My goal for this spring/summer is to catch a decent striped bass from the shore. I fish at a lake that apparently  has a population of big stripers (30-50in). The problem is that I haven’t the slightest idea of where they live and how to target them from the bank. 
 

The lake is a highland reservoir with lots of creek arms. The main forage fish are sunfish, common shiners, golden shiners, and a variety of smaller minnows. My plan (if you can call it one) is to find a point and liveline a golden shiner on one rod while casting a swim shad on the other, but there has to be a better way to do it.

The best bait here is a skipjack herring (1-2 lbs)  or gizzard shad. Best artificial is buck tail or topwater. They also love cut bait sitting ON the bottom. My Buddy got a 26 lber with a dead bluegill that was floating when the striper hit it. They are a hunger breed 

Landlocked striped bass behave much like the ocean run ones. They travel to headwaters in late winter early spring, then turn around and do the opposite. The best time to target them is when the water is cold, say mid 40s to mid 50s. They are cold water fish, and will seek deeper water in the warmer months. From shore, large minnow plugs, bucktails, and at time top waters will work well. Live or chunk bait are always a good choice. It doesn't apply to shore fishing, but trolling is also a very good way to get them. One of our charter captain buds moved near lake Wallenpaupauk from NYC, and he says it's no different than the ocean, though the locals do some strange things.