Adrenalin pulsed through my veins and my anticipation soared as Captain Mike Glover idled toward open water just as a magnificent sunrise rose up over Lake Murray last week. I had business in South Carolina and couldn’t pass up a fishing trip on the famed striper lake. Julie Colson of Lake Murray Country set us up with Captain Mike and we experienced a day like none other as we were hosted by a top-notch guide and true southern gentleman.

Glover maneuvered his boat into position as we marveled at the beauty of the lake and the marmalade sky bursting forth with sunlight glistening on the water like thousands of tiny diamonds. That was worth the price of admission alone.

Captain Mike graphed the deep channel and suddenly stopped when the depth finder lit up like a Christmas tree with huge schools of blueback herring and stripers smack dab under the boat. We quickly got our lines in the water and let the Carolina Rigged live bait down to about 40 feet, just above the schools of shad and fish.

Wham! A hungry striper struck my offering and the fight was on. After a few minutes of nip and tuck action I landed him and quickly released him to try again.

In minutes David Hawkins’ rod bowed down to the water and started stripping line. Hawkins set the hook and turned the fish toward the boat and the rout was on.

Bam! Another striper hit my rod and I had action again and we had on a double! These stripers were ravenous and hungry for our lures. There was plenty of bait in the water and lots of places to fish with virtually no fishing pressure on the lake that day.

“South Carolina stocks 1.3 million stripers in the lake every year,” Captain Mike said. “They put them in as fingerlings and they grow up fast. Find the baitfish and you’ll find the shad.”

Fishing for striped bass can be relaxing and exciting at the same time. One minute you’re enjoying the scenery and talking and the next minute rods are bowing, and fish are hitting all the lines at once. We caught several doubles and had almost non-stop action.

Although there is a five fish limit per person, we just enjoyed catching and releasing them.

“I like to use a Carolina rig with a 2/0 circle hook on 12-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line with a 12-pound Seagar Fluorocarbon leader,” Captain Mike said. “If you don’t use that fluorocarbon leader the line will fray and break after a day of fishing with these strong fish.”

If you’ve never experienced the ferocity and power of a striped bass, then you’re surely missing a treat. Captain Mike has all of the equipment and gear to make it easy on a novice angler. If you’ll listen to him, you will catch fish and have a great time doing it.

“On a typical day we’re done in an hour and a half with a 20 fish limit,” Captain Mike said.

Best months of the year to catch stripers are from May through October.

“In June we’ll leave at 5:30 a m and be back at 7:30 with a limit,” Captain Mike said. “The only thing that will slow us down will be a full moon, but we’re going to get it done. If you come before or after a full moon, we’ll get it done in two hours or less, but it might take three to four hours if its during a full moon – but we are going to get it done!

By 10 a.m. we’d caught, and released more than a few stripers and it was nonstop action everywhere we went. By the end of the morning we’d caught and released 20 stripers and kept one for supper.

If you’re looking for some great fishing then call Captain Mike Glover at 803-609-0066 or visit www.stripermike.net. For more information about the Lake Murray area, visit Lake MurrayCountry.com.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.