“Striper Madness Year-Round on Lake Cumberland in Kentucky with Richard Holt and Mister Twister Lures”

Part 1: Stripers All Year Round

Editor’s Note: Richard Holt of Russell Springs, Kentucky, owner of Striper Madness Guide Service on Lake Cumberland, has fished for land-locked saltwater-striped bass year-round for 25 years. He uses different techniques throughout the year, depending on the depths at which the stripers are holding, and the baitfish the stripers are eating. “Here at Cumberland Lake, we have a year-round fishery for stripers,” Holt reports.

Question: Richard, tell us how you catch stripers throughout the year and please give us a month-by-month breakdown on where they are.

Holt: In January, we’ll be fishing under the birds at Lake Cumberland. The stripers will force the baitfish up to the surface, and the seagulls and the terns will dive on the baitfish and eat them. We’ll cast Mister Twister Twister Curly Tail Grubs and Mister Twister Sassy Shads to the stripers where they’re concentrated in the bays, the creeks, and the warm pockets on the lake in shallow water. This bite will last until the end of March.

Question: What happens in April?

Holt: We’ll start pulling umbrella rigs because the baitfish will have come up off the bank, and the stripers will be suspended in about 15 to 25 feet of water. In Kentucky, we run a hook on each arm of the umbrella rig with a long trailer. We’ll have five, 3/8- to 1/2-ounce Mister Twister Striper Lightnin’ Jigs on the umbrella rigs, running no more than two umbrella rigs at a time. This type of technique will work until our nighttime bite, which starts in May.

Question: What’s your nighttime bite?

Holt: From May until the end of June, we strictly fish for stripers at night, generally fishing two moon phases.

Question: How do you catch them in July?

Holt: In July, we use downriggers and fish Sassy Shads and Curly Tail Grubs, trolling in depths of 25 to 50 feet of water. This bite will last until the first of September.

Question: What happens at the first of September?

Holt: In September, the lake will be drawn down. Depending on the water temperature, the stripers will move deeper in the lake. From September until Thanksgiving, we’ll be trolling with downriggers from 50- to 90-feet deep. Last week, the end of October, we caught stripers in 85 feet of water on Curly Tail Grubs and Sassy Shads.

Question: Where do the fish go next?

Holt: From Thanksgiving until December, the fish will start moving back up toward the surface, and we’ll catch them from 45-feet deep up to the surface. When the fish start hitting on the surface, we’ll only be able to sight fish for them because the birds won’t have arrived yet.

Question: What will you be using when you sight fish for the stripers on the surface?

Holt: We’ll still be casting the Mister Twister Striper Lightnin’ Jigs with the Curly Tail Grub or the Sassy Shad. Every day we fish, we have those baits with us. We make our living with Striper Lightnin’ Jigs, Curly Tail Grubs and Sassy Shads.

For more information about Striper Madness Guide Service and how to fish with stripers at Lake Cumberland, visit www.stripermadness.com, or call 270-866-3660.