Fall stripers at Ross Barnett Spillway

By Staff
Mike Giles / outdoors writer
October 29, 2004
From September through late fall, striped bass will be responsible for breaking lines, rods and hearts below the Ross Barnett spillway. Speaking from experience I can safely say that literally hundreds of thousands of pounds of stripers have been caught from these waters. During the early 1970s I cut my teeth on the spillway waters under the watchful eyes of my grandfather, J. P. Nolen and uncle Jimmy Nolen. They were bass fishermen who happened to be there at the time that the stripers were introduced and it didn't take long for them to get the hang of catching them.
During late summer and early fall the spillway waters are usually pretty low. However that shouldn't discourage knowledgeable anglers from trying to harvest these big lunkers The prime times during early fall is right at dawn and just before dusk Many of the stripers will come upstream and congregate just below the white water area of the gates. Usually there will only be one gate open at this time of year. If the east gate is open, anglers should fish from the west bank. If the west gate is open, they should fish from the east bank This will allow fishermen the shortest and best opportunity to present a bait directly toward and into the white water. A cast of only 5 feet or more offline or short will usually be fruitless. It's as simple as clockwork. You can be standing right beside another angler and never get a bite; while they catch fish after fish if you don't hit the right spot in the white water.
Anglers should employ adequate equipment to reach the white water area. Rods in the 9 to 13 foot range should do the trick during these low water periods. When the water is up, 71⁄2 to 8 foot rods are preferable teamed with 12 to 15 pound line. Using any line diameter larger than this will prevent your lure from reaching the "honey hole."
Jigs and spoons
Most anglers will employ some type of spoons or buck tail jigs or grubs. If the fish are schooling or feeding near the surface, many anglers will cast a lead spoon with a jig tied 12 to 18 inches above it on the line. Sometimes the fish hit the jig and other times they will strike the spoon.
Ninety-five percent of the time I employ a lead weight with a single jig tied 18-24 inches above. I have had great success with homemade or store bought deer hair jigs. Those buck tail jigs were great back in the 1970s and they still produce today. I prefer white, yellow, or chartreuse colored jigs.
Rising water best
The white water pattern will be consistent well on up into the fall. You may catch a few on any given afternoon. The exception to the white water pattern is when there is a rise on the water below the spillway gates. If the area above the reservoir gets a significant amount of rain the spillway gates may be opened, causing a rise in the water level. When this happens, stripers that are resting in deep pools downstream will race to the headwaters of the spillway to feed on new bait that will inevitably be flowing through the gates.
The higher waters also make it easy for anglers to reach the stripes with regular bass gear. With only a slight rise, or a rise of a few feet, the stripers will really turn on and go on a feeding frenzy. They literally gorge themselves with any available bait that happens to swim in front of them. Many times they will inhale an angler's lure unknowingly, and the fight is on. More often than not the large stripers will break a line or straighten a hook when battling an inexperienced angler.
The key to catching these magnificent fighters is to watch the water levels and fish at the right time at the right place. Another key for newcomers is to watch what other fishermen are doing. Observe what they are fishing with, where they cast and what they are using for bait. Most of the time spillway fishermen are more than willing to help a newcomer. A good place to start fishing is right at the point where the waters narrow into the channel on either side of the river. By standing on the actual point, anglers will usually be near where the water curls back. And that is usually where the stripers will congregate when the water is on the rise, or up a little. With a little perseverance and time on the water, it shouldn't take fishermen much time to get the hang of catching stripers.
Anglers living anywhere in central Mississippi should have only a short drive to Ross Barnett. But remember one thing; bring plenty of lures and stout line, because the big stripers are subject to breaking lines and stealing your lures at any time. Remember to practice catch and release and take only what you can eat. But a word of caution is due, if you get into the large stripers you just might get hooked yourself.