Swimbaiting for Stripers with a Forrest Wood Cup champion

Anthony Gagliardi Fishing Tips for Striped Bass

 

Anthony Gagliardi, the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup champion, makes his living as a professional bass angler on the FLW Tour and he is great at it. He’s a Forrest Wood Cup champion and has many more accomplishments, but when the season is over he spends time fishing for stripers. Lake Murray near his home is an excellent striper lake and it usually lines up perfectly for him in the offseason.

“Those nasty, cold days are usually the best for big stripers. I can go out with my son for a few hours and catch stripers and stock the freezer,” he said.  He feels that swimbaits are one of the best ways to catch quality and quantity of stripers.

Lures for Striped Bass

Gagliardi has had great success for bass and stripers on the LIVETARGET swimbait series. They are lifelike, have a good action and match many different forage species. For stripers, the Threadfin Shad and Blueback Herring models have been his top producers.

“You want to match the hatch for color as much as possible, but for stripers, I think the profile and size of the bait is as important as color. They do not have mouths as big as a largemouth, so I think the smaller profile baits hook them better,” he said.

For instance, Gagliardi said the Gizzard Shad version works well for bass, but the Blueback Herring hooks stripers better.

“The Blueback is a longer profile and not as tall as the Gizzard Shad,” he said. “I think with their smaller mouths they get it in their mouth better when a smaller striper clamps down on the Gizzard Shad it doesn’t always hook them as well.”

Swimbait Durability

Stripers are known for their vicious strikes and aggressive nature that takes a toll on lures. Gagliardi has been impressed with the LIVETARGET swimbaits with how well they hold up to multiple fish.

“You can easily catch dozens of fish on the same bait without any damage to it. You may lose a little paint, but it doesn’t affect the action at all,” he said.

Swimbait Retrieves for Striped Bass

When the fish are busting at the surface, just about any retrieve will do. The feeding frenzy is when the fishing is easy but as the activity slows it may take a different approach according to Gagliardi.

“Generally I use a fast retrieve and the LIVETARGET swimbaits do well without rolling over. I will usually count down to a certain depth and then bring my bait straight back,” he said and mentions that water temperature also dictates how fast he reels. “The colder the water the slower I will move the bait.”

Electronics Usage When Targeting Stripers

Gagliardi said that many times surface activity is the first thing he looks for when trying to locate stripers, but electronics still play a role.

“Many times all you are doing is looking for them on the surface, but looking at your electronics helps to see how far down the school is and where you should be reeling you bait. I’ve seen it where they will be suspended 20-30-feet down over 80-feet of water or all the way down to the bottom in shallower water,” said the South Carolina pro.

He will adjust his depth based on what he sees on the graph and where the majority of the school is located.

Striped Bass Breaking the Surface

Looking for stripers breaking at the surface or “boiling” is a tried and true way to find stripers. The massive schools will push bait to the surface and anglers can experience excellent fishing. Unfortunately, the activity can be hard to predict and there is no way to guess how long they will be doing it, but Gagliardi and other experienced striper anglers know to look for birds to clue them in.

“You might see seagulls swirling around or other birds diving. This is a clue that the stripers are nearby pushing bait,” he said. He added that he has seen schools of stripers in a small circle or in areas as big as acres.

Gear Selection for Striper Swimbaits

When using a swimbait for largemouth, Gagliardi opts for a rod with a good tip action that can detect the movement of the bait and soft strikes. When fishing for stripers, he goes big.

“I like to use a 7’6” heavy Level Flipping Stick. I’m not as concerned with getting good casting accuracy and they usually crush it so a soft tip isn’t as important,” he said and feels the heavier rod helps land the fish faster. “You can horse a big one in faster and then get you bait out quicker to catch another one. If they are breaking the surface you want to make as many casts as you can while they are still fired up.”

Striper fishing with swimbaits can provide fast and furious action. Gagliardi enjoys catching big stripers and has found that locating the fish and having the right lure can lead to some excellent fishing.

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