STRIPER FISHING ON LAKE MURRAY
by Edward "Mr. Ed" Woodward & David "Waylon" Jennings
Midlands Striper Club
In early 1942, the dams on the Santee River at St. Stevens and the Cooper River and at Moncks Corner were closed to back up the waters of the Santee-Cooper Project. This was a history making event in a lot of ways, but little did the “movers and shakers” know of the impact that they would have on freshwater big game fishing throughout the country.
By the early 1950s, fishermen on the lakes knew there was something unusual going on there. Crappie fishermen told tales of having their poles broken by giant bass and many a bass fisherman had his day ruined by lost or wrecked tackle. All this was taking place just over a decade after closing the dam to the Striped Bass, then considered a strictly saltwater species. What was going on?
About 1953, biologists discovered that the stripers were thriving in the Santee-Cooper lakes and the rivers that fed those lakes, and the fish were reproducing. The story of the “landlocked striped bass” hit major sporting magazines like “Sports Afield” and “Field and Stream.” This brought crowds of fishermen to South Carolina, where they discovered that the lakes were excellent for other species as well. A thriving cottage industry was born based on fishing, hunting and recreation on and around the Santee-Cooper lakes.
In the late fifties and early sixties, scientists began to experiment with hatchery rearing of stripers at Bonneau. This was the real birth of the freshwater striper fishing that is enjoyed all over the country. And stripers from the Bonneau Hatchery populate Lake Murray.
Lake Murray is a deep clear impoundment on the Saluda River just west of Columbia, S.C. It is considered one of the premier striper lakes in the country. South Carolina DNR stocks over one million stripers in Murray annually. Although there is some evidence of possible natural reproduction in the river below Lake Greenwood, it is not nearly enough to support the Lake Murray fishery. The stocked fish gorge themselves on the plentiful blueback herring, threadfin shad and other “soft bodied” forage fish in the lake. They grow fast and fat. Adjustments in size and creel numbers to make Murray a trophy striper lake seem to be working. Presently there is a five fish limit with a 21 inch minimum size. The minimum size regulation is relaxed somewhat in July and August to allow for fish that are hooked deeply and might not survive the shock of being returned to 80+ degree surface water.
One of the attributes that makes Lake Murray an outstanding destination for striper fishermen is the availability of bait. Several reliable bait stores around the lake have blueback herring year round and “ bait boats” are on the water at major landings plus service many of the tournaments held on the lake. Buying bait allows the fisherman much more time to fish for stripers rather than having to spend time hunting bait, then hunting stripers.
Most striper fishermen prefer live bait and this requires an aerated bait well of some sort. Some of the best bait keeping systems are 20 to 50 gallon oval or round tanks with a 12 volt pump to circulate the water and infuse air (oxygen). Usually, the larger tanks have a filter system to remove scales and unwanted elements from the water. Salt, a chemical “baitkeeper”, and an anti-foam agent are added to non-clorinated well water (chlorinated water will kill delicate bait fish). Temperatures are adjusted by occasionally adding ice. Keeping your bait tank in good condition, knowing how many bait your tank will support and constantly monitoring the condition of your bait is one of the keys to successful striper fishing.
After a good bait tank, a quality depth finder is probably the next most important piece of gear on a striper boat. Both Lowrance and Garmin make units that are reasonably priced. You should at least have a 240 x 240 pixel screen, preferably with at least 3000 watts of peak to peak power (375 watts RMS). Learn how to properly use the machine of your choice. This will allow you to locate the thermocline, bait schools, fish, and bottom structure. A quality depth finder will allow you to distinguish between trees, grass, bait, fish near the bottom, stumps or rocks, etc.
Anchors and enough anchor line are extremely important for striper fishing. Cut bait fishing requires the use of double anchors with a goal of keeping the boat perfectly still. Frequently, down rod fisherman will just use one front anchor and allow their boat to slowly sweep across an area. We use 350 feet on the front anchor and 150 feet on the rear. We also have a power capstan on the bow for pulling in the front anchor. A third anchor with at least 150 feet of line is nice when the wind is swirling or changing direction. Anchors should have 6-8 ft of chain attached to a good quality 3/8” nylon rope. The chain will significantly improve the anchor’s ability to bite rather than drag on the bottom. Learn how to tie cleat hitches that your anchor can be loosened quickly in an emergency. Have some buoys or boat fenders so that you can drop the end of an anchor line and come back to it later. Marker buoys also come in handy when you are trying to anchor precisely on a spot. Proper anchoring technique requires some practice.
