| During the early to middle '90s, before I had any | | | | changes, I was fishless and befuddled. The alwifes |
| thoughts of becoming a striped bass guide or | | | | continued to spawn, making swirling sounds against |
| professional striped bass angler, I used to pursue | | | | the bank, and the stripers continued to blow up on |
| these tackle busting brutes solely at night with | | | | them. I tried the Rebels in assorted colors and the |
| artificial lures. My all time favorite lure of choice was | | | | redfins as well, but no luck. As I was digging through |
| the Rebel 6" Spoonbill Minnow. My preferred colors | | | | my tackle box in desperation I retrieved a tangle of |
| where blue back with silver sides, black back and | | | | lures and noticed a sound coming from the tangle |
| yellow back. Another of my favorite lures for night | | | | that resembled the sound the alwifes would make |
| fishing for stripers was the Cotton Cordell Redfin. | | | | when spawning on the surface. |
| I would normally start night fishing for stripers on my | | | | As I untangled the mass of hooks and lures I found |
| favorite lakes here in Virginia around the first week | | | | within a redfin I had forgotten about. It was a black |
| of March. The fish at this time of year would start to | | | | backed and silver sided jointed model. I tied it on and |
| move up onto shallow points, into creeks and along | | | | tested it beside the boat. As I pulled it across the |
| flats to feed aggressively at night on baitfish. During | | | | surface slowly I noticed it made a sound like the |
| March I would catch a lot of fish just before to right | | | | spawning alwifes on the bank. I repositioned the boat |
| after dark with the bite moving later and later into | | | | and fired a cast down the bank. About 4 cranks into |
| the night as the season progressed to the spawn in | | | | the slow retrieve there was a monstrous blow up at |
| May. You could always tell if hungry stripers were | | | | the bait and I was into the first fish of many I would |
| feeding in an area at night by the tell tale popping | | | | boat in the next hour. It was a wonderful night and I |
| noises they would make on the surface when | | | | caught numerous fish over 20 pounds and one |
| engulfing a baitfish. I would cast the Rebel to the | | | | pushing thirty. |
| sound along the bank in the dark and use an | | | | I stayed in the area until the action subsided and at |
| agonizingly slow retrieve to entice strikes from these | | | | this point I was tired, so I decided to lay down in the |
| large fish that were very wary in the shallow water. | | | | boat and rest my eyes for a while. I awoke to the |
| You would have to real the lure extremely slow, | | | | sound of fish breaking and chasing bait on the |
| barely moving it. The explosive strikes would come | | | | surface. It was just at daylight and the stripers were |
| without warning, sometimes right at the boat. This is | | | | breaking the surface all around my boat. I picked up |
| very exciting action and anyone who likes to striper | | | | my fishing rod and cast the redfin into the middle of |
| fish should try it. | | | | the frenzy. The stripers would blow up on the plug |
| During one fishing trip on Virginia's Smith Mountain | | | | and knock it out of the water, but I could not get a |
| Lake, I had left a friends house on the lake in my 20 | | | | hook in one. The fish went down and gave me a |
| ft. Winner bass boat around 12 A.M. The time of year | | | | chance to change lures to a large popping plug I had. |
| was May and I proceeded down the lake to Cedar | | | | A few minutes later they surfaced again and I cast |
| Keys cove where at this time the stripers would | | | | the popper in amongst them. On the second chug of |
| congregate to spawn in large numbers. As I | | | | the popper a 20 lb. fish engulfed the bait and I had |
| approached "The Keys", as the cove in Witcher | | | | another fight on my hands. The fish went down |
| Creek was called, I shut down the motor just before | | | | before I boated and released this fish. It was over |
| reaching the mouth of the cove and listened. I was in | | | | and they would not return. It had been a very good |
| deep water and the banks here fell away sharply. As | | | | night and morning and I headed for the dock. |
| I listened into the night I could here the tell tale | | | | Whenever you are amongst fish and can not make |
| popping of some extremely large fish to my right. | | | | them bite. Try different techniques and lures. |
| Apparently they had moved in on the spawning | | | | Sometimes the small changes you make such as |
| alwifes that were swirling right up next to the steep | | | | color or sound or even retrieve speed can be the |
| banks. The fish were enhaling them right against the | | | | difference between getting skunked and having a |
| banks as they were in there spawning frenzy | | | | career trip. |
| I moved in slowly with my electric trolling motor and | | | | If you are an avid fisherman, you know the |
| positioned the nose of the boat toward the bank, | | | | importance of having quality electronics on board. |
| enabling me to cast my Rebel parallel to the bank, up | | | | Visit for a full line of quality GPS and marine |
| close, and slowly retrieve the lure back. The feeding | | | | electronics at super savings unmatched anywhere |
| was fast and furious and I was on pins and needles, | | | | else. |
| expecting a massive blow up strike at any moment. | | | | This article may be reprinted as long as all active links |
| After 45 minutes of repeated casting and many color | | | | remain intact and active. |