July 20, 2017
By Scott Bernarde
Here's an interesting and simple jigging technique to catch more stripers from Lake Lanier striper guide Mack Farr.
By Scott Bernarde
Captain Mack Farr, perhaps the authority on Lake Lanier stripers in Georgia, has a simple technique to catch more landlocked linesides.
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It's called "power reeling."
"It's fun. It's effective. It'll catch fish," Farr said from his booth at ICAST 2017 recently in Orlando.
The technique, developed by Farr for Lanier stripers, is effective anywhere there are striped fish — stripers, hybrids, even white bass.
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Using heavy tackle, including a line-counter reel, "power reeling" is a souped-up vertical jigging technique that quickly moves the bait through the water column.
Here's how it works:
- Use a heavy jig so that your presentation is straight up and down. Farr uses a 2-ounce striper jig.
- Tip the jig with live bait or soft plastic. On Lanier, Farr uses live blueback herring or a 6-inch soft-plastic trailer.
- Locate your targeted fish with your electronics.
- Using your line-counter, let the baited jig sink to a point around 20 feet below the fish, then crank it up back through the fish to about 20 feet above them.
- If no bites, repeat; dropping the jig back down to that bottom number and cranking it back through.
"You won't repeat that sequence long before [a striper --> is going to stop the forward momentum of your jig and you';re gonna catch him," Farr said.