Entry 220-2

Mid-September until Mid-October Fishing with Roger Stegall at Pickwick Lake

Roger StegallEditor’s Note: Roger Stegall of Iuka, Mississippi, a tournament bass fisherman for 31 years, has been guiding on Pickwick Lake on the Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama border for 21 years. Stegall knows the fish on this lake so well that each morning, just before sunrise, the fish call him to find out what they’re supposed to be doing, and where they’re supposed to be holding. This week, Stegall will tell us how he catches white bass, stripers, largemouths and smallmouths from mid-September to mid-October.

Part 2: Stripers That Will Break your Line and your Heart

Roger StegallQuestion: Roger, where do you catch stripers at this time of year?

Stegall: We often catch saltwater stripers in the same areas where we catch white bass. But many times stripers don’t bust the surface as often as the white bass do. They don’t travel in schools as big as white bass. These stripers will weigh from 5- to 30-pounds each.

I discovered a new, unusual bait last year that the stripers really like to eat – Strike King’s Pure Poison extreme-action swimming jig in white. I’ll cast the Pure Poison out, let it go to the bottom, reel it, stop it, reel it and then stop it again. Those big stripers will annihilate that bait. They’ll take your rod and reel away from you when they attack the Pure Poison. Pure Poison is a jig with a lip on it that causes the bait to vibrate. It acts like a lot of different types of baits – a spinner bait, a jig and other lures. My favorite colors are white or chartreuse-and-white. I can’t believe how many 10-pound-plus stripers I caught on that bait last year. When I’d find the stripers, I’d cast to them, let Pure Poison fall all the way to the bottom, and then reel it like I would a crankbait, stopping frequently as I reeled.

Question: How big were the stripers you were catching?

Fishing with Roer StegallStegall: Most of the fish I caught weighed 7- to 12-pounds each. Most people never consider the possibility that Pure Poison is a striper bait. But I promise that this lure will catch them.

Question: What-pound test line do you use for stripers?

Stegall: I’m casting 14- to 17-pound-test line on a medium-heavy-action bait-casting rod. Another lure I catch those big stripers on is a Series 5 crankbait in white or shad. I use the same stop-and-start type retrieve I do when I’m fishing for white bass. I’ll often catch a combination of white bass and saltwater stripers. I also catch hybrid striped bass in the same places with the same baits.

Everyone needs to catch a hybrid at some time in their fishing career. At times, I’ve had big hybrids run all the line off my spool. They are a lot of fun to catch, and they’re really good to eat, if you cut the lateral line out of them and soak them in 7-Up. Two-years ago, I had an older gentleman fishing with me, and we caught six or eight hybrids. Each one of the fights lasted at least 10 to 15 minutes. That day, the fish were pretty shallow, and I was catching them on a Strike King Series 3 crankbait. I never could get the older gentleman to catch a hybrid. Finally, he hooked a fish, and I saw his rod load-up. He fought the fish for a while, and finally said, “You gotta take this rod. This fish is wearing me out.” I told him, “No, sir. You caught him; you gotta fight him.” The elderly angler probably fought that fish for 12 to 15 minutes before we finally got it to the boat. When I landed the fish, we saw that it was about a 15-pound striper. The old gentleman eased his rod down to the bottom of the boat, and said, “I’m done. That’s all the fishing I can stand for the day. That big fish just about killed me. He wore me out.”

Question: Are stripers pretty dependable at this time of year?

Stegall: Yes, they are. From now until the first of December, the stripers are the most dependable, and you easily can find and catch them.

Fishing with Roger StegallQuestion: How many stripers will you generally catch in one day, Roger?

Stegall: If we’re strictly fishing for stripers and hybrids, we usually can catch 10 to 25 a day, depending on how many we get into, and how well my anglers can hold on to them. One day, I had two guys, who weren’t very-experienced fishermen, who landed 10 stripers that weighed a total of 75 pounds. These guys were catching those big stripers on three-piece pack rods. They’d keep reeling, even when their fish were pulling off drag. Finally, when one of these guys landed a big striper, his line was so twisted that it had balled-up on the end of his rod. But they had a ball catching those big stripers on those three-piece pack rods.

To contact Roger Stegall, call (662) 423-3869, or visit www.fishpickwick.com, or email rogstegall@fishpickwick.com.
 

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