As I backed the boat out of the boat slip, my confidence was not built up on a productive pattern that could
            produce a couple big stripers for my two South Carolina clients. Norris Lake was drawn down eight feet
            past the normal January winter pool level, which put the lake almost sixty feet below normal summer level.
            I was seeing structure that had not been visible in almost thirty years. I had run aground two times in the past
            week on places I had traveled for ten years. The water was clear but a drizzling mild winter rain with solid
            cloud cover should give the stripers a chance to move up into shallow water to feed. I pulled up my collar
            as a cold drop of rain dripped down my back sending cold shivers up my spine.
                    The only definite pattern I had stumbled on to was that the stripers seemed to be holding on shelf-type
            rock banks mixed with stumps with a slow declining slope. The water temperature was running around 50 degrees
            which made conditions ideal. I had one particular hump in mind where I had missed a good fish the day before.
            This particular hump was several hundred yards from any deep water but the bait fish seemed to congregate in ten
            to twenty feet of water around the area especially when a  breeze blew against the sound bank of the high spot.
            I had a huge fish chase a 12 inch lake shad to the surface two mornings in a row but just didn't seem to be very
            aggressive and take the bait. I positioned the boat upwind so hopefully we could very quietly drift a big shad over
            the area where the big stripers seemed to be feeding. The water was only eighteen feet at the deepest place around
            the open water hump but the fish seem to move up much shallower under the breezy, cloudy conditions. With the
            shallow water, weighted downrods are useless so I staggered a free line and a balloon rig which works excellently
            in shallow water about fifty yards behind the boat with a big lake shad on a 3~O style 42 Eagle Claw hook.
            The shad did their job well as the rods bounced and the balloon worked back and forth with the big bait desperately
            trying to escape. We made the first drift down the open water side of the hump with not as much as a swirl. I knew
            the fish had to be there so I cranked up and circled around for another pass down the bank. We moved slowly past
            the point sloping out toward the open water and I asked the men to wind up both rigs so we could move
            to another  spot.
                    Just as the balloon rigged shad came across the shallow stump bed, I saw a huge swirl just behind the big shad
            as he raced across the surface. The giant striper struck the shad and knocked water two feet in the air, but didn't
            take the bait. The water was swirling as the big fish came back for another try. The shad was literally leaping out
            of the water trying to avoid the powerful jaws of the striper but it was too late. The fish struck and the balloon raced
            across the surface half submerged and towed by the giant fish. As the rod bent down with the weight of the fish, my
            client set the hook as the big fish headed for open water. After what seemed like an eternity for the anxious angler,
            the striper finally gave up and came along side of the boat. The fish would have gone forty pounds as the man held
            up the fish for photographs and gently lowered him back to the water for someone else's enjoyment.
                    Fishing a lake during low water levels in the winter can be some of the most productive periods during the
            year.  Mathematically, the draw down takes away hundreds of acres of prime feeding grounds for the stripers
            and limits the areas where they can feed. Winter draw down level varies on different lakes. Shallow flat
            lakes  may see only  five to ten feet draw down where as a deep mountain lake may drop as much as
            seventy feet. The  elimination factor takes place on both the shallow and flat lakes. On a shallow lake,
            deep structure is usually twenty feet deep. If you  take away ten or twelve feet of water over the
            underwater structure  plus away from slow sloping shoreline, in some  cases, the entire acreage of the lake
            can be cut  by over one third. A draw down on a deep mountain lake eliminates  many of the prime
            underwater feeding grounds, forcing the stripers into the small areas that can be beneficial if you
            use it to your advantage.
                    When fishing under these low water conditions, remember two factors that are critical to a striper's
            characteristics.   Water temperatures will usually be in the high forties or low fifties in January and early
            February across the South.  These comfort able temperatures allow a striper to move away from their deep
            water summer hide outs.  I've seen schools of big stripers hold in a small cove or creek with less than
            twenty-five feet of water at the  deepest  point. Sunlight is also an important factor. Most lakes will
            become slightly  stained with winter rains and violent winds that accompany cold fronts. Slightly stained
            water can break up bright sunlight and also  allow stripers to feed in very shallow water during the middle of the day.
                    As with any other period of the year, locating the bait fish is the first step when searching for low water stripers.
            The same water temperature and water clarity conditions that move stripers into shallow water areas, also move
            bait fish in shallow water and closer to the surface. The most critical factor that occurs with bait fish during the winter
            months is the very small size that stripers seem to feed on. All of us at one time or another have been on a school of
            surface feeding stripers but could not get a hit if our life depended on it. In most cases, the fish are feeding on very
            small shad that are sometimes under an inch long. This is caused by the cold water and the biological make-up of a
            striper's digestion tract and feeding habits. The digestive tract of a striper Slows down in the winter months and
            smaller shad are often on his menu. I have caught large stripers on these Small shad or a lure but I have also found
            that if a trophy size fish is on your ticket, a big shad Will produce with more consistency. The trouble with small lures
            is casting ability and weak hooks. When stripers are feeding on small shad, I prefer a bait I designed myself called the
            Poppen Spoon. This rig consists of a weighted Styrofoam cork with a concave mouth to create a disturbance on the
            surface and for casting distance. On a three foot leader line I tied a very small Accetta spoon resembling the size of the
            shad the stripers are hitting. The flash from the small spoon plus the heavy small stainless hook makes this a deadly
            combo. Small bucktails often work well, but, again, casting distance is cut to a minimum. No other time in the year will
            a striper be so picky about bait size. I've seen many times as little as an inch in lure length will often mean a
            strike or   nothing.  In some instances, I have caught very small threadfins and used a small hook to
            coax the  fish into feeding. An extra light line, say an eight to ten pound test, will usually draw more strikes
            than a heavier line.
