I made a fish pun.  See that? 💥

Over the past 5 or 6 years I have found great joy in catching striper on crankbaits in a foot of water during the fall.  There is one particular lake where I have them absolutely dialed in, catching up to 10lb striper over and over as they feed super shallow before winter. 

 

The lake is a bit of a drive for me and my question is, could I expect the same/similar behavior of striper at any point in the spring?  I can find the exact spot in the fall based on water temp, wind direction, etc., but can I find shallow striper in the spring hitting moving baits?  What conditions should I look for?  

 

In the 3 bodies of water I fish, the striper have totally different patterns.  There is some similarity between the rivers (Potomac and Rappahonock) because they are seasonal from the bay and migrate up the rivers to spawn.  That is very specific patterns.  The lake (Lake Anna) is landlocked and they are much more predictable and normally hang in the same areas year round. 

You’ve got them more dialed than I can ever dream of, they are the least predictable fish I’ve ever went after 

48 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

You’ve got them more dialed than I can ever dream of, they are the least predictable fish I’ve ever went after 

 

54 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

In the 3 bodies of water I fish, the striper have totally different patterns.  There is some similarity between the rivers (Potomac and Rappahonock) because they are seasonal from the bay and migrate up the rivers to spawn.  That is very specific patterns.  The lake (Lake Anna) is landlocked and they are much more predictable and normally hang in the same areas year round. 

Well, that is very good (if not troubling) information.  The lake where I find them each fall is a man-made impoundment and I am literally going to the same creek arm every day and wearing my arms out for about 2-3 weeks depending on how fast the water temps drop.  Other fishermen are catching them in the summer on the same lake using more traditional methods of fishing deep structure using live bait.  I haven't gotten into that yet but I may give it a try this year.  

The catfish guys get them all the time on cut bait 

10 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

they are the least predictable fish I’ve ever went after 

 

Exactly how I feel when I muskie fish.

On 3/18/2025 at 7:27 AM, TnRiver46 said:

You’ve got them more dialed than I can ever dream of, they are the least predictable fish I’ve ever went after 

i was going to repeat this.