What are everyones opinion on your best chance at a trophy striper (local and abroad) and what time of year? Red river,Brazos,Sabine,Inks---Ouachita,Beaver,Cumberland River

SOUND OFF!!!!!

QUACHITA! bIG 14 INCH SHAD!

Just one man's opinion, Strip-but my choices would be 1.) Hudson River (Kingston to Poughkeepsie)-May. 2.) Cumberland (River) 3,) Beaver Lk-Arkansas.
Also "trophy" Striper seems to very a little in size depending on where you are fishing. What's your definition?

Beaver lake is my pick. 15-30 lb'ers are the norm. I think Beaver holds the Arkansas state record of 64lbs caught last year which surpassed the old record of 57lbs. The methods used most often is slow drifting 8"-10" Gizzard shad with a balloon float at the suspending depth of the fish on wide channel swings, or vertical jigging a 1-2oz bucktail over submerged standing timber. Trying to horse a 40lb fish out of the timber 40ft down can be a challenge. In my opinion, April is the best time for trophy striper. Finding and catching the right bait is the hardest part.

The Guide I used on Beaver lake, drove to
some lake in Eastern OK to get shad. Said it
was just full of big gizzards. Very eary
in the year they will take large shiners
just as readily as shad( according to the
guide). As the water warms up, they prefer
a much larger bait.
Like Capsbaker says, The definition
of trophy varies by location. I would be
thrilled with a 25 lb striper, but in some
areas it takes over 35 or more to raise
eyebrows. ( We should have all went to
Elephant butte , NM a few years ago when
there were schools of 30 + lb fish)
Also Beaver lake was a much better Trophy
lake about 10 years ago. Just drive around
the lake and every mom and pop gas station
or cafe has several 35 lb+ stripers mounted
on the wall( therefore not still swimming in
the lake)

good luck
MO

My definition of a trophy would be 20lb(in Texas) and 35lb in Arkansas or Tennessee. Where is the Hudson river capsbaker is talking about? What about local in Texas? Brazos or Red river or somewhere else?
I have been to Ouachita a couple times on guided trips and agree with Ozarks that April is when guides say someone catches a 30plus almost every day. My next trip will be to Beaver or Cumberland river unless someone can convince me there is a better shot somewhere else.

The Hudson is in New York runs right by a little Island known as Manhatten!LOL!
For really bigun's I'd head to the the Montuak Point area or over on Cape May or Martha's vineyard. The Sacramento River basin is also known for some quality fish coming out of San Francisco Bay. Stripers are originally a North Eastern searun cold saltwater fish that spawn in freshwater like salmon with the best fishing from New Jersey to the lower coast of Maine.
Ron

Mo and I used the same guide at Beaver. I had a ball, two over 24lbs....then the next year water was very high and weather was bad, still had fun, but no big fish..

I think I will go to Ouachita the next trip just to fish a different lake, but I like Beaver.

Stripaholic-The Hudson is the spawning grounds for the Atlantic Striper from Long Island Sound to Maine. The Cape Cod fishing shows footage and the mentioned Montauk fish, that Wiley talks about, mostly all spawn there-May, being the primary month.
i was fortunate to fish it for one week back in 2000. At that time it had a one fish per day limit, and i caught a fish over 20 lbs. every day for six straight days. Like nothing else i have ever personally seen. Of course, that is why i mentioned the difference in what is considered a trophy fish. Up there, 40 lbs. was a trophy.

i personally think it's whatever size suits you-however i think a 30 lbs. plus or 40 inch fish is pretty highly regarded most everywhere.

p.s. I highly recommend a fibre-glass mount made from a picture and your measurements when you do catch that trophy..Best of luck.

In Texas, I think your best bet on a big
fish would be below the dam at Texoma, Toledo
bend or one of the Brazos river chain of
lakes. I think I could catch one(20+) at
texoma from a certain rocky point in April, If I could fish every sunrise and sunset for
30 days straight.
Good luck MO
PS some monster stripers have come from
below lake Mead . I think it is legal to use
trout for bait there.

Stripaholic,
When you get ready to put a huge one on the wall, give me a call and I will give you a friend of mine's number.....It is not cheap, but he will guarantee you a fish over 20, and produce !!! Can't tell you where it is,(classified of course), but you can get there before you could get to Beaver.....Later Capt. Randy

Guide Steve McVey did some trips last year, not sure where, but it was not at Whitney.

What about Norfolk? Anybody have any experience there?

Cumberland river, I have guided clients to many fish over 40#. The stretch from Kentucky line to Old Hickory. If the algae didn't get em all below PK, or below Toledo bend, perhaps below Canyon, the Red below Texoma has some huge fish at times. A 44# fish came out from there 2 years ago. A sure bet if you have 4 days to dedicate is the Cumberland in July. That is also where the next freshwater world record will come from.

Thughes,
July? I would have guessed Jan. or Feb.
Cumberland has power plants right? I have heard alot of big stripers are caught on the coldest days of the year around the power plants. Tell me more or email me trentmil@msn.com

Yep, July. Those 40# fish we catch then would be 50# fish in the spring, but for a sure fire monster give me JULY. Last July we caught 6 from 41 to 45#. July before that on another river in Tennessee that shall remain nameless we caught 6 more in the 40# class. The trick is to fish the cold water areas. The areas we fish are crystal clear,around 4-6' deep. You can see many fish which would go well into the 50's to 60's, but in July getting them to get to a bait before the smaller 30's to 40's get there is another problem. A good friend of mine who lives in Ft. Worth caught his personal best at 44# last year and it was the SMALLEST of 4 which were swimming together. All caught pitching 12-14" shad on freelines to sighted fish. Kinda like fishing the Florida Keys but much more exciting. Seeing the fish then watching it explode on a struggling shad is a sight to behold. We fish areas that are normally inaccessible by conventional boats. Jet boat or airboat only terror-tory. The other sure fire time is first 3 weeks of November below Cordell Hull Dam. Then big topwaters work almost as good as shad.

Only thing you have to know about fish over 30# is COLD high quality water. That stand true all over the US.

Oh yea, Oregon inlet N.C. right now for a sure 30+ saltwater fish, Rick Caton charters.