The big stripers have finally reappeared here at Lake Skinner. This past week we had two striper landed that were 20+ pounds as well as a healthy 18 pounder. All of these big monsters have come off of artificial baits and the morning hours seem to be the hot ticker for these fish. Ramp #2 and the Inlet remain the top spots for the striper, however many fishermen trolling umbrella rigs out in the main body of the lake have reported success with striper up to 8 pounds. Smaller striper are still hitting as well off of chicken liver and anchovies. This past week we received another stock of trout as well. Ramp #2 remains the hot spot of the trout. Trout are still hitting spoons and spinner baits, but have begun to hit other baits more often as they become adjusted to the lake. Using baits such as night crawler, power baits, salmon eggs and troutmallows will increase your chance of getting the trout. Catfish are still highly active near the Dam and Inlet, and have even moved into some of the shallower waters near Ramp #2 as well. Catfish are hitting chicken liver, mackerel and night crawlers. Other than the improvement of the striper fishing this week, the second best improvement in bite came from the largemouth bass. Fishermen reported hooking into many bass in the 3-4 pound range early in the day along the South Shore. Top water and swim baits seem to be working well, but as the day wears on they head back into the deeper waters off the points and hit plastics fished off the bottom. Not much else to report other than a few bluegills here and there as well as some carp.

These are the following fish ratings:

Bass: Good
Bluegill: Fair
Carp: Good
Catfish: Excellent
Crappie: Poor
Striper: Excellent
Trout: Excellent