Big boats need a big trolling motor. A 24 volt with 60 or more pounds of thrust will hold most striper boats against a stiff breeze and easily last through a full day of fishing. We have an autopilot unit that’s real nice for freelines and planer boards. Quality battery chargers, separate batteries for trolling and cranking and good battery care are important.
GPS is another nice extra that you may want to add to your boat. The newer units with downloadable mapping software will allow you to navigate through the fog, return you to the spot where you caught that 30 pounder, get you to the nearest marina, guide you up a channel or route that you select and generally make your navigation much safer. The latest units offer WAAS (wide area augmentation system) for precise accuracy, sometimes to within 3 feet or less.
A few more necessities like a VHF radio, landing net, rod holders, tackle and a number of rods and reels will get you where you need to be in order to fish for stripers.
The most common rod for live bait fishing is a 7 to 7 ½ ft, medium or medium light action, such as the Ugly Stick Striper Series rods. You want a limber tip so a striper can take the bait without feeling any resistance. For cut bait rods, single line trolling or planer boards, you want may choose a slightly stiffer flex for more backbone. The majority of striper fishermen use a good quality, level wind, baitcasting reel with a good quality drag and clicker, such as the Garcia 6500 C3 Series or similar quality reel by other manufacturers. Striper fishermen utilize various line strengths from 8-20 lb; live bait fishermen typically prefer lighter line such as 10-12 lb, while cut bait fishermen will frequently choose 14-17 lb. Personal tackle preferences vary significantly among striper fishermen but probably more so with hooks than anything. A good starting point for a cut bait hook would be to choose an Eagle Claw L042 Wide Bend Hook in size 1/0, 2/0, or 3/0. This was the generally accepted cut bait hook among experts like Warren Turner until Chaser, Gamakatsu, Owner, Calcutta and other manufacturer’s hooks became the personal favorites of many. An old stand by for live bait hooks is the Eagle Claw 084 Hook in size #2, #1 or 1/0 (unless you use really large bait). Most striper fishermen are moving toward some type of octopus style hook or mild circle hook that will allow the hook to pull back out of the fish’s throat and hook up near the lips. Again, this is personal preference and be aware that hook sizes vary significantly between manufacturers (e.g. a 2/0 Calcutta hook may be the same size as a #1 Eagle Claw).
The fishing technique that you will employ probably depends more on the time of the year than on the preference of the fisherman. Freelining and planer boards are generally used when the water temperature is cooler; however freelines see limited use throughout the summer. Downlines are used to get the bait down when the fish are at or below the thermocline in warmer weather. I believe cut bait on the bottom will work year-round. All of the above methods will have to be adjusted to fit the location of the fish.
Basically the fish go up the rivers and creeks in winter and early spring following the forage fish and satisfying their natural instinct to spawn. Late fall and winter is the time to pull planer boards and freelines along shorelines and long points. Cut bait on the points and humps in fairly shallow water and up the river also produce good at this time of year.
As the water warms above 70 degrees a combination of freelines, planer boards, and downlines pulled around structure in deeper water will begin to produce. The fish tend to move towards the bigger deeper part of the lake closer to the dam. Cut bait produces on the humps and points with the depth adjusted to match the depth the fish seem to prefer.
The “dog days” of July and August generally call for deeper downlines drifted or pulled slowly across areas where fish are marked on the depth finder. Cut bait will work with the depth adjusted to fit the thermocline and usually on humps or structure close to deep water.
It is a good idea to always keep a rod rigged to cast a top water bait or a spinner to schooling fish breaking the surface. This can occur any time of the year but is usually better in spring and fall. Approach schooling fish quietly with the trolling motor and they will stay up longer. Most schooling activity is early and late in the day, but not always. In late fall, winter, and early spring the gulls follow the schooling fish and are good indicators of schooling activity.
Trolling with downriggers, lead core line, umbrella rigs, bucktails, deep running plugs and roadrunner jigs are also popular. Boat speed is critical to successful trolling. The most commonly accepted speed for trolling umbrella rigs is 2.6 - 2.7 mph. If the main engine will propel the boat slow enough for successful trolling, then a kicker motor may not be necessary. There are gadgets that fit on the lower unit of your motor to act as a brake to slow the boat. I made some homemade boards once for a jon boat to slow it for trolling. The next thing would be depth control. Lead core is colored differently every ten yards and depth can be determined by how many “colors” you have out. With a 1 oz lure weight on lead core, the lure will drop approximately 3 feet in depth for every 10 yards of lead core you have out, when trolling at 2.0 - 2.5 mph.
In conclusion we should mention, if it’s not already evident, that striper fishing is addictive.
It's truly “Big Game” fishing close to home.
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