# Lanier 6/6



## Troutman3000 (Jun 7, 2010)

Picked this one up Sunday Morning. Tasted real good last night. Some other pics of the day are included as well.


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## Zum (Jun 7, 2010)

Nice fish.
Did the wind pick up on ya?
Looked alittle breezy in one of those pictures,how'd your boat handle the little chop?


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 7, 2010)

It was real choppy. The boat was fine since it is a v there was no problem at all. If I were in my old Jon boat I would have sank.


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## Ictalurus (Jun 7, 2010)

Troutman, that tracker looks sharp.


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 15, 2010)

Man my grandfather has a house right on Lenoir.. how is the LM fishing there this month been?


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 15, 2010)

Queencitybassman said:


> Man my grandfather has a house right on Lenoir.. how is the LM fishing there this month been?




I dont catch a lot of LMs there, mostly spots and stripers. I havent really targeted the LM but I know there are stilla good number of them in the lake.


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 15, 2010)

Ictalurus said:


> Troutman, that tracker looks sharp.




Thank You sir


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## poolie (Jun 15, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> Queencitybassman said:
> 
> 
> > Man my grandfather has a house right on Lenoir.. how is the LM fishing there this month been?
> ...



I haven't been to Lanier this year, but yep, there are some good LMB's in there. Scary lake to be on in a small boat during the summer.... lots of pleasure craft traffic.


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 15, 2010)

Yeah last time I was there he actually hired a striper guide.. who was terrible and we caught about 3 spots and one small runt striper.. I will probally do some striper fishing but I was hoping to squeeze some LM if I bring down my boat


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## Brine (Jun 15, 2010)

Targeting LM on Lanier is like wanting a good steak dinner and choosing a seafood restaurant. 

It's a trophy spotted bass fishery, and typically LM and Spots don't play nice together. That said, I'd target the Magnum Spots (which pull alot harder anyway) and if you happen to catch a LM, it's a bonus. You also get the added bonus of hanging a 25# + striper fishing where the spots are. 

I do know that most of the LM that get caught are gooduns though...


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## poolie (Jun 15, 2010)

Brine said:


> Targeting LM on Lanier is like wanting a good steak dinner and choosing a seafood restaurant.
> 
> It's a trophy spotted bass fishery, and typically LM and Spots don't play nice together. That said, I'd target the Magnum Spots (which pull alot harder anyway) and if you happen to catch a LM, it's a bonus. You also get the added bonus of hanging a 25# + striper fishing where the spots are.
> 
> I do know that most of the LM that get caught are gooduns though...



Brine, I stand corrected. When I stated there were some good LMB's in Lanier, what I truly meant was there are some whopper spots in there  and you're right, I'll take a hard pulling spot over equivalent sized large mouth any day.


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 15, 2010)

Queencitybassman said:


> Yeah last time I was there he actually hired a striper guide.. who was terrible and we caught about 3 spots and one small runt striper.. I will probally do some striper fishing but I was hoping to squeeze some LM if I bring down my boat




I can give you some pointers when you come down on the stripers. I have started to figure them out a little.


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## russ010 (Jun 15, 2010)

it's been a while since I've been on - and I haven't talked to you lately....


did you get a new to you boat???!!


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 15, 2010)

russ010 said:


> it's been a while since I've been on - and I haven't talked to you lately....
> 
> 
> did you get a new to you boat???!!




I did. I sold my jon for 1400 and picked up the tracker for 1900 the next day. Its got an old rude on it that will need to be replaced soon, but besides that its in pretty good shape. Of course I want to recarpet it and all of that, but that can wait until the winter. So far so good. I dont feel scared in Lanier anymore.


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## russ010 (Jun 15, 2010)

SWEET!! =D>


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 15, 2010)

That would be awesome I hear lanier is suppose to be one of the best striper lakes on the east coast so id like to catch some bigguns there.. man there is a lot of georgia guys on this site


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## poolie (Jun 15, 2010)

Queencitybassman said:


> That would be awesome I hear lanier is suppose to be one of the best striper lakes on the east coast so id like to catch some bigguns there.. man there is a lot of georgia guys on this site



Shhhhhh..... we're taking over ;-)

Which Queen City as you located in?


