Not asking any guides to give up their secrets, so only non guides can reply. LOL..

I'm by NO MEANS a striper expert, but I caught some pretty good striper last year from the bank at Lake Whitney/Brazos River during this time of year. (Dec-Feb)

It seems the bigger striper like to school up in deep holes this time of year. What I do is try to find the deep holes, and throw some shad on the bottom. I never knew Striper would hit cut bait on the bottom, but they have for me.

So if anyone can add some knowlage to the cold weather=better striper fishing theory please do, thanks.

well when the water starts cooling off in the fall and winter, the striper start to migrate up stream and foage and hang out till early spring to spawn, some do some dont, but this is a great time of year to find a whopper.they move up stream and when it gets real cold they will stack up in a deep pool and wait out the cold, and the
weather is a very important factor right now.

it sounds like you got it right, and if you are catching fish thats great ,
cut bait, jigs, or live shad.
to me it doesnt matter which as long as your catching fish.

you will find that your deeper pool are mostly in the bend of a river, along with looking for sheer rock walls.

and stealth is the key to making a good start.

and of course with the stripers moving up into the rivers you dont have to cover as much water because the put them selves into a smaller body of waterwhen they move..

find a couple of deep holes and be patient.
be qiet and give them a couple of options to choose from, ,

key factors:

quiet,
what ever you fish with , fish slow,
and then fish it even slower.
have patience.
and fish it even slower.

i hope this helps ..
and sorry i replied but this might help ya..
and i didnt even hae to give you a secret hole, as you said, but if you tell me where you are fishing i can give you some pointers
see ya Jim
jimdandys guide service. www.jimdandysplace.com

What Jim Dandy says is true. In addition, develop confidence in your bait/presentation. Without it, you will probably not do so good. This is where hiring a guide who is proficient can get you on the right track.

Michael Acosta
Unfair Advantage Charters
817-578-0023

YA, what both of them said

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www.geocities.com/johnsguideservice/

Dmunsie,
If you think BIG stripers won't hit cut bait, just ask the winners of most striper tournaments what their choise of bait is at the striper tourneys...BIG,BIG fish come on cut bait...(quit smurking Randy Wood)Usually slow fishing with fantastic rewards.... I love it at certain times of the year; but it is hard to fish with customers...Capt. Randy

Welcome aboard, Randy! Met you at BPS a couple of weeks back. Let us know when the Whitney surface bite gets crankin' and we'll hook up with ya.

I DIDNT NOW YOU COULD CATCH FISH ON CUTBAIT??D :

OK, OK,OK HERES MY MY BEST RIVER FISHING THING. BEACH THE BOAT OR TIE UP TO TREES AND CUTBAIT.A LITTLE CHUM HELPS. ALOTA CHUM HELPS EVEN MORE.

Dang it ya'll didn't leve anything out so I could put my two cents worth in But I will say cutbait can be the ticket this time of the year

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Fish On Gota Run !!
Greg
BUG-A-BASS
Tackle & Guide Service
Phone # 817-938-3718
http://www.bugabass.com

What do you guys think about using cut bait ?




[This message has been edited by jimmye4fish (edited 01-08-2004).]

Alot of great info guys. The way you cut your bait makes a difference too. Filet that baby.

Saw a striper show where they were using the gizzards only out of the large shad. And catchin some nice ones. I didn't know either until I saw that show.

Give me a free swimming sized T bone gizzard anyday. And I have several 40+ lb results and many tournament wins to prove it. But hey that is why they calls it fishing, to each his own. I will use cut bait BUT only from Feburary to May. Those big egg laden females stay close to the bottom moving just about like most pregnant gals and gobbling up anything too slow to get outta the way. The way to catch giant striper is to use ONLY fresh lively gizzards or (skipjack herring in some locales) about 10" long. Cut the lively kickin bait with a sharp knife in a diagonal from just behind the head across to the anal vent thereby exposing a good blood line while the shad bleeds out and will still flutter on bottom till it dies. The properly finished cut bait will look like a teardrop. You gotta chum and chum some more for this trick to work well and change baits OFTEN. Windblown points with hard rocky bottoms or hard rock river bottoms, don't waste your time in silted or mud bottoms, clean current swept clay bottoms or sand are also good. Boat location is critical to successful cut bait fishing as is having over 10 or more rods out. Screamin drags !!!!!!!!