# Deep Water Schooling Stripers



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Had intended to check the island this morning before dawn for schooling fish and then leave for the house if none to be found...but when there was none to be found decided instead to head out south to deep water just to look around. Ran into a huge school of stripers. They were in about 40 feet of water and the school completely turned my sonar bright solid orange color. The screen was totally filled with striper return signals. 

I like a 1 ounce rattle shad in that situation, but anything would probably have worked, including top water baits (which I had stored away when leaving the island). Had a limit of nice stripers very quickly so just shut it down and watched for a time. 

Have to wonder if this schooling in deep water happens much more than we are aware of. A few weeks ago had a similar event happen in almost the same location. 

There were very few boats out today and that helps bring out the stripers to play, IMO...but this deep water schooling could be going on and never be seen. There were no birds, nothing other than shad flying everywhere to give away there presence. Amazing fishery.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

WTG MDLK. You really have them dialed in. Do you think your screen is all stripers or stripers rounding up huge schools of shad as well??


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow! That is 2Cool. You are getting me all excited about striper fishing.
RT


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

fishinganimal said:


> .. Do you think your screen is all stripers or stripers rounding up huge schools of shad as well??


FA,

I'm really not knowledgable enough on the electronics to say for sure...but this may help answer:

As I approached the school, the screen went solid well before I got into what I thought was casting range. I use an 8 foot rod and can throw a 1 ounce trap a pretty good distance. So instead of pushing on into casting range, or what I thought was casting range, I just started throwing...and it was fish on. My thought would be that would indicate stripers were all around and not just in the center of the wheeling action.,...but I could be wrong. I know for sure many shad lost their lives this morning in that carnage.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Reel Time said:


> Wow! That is 2Cool. You are getting me all excited about striper fishing.
> RT


Come give it a try...but bring your sturdy gear as they take no prisoners.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Sounds reasonable to find them in deep water. My brother, who guided on Texoma for 18 years, always told me to look for our stripers in the deep water just off the river channel. I tried but was never successful. He would just laugh and say I did not know what I was doing.
Unfortunately his health was so bad once I moved back here in 2000 he was never able to come down and teach me. I lost him about four years ago.
Also if you read Brian's reports from Texoma he is catching lots of big fish in very deep water. Mostly on live bait since the fish are scattered.
Brian mentioned a trick that I saw my brother do many times. They would find fish in deep water and then start smacking the water to create a false feeding frenzy. I know it always worked when I fished with my bro.
Seems you have got the locating and catching down pat. I am still pulling for your 30+ inch fish.
I have spent a lot of time researching the Texas records and have found some very interesting fact to report later.

PS. Jim said he was going to knot tying school.


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## dbullard (Feb 13, 2008)

WTG ML great to here of the huge school.


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## OrangeS30 (Jun 21, 2009)

Very good to hear!!

Last year we got into a school similar to what you got into today. No birds working, no other boats around. Think we found the school by luck alone!


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## whackmaster (Apr 2, 2010)

Congrats Meadowlark....I think I'm going to go in the morning and try some of your techniques...Thanks for the report...Grady


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## johnmyjohn (Aug 6, 2006)

Nice, real nice ML.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Thanks for the report, it's just awesome to watch them school.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Sunbeam said:


> ...I lost him about four years ago....
> I have spent a lot of time researching the Texas records and have found some very interesting fact to report later.
> 
> PS. Jim said he was going to knot tying school.


Same here, lost my brother 4 years ago and would have loved to have had the chance to show him the striper fishing I've been enjoying. It is a loss that never goes away.

Speaking of records, carried fly rod out today for the island and then when the fish didn't show, broke it down, put it away, and ran right into schooling fish. Oh well. I need a witness for that record and hopefully Jim will be with me the day we get that one.

Here's a record thats probably never been kept, at least on Livingston...most keeper stripers caught in one month by one person on the Lake. If you have that one, I'd be interested in comparing my July to that record.

You mentioned Jim's knot...we had just finished having a "knot" discussion yesterday, and of course I was bragging about my knots, and then Jim lost a fish to what was clearly a poorly tied knot, one which I had tied the night before...it never fails, when we get too proud, we get humbled by the fish. Never fails.

Looking forward to your records and especially any Livingston ones on stripers.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

whackmaster said:


> ..I think I'm going to go in the morning and try some of your techniques...Thanks for the report...Grady


Good luck, Grady. The toughest thing I have found in striper fishing on Livingston is working a school you find in the presence of other boats. Stripers are very shy fish, IMO, but boaters are not shy, especially when they see you working fish.

I especially appreciate Lone Eagle, who several days back when he recognized I was working a school of stripers, he moved on to find his own fish. That is the mark of an angling pro.

It does not seem to matter to white bass, the more boats, the merrier, but with stripers, it doesn't take much to send them packing and your hard work to find them down the drain.

Go get 'em!!


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## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

Nice stripes way to go.


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## elpistolero45 (May 9, 2010)

Great Fish!
I've noticed that in my OLD humminbird

the Big "Humps" on the bottom of my screen mean fish
the Big "Balls" over the humps mean Shad
Seems like ANY jig will do if you're over 'em and they are that thick.

The Screen will get pretty dark when they are balled up tight as described above.

If I don't see that at the Lump, Hump, racetrack off Beacon Bay, or out from Memorial Point...

Go south of the island and find the 3 hills on the San Jac side between the Island and Browder's Marina. That's the only stuff in my playbook.

