Later on in the season, during the really hot weather, he will begin to fish farther downlake, sometimes even catching them right in front of the dam in very deep water during July and August. In fact, he mentioned that some of the heaviest catches of stripers he makes during a normal year would occur during this midsummer period. For anglers who understand the pattern, this hot weather fishing is very predictable and incredibly productive.

Hamilton added that this is still a lot of water to cover, but it does give him and other anglers a target area to focus on for May fishing.

Hamilton added that generally the typical depth to catch fish at this time of the year would be in the 35- to 50-foot depth range; the exact depth of the fish, not surprisingly, may change a few feet either way on a given day. Since the basic feeding pattern of the stripers and hybrids is to gorge on roaming baitfish during spring, a live 4- to 6-inch blueback herring is the perfect size to catch the fish.

“I use 20-pound-test clear line during this time of the year,” Hamilton said. “I’ll put a 1 1/2-ounce egg sinker about 24 to 30 inches above the hook as my basic rig. I’ll bait with live blueback herring. I don’t get real caught up in the actual size of the bait I use at this time of the year. Usually, the stripers will be feeding on fairly small forage, so bluebacks in the 4- to 6-inch size work well. There are times during the spring when I think big bait may actually be a turnoff, even for the larger fish.”

Hamilton said that almost all of the places he will fish have a link to the deeper water in the area.

“I generally orient to channel ledges and other forms of drops, points or humps throughout most of the year,” he said. “The early springtime may be the only exception to this rule, but by May, I’m looking for fish hovering over good underwater structure. I may fish clean flats during April and May, but they usually will be near a channel.”

Hamilton said the typical pattern is to anchor the boat where fish are marked on the graph. He added that it is essential to get the boat positioned just right, so he studies the layout of the fish as depicted on the graph. He calculates and considers the wind direction and velocity before putting out the anchor. If the wind is not howling, he’ll often use his electric motor to work an area. Either way, he said that boat position is a real key to success.

“Sometimes the boat will spook the fish at first, but they’ll usually get used to it pretty quick,” Hamilton said. “But being right on target can be a real key to success during this time. One of the keys I look for, in addition to baitfish on the graph, is the presence of the big arches indicative of stripers. I’ll often mark a lot of fish several feet off the bottom, but if there are some big fish lying near the bottom, that’s my key. These are the fish that typically are feeding.