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## bassboy1 (Jun 15, 2010)

Brine said:


> Targeting LM on Lanier is like wanting a good steak dinner and choosing a seafood restaurant.
> 
> It's a trophy spotted bass fishery, and typically LM and Spots don't play nice together. That said, I'd target the Magnum Spots (which pull alot harder anyway) and if you happen to catch a LM, it's a bonus. You also get the added bonus of hanging a 25# + striper fishing where the spots are.
> 
> I do know that most of the LM that get caught are gooduns though...



Yep. I've heard it said time and again that Lanier is the best spotted bass fishery in the country. I don't know if it is the best striper fishery, but it is purty darn close. Dang shame I don't head up there more often than I do, seeing as Allatoona is a pretty pitiful spot lake, and Largemouth aren't any fun to catch (plus there are hardly any of those in the Dead Sea - the one in my avatar is not a regular occurrence).


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 16, 2010)

bassboy1 said:


> Brine said:
> 
> 
> > Targeting LM on Lanier is like wanting a good steak dinner and choosing a seafood restaurant.
> ...



Whenever you any of you Gawga Boys want to go I got an extra seat for ya. I go pretty much every Fruday morning and sometimes more. Usually the wife goes but she wouldnt have a problem sleeping in every now and then, trust me!


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> bassboy1 said:
> 
> 
> > Brine said:
> ...



I may take you up on that. Are the whites schooling up Lanier right now, as they are on 'Toona? It's a blast to go out there for about an hour from first sunlight, and chase schooling whites around, often catching on every cast. The action is usually gone after about an hour, once the sun gets a little higher, so you can't make a trip out of it, but starting the day with them before moving on sure is fun.


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

bassboy1 said:


> I may take you up on that. Are the whites schooling up Lanier right now, as they are on 'Toona? It's a blast to go out there for about an hour from first sunlight, and chase schooling whites around, often catching on every cast. The action is usually gone after about an hour, once the sun gets a little higher, so you can't make a trip out of it, but starting the day with them before moving on sure is fun.



Whites are like the LM on Lanier..... All but extinct. Ever since the bluebacks were introduced, in conjunction with low water flow, the white bass population has diminished.


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Brine said:


> bassboy1 said:
> 
> 
> > I may take you up on that. Are the whites schooling up Lanier right now, as they are on 'Toona? It's a blast to go out there for about an hour from first sunlight, and chase schooling whites around, often catching on every cast. The action is usually gone after about an hour, once the sun gets a little higher, so you can't make a trip out of it, but starting the day with them before moving on sure is fun.
> ...



Shows how often I get up there. :roll:


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 16, 2010)

I was camping at victoria last weekend and we boated about 30 in an hour, it was fun with 4lb test. We caught them at night and early in the morning. Still thought maybe a striper would be mixed in with them, but no luck.


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 16, 2010)

Brine said:


> bassboy1 said:
> 
> 
> > I may take you up on that. Are the whites schooling up Lanier right now, as they are on 'Toona? It's a blast to go out there for about an hour from first sunlight, and chase schooling whites around, often catching on every cast. The action is usually gone after about an hour, once the sun gets a little higher, so you can't make a trip out of it, but starting the day with them before moving on sure is fun.
> ...




Do the Blue Backs eat the same bait fish as the whites?


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> Brine said:
> 
> 
> > bassboy1 said:
> ...


Bluebacks are the bait fish. Blueback herring. They are an invasive species that eat the eggs, fry, and food that game fish eat. They've had a major negative impact on Nottely and Burton. Hence why you see all the signs on the lakes that don't have them forbidding their use as bait.


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 16, 2010)

Poolie Im located in THE queen city of charlotte NC.. :lol: but my grandfathers got a nice house right on lanier and my sister just moved down there to teach so they both live in cumming GA. I come there pretty often and I was going to come down this weekend but decided to travel to Raleigh instead so i can went some lines with CNCBA a local bass fishing club here.


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## perchin (Jun 16, 2010)

poolie said:


> Queencitybassman said:
> 
> 
> > That would be awesome I hear lanier is suppose to be one of the best striper lakes on the east coast so id like to catch some bigguns there.. man there is a lot of georgia guys on this site
> ...