Good Luck


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## megafish (Mar 5, 2007)

Great catch, Meadowlark appreciate the pics. always a treat! By the way your techniques had me browsing Fishing Tackle Unlimited today for about 2 hrs. ! Looks like them Stripers are high maintenance to support their habits I may have to put the wife on the back burner! LOL! Thanks Again!


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

elpistolero45 said:


> ...I've noticed that in my OLD humminbird
> 
> the Big "Humps" on the bottom of my screen mean fish
> the Big "Balls" over the humps mean Shad


Elpistolero,

Thanks for your comments....but what I'm describing is neither of the above. When I find a school like I described, my depth will go from 40 feet to one or two feet showing nothing but a huge solid orange concentration of return signals underneath. The unit actually thinks the depth has changed when actually it is fish so concentrated as to show what looks like a bottom. Have only seen this a few times but it means an incredible number of fish and unbelievable fishing.


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## RATLTRAP (Sep 16, 2009)

Good lookin sack of stripers. Those guys are a ton of fun.


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Thanks, MDLRK. Great pics and report!


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

megafish said:


> ....By the way your techniques had me browsing Fishing Tackle Unlimited today for about 2 hrs. ! Looks like them Stripers are high maintenance to support their habits I may have to put the wife on the back burner! LOL! Thanks Again!


Just don't send me the bill if you loose one or are unhappy with the results

What better way to spend your money? 

Seriously, I hope it works for you and everyone that tries them and I sincerely thank you for your comments.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Meadowlark said:


> Just don't send me the bill if you loose one or are unhappy with the results


LOL! Had to laugh at that! 
Yep, a bit expensive! Those lures are made to be able to handle ~ 100 pound toothy salt water predators, and that does not come cheap.


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## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

Thanks for that report, Meadowlark. It's great to see things like that happening. Fancy you talking about a flyrod and stripers. Been thinking of the very same thing this past month. I think that would be one "Fun Fight". 

I'll see y'all back out there by Monday. Might be a little sooner. Depends on when our guest returns home to Cincinnati. Once again; Thank you for all your work and knowledge sharing on stripers.


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## stewman773 (Jun 19, 2009)

another impressive catch...thanks for the report


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Lone Eagle said:


> Thanks for that report, Meadowlark. It's great to see things like that happening. Fancy you talking about a flyrod and stripers. Been thinking of the very same thing this past month. I think that would be one "Fun Fight".


LE,

I caught several stripers last year on a 10 wt fly rod....up to 23 inches.

I never did file for the records for Livingston, a record currently unfilled, because I kept wanting to get one that would stand up for awhile...now I'd just like to see a record get established so we have a target to shoot at in breaking it.

It is a phenominal fight...second only to freshwater redfish. It will test your skills as an angler and the reward is knowing you passed the test.

I'd love to see you and/or others get after them that way...it is one of the very top experiences of freshwater fishing, IMO.

Let's get a record established, I don't care who does it, but then let's try to make it better and better each year.

I'm proud of our fishery here and would love to see our Lake Livingston in the records with a respectable fish, no matter who does it.

If you want to join me one morning with your fly rod, that would be just great...let's get it done!!!


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## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

Meadowlark said:


> LE,
> 
> I caught several stripers last year on a 10 wt fly rod....up to 23 inches.
> 
> ...


I'm all for that idea. I have "Never" caught anything larger than a 6 lb. LMB on a flyrod and that was fun.


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## live2fish247 (Jul 31, 2007)

Meadowlark said:


> Just don't send me the bill if you loose one or are unhappy with the results
> 
> The bill for the bait or what he pays for puttin the wife on the back burner?


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Just a thought. Few years back I was lucky enough to fish the John Day river in Oregon. They troll the lower portion for big steel head. The lure of choice is the old reliable Flatfish. My friend said it was the best because it can be trolled at higher speeds. The 6 to 8 inch models I have found on the net are half the price of the Mirrolures and such.
One blub said it can troll up to ten knots at 45 feet. Don't ask me the link cause I can't find it again. Did not use "favorites"


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Sunbeam said:


> .... Did not use "favorites"


Regularly kick myself for doing the same.


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## snapper slapper lures (Jul 6, 2004)

*Try 1oz Slappers*

You should try 1oz and 3oz snapper slappers. The guys on east coast swear by them for slow trolling deep or vertical jigging ao casting. I have a sale on 1ozs now $3.00 each. Call for info, Woody
Order off web site and I will adjust price before I run charge. Orders over $40.00 I ship for free



Meadowlark said:


> Had intended to check the island this morning before dawn for schooling fish and then leave for the house if none to be found...but when there was none to be found decided instead to head out south to deep water just to look around. Ran into a huge school of stripers. They were in about 40 feet of water and the school completely turned my sonar bright solid orange color. The screen was totally filled with striper return signals.
> 
> I like a 1 ounce rattle shad in that situation, but anything would probably have worked, including top water baits (which I had stored away when leaving the island). Had a limit of nice stripers very quickly so just shut it down and watched for a time.
> 
> ...


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## bueyescowboy (Apr 10, 2005)

way to go MDLK....one day I might look into that fly fishing..... then again sometimes I am doing good just to get a line in the water. hope to see you out there soon


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

bueyescowboy said:


> way to go MDLK....one day I might look into that fly fishing.....


I'd be more than happy to help you with it.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

That is an awesome striper catching technique Meadowlark.


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