Fished Wateree 6/5 any tips for stripers?

Fished on Wateree this past weekend. Catfish seemed to be active, caught 5 channels 4 to 8 lbs on shad. Also picked up two small stripers on an umbrella rig.

Been trying to figure out the stripers on this lake, been 4 times now and have caught 5 total from 1 lb to 3 lbs. I've been all over the lake at various depths trying different strategies from slow troll /drift with live bait, jigging, and trolling (deep dive crank bait, umbrella rigs, Bucktail with grub, and a rig with both a bucktail and spoon. Water temp was from low 60s to low 80s. Any suggestions?

Also interested in trying out some crappie fishing here.....

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Originally Posted by Dbsharp

Fished on Wateree this past weekend. Catfish seemed to be active, caught 5 channels 4 to 8 lbs on shad. Also picked up two small stripers on an umbrella rig.

Been trying to figure out the stripers on this lake, been 4 times now and have caught 5 total from 1 lb to 3 lbs. I've been all over the lake at various depths trying different strategies from slow troll /drift with live bait, jigging, and trolling (deep dive crank bait, umbrella rigs, Bucktail with grub, and a rig with both a bucktail and spoon. Water temp was from low 60s to low 80s. Any suggestions?

Also interested in trying out some crappie fishing here.....

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I think the stripers stay up in the river on Wateree this time of year. I haven't fished it in years though.

Good luck with the crappies too!

Thanks, tried up in the river last time, think I'll go again this weekend and stay there the whole time.

We fished up in the river today for cats. Used cut herring. Bite was slow all morning. Not much water running at all. I would think the stripers are down toward the middle of the lake. We ended up with about 33 cats & another boat had about 50 to 60 cats. No stripers at all.

Thanks for the report. 33 cats sounds like a nice day, any big ones?

Thank you for the report Mr. Charles. I'm hoping to hit Wylie on Monday with captain Remus

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Nothing over about 10 lbs. Marked plenty of fish at several locations but not enough water moving to get the hot bite going. Other boat did better, a little further the river than us. I think they had 1 bigger fish and more fish.

Hey, Mr. Charles good job on the cats! Keep us informed if you hit the hay day on stripers. Uncle Remus wants to take his Dawgg striper fishing so he can get a good smell on him. :highfive

Went fishing again Sunday, some cats biting on the river nothing big. Went down to the lower half of the lake and got nothing on trolling rigs, tried a few things different this time. I'll try again in the fall.

Well I got two catfish trolling for stripers today 8.75lbs and 10.5 lbs. Both struck on my pet spoon/ jig+grub combo, I used to have great luck with hybrids on this setup. Probably going to hang it up for the summer and try again when things cool off.
Tried for crappie for a short while, but I only had the one rod so I decided to spend the rest of the morning casting for bass.

Hope it get's better for you in the future. I've always viewed Wateree as a hit and miss lake. Sometimes it's good then bam nothing for a while. I live to far to run there daily and keep up on where the fish are. Good luck to you!

Ok, tried again this weekend. My dad was down and wanted to give it a go. There was actually a lot of action after first light, stripers busting the surface for about 30 min. I didn't get any on my lines though. Caught some catfish and bass while trolling for them. Gonna hang it up till fall, I figure they are only active for a short while now and it's a crapshoot if you are luck enough to be in the right place at the right time.

July is a good time for them tight lining and free lining herring or bass minnows. A rigs may help you pull a few in. I am hoping to go next week on a hit or miss trip myself with Uncle Remus. Good luck to you! :cheers2

Good luck. Had some gizzards out last weekend down 15 to 30 ft, + was casting to the schools busting the surface. I was sure we would hook up seeing all the activity. Oh well, that's just the way it goes sometimes.