Hare, my intent was to catch big fish of course, but also to become more knowledgeable about saltwater stripe fishing on Alabama’s lakes and rivers. Stripe of any size are powerful fighters. This record is held by Alex City Guide Service.Ĭapt. The current Lake Martin saltwater striped bass record is 52 pounds. Hare owns and operates Alex City Guide Service, and he and his staff of angling experts are known as the trophy striped bass fishing specialists on the lake. His passion, however, is catching striped bass. David Hare has fished all species of game fish on Lake Martin his whole life. Two fish were in the boat and very many more soon followed on my day of fishing Lake Martin with Alex City Guide Service.Ĭapt. Hare went to work on bringing in the other well hooked line-sided brawler. While wrestling the beast at the end of my line, Capt. I did as instructed and found myself grinding away at a firmly hooked, hard-fighting saltwater striped bass. Hare pointed me to one of the other rods bending toward the water and explained, “Just reel a few turns while the rod is seated in its holder, and then pick up and continue reeling with a steady pace.” By doing that, I didn’t allow for the circle hook tied to the end of the line to self-set as designed. With a rush of excitement, I hoisted one of the rods from its holder and attempted to set the hook in the same way I would when a largemouth bass sucks down a plastic lizard. Hare and I were in a saltwater striper feeding frenzy on the beautiful fresh, clear waters of Lake Martin.Īs the aggressive underwater predators attacked our baits, I panicked at what to do next. Before I could get the sixth and final rod set, three of the other rods were being tugged at ferociously. Straight away we began dropping lines to the desired depth. Hare and I baited offset circle hooks with live herring and secured six rods into holders-three rods on the port side of the boat and three on the starboard side of the boat. Once we were firmly in position to catch fish, Capt. Next, the good captain “spot-locked” our location, deployed his Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor, and with GPS technology, the little electric engine held the captain’s center-console boat, a Robalo 246 Cayman, directly atop the fish just like an anchor. “See the dark-colored, thick lines-we are over some stripers.” David Hare’s eyes were fixed to his Humminbird Helix 12 fish finder when he called my attention to the screen and explained… Our water is usually pretty clear, and stripers will move up to take live baits.Capt.
“If I see fish on my graph at depths above my down rods are set, that’s another signal to use a little weight on the planer-board rigs. “I put split-shots on some free-line rigs and planer-board rigs, but I put it above the swivel,” he said. Using weight on the planer board rigs is an option, and Glover said he’ll experiment and go with what’s working. While it does get more bait out for stripers to bite, the best use for these devices is to catch those stripers that otherwise may be difficult to target in clear water and bright light.” “By controlling the amount of line I let out and the speed I move the boat, I can pinpoint my bait presentation to a specific target such as a hump or ledge from a long distance away. “Use of planer boards is not a random type of fishing,” Taylor said. Taylor said planer boards are a great tool for Lake Murray stripers, but anglers must have a plan to be successful. It is one of my favorite tools for taking finicky stripers.” “I fish humps and flats that attract stripers, and I utilize planer boards to pull bait across the target but keep the boat well away and not spook the fish. This gets the bait away from the boat, a good thing because in clear water that can make a difference.
I’ll space the interval between them to keep them tangle free as I make turns with the boat. I’ll use two or even three on each side, depending on the situation and my target to fish.
“Water Bugz are a small, easy to use and highly effective planer for these stripers. “I’ll pull Water Bugz planer boards off each side of the boat to cover as much as a 50-yard wide swath of water,” Glover said. Glover has a system worked out to properly deploy his planer boards. The way they accomplish that is with planer boards.īoth use the same brand of planer board, the Water Bugz planer, and use them in similar fashions. Guides Brad Taylor and Mike Glover agree that covering a wide swath of water enhances your odds of success when fishing live bait for stripers. Planer boards allow striper fishermen to cover a wide swath of water with their baits and to get them away from the boat in shallow, clear-water situations.