Hello,
I have been to a lake/pond that has decent fishing pressure. They have schools of 4-6lbs hybrid stripers that are pellet fed. It is a spring fed, deep and clear lake and the stripers are very hook smart. They will bust the chum but will be very picky when you try to throw your pellet on a small 8/10 size hook. I used clear line 8/10lb test and small hooks but the fish still would swim up to the bait and go the other way. My group managed to catch a few in very hot weather but would be open to suggestions.....
We are going to try in the Spring, maybe in the cooler weather the bite will be more aggressive?
I even bought some stubby steve's for the trip thinking it would be the perfect bait....no luck.
Our tactic was to chum a bit where the schools fed and then throw our bait into the feeding fish.... It worked a couple times but overall seemed to be pretty tough to get them near the hooked pellet.
Any suggestions? Thanks!
First a question � do they just reject the pellet fly or hit the fly so hard the wake pushes the fly away from their mouth?
I have never fished for HSB in clear water but if they are truly hook shy there are a couple of things I would try. Use a fluorocarbon leader to make less visible and to help sink the fly using a heavier hook.
I catch more HSB deep than surface. Use Stubby Steve lure or sometimes Purina AquaMax 600 pellet encased in panty hose and let it sink and I betcha you�ll get a hook-up
If you are a fly fisherman try a ~3 inch Clouser or Spinster in a BG pattern and see If that works � strip it fast and don�t give them a chance to look at it�.
They are a blast to catch on a fly rod � good luck!