Me and my wife have often talked about getting out of MI.... I even had a job offer once and didn't take it for fear of change. #-o


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 16, 2010)

Bassboy -

When I was catching the white bass I noticed some very small minnows, I mean no more than an inch or two, coming from the mouths of the whites. So I just assumed that the herring would eat those too. Besieds eggs what do the herrings feed on?


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> Bassboy -
> 
> When I was catching the white bass I noticed some very small minnows, I mean no more than an inch or two, coming from the mouths of the whites. So I just assumed that the herring would eat those too. Besieds eggs what do the herrings feed on?



Little fish, including gamefish fry, as well as bugs, and from what I've read, they'll eat plankton and such, like shad do. I doubt they would shy away from a small minner. 

So yes, your assumption that they, besides eating the fry and eggs, are also eating the food supply for the whites is probably very true. 

Supposedly the bass (spots mostly, bluebacks apparently harm the LM population) and stripes/hybrids absolutely love bluebacks, which could be part of the reason Lanier is such a good spot and striper fishery. 

We don't have them down here in Allatoona, and I've spent way too much of the past few years stuck on Allatoona (we have so many better lakes within an hours drive, yet I still fish this stupid lake), so I really can't tell you much more about them than what I have above.


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## russ010 (Jun 16, 2010)

bassboy1 said:


> Supposedly the bass (spots mostly, bluebacks apparently harm the LM population) and stripes/hybrids absolutely love bluebacks, which could be part of the reason Lanier is such a good spot and striper fishery



bluebacks are why the largemouth in yahoola are so freaking huge.... 

spots are the biggest threat to largemouth - spots will eat any and everything (including small fry largemouth) starving out the largemouth


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

Troutman,

Here is one of many discussions on GON about the white bass on Lanier. https://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=492089&highlight=white+bass+lanier

Glad to hear you found them. They sure are lots of fun when you do. 10-15 years ago, you could go up the Chestatee around April and catch 100 a day on a rooster tail, and I did. Although they are still there, it's nothing like it was 10 years ago, and everything I've read says it will only get worse.

Truth is, I'd rather catch 1 20# Striper than 20 white bass. That's just me.


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

russ010 said:


> bassboy1 said:
> 
> 
> > Supposedly the bass (spots mostly, bluebacks apparently harm the LM population) and stripes/hybrids absolutely love bluebacks, which could be part of the reason Lanier is such a good spot and striper fishery
> ...



Agreed.

Spots really take a hold of deep water forage. Traditionally where the big LM would live away from the banks and fishing pressure, and the LM simply can't compete for food with the schools of spots. Not to mention the affect the spots have on the LM spawn. There are few lakes that can sustain a good population of both, and usually once the spots get introduced, the LM population begin to dwindle. 

Plenty of lakes have proven this.


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 16, 2010)

_Truth is, I'd rather catch 1 20# Striper than 20 white bass. That's just me._


Couldn't agree more.


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 16, 2010)

russ010 said:


> bassboy1 said:
> 
> 
> > Supposedly the bass (spots mostly, bluebacks apparently harm the LM population) and stripes/hybrids absolutely love bluebacks, which could be part of the reason Lanier is such a good spot and striper fishery
> ...




Hence the reason I have only caught one LM in Lanier. I mean LM are cool as a trophy but Stripers and Spots are way more fun to catch imo. Plus I dont really know any lakes tha I can go catch quality LM consistently.


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> Plus I dont really know any lakes tha I can go catch quality LM consistently.



Not too many people that can say that. Even the pros.

That said, you live near a bunch that I would call good.

Tribble, Black Shoals, Varner, Stone Mountain, Yargo, and now.... Bear Creek. 

I know all of them have double digit bass swimming in them as we speak. I just need to learn how to catch them :LOL2:

I've seen plenty of 5+ come out of all of them within the last 2 years, and I've caught a 5+ out of all of them (except Black Shoals which I know has plenty) in the past year.


