Hare, so we focused our efforts on downlining on the main lake. The stripers hadn’t started moving into shallow water feeding patterns when I fished with Capt. The author, Chuck Burns, pleased with a striper Alex City Guide Service put him on. Hare will incorporate trolling with planer boards and freelines into his fish-catching arsenal. It’s at this time, when the fish start feeding shallower and moving into creeks, Capt. But, as March progresses, you can find stripers chasing schools of baitfish between 10 to 20 feet deep in the major creeks. The rule of thumb on Lake Martin, says the captain, is striped bass will be holding at around 40 feet deep. Hare.Ĭommon methods for catching striped bass as winter transitions into spring is down-lining with live bait, and when appropriate, trolling live bait with planer boards and freelines. “The thicker the line and darker the color, the bigger the school of fish,” said Capt. Hare will slowly motor over these underwater topographic features and look for signs of fish. Hare zeros in on what he calls “drastic changes in lake topography.” Underwater humps and points extending from the shoreline and sloping into the lake are good features to find schools of striped bass says the captain.Ĭapt. Key to locating striped bass in great expanses of water such as Lake Martin is having really good fish-finding electronics such as the Humminbird Helix 12 that Capt. There are roughly 750 miles of shoreline.Īnd, 100,000 or more stripers are stocked annually into Lake Martin! The lake was formed after the completion of Martin Dam in 1926 and has an average depth of 41 feet and a maximum depth of 150 feet. Lake Martin is a 44,000-acre reservoir on the Tallapoosa River that stretches across three counties-Tallapoosa, Elmore and Coosa. What could be a better lake to figure such as that out than Lake Martin? But, what about catching the striped monsters when they are not corralled in the creeks or congregated below the dams? I’ve always been curious about locating and catching stripers in great expanses of water. I, and probably many of you reading, know about catching shad-seeking striped bass in the tailrace below dams or those trying to alleviate thermal stress by migrating up cool-water creeks during the sweltering heat of summer. Hare, my intent was to catch big fish of course, but also to become more knowledgeable about saltwater stripe fishing on Alabama’s lakes and rivers. Stripe of any size are powerful fighters. This record is held by Alex City Guide Service.Ĭapt. The current Lake Martin saltwater striped bass record is 52 pounds. Hare owns and operates Alex City Guide Service, and he and his staff of angling experts are known as the trophy striped bass fishing specialists on the lake. His passion, however, is catching striped bass.

David Hare has fished all species of game fish on Lake Martin his whole life. Two fish were in the boat and very many more soon followed on my day of fishing Lake Martin with Alex City Guide Service.Ĭapt. Hare went to work on bringing in the other well hooked line-sided brawler. While wrestling the beast at the end of my line, Capt. I did as instructed and found myself grinding away at a firmly hooked, hard-fighting saltwater striped bass. Hare pointed me to one of the other rods bending toward the water and explained, “Just reel a few turns while the rod is seated in its holder, and then pick up and continue reeling with a steady pace.” By doing that, I didn’t allow for the circle hook tied to the end of the line to self-set as designed. With a rush of excitement, I hoisted one of the rods from its holder and attempted to set the hook in the same way I would when a largemouth bass sucks down a plastic lizard. Hare and I were in a saltwater striper feeding frenzy on the beautiful fresh, clear waters of Lake Martin.Īs the aggressive underwater predators attacked our baits, I panicked at what to do next. Before I could get the sixth and final rod set, three of the other rods were being tugged at ferociously. Straight away we began dropping lines to the desired depth.

Hare and I baited offset circle hooks with live herring and secured six rods into holders-three rods on the port side of the boat and three on the starboard side of the boat. Once we were firmly in position to catch fish, Capt. Next, the good captain “spot-locked” our location, deployed his Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor, and with GPS technology, the little electric engine held the captain’s center-console boat, a Robalo 246 Cayman, directly atop the fish just like an anchor. “See the dark-colored, thick lines-we are over some stripers.” David Hare’s eyes were fixed to his Humminbird Helix 12 fish finder when he called my attention to the screen and explained…

Water bugz planer boards