Sweetwater Stripers
by George Osbaldiston a.k.a. "Sweetwater"
The sun was setting as my buddy Scott and I parked on a ridge overlooking the Saluda River. Although our shadows were long, it was still hot and the sun seared our backs as we stood at the edge of the cliff. A line of thunderstorms on the horizon threatened the northern suburbs of Columbia. Behind us a little league baseball game was underway, and the sounds of parents cheering and tin bats could be heard. An expressway and a couple of glass office buildings were sprinkled on the opposite ridge, flashing and modern in the sunlight. Below us, squeezed between the past and the future, was the reason we had come- the river, as cold and steely as the cars streaming parallel to it, yet as timeless and permanent, as essential, as the ball game.
We followed a well beaten trail into a grove of trees, descending the ravine quickly. After a brisk five minute walk, we reached the river and the path turned and ran along its bank. While the sun was shining brightly on the top of the hill, this section of the path was already well into dusk. The air was clear and cool, about the temperature of air conditioning, and a mist was forming among the trees. After another hundred and fifty yards, the path turned suddenly again, and the river appeared before us, dark and silent in the shadows. We stepped out of the trees onto a beach that formed the outside of an elbow in the river. Just above us and to the left was a chute where an area of rocks forced much of the current into the beach at our feet. Downstream and to the right was a large pool several hundred yards long and fairly deep throughout. Directly in front of us was the race, seventy five yards long and at least that wide, pockmarked with rocks that had escaped from above. We had come to fish this race.
We stopped on the beach and rigged up. Scott was using an 8-foot surf rod and I a heavy flippin’ stick, but we both tied on big minnow lures, his a six inch Bagley’s Top Gun, mine a silver pattern Cordell Red Fin. Stepping into the river, we began to cast across the race, allowing our lures to tumble with the current then retrieving them across the flat water at the beginning of the pool. Although we were using stout equipment and large lures, we were only casting to about half of the river. The right half it turned out, as fifteen minutes later I heard a grunt to my left and Scott’s drag began to whine. A solid splash was heard in the mist, as the fish took advantage of the current and surged downstream The striper lunged across the river for a rock that has been particularly unkind to us over the years, but Scott would have nothing to do with that, and, leaning back on the rod, turned the fish back into the current. After two more tries for the rock the fish grudgingly returned the line it had taken, only to make a final break when it reached the edge of the beach. The line held and the drag only gave a little yelp before the fish rolled, and came to us on its side. I moved into the shallows and caught the fish under its gill flap to lift it from the water.
A fine specimen it was, silver and sleek, with grey racing lines running the length of its body. An animal built for speed and power, it weighed ten or twelve pounds, a little larger than average. I gave it to Scott and he unhooked it, admired it for a moment, then leaned over and let it go. The fish lay in the eddy for a second, then righted itself and, with a flick of its tail, vanished into the gloaming. In no hurry, we stood on the beach and looked at the spot where the fish had disappeared. After a moment, Scott turned to me and said, “Sure had that rock on his mind.” “That’s why they call ‘em rockfish.” I laughed. Scott laughed with me and held his smile as he savored the memory.
When the talk turns to inland striper fishing in America, most fishermen start thinking about large reservoirs with schools of fish chasing bait over open water a good way from land. Tackle and tactics include a party boat, a bunch of poles, a fish finder and a hundred gallon bucket full of shad or herring. While this image is certainly real enough, and many fish are caught this way, river fishing for stripers is, to my mind, a far more exciting way to fish for them. The fish tend to be larger, are closer to the surface, and use the current to create spectacular runs that often leave you wondering how a fish that size put up such a fight.
Striped bass are large aggressive fish that fear nothing. Once a striper reaches the weight of a pound or so, he has no natural enemies in fresh water save man. In the saltwater, stripers will feed in the breakers next to rocks, in powerful tidal rips and right up next to jetties washed by swells. These animals love a challenge, and southern rivers offer many of the same challenges of the salt. They also offer one other thing that stripers need: cool water. Many reservoirs suffer die offs in the summer as fish go below the thermocline in search of cooler water. There is no oxygen below the thermocline, so the fish suffocate. Rivers are cooler, better oxygenated, and lack a thermocline, and in the heat of summer, fish will seek them out.
Tackle for river fishing need not be extensive- one or two rods is sufficient, but they must be stout and reliable. A tradeoff must be made with your tackle- periodically you will have to reach for the fish with long casts, but tackle that is too heavy will wear you out on those days when it seems you are casting empty water. Rods need to have a fairly fast taper to ensure good hooksets, as stripers have tough mouths. Reels require a smooth, reliable drag and quality guts. My personal equipment is a 7’3” casting outfit and an 8’ spinning combo. I use 15 LB test on my casting pole and 17 on my surf stick. Try to avoid using line less than 12# test, unless you have a specific reason.
