Another tactic he uses is to fish some down rods, rigged with heavier sinkers, placed about 12 to 15 feet deep. “While the boat will seem to spook some fish, we do pick up hybrids and stripers in this manner as well. However, for the most part, the really big fish are caught on rigs that are far away from the boat,” he said.

Bertzfield also noted that he might pick up two or three fish on a single pass on a point. If he encounters a specific area like that, or if he gets several bites on a long stretch of drifting or trolling over a ledge, he’ll make repeated passes over that area.

“Sometimes you will have to pull your rigs in, move back to the productive area, and repeat the process. If you pick up a couple or three fish on each pass, it won’t take long to have a box full of fish,” he noted.

Bertzfield said that the catch of hybrids and stripers is about half and half on a typical day at Lake Thurmond. The stripers will generally average 5 to 10 pounds each, with 30-pound fish possible during this time of the year. The hybrids will often average in the 5- to 8-pound class, he said.

Contact Bertzfield for more information or to book a trip at Lake Thurmond by calling Tommy’s Herring & Guide service at (864) 443-5088 or on his cell phone at (864) 378-2130.

LAKE MOULTRIE
The striper fishing on Lake Moultrie during January can also be outstanding. Sometimes, during really cold weather years when the water temperature is extremely low, the fishing can be more difficult. However, in most years, there’s excellent fishing for stripers, both with live-bait rigs and in taking advantage of the opportunity to catch schooling fish. In many cases, you’ll have a chance to catch fish schooling early and late in the day and then catch them by drifting live bait the rest of the day.

Unlike the other two lakes, Lake Moultrie is a striper-only lake. But that certainly doesn’t limit your potential action. While on the surface, the lake looks like a huge nine-by-11-mile bowl of water; the underwater contours of this lake are quite dramatic. These underwater structures are key to striper fishing success for anglers seeking both topwater schooling action as well as those fish susceptible to live-bait drifting techniques.

Study topographic maps of this lake and you’ll be able to pinpoint these potential hotspot areas. Plus, once you add some on-the-lake experience to the formula, you’ll be even better able to fine-tune the specific tactics that work best on this lake.

Keep in mind that stripers are streamlined eating machines. For this reason, it’s crucial to find forage associated with the structure. Either structure or forage can be enough to attract these voracious eaters, but if you find both, you radically increase your chances of hooking a fish.

The best bait for this time of the year seems to be live bait, preferably blueback herring, although some anglers will make good catches using shad minnows and live shiners. One of the keys is to keep a fresh, lively bait on the hook at all times. The care you give your bait will certainly influence the number of bites you get.