills are getting real big. I filleted some last week that looked like legal crappie fillets after they were cleaned.

Good luck to you.

Nice fish.

PK Fishin what did you think of my guess?

Nice!

What guess was that Lighting Rod? I can't see the question in the post.

Out at PK again. Maybe I can catch a few.

Well it was in statement form at the time. But itvwas maybe an answer to your bent hook problem.

Had been wondering how to take advantage of those minnows. Thanks for the tips!

Thats a nice Striper! I have givin up on fishing Neeleys and the dam. Fishing has been good to great in Cedar, broadway and N. D&D area. Have caught so many 12-14" Striper this year the future looks great for PK. Even caught a 18" yesteray. Have not caught anyrhing close to what your catching since early August. Winter fishing should be great. Thanks for the post.

Yeah I've had the same results catching mostly 12 to 15 inch fish, really looking forward to the next couple of years

When I hooked the 18 lb fish a few weeks ago one of the jigs was broken by a second fish that got on. This was an H2o jig from academy, so maybe not the highest quality steel but it took a lot to break it. I have had them bend the Cabelas jigs in the past so I no longer use them. The ones they cannot bend or break are the Luck E strike Gamakatsu jigs from Wal mart. When they get on those they are in trouble.

I had to quit buying the bargain Cabelas swivels for much the same reason. Occasionally, the stripers would bend the swivel and get off. I now use the more expensive Eagle Claw number 7 swivels.

Most of the issue comes from not using a downrigger and having to use the two jig one crankbait rig to get the baits down to 25 feet. If two stripers get on which happens a lot they can rough up the line until it breaks or bend or break hooks/swivels. Doesn't happen much now but I have done the following to prevent the breakoffs:

1. Use 50 LB test Fluorocarbon leader
2. Number 7 eagle claw swivels
3. Premium hook jigs
4. premium hooks on the bomber fat free shad
5. Limber medium action ugly stick 7 foot pole with lose drag

Even with all that, if my rig passes over a school of stripers and I get multiples on, I only bring in one. The evidence of the others is early in the fight the fish are totally uncontrollable until only one is on and bend hooks, missing jigs broken swivels or whatever it takes to get the beasts free.

I still catch some big ones but you have to up size your bait until the sand bass leave it alone. If not, you just catch sand bass and small stripers all day. 5+ inch baits seem to be the ticket.

Oh I was under the impression you were using crank baits. Using jigs your at the mercy of the hook quality the manufacturer uses. The fifty lb line is way over kill. Unless you get into rocks and or timber IMO.
Sounds like you got it figured out though.

Hey PK. Please explain the two jigs and crank bait rig. I've been trolling the lake but obviously I am not getting down deep enough. I don't have down riggers

Ok allfish, here's how I do it. I use three number 7 swivels because I can use palmore knots. These are tied to a 30 inch 50 lb test fluorocarbon leader. My main line is 12 lb test, as this lets me go a little deeper.

The swivels are spaced about 8-10 inches apart. The crankbait is attached to the last swivel. I use two 1/4 jigs attached to the two swivels above that. I've been having my best success with Berkly ripple shad in Glow Chartreuse or White Berkly saltwater gulp minnows.

I'll try to take a picture of this rig today. This typically hangs up if I get under 25 feet.

The kids and I have been dove hunting a lot since the tournament.
Yesterday we fished and we found the bigger striper slow but the sand bass were nuts.

Nice one Mike! Here's one about the same length from Texoma this past week. BTW, I never bend hooks except when I put my pliers on them. 12lb mono/fluoro and drag set to where a 30" will run a bit of drag but can still horse the fish a bit. Standard hooks on CC Pencil Poppers top water and ReAXtion/RSR/Moes lures for swimmers, slabs. Of course, my boat has a lot of "give" and a 30" will move me around a bit so I have some built-in drag.

Nice fish Roger. Haven't been up to fish for a month. Planning a trip soon maybe see you on the water.

Randy: That's better than I did this week. I didn't catch a single legal striper. I don't see them on the fish finder and have no idea where they went to. Been catching a ton of sand bass and undersize stripers at night with the green light. Some of the undersize stripers from last years stocking are almost 16 inches now. Great fun on the crappie pole.

I did catch one last night that was only 6 inches so we must have had a striper spawn of some kind this year. I doubt any of the fingerlings would be that small after two years with all this bait to eat. When I fire up the green light at PK after dark my color fish finder shows a solid school of bait under the boat. I think fishing will be good a some time at PK.

Great fish Roger. I never bend a hook with the inflatable but the Tracker does not give much.

Joe: It's almost October so it's time for me to try Texoma again. Big Tex can't stay mean to me forever.

Randy, I just love it when my sonar lights up like that in your picture. That situation is a fish every time you drop a slab down into them. What fun. I've found the Reef Runner blade bait to be deadly on the PK sandys.

PK, thanks for the info, I'll give it a try the next time I'm on PK.

Randy, I just love it when my sonar lights up like that in your picture. That situation is a fish every time you drop a slab down into them. What fun. I've found the Reef Runner blade bait to be deadly on the PK sandys.

PK, thanks for the info, I'll give it a try the next time I'm on PK.

Great post PK! Thanks.

Re: Bent hooks

After a striper straightened out the back treble hook on a Pencil Popper, I found some extra strength hooks, 2X and 3X and replaced the treble hooks. Haven't had one straighten a hook since. I think I found them in the Bass Pro Catalog, or maybe the Bass Pro Salt Water Catalog.