[Neal/CO]

Just got back to Raleigh NC. What a trip!!!! We spent 8 days at the lake house. I had forgotten how beutiful this place is! 40 miles long and over 500 miles of shoreline.

The first two days I tried different creek arms trying to find the stripers to no avail. I did slay the smallies and white bass though Finally we decided to make the 20 mile run to the dam and try there. We got up three mornings in a row at 4:30 in the morning and made the long haul in our Hurricane pontoon boat. We netted about 200 Alewifes each evening off the dock for bait. We then had to fight a monster current that the dam was generating and get into place. We used the electric to stay in place in front of bouy line at the dam. We got a half dozen each morning between 6-10 lbs. Small by striper standards but each one was a freight train!!! Thursday morning we decided to go up river to a creek arm we had found on the map. Bingo! Nine stripers from 6-12 lbs. Friday we hit the dam again and caught some more smaller stripers.

I also caught about 20 catfish between 2-10 lbs just free lining Alewifes and Gizzard shad off our dock.

This an incredible place if you are a fisherman! It will be hard to look at Aurora Res the same way again, LOL.

Monday I get to fly back to Denver with level orange security! We should just nuke the whole ########### middle east!

 

[Neal/CO]

You will definately enjoy yourself if you come?

Smith Mountain is actually across the border in Virginia, but it is typical of most southern highland resevoirs. It has Smallmouth, Largemouth, Stripers, White bass, both channel and Flathead catfish and so many baitfish it is unreal.

We would turn on the lights at the dock about nine PM and by midnight the Alewifes and Gizzards would show up. It usually only took about ten casts of the net to fill the baitwell. Everyone uses 7 foot uglysticks and linecounters. You use a two ounce sliding sinker with a 2/0 circle hook on 20 lb test. When you mark stripers you drop the Alewife to their level. The hard part is waiting for the rod tip to hit the water and not setting the hook!.What you do is give the lincounter a couple of quick reels then just take the rod out of the holder and fight the fish. It is so hard not to set the hook! Even with 20 lb test I get broken off three times

 

[Neal/CO]

Have any of you guys ever used jigging spoons for stripers or Wipers? Thats the one thing I didn't try.

 

[Neal/CO]

Hey Mike. Haven't started the return home ordeal yet! My flight leaves in three
hours.

Now that I have actually caught stripers, I understand why you guys drive to Powell Don!

 

[Neal/CO]

Don it is a three day drive from here.

There are walleye, but they are not stocked, so they are in low numbers.