Re: Striper.
The first few months after my father's retirement, he'd get up at 4:00 a.m. every morning, and head out to Percy Priest Dam to fish off the bank. He used a long saltwater lure with a bunch treble hooks. He'd feel one of those monster hit the lure--and then spit it out. He called it Rockfish Fever. Serious Rockfishermen have to go fishing for bream before they fish for Rockfish--their favorite bait.
After moving to our Alabama lake house, Pop switched over to catfish. He would spend the afternoons foraging for fish bait--after calling fishermen friends asking what the cats were biting. Baits were nightcrawlers, minnows, shad, bait shrimp, sponges soaked in oil of anise, cubes of Ivory Soap. He'd bait the lines just before dark, and check the trotlines at daybreak. He'd get so excited when he felt the vibrations on the trotline--knowing he had something good down the line. Catfish Fever was as bad as Rockfish Fever--and much more successful.
FYI: The big catfish tournament this year held on our lake took a 12 fish limit--212 lbs. to win. It think the biggest caught fish was 95 lbs. in the tournament. Those guys are serious fishermen.
