Spoon-feed those stripers

Power-reeling huge jigging spoons is the ticket for stripers holding deep during summer’s hottest days.

For two summers, some fishermen who target striped bass on Lake Hartwell have done their best to keep one of their hottest tactics secret. But bringing big fish to the docks and winning tournaments makes it hard to keep a secret because inquiring minds, especially those who didn’t win the tournaments, want to know.

While anglers-in-the-know were playing hide and seek, Mack Farr, the guide who said he invented the tactic — or at least revived it’s usage — and said he couldn’t get anyone to listen.

“Power-reeling, as this tactic is known, has been around for a while on other lakes, especially down on (Georgia’s) Lake Lanier,” Farr said. “It caught on big at Murray, then it jumped up to some of the lakes in Tennessee and Arkansas, but the guys on Hartwell never really catered to it much.”

Power-reeling is a stand-alone tactic for catching stripers out of deep water in the summer. The tactic can work with other baits, but it has come to be associated with Ben Parker spoons, a series of big, metal, highly reflective baits that are extra-large versions of the same type spoon your grandfather used back in the day. Farr is a representative for the company that makes them.

“Power-reeling is a really, really strong technique in the summer on any lake that’s got stripers. For some reason, Hartwell was the very last lake to get on board. I had the spoons in several stores up there. I was amazed how many spoons we would sell at Lanier or at Lake Murray. I would go to my Hartwell stores and say, ‘Are y’all out of spoons?’ ‘Nope.’ Hadn’t sold one,” said Farr. “I don’t think it would have caught on big up there if hadn’t been for Nate. Nate went out on a couple of guide trips last summer and basically smoked people, and local anglers started saying ‘Hey, look what he’s doing.’ And now, it’s mainstream at Hartwell.”

“Nate” is Nathan Key of Belton. who hung his fishing shingle out at Hartwell 10 years ago on a part-time basis while he was still in the restaurant business but now guides full-time as Shad Slinger Fishing Charters.

“Power-reeling is a vertical technique,” Key said. “With the boat sitting as still as you can, you’re presenting that spoon really fast to them. It zips down right past their nose, and then it zips back up, jigging 10- to 20-foot paths right in front of the fish. It’s more of a reaction strike than it is a feeding or hunger bite. It’s ‘Oh, my, what was that going by me, I’ve got to get it before something else does.’”

It’s assumed that power-reeling was kept close to the vest at Hartwell and other lakes because it is known for catching big striped bass during the dog days of summer. Key agrees it does seem to tempt bigger fish because the spoons are 8 to 10 inches long, but he also said he’s caught fish that aren’t much bigger than the spoon itself.

“Whatever size fish you’re on, it’s going to get them fired up,” he said. “Naturally, you’re not going to catch the half-pounders on it — not regularly. They’re just not tuned in to eating that size bait. But I’ve caught 3-, 4-, 5-pound fish with no problem. I’ve caught 20s to 30s, too, so it’s a good, all-around tactic.”

Key said he’s used the tactic with success further up the lake earlier in the year, the window that he considers “power-reeling season” is from first of August through September when the lake’s water is the hottest. Because of this, the biggest part of power-reeling takes place down in the lower, main-lake basin from the junction of the Seneca and Tugaloo rivers to the dam.

“It’s a really good technique when fish get really thick down in the trees, which is basically the hot summertime,” Key said. “I had days last August (and) September where I caught good stripers 3-to-1 on that spoon versus live bait. The deeper the fish get in the summer, the more they school up together in big schools, which is a summertime-type deal. That spoon really shines.”

The first step is locating a school of stripers. This time of year, they school tightly and in numbers, usually by year-class, with a few bigger fish lingering around. These same fish are the school-prone masses that anglers typically look late on summer evenings.

Before power-reeling emerged, anglers were relegated to tempting these massive schools out of areas of standing timber by fishing beside or over the tops of the trees. Now, Key simply hovers over the timber and drops the big bait down into territory where few feared to go before.

