what equipment do i need for striper fishing?

Hi mmcallister. welcome to the forum. Give us some more info, where are you planning to fish for stipers? alot will hing on that because you will want to use different tactics for freshwater stipers as apposed to ocean fish or ones running up river from salt water to spawn. second are you planning to fish from shore or a boat?

Brian

When I think of stripers only one word comes to my mind and it refers to rods, reels, baits and all those other things needed to fish with:  HEAVY!  HEAVY!  HEAVY!  By that I mean something that will hold up.  I went with a friend many years ago to the water below the dam at Lake Tolquin near Perry, Florida and I watched him as a striper tore the gears out of his Zebco 33 and then proceeded to break the rod in half.  He has a huge striper on the wall in his house and every time I visit he says:  "I should have hung that ole Zebco 33 and rod up there"  I built him a heavy rod and gave him an Ambassador 5500 C.  He still uses them and they were the rod and reel that put the fish on the wall.  They hit so hard sometimes, especially in running water that they can take your breath away.  Let us know where you are going to fish and if it is on bank or from a boat and whether or not you will fish with live bait or lures.  Then I am sure you will get all the help you need.  Good luck and great fishing!  Uncle Tom

i fish fresh water on lake chatuge in north georgia. i plan to be fishing in about 100 ft waters in my 14 ft jon boat.

you might want to fish early in the morning or late in the evening and see if they are chasing baitfish on the surface(boil). in that case probably anything resembling a minnow or shad will be taken. otherwise if you have a sonar unit you could target them at the depth they are holding either by trolling a minnowbait or jigging for them at the depth they are at. I have not had a problem with landing decent sized stripers on fairly light tackle but make sure it is good quality because uncle tom is right they can be torture on cheap gear. if you do not have a fish finder then i would suggest asking around to see if you can figure out where they are holding at or just experiment.
Good Luck

brian

What pound line do you recomend?

50# braid
20# mono

For trophy class
80# braid

For eaters
20# braid
12# mono

Type and strength of line depends on the rod. I prefer a heavy power fiberglass rod that has a true parabolic action. I've broken too many graphite rods (brittle) to ever use another one on stripers. I don't have use for the extra sensitivity of a graphite rod. Bites are obvious.

The reel can hold a big one, so can line and hook, but if you pass the capabilities of the rod you lose everything past the reel. My choice for reel is a level wind with a history of a strong drag. By that I mean it is well known the drag will not burn up within loading specs. The Ambassadeur 5500C is a favorite of mine for flippin' largemouths and some striper fishing, but bare bones equipment at 30 pounds of drag. If I am aiming to striper fish I put my Ambassadeur C4 striper reel on that glass rod.

Not using the drag, using a non-stretch line like braid or superline, and an unforgiving rod will result in lots of breakoffs. If a 30 pound striper decides to go to bottom it is going to get there or tear the hook loose, or break something. The C4 has some really thin green superline, probably 30# Fireline, very durable against line damage from those teeth and tooth patches, and whatever they brush against while running. When I replace it I'll stick with some brand of thin superline or hybrid line because it cuts water easily and doesn't add much line drag to the total load. The rod is flexible enough I can get by with non-stretch line. I tried braid but have seen too many close calls of line fraying, requiring a leader which I don't mess with anymore. Big predator fish are not bothered with seeing line.

They dive and swim hard and long, so the equipment needs to stand up to that. It's a good idea to follow the fish using the trolling motor, and try to keep the animal as shallow as possible.

Jim

Now that's some very interesting info...

I've never fished for striper, but I think traditional black bass fishing tackle would be fine.  Maybe a little heavier line, because stripers can grow much larger than black bass.

The Classic Michigander 

There are some big stripers in that lake and around the state....

Georgia Striped Bass record
63 lbs.
Kelly A. Ward
Oconee River
May 30, 1967

And another bigun might be yours for the catching.......Georgia State Hybrid Striped bass Record.
25 lbs. 8 oz.
David C. Hobby
Lake Chatuge
May 1, 1995

I don't think it takes rocket science to point out your favorite black bass combo could end up in splinters messing with fish like those, especially if using high strength line. I would want my line to snap before snapping a $300 rod, a reason I keep the line test lower than I would for black bass in thick weeds. I can use braid there and not have the line damage a striper can inflict.

Be set for a ride in that jonboat, as a 15 pound striper could tow you a quarter mile or more before stopping.

Most of my striper fishing has been while guiding, tending rods for clients who sometimes don't pay much attention to the gear. They are out there for more reasons than just fishing for stripers. Casting a plug was pretty rare, too much work for most people, and not efficient enough. If you really want to experience striper fun use live bait. I provided 5-6" gizzard shad, floated under a simple party balloon over places sonar showed up huge schools. You let the bait out to swim around as the boat cruises a mile an hour. It's really more like fishing the Gulf of Mexico with chances at some much bigger species.

The best time any time of year except when white bass spawn has always been around 4 AM to 10AM, following striper schools that have been busy herding up schools of shad in shoreline coves, then getting behind them when they escape to open water for the day. I worked to crisscross the stripper schools between feedings. Only when they settled in deep, like atop a very deep thermocline would anyone consider deep plugging, using baits that work well i=with planer boards. Sometimes I got guests to try other types of fishing until the stripers moved again. Delawarebass Steve is still active guiding those, so he ought to be more up to date.

On my own I really grew tired of stripers, never did like the taste regardless of recipe from which state or fine cook in many a camp. They find me while largemough bassin, and I'll shake that bait off it if I can to avoid the fight, at that sudden introduction finding me fishing with inadequate gear. If it looks like they have moved the bass out then I'll play the game a while with the big pole, then move way off where maybe they are not.

I'm all for anyone fishing with me to try hard to boat a huge striper and maybe a wiper for some fun photo ops after live bait fishing, then settle down for going after the elusive largemoughts with artificials, The sheer satisfaction of duping a bunch of smart blacks by far trumps memories of dragging stripers around, so I am always prepared for it all.

Jim

If you are in Georgia fishing for Stripe Bass or Hybrid Stripe Bass, it is hard to beat fishing Lake Juliette on the Rum Creek refuge, just note that there are outboard motor restrictions and a great place to camp.  It has some of the biggest hybrids I have ever hung into on a regular basis.  I fish them with artificials but many folks use live bait.  In fishing the artificials I have caught three large mouth bass over ten pounds and lost one that could have well been close to fifteen.  Nothing like letting your friend lip him and knock him off.  We still speak on occasion?  Just joking.  Overall, it is one of the best fishing holes in the whole state and that says a lot about a state that abounds with fish.  Good luck.  Uncle Tom