RAYSTOWN STRIPERS

Use 6-7 inch trout over the brush off of points.

We ate one that my son caught many years ago.  We were told to cut the center line meat out and it was one of the best fish I have ate.
 
We also went with a guide who is now deceased.  The only time the paying customer got to touch the rod was if a fish was hooked.  Basically we paid him to fish while we watched.  Did catch 2 channel cats while fishing for stripers.  Both were caught using trout as bait.

William I been to Raystown a few time and the trout cost 125 apiece. Well that was quite awhile about tho !! Yeah getting a guide Bites Davef is right on with the guide thing. Pike, if do the night time bite you can use top water lures like the long A Bomber, redfins and the like.  You could use a guide to find where they are fishing and then do it yourself, But you will need a boat. Another thing is not subscribe to any of those web sites for lake info. They all cost money and will tell you is that the fish are hitting from mile marker 7- 14 and that is one heck of a stretch. hope that helps a little Well good luck if you go   Dave

I have fished Raystown for stripers many times, and will be there again July 1.  This is one tough fish to catch, but the fight is a blast and they are very tasty.  The only time I caught one was with a guide and I let my son reel it in.  Like Davef mentioned.  All you get to do is reel them in, so I am not sure the guide is worth it, maybe to do it once.....  They usually net Shad at night, then use the Shad in the morning.  Shad are very tough to keep alive, so you need a special livewell.  They use a large float and just balloon float them over branch tops, trolling very slowly.   I have caught several Lake Trout using the same method.
 
I am going to try using live trout if I can get them at the bait store and keep them alive until morning.  Like most years I will give up after a couple days and move to bass, crappies, etc.  I will let you know how I do.  Good luck to us!

Lived down that way in a past life. Fished raystown a lot in the late 80s early 90s. For your best success fish in the spring, we used to fish up toward weaver falls with "big" rubber swimbaits "shads" in the spring trolling them off of planer boards. The fish are shallow that time of year.

In the dog days of summer they go deep and you get them like said above, in the old tops of the debris and trees that were left when they flooded the thing. Those trout are expensive, we actually have suspended them above the structure using a large weight to keep them down and a punching balloon with a down rigger release as a bobber.

Largest we ever boated was about 34 lbs, seen bigger caught though.