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 16, 2010)

Striper are fun to catch and delicious to eat but I prefer the type of fishing where I find the fish not my baitfish or waiting around for a fish to find my cutbait. I think large mouths can thrash and pull just like spots.. especially catching them at night


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

Queencitybassman said:


> Striper are fun to catch and delicious to eat but I prefer the type of fishing where I find the fish not my baitfish or waiting around for a fish to find my cutbait. I think large mouths can thrash and pull just like spots.. especially catching them at night



90% of the stripers I've caught on Lanier have been casting lures to them. Redfins and fishhead spins which I always have rigged when spot fishing. If I was targeting the stripers, it's been trolling an umbrella or free lining a blue back. 

And I assure you this, a 5# spot would pull a 5# largemouth wherever it wanted if their tails were tied together.


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 16, 2010)

It all weighs the same in a tournament


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

Queencitybassman said:


> It all weighs the same in a tournament



Agreed, My comment came from you saying..."_I think large mouths can thrash and pull just like spots.. especially catching them at night_"

:beer:


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## Queencitybassman (Jun 16, 2010)

Hah yeah well I was talking about a 7lb large mouth or a 2 pound spot lol.. We dont have many spots where I am so i got minimal experience with them caught a few but nothing to remember


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Brine said:


> Truth is, I'd rather catch 1 20# Striper than 20 white bass. That's just me.


Oh, I am right there with you. But the way they are schooling on 'Toona right now, you can head out for an hour at daybreak and catch 50, every day. I'm not going to turn down that in hopes that the one 20 pound striper finds me. If I had a functioning motor at the moment (left my old gearcase on a rock in the Etowah #-o , and my new one won't arrive until the end of this week), I'd be out before first light, net shad, then chase the schoolers around starting at day break with artificials, then pull out when that action has stopped. Come evening, I would put in at the river (remember the shad I netted in the morning) and fish for the magnum stripes and hybrids below the spillway. Were it possible, I would do it every day. Next month my schedule may allow me to do it every weekday, so I'll often have a seat open, if someone is interested.


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## russ010 (Jun 16, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> Hence the reason I have only caught one LM in Lanier. I mean LM are cool as a trophy but Stripers and Spots are way more fun to catch imo. Plus I dont really know any lakes tha I can go catch quality LM consistently.



Yahoola (just past the Walmart in Downtown Dahlonega)- I have caught more big largemouth here in GA (I'm starting to see some small spots though... so someone has introduced them I'm sure)


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

bassboy,

Whats the odds of fishing from the bank at the spillway and catching hybrids right now?

I can't remember what month it was when I got into them good. It was all I could do to keep two rods going at once.


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Brine said:


> bassboy,
> 
> Whats the odds of fishing from the bank at the spillway and catching hybrids right now?


REALLY GOOD!!

In the winter months, you aren't going to find ANY stripers in the river. Come about the middle or end April, we start to see them make their run up from Weiss, and you won't find many, but the ones that are there will be relatively easy to catch on artificials. On through May you start seeing a few more numbers, but they get a little spookier. Around now, the action is real good. I know a guy who caught a 13.5 pound hybrid (not striper) at the spillway last week (he has permission from the mine), and his reports are an average of 4 - 5 good ones on a given evening. 

You don't have to be at the spillway though. Much of the river holds fish. A little under a month ago, a buddy and I floated the river at low water in his 12' jon, and while we didn't do so well, I personally saw a 7 pound stripe caught out of one boat, and a 18, 14, and 9 pound stripes caught out of another, the 3 of which were in a 10 minute period. This was miles downstream from the spillway.

Granted, on this river, the fish are either turned on, or turned off. If they are turned on, you had better hold tight on the rod, if they are turned off, you aren't going to get a thing. Last couple times I was up there before destroying my gearcase, they were turned off, so out of a number of people up there, I saw one fish landed on night, and zero on another. Yet, within 1 day of each of those times, I would talk with folks at the ramp, and hear of good reports, or see pictures posted on the local sites. 

I've been plagued with issues left and right this year, giving me a bad start, but I've got a used gearcase coming, and think I've got my bait tank figured out, so I'm hoping to hit it hard pretty soon.