“I’m looking for fish in water that is 60 foot or deeper,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be clean. It can be in the trees, and that’s a great part of that spoon. With as much timber as Hartwell’s got, you can fish in areas you can’t get herring down to because you get tangled up.

“Fire that spoon down through them trees,” said Key. “The spoon will deflect off of the tree limbs because it’s so wide and so broad, it will deflect off, and the hooks don’t stick. If it does, the heavy spoon acts like a lever, and you can shake it loose.”

Fishing timber with heavy, metal baits requires stout tackle. Key favors line-counter reels for obvious reasons. If fish are holding 40 feet deep over an 80-foot bottom, he will free-spool his Okuma 30 series bait casting reel to 50 feet, engage the reel and power-crank as fast as he can back up to 20 feet, disengage, and let the bait free-spool back down. Having the numbers in front of his face helps him stay on target. He said it’s an all mono line deal, with 30 pound being his favorite.

“Try not to move the boat, because if you bump around with the trolling motor, the fish are not under you,” he said. “You pull the spoon up, and you don’t put it back down until you’re sitting completely, or that thing will plane out 30, 40, 50 feet to the side of the boat. I’ve set in 60 feet of water and watched my line counter go to 130.  They won’t bite it unless it is vertical, coming straight up and down.”

Key can’t stress enough that power-reeling is a great summer striper tactic, but the fish have to be deep and the boat has to be still.

“I like the 60-foot limit, with the fish sitting at 30 to 40, anywhere in there, seems to be the shallowest that you can consistently catch them on that spoon,” he said. “They have to be pretty deep, because that spoon has got to go through them, and then have enough time for them to chase it before they see the boat.”

Like most deep-water fishing, a good sonar unit is required to visually mark fish. Key will even watch his bait on the graph and can usually predict when a big striper has zoned in on and has committed to it.

“You can watch them on the graph,” he said. “I’ve watched them follow it from 90 all the way up to 10 feet. Then you drop it, they’ll follow it down again. Once they commit to eating it, that’s when it is a happy strike. You’re reeling. You’ve got the butt of that rod in your armpit, and you’re reeling as fast as you can reel and Boom! Fish on!”

DESTINATION INFORMATION

HOW TO GET THERE — The best access to Lake Hartwell is via I-85 and US 76, with plenty of public ramps all around the lake. To locate them, visit www.sas.usace.army.mil/lakes/hartwell.

WHEN TO GO — Power-reeling big jigging spoons for stripers and hybrids on Lake Hartwell cranks up around Aug. 1 and lasts through September.

TECHNIQUES/TACTICS —  Power-reeling is a productive summer tactic when striped bass and hybrid bass gang up tightly in bigger schools in the lower lake. Start by graphing a school of fish and then let the boat settle right over the top of them. Using a line-counter or a 30 series baitcasting reel, drop a large, heavy bait — the Ben Parker spoon is a current favorite — until the bait reaches a level 10 to 15 feet below the fish. Immediately engage the reel and rapidly reel the bait from that depth to 20 to 50 feet above the school. Watch your graph for fish following the bait. Repeat the tactic, enticing the fish to bite. Jigging into and through standing timber is productive because fish will relate to the trees and the spoon is easy to dislodge if it hangs in the wood.

FISHING INFO/GUIDES — Nathan Key, Shad Slinger Fishing Charters, 864-940-4747, www.shadslinger.com; Mack Farr, Capt. Mack’s Guide Service, 770-271-0851, www.captmacks.com. See also Guides and Charters in Classifieds.

ACCOMMODATIONS — Anderson County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, 877- 282-4650, www.visitanderson.com; Mountain Lakes (Oconee) Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, 877-685-2537, www.scmountainlakes.com.

MAPS — Navionics Electronic Charts, www.navionics.com; Delorme’s South Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer, 800-561-5105, www.delorme.com; Fishing Hot Spots, 800-ALLMAPS, www.fishinghotspots.com.