Striper Fishing can be Addictive

Fishing for stipers can be addictive
By Tommy Garner

Saturday, June 7, 2008 Daily Citizen

I had fished for the last couple of hours without catching anything. My heavy sinker kept getting my bait hung up on the bottom and I would eventually break it off and have to re-tie with a new hook and sinker. I knew there were some good fish in this hole of water because I could see them often by standing on the rock bluff overlooking the deeper blue hole. I just couldn't figure out how to make the fish want my bait.

Thoughts of food at the house caused me to decide to give up the fishing for the day. As I stood on the rock bluff over the blue hole, I gave my coffee can a sling to release the crawdads that I had caught for bait. The crawdads sailed through the air and landed with a plot on the surface of the water. Immediately they headed for the safety of the bottom, but before they could go a foot they were engulfed by two fish that had exploded from the depths of the blue hole. As quickly as they had come, the fish disappeared back into the depths.
I stood with my mouth open, totally astonished at what I had just witnessed. I had worked hard to catch some of those fish, but they were not interested in the crawdads that I had wadded up on my hook and weighted down with lead sinkers on my line. It was very apparent that they were interested in the crawdads that I had turned loose. For an eight-year-old fisherman, this was a serious revelation. The fish wanted the bait to swim naturally and since that time many years ago, I have consistently caught fish using a light wire hook, light line, live bait and no sinker. For whatever reason, this method of fishing has been called tight lining and there are so many times that it is effective when other methods simply fail.

Today, instead of standing on a rock bluff over a deep hole of water on a creek in Sharp County, I was standing on the deck of a center console fishing boat on Lake Norfork. Instead of fishing for smallmouths and bluegills, I was fishing for stripers. I was however using the technique of tight lining that I learned that day so long ago. Daylight was trying to emerge over north Arkansas as I gave the threadfin shad a sling on the long spinning rod. Only a No. 2 circle hook passed through the nose of the shad and the ten pound test line hindered it from being perfectly natural. Wanda and Red Van Scoyoc had done the same.

Instantly my line headed to the side and I set the hook. Every striper that I have ever hooked feels like a big fish and it sometimes takes a minute or two to get the proper assessment of how big a fish may be. That is because even a small striper most of the time is much bigger and stronger than the average size bass that most of us catch. When this fish headed for the middle of the lake stripping drag, I knew it was a big one. Red looked over at the spool on the reel, watching as the fish peeled line off and said, "How much line do you have left? Well, it looks OK for now." After a while the fish seemed to stop and when it did, I started regaining my lost line. This tug of war went on for several minutes...the fish taking line at will and me regaining it when it stopped or changed directions. Eventually the long silver striped fish was on its side near the boat Talk about a fish as long as your leg, this one was longer than mine. Red scooped it up with the net and we all shouted for joy. The 14-pound striper was not a monster by striper standards, but it was a fish worthy of trophy status for this old hillbilly, especially being caught on bass fishing tackle.

The action was being caught on tape, and of course, we had a hasty round of picture taking. Then we all cast fresh shad towards the flooded timber on the long point. Wanda squealed with delight as she grasped her spinning rod with both hands. There was no doubt that she was hooked up to a big fish. I stuck my rod in a rod holder and reached for the camera. My spinning rod doubled over under the strain of another big fish.

"Get the camera rolling!" Wanda shouted.

"Can't do it now. I have a fish on, too!" I replied as I set the hook and hung on for dear life.
"Fish on!" Red shouted.

With three fish on at the same time, videoing would have to wait.

My fish was smaller than Wanda's so I got it landed and picked up the video camera. Red landed his fish, too and he got in position to net Wanda's as the camera rolled. The little blonde's fish was a good one, so we had to take more pictures before rebaiting our lines hoping for some more fast action. I felt a fish hit my bait then head for the bottom.

"Big fish! Big fish!" I said as I felt the tremendous surging of the unseen giant that had engulfed my shad.

Instantly, the heavy fish made a fast run and my line broke. "That was a 30 pounder!" Red said as he observed the action.

With the stripers in Arkansas reaching a weight of more than 65 pounds, there is always the hope and possibility that you will hook up with a true giant. Getting one lined out on light tackle where you can wear it down is something else. Even if you don't get hooked up with a giant striper, the ones that you do hang will give you a run for your money on light tackle. I must also warn you that tight lining shad for stripers may be hazardous to your health because it is very addictive! Good Fishing!