# Anyone catching stripe bass at Seneca!!



## Kevin kostelnik (Feb 25, 2016)

Anyone been out trying to catch them big stripe bass out at seneca lake. Was wondering if they was hitting yet???


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

we landed two and lost two sunday. this was the biggest one.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

ducky152000 said:


> we landed two and lost two sunday. this was the biggest one.


Nice fish. Do you troll for them?


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## grtrnd1 (Mar 25, 2012)

Nice fish Duck. That's going to be one of my target fish this year out of Seneca. Never fished for them. Been reading all I can on presentation and tactics. Can't wait to get out there.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

no im not a troller. i was actualy fishing for saugeye and noticed them on the depthfinder and started catching them on a 3/4 oz hopkins spoon. they are easy to identify on a graph. everytime i find a school of them i stop fishing for eyes and try to catch a few. They are a powerfull fish! we usualy only land 50% or less of them. they pop a hook out very easily with the quick powerful runs they make. heres a 25lb striper my cousin caught this year. he about spooled my cousin a few times. i had to put the trolling motor on high to keep up with him so he didnt spool my cousin.


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

Going to be there tomorrow looking for saugeyes but I most certainly will keep my eyes open for stripers. i have a heavier rod i have a hopkins on ready to through if need be.

can i ask how the saugeye fishing went? haven't been there in a few weeks. i was planning on using vib e and jigs with worm or minnow. i usually don't use hopkins until mid to late june.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

It's probably been over 10 years since I caught a good one out of there. All of them were off jigs fishing for saugeyes.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

saugeye fishing is decent right now. north winds is not helping the bite the last few days. luckily on tourny day they are calling for sw winds. should help pick up the eye bite. the eastern ohio saugeye club is having a saugeye tourny this saturday there.


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

I haven't fish with them for about 10 yrs. I wish I could fish it Saturday. If you are fishing it pm me and I'll let you know how I do tomorrow. North wind means I'll probably hit the wind blown shore tomorrow. Two weeks ago I actually got some fish over 18". But they were all over the place.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

yes im fishing it. my grandfather is president. most of us are guys that fished the s.o.w.c and decided to make a new club that is more freindly and fun to fish.


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

Sounds like fun. I looked at the dates and may keep it in mind. I would love to get back into it, but kids and their weekend activities makes it difficult. I would have to try to find someone who would be able to get away also. Seems like the only way I get out fishing is if I take off work durring the week! 

I am leaving Canton at 7am tomorrow, and hope to be fishing by 9. Threw a heavier rod in the boat and made sure I had some larger hopkins spoons...just in case I come accross an opportunity to get a striper. I assume you just look for a few very large marks maybe under a cloud of bait fish?


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

yep they are usualy suspended out in the main basin. or suspended around main basin points. ill also be out tomarrow pre fishin. stop and say hi if u see me. 16 ft grey boat with a front deck and black johnson 9.9


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

sounds good. plan on heading to lashley bay first(i think that is what they call it, by the boater beach). i got two over 18" there a few weeks ago. also got some by that small island and a few by the cabin's boat docks across from the baters beach. they were kinda all over, but got everything almost on vibe. maybe 2 or three on jig. 
i have an old 16ft grumman with 50hp white johnson. there will be two of us. 
hollar out mike if you see me. i will probably have a light blue and white hat on and be up in the front of boat. we will be the guys who look like they don't know what they are doing! lol


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## ironhead550 (May 15, 2011)

Where else u Catch in them? He he he duckys goin down...


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

ironhead550 said:


> Where else u Catch in them? He he he duckys goin down...


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## greatmiami (Feb 4, 2014)

Those are some amazing looking fish man would that ever be fun!


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

sorry about he quote above with no post, this site doesn't play well with my iphone.
i got three saugeye...THREE! that is it on friday. 12.5", 14.5' 20.5". and that is all the fish i got in almost 5 hrs. horribly slow. no white bass, no crappie, and nothing else. worst day i have ever had a seneca. got two on vib e and one on twister with 1/3 crawler. all shallow. 5 ft or less and after 11am. water seemed to be colder and very stained the farther you got from the damn . i am sure you guys did better today, was nice weather most of the day. post the result. jealous i wasn't there today.


