Just because there is bait doesn't mean there are fish, if you don't mark them below the bait then move on. There are certain areas of the lake that will "typically" hold the fish at certain times of the year. Keep a journal and write down dates, water temp, cloud cover, etc. and use it for reference for a few years. Once you figure them out you will know where to look at certain times and it will click for you. One of my best friends is a guide down there. We / he fished that lake for YEARS figuring them out.
And fyi, when the water gets like chocolate milk or really stained the fish are not going to be there, bait or not. Stripe like clean water and feed by site more than bass so if they are up river and a flood comes and changes the water clarity they will move out and find better water, always fish clean water. Maryland did a study on stripe years ago and found that they can move up to 75miles in a 24 hour period. That doesn't mean they always move that much but it does mean that they are not "home bodies" like a bass, they can and do move and it's nothing for them to move miles in a day down there if conditions change.
Last edited by buzzard; 05/13/21 11:07 AM.
