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| Fishing |
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| Catch Martin’s Spring Stripe Run |
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| By Joe DiPietro |
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Originally published in the April 2010 issue of AON
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B.A. Parker shows off a 28-pounder he caught while fishing with Wes Wood. Martin’s true beasts will move up-lake this month.
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Lake Martin is home to some very good striped-bass fishing, provided you can locate the fish and offer them a bait or lure they can’t refuse.
At 44,000 acres, Lake Martin can take a while longer to learn and explore to find areas where stripes regularly hang out than it does on some smaller reservoirs. With the right gear and knowledge, though, stripes can be caught pretty much all year.
April is a special time of the year on the lake, when the spring run of big brood-sized fish up the Tallapoosa River and the upper creek mouths of the lake is going strong. Typically, the spring run is from mid-March through mid-April. This year, though, the run is starting a little bit behind schedule thanks to the unusually cold weather the Cotton State has received this winter.
“Everything is about a month behind this year,” said Lake Martin guide Wes Wood in mid-March. “The water is just now starting to warm up. By April, the run should be in full swing.”
Water temperatures on the lake in mid-March were anywhere from 44 degrees into the low 50s, with the warmest spots being found near the top end of the lake. While the action gets better as the water temperature rises into the mid to upper 50s, “anything above 50 degrees, and we’re happy,” Wes said.
Another nemesis on the lake that Wes said he’s hoping will change soon is how muddy and cloudy the lake is.
“It’s like chocolate milk in some places now, and the fish just can’t see your bait,” he said.
The turbidity of the lake is a result of the excessive rains the area has received recently.
“Usually, this is a very clear lake,” Wes said, “with visibility averaging in the 20-foot range”
When heading to the upper end of the lake and the river, Wes changes his tactics a little bit compared to other times of the year. He suggests running two rods with planer boards and one with a large cork that has a release clip on it.
“Springtime is definitely planer-board time,” Wes said.
Wes places a barrel swivel between the leader and the main line, and then he clips the planer board above the swivel.
“That barrel swivel is pretty important because that planer board will knock a fish off the hook if it gets down to the fish’s face,” he warned.
The average size and most highly recommended bait is gizzard shad between 4 and 8 inches.
“If they won’t eat that, they ain’t bitin’,” Wes said. “Sometimes we’ll run planer boards with shad up to 2 pounds. When we run those big baits we’ll use hooks up to 7/0. But for everything else I use 2/0 circle hooks.”
Wes said he does not use umbrella rigs, because they tend to get hung often on Lake Martin.
Another issue for Lake Martin stripe fishermen to work around is there is not a good population of shad in the lake, which leaves anglers hunting shad in surrounding bodies of water like around the Coosa River dams.
“Bait is hard to get, and that’s why there’s not much pressure here,” Wes said.
Another good bait which can be purchased at area bait stores are “black goldies,” which look like a 4- to 8-inch carp-goldfish cross.
“They’re the toughest bait,” Wes said. “You can’t hardly kill one. They’re just very hardy.”
While fishing the run, Wes uses 15-lb. line and a 15- to 20-lb. fluorocarbon leader.
“With this lake usually being so clear, the fish can see 20-lb. line,” he said.
For a fun fight, Wes said to set the reel’s drag correctly and play the fish until it’s tired and gives up. Stripes in the 20- to 30-lb. range are regularly pulled from the lake. The typical schoolie fish runs between 5 and 15 pounds, and they are the most common catch. But there is the occasional beast caught on the lake, too.
Wes said he set his personal record last spring when he landed a 42.5-lb. stripe during the annual run.
“I’m sure there are bigger fish in this lake,” he said.
After the run is over, Wes said the fish will move into their summertime pattern of moving down the lake and holding on main-lake humps and points. Then Wes changes up to trolling silver spoons and bucktails on down-riggers and downlines with live bait.
“I do it all depending on the time of year, and conditions,” Wes said. “I troll at about 2 to 3 miles per hour. That way you cover so much more ground. It’s a really fun way to fish for stripes.”
During April, Wes said anglers should target stripes exclusively on the upper end of the lake and in the river.
“Mainly search creek channels, humps and the river, and you will find fish,” he said.
Some of the more productive areas on the upper end of the lake include the three creeks that flow into the lake behind Young’s Island, Wicker Point and Wind Creek. Also, spots around the U.S. Highway 280 bridge can be a dynamite place to target big stripes.
“That’s where most of my big fish come from,” Wes said.
The stripes usually hold in 30 to 40 feet of water but not as an absolute rule. Wes said he’s found them very deep and very shallow at certain times.
After fishing Lake Martin for 20 years, Wes is particularly fond of the river and Wind Creek.
“You can usually find fish holding in the Wind Creek area any time of the year,” he said.
However, just because you can find the fish doesn’t mean they will always agree and bite.
“You can put out the best bait, use the best electronics and some days they still don’t bite,” Wes said.
Adverse conditions like muddy water after rains and cold water will keep fish from feeding.
“Striper fishing is one of the toughest types of fishing, because they move around so much,” Wes said. “But, usually if you can find the fish you can catch them. That’s what I love about it; it’s such a challenge. It’s never the same thing when you’re fishing for stripes.”
While there are some shallow areas on Lake Martin, “surface action occurs only about 10 times a year,” Wes said. “This is not the lake to go to if you are looking for surface action.”
With approximately 130,000 striped bass stocked each year, Wes said he has no problem taking home or letting his clients take home fish within the DCNR’s limits.
Wes’ exception comes with small fish that need more time to grow, even though the lake does not support natural reproduction.
“If I catch a 2-lb. fish, it’s going right back in the water,” he said. “When the fishing is at its peak, we catch a lot of good fish.”
Even though Alabama Power controls the lake and uses it for flood control and hydroelectric power generation, the lake is so large that when they pull water at the dam it tends not to affect the fishing on the lake. Wes said one of the most important tips he would offer beginner stripe fishermen is to “get some good bait and fish humps, points and creek channels.”
Even though Wes has been guiding for a few years out of the two decades that he’s fished the lake, “there’s nothing more exciting than seeing a client catch their first striper. Especially if it’s a kid. I get as much enjoyment out of watching other people catch fish as I do out of catching them myself.”
Another “very critical” piece of equipment is a decent to high-end depthfinder and GPS system, Wes said.
“It’s hard enough to find these fish with a depthfinder because they move around so much,” he said. “Just imagine what it would be like without one at all.”
The pursuit of the fish is what Wes said he likes the most. “In some ways it is a lot like hunting. You’ve got to put in your time scouting and then be patient enough to get the fish to eat.”
Wes said two of his favorite ways to enjoy the light, flaky meat from stripers is to either cut the fillets into fingers and deep fry them, or broil the fillet whole in the oven.
“It don’t get much better than that,” he said.
Along with all the other stripe fishermen on Lake Martin, Wes is chomping at the bit for the spring run to begin.
“Once it starts, the fishing will get really hot and stay that way for several months,” he said. “You’ll have to move with the fish as they move around the lake, but it’s definitely worth the work.”
One of the biggest keys to stripe fishing is to keep at it and not get discouraged.
“You’ll have days where you won’t bring a single fish to the boat, and then you’ll have those banner days when you can’t hardly keep up with the action,” Wes said. “It’s just a wonderful fishery.”
To book a trip with Wes, call (256) 825-5977 or visit <www.LakeMartinStripes.com>.
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