still learning

[leo33]

pretty much a newbie to stripers.besides a few trips to Quickes Hole with eels i pretty much have been fishing freshwater.i have been fishing the local coastal waters and rivers from a crawdad and have been throwing topwater(poppers,pencils,and sluggos) pretty much the whole season with a swimbait or two in the mix.my buddie and i have caught bunch of fish just not many keepers(4).we figure with time on the water comes bigger fish.
just wondering if it is time to put down the topwater and throw some swimmers?any info would be great.
thanks
leo

[ivanputski]

Stripers are lazy fish, and the bigger they are, the less likely they will quickly come up to the surface to hit a popper, unless they are actively feeding... topwater plugs are usually for when fish are "actively" feeding... exceptions occur, but this is usually the norm. swimmers retieved slowly will give a bass time to strike, and also put the lure down deeper in the water column... fish slow...

[numbskull]

Are you fishing day or night?

[leo33]

i have been fishing both day and night.i have been going to more swimbaits at night lately due to the topwater bite turning off after dusk for me.

[seadogg]

leo, the best advice i can give you is to fish primarily before dawn and just before and after sunset. also, key in on areas where you see ROCKS, rocky points of land, changes in the type of shoreline structure, and areas of shallow water that quickly drop to deep. soon you'll get an eye for what spots seem most appealing, and the next step is to learn the best times and tides to hit 'em. what helps is to observe these spots at various stages of the tide during daylight hours, then hit them during hours of low light. when you familiarize yourself more, you can give it a shot at night when the big girls hang out. go get 'em, man.

[Clogston29]

screw low light, go NO light. the later and darker at night the better for bigger fish. if you're gonna stick with plugs, try bombers, needles, etc. try jigs if you have good current. if you want to take the easy way out , throw eels. experiment and go SLOW with your retrieves.

[leo33]

thanks to everyone for the advice.
i wish i could be a little more picky about tides and time but as a lot of you know family and work will pick the times for you.

will the fall run be anything like the spring with fish up deep in the rivers and shallow?
also any recommendations on plugs for the upcoming fall run?

thanks again

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by leo33

also any recommendations on plugs for the upcoming fall run?

By day, a blue/white danny and a yellow/white pencil serve me well.

By night, the same danny and several big needles (white and black work) is enough. If the current is strong, a yellow darter or blue/white bottle is useful, too. Eels, of course, are better, though plugs are good enough.

Fish are moving and heading south, following bait. Find an ambush point, with rocks downtide from an estuary, river, or long beach and with deep water nearby. Work it at daybreak or in the deep of the night for 1 or 2 hours as often as you can. Fish will show in waves several days apart. Frequent short trips produce better for me than occasional all night marathons.