General information for vacation fishing

[jake]

I am going to be staying at the lake week of July 19th. Have 19 foot boat with me.

Was wondering if anyone could give some general tips on how to approach striper fishing that time of year. Not looking for locations.

Is night fishing good bet?  Is live bait more productive that artificial?

Staying close to marker 27 is that a good area or is the Dam a better location to concentrate on.

Thanks for any replies.

[BentRod]

R27 puts you right around some fish. Look at R32 to R25..there will be schools in that area til late July or early August. I'm not sure about the night bite in July..probably a little tough. Early morning or late evening jigging/live bait on schools marked on your sonar will be best. Live bait on boards and downlines will pick off some good fish if they scattered.

[jake]

Thanks for the help.  If lucky enough, only taking a few for a meal.  Especially at that time of year.    

[2 oars & a trash can]

Saw a half dozen boats in this vicinity this morning, which is busy. Some fish were around too, and not as deep as I would have thought for this time of year. Free and 1/4 oz weighted lines did the best. Ales were all I had but I saw a guy trolling lures reel a couple in. The rain around 8 am looked good, but I was back home by then. Landed a 10 lb flathead on the dock while putting gear away.

[mwardncsu]

2 Oars - we tried down your way on Sat without a lot of success - but did not get down there till after 9:30 so may have been too late...... we did pick up a couple of nice perch on a point and one small striper..... The thermocline is definately setting up up the lake - had to get down to around Indian or below to keep bait alive below 20' - if I were fishing next weekend I'd be looking around the bridge - up or down a bit if on the Roanoke side.

That said - I keep hearing that the schools / numbers are on the BW side.... saw my 1st Roanoke "school" on Saturday but it was moving and moving fast.

[2 oars & a trash can]

Saturday was slower, only landed one dink and another accidentally while talking to a neighbor on the way back in. Cut it short early though, company was coming.