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## pkent (Oct 31, 2011)

was there saturday the 7th,2 small saugeye & 2 small bass.with the weather coming out of the north east, I knew it would be tough fishing on any lake.was a nice day for a boat ride.


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

I have been camped at Seneca for the past 2 weeks and plan to stay 2 more. Fishing has been tough for Saugeyes to say the least. Fish are extremely scattered and moody. It doesn't help with all the different fronts that come through every week from the north/northeast. A few days of stable weather will do wonders. I see starting tomorrow, more fronts and east winds.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

i got 5 keepers friday pre fishing. smallest was 16 inches rest were 18 to 20 inches. along with 6 or 7 shorts. saturday we had 10 boats in our saugeye tournment. my partner and i got 1st with 3 fish for 6.8 pounds. 2nd had 4 fish for 6.4 pounds and 3rd had 4 fish for 6 pounds. rest of the boats brought in one or two fish. big fish was a 3 pounder. very slow for this time of year at seneca. fronts and wind changes are killing the bite. i could not get a fish to go on any bait with bright colors. caught all fish on natrual color vibes and crankbaits.


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## Kevin kostelnik (Feb 25, 2016)

Nice fish ducky keep on catching them I can't wait till they are smacking the top water zero spooks...


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## slashbait (Jun 26, 2008)

ducky152000 said:


> no im not a troller. i was actualy fishing for saugeye and noticed them on the depthfinder and started catching them on a 3/4 oz hopkins spoon. they are easy to identify on a graph. everytime i find a school of them i stop fishing for eyes and try to catch a few. They are a powerfull fish! we usualy only land 50% or less of them. they pop a hook out very easily with the quick powerful runs they make. heres a 25lb striper my cousin caught this year. he about spooled my cousin a few times. i had to put the trolling motor on high to keep up with him so he didnt spool my cousin.


If you dont mind me asking do you jig that hopkins spoon or cast it?Thanx!


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

if they are high in the water colum i cast it out and start jigging it back i try to keep the spoon right above them. so if they are 10 foot down over 20 foot of water i just let it sink a couple seconds. (a 3/4 oz spoon sinks fast) and start jigging it back torwards the boat.


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## slashbait (Jun 26, 2008)

ducky152000 said:


> if they are high in the water colum i cast it out and start jigging it back i try to keep the spoon right above them. so if they are 10 foot down over 20 foot of water i just let it sink a couple seconds. (a 3/4 oz spoon sinks fast) and start jigging it back torwards the boat.


Thanx and one more question is that hopkins spoon plane or dressed?


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

My guess would be plain. Also if you have a choice, look for the "no equal" size instead of the "shorty" size. It is longer and thinner. Just my opinion on the Hopkins spoons.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

i prefer gold shorty hammerd. as far as dressed or not. most of the time my hooks are not dreesed, but i have a few that are. i do recommend putting mustad tripple grips on yours spoons. much better landing precentage with tripple grips.


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## slashbait (Jun 26, 2008)

Thanx for info!


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Does the state still stock them in there?


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

Flathead76 said:


> Does the state still stock them in there?


Pure bred stripers are not stocked anymore.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

no kidding, did not no that. so the state are starting to stock seneca with hybrids from now on?


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

ducky152000 said:


> no kidding, did not no that. so the state are starting to stock seneca with hybrids from now on?


Next spring should be the first year of the hybrid stockings. Nothing except saugeye have been stocked last few years


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

thats a bummer. i enjoyed catching stripers. hybrids only top out around 7 or 8 pounds?


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

ducky152000 said:


> thats a bummer. i enjoyed catching stripers. hybrids only top out around 7 or 8 pounds?


State record is a little over 18 lbs.
Biggest I have caught is 14 out of ohio river.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

fun im sure. but im goin to miss them high teens and low 20 lb range stripers.


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

ducky, have you ever tried to troll live bait for stripers? i was thinking of trying it with a couple line boards out each side if i could get some large shad or maybe real big chubs.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

mlkostur said:


> ducky, have you ever tried to troll live bait for stripers? i was thinking of trying it with a couple line boards out each side if i could get some large shad or maybe real big chubs.


