On top

When the big stripes or hybrids are schooling on top, it can get wild. They will hit most anything, including a crankbait because a lot of the fish in a school will be down under the surface action.

But nothing is more exciting than a topwater strike, and any kind of hard surface plug like a Sammy-, Pop-R- or a Zara Spook-type lure will get strikes.

A soft plastic jerkbait or swim bait that can be kept high in the water column are automatic.

One of my favorite lures that I keep tied on a spinning rod is a saltwater spinnerbait like Strike King’s Redfish Magic. It is easily cast by novices, and is an “idiot bait” that simply requires casting and reeling. Most of the spinners built for redfish or speckled trout are designed to run shallow, right under the surface. Stripers hit them with a vengeance, and newbie fishermen squeal in delight.

Take a pair of binoculars on every trip, because schools can surface just about anywhere on the lower half of the lake from June to November. They can be seen by naked eye for up to a mile, but with optics that range can be extended to miles.

Hey, 10-pound fish can knock around a lot of water.

There are hot areas, and unless the moon is full, most of the surface activity is going to happen at dawn and again at dusk.

Be sure to get acquainted with any rod beds or ridges near deep water.

Learn about the long drop that is formed along the Fannin Flats (between Fannin Landing and the dam on the east side of the lower main lake). It is a long, long ridge that drops from depths of 5 to 8 feet to 12 to 20 feet. It runs for nearly two miles.

Also, become familiar with the Twin Harbors area, out from the Lost Rabbit development. If you head due east out of Twin Harbors, you will hit the 35-foot river channel, and it is paralleled on each side by shallow ridges up and down for miles.

Just south of Twin Harbors, using a map, you will find the only true double turn of the river channel, which produces a natural holding area for stripers. The shallow area between the river’s loop is worthy of watching for surface action.