Buy quality tackle. You do not need a boatload of rods and reels. You do need equipment that is still working at the end of the day. Plastic bushings and loose tolerances will not stand up to the forces put on tackle in this kind of fishing. Good equipment equals more fish, and is cheaper in the long run.
Dividing the water column into top and bottom, lures most commonly used are plugs and minnow lures on top, and bucktails, large grubs, and spoons underneath. A well rounded tackle box would include an assortment of spoons from a quarter of an ounce on up in silver, sliver/blue and gold, an assortment of bucktail jigs up to two ounces with some plastic trailers in white, chartreuse or red, and quarter to one ounce lead heads with curly tail, assassin, or shad style grubs up to eight inches. Topwater needs would be satisfied with several surface plugs, such as Striper-Swipers, Creek Chubs or Zara Spooks, in a variety of sizes, erring on the large side, in chrome or shad colors, and a handful of large minnow lures in different colors. The man with all these lures probably has an unnerving glint in his eye. Most fishermen do fine only using one or two of these groups, and perfectly competent fishermen show up with only the lure on their rod and a spare.
One really nice aspect of river fishing is that you can visualize where the fish will be by looking at the water. The surface of a river will tell you all about what is underneath it. Stripers are highly structure oriented. Structures you should look for are current breaks and seams. A current break is any aspect of the river that changes the flow of the current. Current breaks include the traditional rocks, downed timber, and bridge pilings, but they also include chutes, where the current is narrowed and sped up, and holes, where the current eases and an eddy is formed. Current breaks create seams, the primary structure a striper relates to. A seam is the meeting of water moving in opposite directions, at different speeds or of different clarity (such as a mud line where two rivers meet). Seams are really what you are looking for; eighty percent of the fish you catch will be within ten feet of a seam. Another portion will be fish that followed your lure from the seam to the strike point.
There are a couple of things to remember when analyzing the surface of a river. First, seams and current breaks can be subtle, but no less effective, so pay attention. A seam can be an area where slightly choppy water turns flat. Second, the deeper the water, the further downstream evidence of an obstruction will appear on the surface. Casting to a boil in fifteen feet of water will put your bait behind the fish using the rock for shelter. Third, seams and current breaks are where you want to fish, not park your boat or butt. Do not pull up behind a rock, drop anchor and expect to catch fish. Anchor to one side or the other of a seam in such a way that you can fish as much of the seam as possible. If you are on foot, try to resist the temptation to wade out as far as you can. Water above your knees is deep enough for a good size fish to maneuver, and if you are standing in waist deep water, you may very well be standing in the middle of the chow line.
As the seam is the most effective area, you should be aware of when your lure is near a seam and try to keep your lure on it for as long as possible. There are a variety of techniques that can be used to keep your lure in the strike zone. The first is back reeling. Position yourself upstream of the water you want to fish, cast to the head of the seam and reel backwards, maintaining enough pressure on the lure to keep it moving against the current. Your lure will face into the current but gradually wash downstream, giving the impression that it is too weak to fight the current. Once you have let the lure out as far as you intend, simply reel it back up the same path it went down.
A second technique is to start slightly downstream from the seam and cast upstream, then, reeling only quickly enough to keep the lure from snagging, allow the lure to arc through the seam while twitching your rod tip. This technique is used most often fishing bucktails, but is effective with all types of lures. You can further manipulate your presentation by mending the line the way a fly fisherman would, removing the belly in your line by making circle casts upstream. You can recapture a surprising amount of the belly of the line and alter the action and path of the lure in dramatic ways. Finally, you can start downstream of the seam and cast up into it, retrieving quickly so the lure speeds head first down it. This tactic accounts for a lot of larger stripers, but is not for those can't handle losing some lures.
Speed of retrieve does not seem to matter to stripers; they will attack a lure at any speed. I prefer as slow a retrieve as conditions will allow, but I have friends who do as well as I do and grumble that I fish too slow. An erratic retrieve will often liven up a trip, but straight retrieves do well, too. One tried and true retrieve is the pump and reel. Draw the rod tip upwards without reeling, then reel to take up slack as you drop the tip. Another tactic to try is a reverse twitch. Instead of twitching upward, drop the tip sharply toward the lure. This works really well with a floating lure, as it will cause the lure to suspend and flush with the current. A bucktail brought across the current on a steady retrieve with a reverse twitch as it hits a seam is deadly. Imagine it swimming steadily in the current then going "whew" as it hits the slower water.
Wading a river at night or running it in a boat involves a greater risk than normal. Basic precautions need to be followed. Know where you are and what the water is doing. A change of a foot in height can make a big difference to the areas that are available to you and the pathways you can take. Always carry a light and err on the side of caution.
There are many inland rivers across America that have populations of Striped Bass. In addition, there are tidal rivers from Maine to Texas that these tactics will also work in. If you haven’t had the opportunity or inclination to try this kind of fishing, take the time to give it a try. You might be surprised at how close to home some good striper fishing is.
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