                    Last January, the water level on Norris was bottomed out and the frigid temperatures had lowered the water
            temperature to a very unusually low forty-four degrees. The small threadfin are very fragile in cold water and
            began to die and wash up on the bank. The area where we dock our boats is fed by a year round spring feeder
            creek which is considerably warmer than the open lake. Millions of the small threadfins would school in the small
            creek channel escaping the killing cold water out in this big lake. As you would expect, it didn't take long for the
            stripers to home in on an easy meal. The stripers seemed to ignore the shallow water and sunlight in both early
            morning and late afternoon, feeding violently on the small shad. In a one week period, standing on the dock,
            we caught and released fifty-two stripers between thirteen and twenty-nine pounds. All the fish were caught on
            small bucktails and a few were taken on the small threadfins caught in a very small mesh cast net. This may be a
            pattern to look for on your home lake during the winter draw down. Check the feeder creeks for running water
            in the back and graph for schools of shad that should be drawn to the warmer water.
                    When searching an unfamiliar lake for linesides during low winter water levels, always be on the look
            out for surface schooling. As I mentioned earlier, this may occur in smaller shallow coves that may be a
            later choice unless you actually see the feeding activity. Don't let the surface action fool you.
            Almost always when the fish are surfacing, the bulk of the school will be underneath the surface feeders.
            Always pay close attention to your chart recorder as you approach the activity with a surface lure tied
            on your rod.  Many times, the smaller fish will be on top with  hundreds of bigger fish underneath at,
            sometimes,  twenty-five or thirty feet deep. I've seen schools of big stripers twenty feet thick underneath
            the surface feeders, willing to strike any bait that passes in front of their noses.  This action can be fast
            and furious as the fish will bury every rod in the boat at once. I use the specially designed
            Tennessee Bait Weights to get the shad down to the suspended stripers. These weights rigged with a seven foot
            leader will give the shad a natural movement that will draw an instant strike. A free line or balloon rig works well
            on both surface feeders and suspended stripers. Both rigs need to run at least fifty yards behind the boat. I have
            found that a big shad on a free line and balloon will draw hits from bigger fish even though they may be feeding
            on smaller minnows. I think the natural swimming action of the bigger shad excites the stripers and intimidates
            them into striking.
                    During the winter draw down is the only time of the year that the structure around the banks seems
            to make any  difference. On my lake in Tennessee, the shallow sloping banks that are made up of
            shelf rock and stumps seem to draw stripers in the daylight hours. The gravel and sandy points seem to
            hold fish at night. The type of structure around the banks is more visible during the draw down and,
            with mental notes, can be of great help as the water rises and deep water is over the coves. If I can
            catch the wind blowing just right, I like to drift almost up against the rocky,  stump filled banks with
            a free line. The wave action will break up light penetration and often stain the water just
            enough for the fish to move up in five or six feet of water There's nothing that could ever be any more exciting
            than to see a thirty pounder explode on a bait in shallow water.
                    Changing weather patterns don't seem to change the feeding habits of a striper during the winter draw down.
            The water temperatures is usually the same from top to bottom, with light penetration being the most critical factor.
            Blue bird skies after a passing front will usually push stripers down a little deeper but won't turn them off completely
            as happens in the spring. Down rods with live bait are usually more productive than a shallow free line until the bright
            days diminish.
                    Night time plugging can be very good during low winter water levels as a striper moves up to feed on the shallow
            sand and gravel points. A Baby Mac seems to be the top producer if cast right up on the bank and retrieved with
            a steady swimming action. Be ready for the strike to occur just as you begin your retrieve. During mild warm weather,
            a top water lure such as the Norman Blue Fin worked across the shallow points can be deadly. With the
            low water levels,  the prime gravel points with good definition are clearly visible. I have noticed the light
            colored sand and gravel banks  make casting judgements a much easier chore at night.
                    Fishing a lake during the winter draw down can definitely be one of the best times of the year whether you live
            on a shallow lake that fluctuates only a few feet or on a deep mountain lake that drops fifty to seventy feet.
            Taking away as much as one third of a striper's backyard can mathematically cut your searching down immensely.
            With the help of the cool water temperatures to stimulate the stripers feeding patterns, you may be able to catch
            the trophy you have always dreamed of.
 
 

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