What temp do you normally start dead sticking?


I appreciate your input.

Lewisville was 57.5 on the north end and 60 in the main lake today. Caught zero deadsticking.

We have been catching striper dead sticking since Saturday the 13th at Whitney. Water temp was 65 degrees that day.

We started catching them last week on Texoma! Water temperature is still above 60 but they are biting!

Generally I look for 50 or less. I have had success above 50 to 60 but it’s always been in March for me

Concentrate your efforts 121 cut to dam in 38-42 of water. Look for spaghetti

River lakes seem to be different than non river lakes with regard to dead sticking ! PK which is on the Brazos river chain has not turned on as yet. Yes, there are a few scattered reports of anglers catching some sandies and small stripes dead sticking. Full blown , where a seasoned dead sticker can load the boat with solid 5, 6 and larger stripes ... no.
Bridgeporte water temps are lower and fish can be taken regularly dead sticking .

Imo , water temps need to be mid 50's or lower to force the fish to gather and head north , chasing shad into creeks off the main river channels . That's when it becomes easy and lots of fun trying new techniques ..

I learned to dead stick from Trent Miller in Feb of 2006 , before the dropped eye jig head was invented. Certainly don't know it all , always willing to learn new tricks.

55-60 on Lew

Thank you everyone for your comments. I'm looking forward to cooler temps!

My uncle taught me to dead stick on Texoma in January last year. All four of us limited out. On an interesting note, he was also like one of a few who introduced Stripers to Texoma a long time ago when he was a young fisheries biologist.

Going to try my hand at deadsticking for the first time this year. What is everyone’s favorite deadsticking setup?

6 foot 6 inch med heavy pole used for single or tandem jig sets. With single jig one ounce to two ounce jig head with either 5 or 7 inch fluke, not paddle tail and 14 pound mono that I can see .Tandem set up a 3/4 ounce jig tied on first with a three foot tag line tied to either another 3/4 ounce jig or half ounce jig. Place 5 inch fluke on first jig and a 4 inch white ice fluke on tag line jig. I always dip in chartreuse garlic , sometimes the entire jig most of the time just the tail. Favorite way to fish is to drift with wind sock at a controlled speed @ .4 to .5 mph. Ambush spots, big bends in river or creeks , tree tops in river ledges , large flats close to river , creeks that bisect river ...etc... usually, if one finds bait , the target fish are not too far away.

Not enough space to unravel hook sets strikes. Im sure someone will chime in and underscore any and all..

I always have different rods set up for different conditions similar to the post above. I feel like a 1/2 on top and 3/4 on bottom is my most used setup. I always leave a 1 to 1.5 inch chrome jig with a fly in the rodholder. I’ve hooked my biggest fish that way.

I found the deeper schools (less active) 30-40ft suspended fish reacted better to deadsticking this weekend on PK. When the birds were more active and the fish were feeding higher swimming baits did better. Water temp was 58-61.

In early winter I start off strolling with jigs and swim baits.
Then if needed deadstick.
Its really about finding the speed the fish want.

Does anyone have a favorite time of day to dead stick ... morning, noon or evening?

Moon phases coupled with barometric pressure and the changes within dictate my schedule .

Someone will chime in and state, fish have to feed, go when you can, the fish are biting somewhere etc...

To be consistent in catching fish is my concern.