Personally, I just wish I had gotten into striper fishing (especially in the river) instead of bass fishing when I got into the sport. I'm almost to the point of selling off much of my bass tackle, but I don't know if I'm going that far yet. Pretty much the only saving grace green fish have in my book at the moment is spots, and that is just because their habits are similar.

EDIT: Odds of catching a hybrid from the bank = Good. Odds of fishing from the bank = not good. I had missed the "from the bank" part. The chemical plant no longer allows people besides employees to fish from the bank on their side, as folks were trashing the place, and likewise, you need direct permission to fish from the mine on the other side of the river. When they are generating, I make the run up from the put in about a mile downstream from the highway 113 bridge. Takes me about 10 - 15 minutes to make the run upstream, and a bit less to come back down. Knock on wood, they are generating just about every evening, and sometimes all through the day, so hasn't been a problem. I'm hoping to have my jetboat going before the end of the season, so I don't have to worry about generation times, and can run downstream some, but we'll see how that goes.


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

I should have clarified....

I meant the spillway between Toona and lake Acworth


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## bassboy1 (Jun 16, 2010)

Brine said:


> I should have clarified....
> 
> I meant the spillway between Toona and lake Acworth



Good luck getting to it. All the illegals have taken over, and from what I have seen are covering the place 24/7. You're more likely to snag a 2 year old swimming around than you are a fish. Shame too, as even though I never got to fish there "back in the day," I've heard time and time again that it was an excellent place.


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## Brine (Jun 16, 2010)

DANG!

:evil:


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 17, 2010)

_I've been plagued with issues left and right this year, giving me a bad start, but I've got a used gearcase coming, and think I've got my bait tank figured out, so I'm hoping to hit it hard pretty soon._

We may need this next Friday. Im working on picking one up but may not be able to procure it before then. Its a home made 30 gallon tank. Gonna make a tight fit for us, but once we use the bait up we can throw it in the truck. Or we can go get more bait :twisted:


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## Bugpac (Jun 17, 2010)

Troutman, your hooked on them stripes arent ya.. This time of year got to look south, and dont put out any bait till you see spaghetti.. We actually caught a handfull of stripes Tuesday on toona with a jigging spoon, I couldnt believe it myself, a jigging spoon in june, WTF!! I hope to hit Lanier soon, my largest stripe is just about 12 lbs probbaly. maybe not even that big.. They are a bunch of fun tho, especially fishing them deep with some line to reel in... :mrgreen:


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## Troutman3000 (Jun 17, 2010)

Bugpac said:


> Troutman, your hooked on them stripes arent ya.. This time of year got to look south, and dont put out any bait till you see spaghetti.. We actually caught a handfull of stripes Tuesday on toona with a jigging spoon, I couldnt believe it myself, a jigging spoon in june, WTF!! I hope to hit Lanier soon, my largest stripe is just about 12 lbs probbaly. maybe not even that big.. They are a bunch of fun tho, especially fishing them deep with some line to reel in... :mrgreen:




You mean spaghetti on the fish finder? 

Yeah man I love them stripes and spots, and really I just love being on Lanier for some reason. Firing up the outboard and tooling around and fishing. Cant beat it imo. Well get you out there too, but I am still learning this striper fishing thing. Its really not that hard with the right gear. 

Why catch a LM when a striper can rip the pole out of your hands?


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## bassboy1 (Jun 17, 2010)

Troutman3000 said:


> _I've been plagued with issues left and right this year, giving me a bad start, but I've got a used gearcase coming, and think I've got my bait tank figured out, so I'm hoping to hit it hard pretty soon._
> 
> We may need this next Friday. Im working on picking one up but may not be able to procure it before then. Its a home made 30 gallon tank. Gonna make a tight fit for us, but once we use the bait up we can throw it in the truck. Or we can go get more bait :twisted:



Mine's a homebrew 25 gallon, with aeration, and mechanical filtration. I talked with a couple guys over on the seeinstripes board (password protected, and requires a 12 dollar a year dues, but there is some good info on there - enough to be worth 12 bucks to me) in designing it, so I'm fairly confident in it. Depending on whether or not I get to fish the river before next Friday, I'll try to test it out. 

You have a cast net?


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