Know of a guy who does that out there. Inline board, rubber core sinker, bluegills near the shoreline near rocky points. Boards used on only one side of the boat. Don't really consider trolling fishing but that's how he gets them.


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

nope, not a troller unless im very desprate for some fish in a tourny. i only fish for stripers when i notice them on the graph. but im sure trolling would work well if you went and trolled the main lake basin and could figure out what depth they are suspending that day.


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## WalleyeFreak (Sep 29, 2008)

How's is Seneca water clarity. Are the saugeye going good yet


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

havent been down there since tourny day.last saturday. water was very clear from dam to eastbay. stained after eastbay. may have some stained water from all rain. eyes should be on prety good by now.


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## Lewis (Apr 5, 2004)

Just pulled the camper out yesterday. I was camped at Seneca for 3 weeks and fished every day. The saugeye bite is the worst I have ever seen in years of fishing this lake. During my time there I talked to many anglers. Most were skunked and a few had one or two. Two of my buddies who are good eye fisherman, fished hard all day yesterday with one fish to show for their efforts. I am sure that all these crazy fronts coming through have affected the fishing, but it's bad enough to have me concerned about how many fish got flushed through the dam last fall.

As far as the odnr no longer stocking Stripers, I hope everyone practices catch and release so we can tangle with the remaining fish for a few years. I wish the odnr was more transparent on this stuff, but was wondering where do they get the Striper milt or eggs for hybrid production. Anyone know?


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## ducky152000 (Jul 20, 2005)

i agree 100% worst spring bite i have seen at seneca ever. i cant imagine more saugeyes went through the dam this year than years past. I would guess less went through this winter than years past due to the lake only being dropped 5 foot this year. The last 3 or 4 years they dropped the lake 8 foot. I would guess those were the years we lost the most amount of fish. Wish they would put a net across the dam channel to keep fish from going out. it would be easy at seneca due to the canal like channel.


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## Tinknocker1 (May 13, 2013)

ducky awesome stripers dude !


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## dougers (May 6, 2007)

I am by no means an avid saugeye fisherman, but i typically fish for them a few times each spring. I have gones several times this year with VERY limited success. I keep thinking one day they are just going to flip a switch, but who knows. 
On a side note, I greatly appreciate the reports you guys put on here. I realize our local fishable waters are limited and get serious pressure so thank you for updates for those of us who dint get out as much as we would like.


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## mlkostur (Apr 27, 2015)

I agree with all above. had my worst day ever at seneca this spring about a week ago. left with one keeper. usually a guarantee to limit there in 6-7 hrs of fishing. seneca is 90 min drive for me, but i pass several lakes to go there be cause i always have success. this years i had a few average and a few poor trips, 1 limit day. hoping some consistent weather after this weekend may help.


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## G3guy (Feb 21, 2013)

Lewis said:


> As far as the odnr no longer stocking Stripers, I hope everyone practices catch and release so we can tangle with the remaining fish for a few years. I wish the odnr was more transparent on this stuff, but was wondering where do they get the Striper milt or eggs for hybrid production. Anyone know?


The hybrid striped bass program now is done through fry bought from a hatchery in Arkansas.


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## chasmo (Jun 17, 2012)

[QUOTE="
As far as the odnr no longer stocking Stripers, I hope everyone practices catch and release so we can tangle with the remaining fish for a few years. I wish the odnr was more transparent on this stuff, but was wondering where do they get the Striper milt or eggs for hybrid production. Anyone know?[/QUOTE]

As a PA Raystown Lake striper fisherman I can tell you the state quit stocking pure breds there many years ago. The program is now funded by the local Striper clubs. We make arrangements to buy walleye fry from PA who in turn swaps with Maryland for Striper fingerlings.Thru the two state fisheries and the Corps they stock purebreds almost every year. I imagine that is how Ohio got theirs in the past.
PA landlocked record is 53 lb 12 oz taken by Sparky Price in 1994. (Below)


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