23" Striper

[Fairport Fishing]

Caught a fat 23" striper.....on the banks of the Staunton River, 3/8'th's bucktail with a grub tail. Wish it had been in the bay, but you do what's close and easy sometimes. She was full of roe and is going to taste great this evening. The fish are definately getting excited with this warmer weather. It would be nice if we weren't getting this cold front though. Maybe next time this will be a report of some fishing on bigger water.

[Purdue1]

Here we go....Nice fish!

[capt. dave]

Good job, Fairport!

[Feeshon]

Doesn't the season for 18-28 " start May 15th and it's c and r till then ?

Feeshon

[Fairport Fishing]

For land-locked stripers the regs are a different set. The Staunton and Roanoke rivers come together at the head of Buggs Island Lake. The regs are 4 per person, 20" min.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/regulations/2005_fishing_regulations.pdf#page=9&zoom=100

Hopefully the rain won't mess them up too much today and we'll be able to hit them again this afternoon.

[capt. dave]

Do you do any White Bass fishing there wher the rivers come together? I've been wanting to do that sometime.

[Fairport Fishing]

Limited out again last night!! There were 3 of us fishing and we had 12 in the cooler (then almost got stuck getting out), but had them from 21-28". Got a fridge full of nice filets. Time to have a party.

Dave..I have caught white side in other creeks going into the James, but haven't gotten down on the these two rivers yet. The big deal in about a month to two months around here is the catfish that tend to migrate out of the lake into the lower parts of the two rivers. Chris

[capt. dave]

If I was to put in at Clarksville, how far up lake would I have to go to get into the White Bass? Would they be running this time next week?
What lures would you suggest for the Whites? Any info you could share would be helpful. Dave

[Fairport Fishing]

The times I have caught white side have been later in the summer...wish i knew more about it. And we caught them on smaller metal spoons with red and white paint. I apologize for not knowing more about them. If you want to get into the stripers......try Watkins bridge (State Rt 746 between Charlotte Co and Halifax Co) and head north....all the way up to brookneal if necessary. Early next week the place to put in will be Brookneal most likely. You will probably want to get in touch with some of the tackle shops around the lake to get the info you need on the White Bass. Chris