# Seneca Stripers



## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

I would like to try fishing Seneca for striper, but I don't know where to start. Has anyone fished for them? I am a striper nut and travel to Raystown, Ohio River and Chesepeke Bay fishing for them. I have always wanted to give Seneca a try but never have. I have all of the equipment needed except for planers, we drift live bait. Most fish I have heard that have been caught are on accident, I want to target them specifically, so any help narrowing my search will be greatly appreciated.


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## rustyhook36 (Dec 20, 2005)

Try Around The Dam,also Around The Big Island. Good Luck. Let Us Know How You Do.


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

I refinished a bunch of Storm Big Macs for a guide on Raystown.
I'd try trolling one a those if you have any. They're suposed to be one hot bait for stripers.


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

Thanks guys! Have ya heard of any size to the fish being caught? I heard most would average 8-15 lbs. Has any one even seen a striper that came from Seneca?


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## fishslime (Jul 28, 2006)

I caught one off the damn a couple of years ago 25.5 inches , my only striper from ohio waters... caught it fishing for catfish on cut shad, it was in oct or november, did catch some nice channels cats that trip also.


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## Tiny Tim (Sep 19, 2006)

Used to catch them around the dam area using jerk-baits. Biggest was around 18--20 lbs. Heard of a lot of people using bluegills under bobbers on them also.


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## mongoose (Apr 4, 2007)

i just spent a week on vacation at seneca lake. stripers are hitting at low light in mornings and evenings at the dam. I caught one about 5 lbs on a slider jig fishing for whites. I also had bigger ones break my line. 1 guy caught 3 over 10 lbs using bluegills one evening. I also saw one over 15 lbs caught on a large surface plug. the regular striper guys dont like to volunteer to much information. The stripers are not coming easy but somr nice ones are being caught. whites are hitting well but saugeye fishing has been alittle tougher.


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

Wow! Thanks for the report, I have seen them blowing up on Alewives and hickory shad and it is an awesome sight. The fish are so finicky t hough, we threw into a group that were busting shad and never caught one fish. As the size of the school grow so do your chances of hooking up. I really can't blame the guys for keepin quiet because the fish are so touch and go. 

Can anyone tell me if the odnr is still stocking the fish?


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

I am gonna be down at seneca this weekend probably all day. My buddy went a couple of weeks agoa nd said the caught 15 little stripers 15-17 inches. Has anyone heard if the fish are still being caught?


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

When they surface, make sure you have a Sammy ready to throw...the clear ones do well on Stripers.


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

Well, first striper trip was a minor success. I did find some spots that I marked some fish and will continue to try. Lots of bait around teh marina, I saw bass blowing up on these schools and decided to investigate. Caught 6 fish (16") was the biggest, all on shaky head and bass colored power bait shaky worm. They were killin the thing. I had to leave early, but I was excited about the archs that I had on my graph.

Water temps from 75.8 to 77.0
Rocky ledges and shelves, 2-18' of water.
water was stained visibility @ 8"

Never realized how many idiots there are that own a boat, almost got ran over by 2 and almost had a wave runner on my lap!


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## Snag06 (Mar 24, 2006)

gotwipers said:


> .Never realized how many idiots there are that own a boat, almost got ran over by 2 and almost had a wave runner on my lap!


Welcome to Seneca!! That's just normal there!

Ron White said it best "You can't fix stupid"


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

A 12 guage with pumkin balls fixes lots a stupid.


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

Pumpkin balls, that's awesome! I couldn't believe what was going on. Are there a lot of boating accidents? That was a far cry from the peaceful winter goose hunting lake for sure! Is it like this all week or just weekends? I am hoping to get back down because I feel really good about the fish I marked.


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

We go in the middle of the week...I'd never go out there on a weekend...be like a zoo for sure.
Seneca puts every other Ohio lake I've been at to shame, I just wish I'd a went there years ago. I do like Piedmont for it's saugeye, smallies and musky fishing and it's a great winter lake to fish.
I've caught a few 18" stripers at Seneca, man they fight hard, it's a blast...hope to hook a 20 pounder this year...I hope.


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## Snag06 (Mar 24, 2006)

A few years ago we were catching 12-15lb er's regularly. 30"-38". They were very aggressive then. Use gizzard shad early AM. We haven't had a year like that since. It's like they disapeared. Not worth the headache on the weekends.


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

Where/how do ya get the gizzard shads?


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

I heard from my buddy that a fellow hey talked to said that the lake was not producing stripers like it did. Tclark, can you throw a cast net? You can get the shad right at the boat ramp right now. I will definitely make note not to go back on the weekend, if I do it will be on a night trip........late night LOL!


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## Snag06 (Mar 24, 2006)

We throw a net for gizzards. 

I believe that it is not producing like it used to. I would guess that the lake doesn't produce enough oxygen in the summer to support them because of how shallow the lake is, it seems you would always see big floaters in the summer?. I would think that Salt Fork would be more suited for striper than Seneca!


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

the reason the striper numbers are down (i talked to a dnr guy in athens) is because they have so much trouble with recruitment of the fry each year, theres just not many going into the lake. also, i was told they did not stock the lake for a fishery as much as they did for broodstock for hybrid production as the hybrids have much better survival rates, they would stock a lake like cc or alum, if they wanted to make a striper fishery, but they cant catch them in the deeper lakes to spawn them. this is also the reason they started stocking males in kiser lake (wich i find completely rediculous), because they can net or shock the fish very easially from such a small, shallow lake, unfortunantly they put no limits on them (idiots) and some fools feel compelled to keep as many as they can catch. as for low o2 levels being the culprit i dont think that could be the case, a study done in SC found that they survived fine in lakes less than 30 feet deep as long as there was ample food, maybe not as well as deeper lakes, but they still made it without any major summer kill


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

No, I've never thrown a cast net...but I can just picture me trying and getting all tangled up in it....lol...I try some bluegills as they're easy to catch.


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## gotwipers (Mar 31, 2007)

I didn't think a true striper could spawn in a landlocked lake. The eggs have to be in current for 2 days or something before the hatch. I would love to see stripers at salt fork. Wonder if the hatchery is open to questions, maybe talking to the biologists on the lake itself could shed some light on what is happening. Good info about the stocking and spawning.......thank you. I see what you are saying about the spawn, sorry


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