Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations

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Jefff
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2012/01/02 08:09:07 (permalink)

Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations

Can anyone recommend a good striper guide for Raystown?

Basically, am I getting a better trip by spending a little more $$ or are all the guides about the same.

http://www.striper-guide.com/mainpagens41.htm is what we are thinking for 3 people

http://www.trophyguide.com/pricing.html is a little more but looks a lil nicer

Any suggestions or input is greatly appreciated!

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    EnochArden
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/02 20:02:52 (permalink)
    Found your thread bro. I'll be checking it now and then with you.
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    beerman0303
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/03 10:11:31 (permalink)
    Fred Davoli - Lunker Guide Service

    Super nice guy & we caught fish !!
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    JEB
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 09:00:44 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: beerman0303

    Fred Davoli - Lunker Guide Service

    Super nice guy & we caught fish !!

     
    I have to partially agree w/Beerman.
    I have heard great things about Lunker Guide, we have a trip booked with him for this May. I have not fished with them yet, not by choice.
    Here is an example of this guides great character: Our May trip is the 3rd scheduling of this trip. Twice in 2011 we had dates booked with Fred, he called and told us the weather and fishing was bad both times. (they got flooded out twice last year). He suggested we reschedule each time, which we did. I appreciated that, he seems to care about his clients and not just taking your money.
     
    I have fished this lake 2x with another guide service (one of them you have listed the link above) and have not hooked a striper. We did catch some lake trout on our spring trips with them. But 2 different 8 hour days of fishing and no stripers with them.
    #4
    RhnstnCowboy
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 09:11:38 (permalink)
    About 10 years ago I fished with one of the guides you listed above. The guy was a dud and it was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about anything, even fishing. That would be fine if we were catching fish, but all we caught all day was one smallmouth. No other hits, even. I've done better on Raystown fishing from shore by myself. All this guy did was anchor up on points and toss out stockie rainbows, which is fine, but, it wasn't working and he wouldn't even consider trying anything else. He was completely disinterested and was acting like it was a chore for him to be out there. There were a bunch of guys on the radio reporting catching lakers and smallmouths and I heard about two muskies being caught. After about 4 hours of sitting in the same spot doing nothing, I asked him if we could pair down and catch some lakers or smallmouths. He said all he would fish for was stripers and he would take us back if we wanted. We went back. I would never recommend that guide to anyone.

    "Part of being a Leftist is the smug conviction that you and people like you are smart, while everyone else is stupid and/or evil"
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    willi724
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 09:30:46 (permalink)
    hi jeff, i met dan dafava from raystown striper guide service at a launch one night. he seems to be a real nice guy with a nice boat and i always see him doing trips when i'm there out fishing. i see some of the guides when getting bait or coming into a launch and they can be very distant or not so nice. it can be rough getting stipers even with guides, but it's worth it when you get them. at arthur it's alot easier and different. at raystown nobody wants to tell you anything and there is alot to it. i'm no expert but i do pretty good. good luck
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    Jefff
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 19:43:27 (permalink)
    Thanks alot for the info guys. So basically don't go with the cheaper one i posted. I'm gonna give it another week or so for some more people to chime in and do some more reading then I'll book the trip.

    Is it better to go in April or May? Do the lakers only hit in May? Thanks again!

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    willi724
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 20:41:15 (permalink)
    jefff, did you ever fish raystown
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    Jefff
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 20:44:50 (permalink)
    nope

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    willi724
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 20:57:54 (permalink)
    1. book your trip during the week it gets crazy during the weekend.
    2. best time to fish, daybrake to around 11:30
    3. spring, south end of the lake
    4. summer, north end of the lake
    #10
    Jefff
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/04 21:01:11 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: willi724

    1. book your trip during the week it gets crazy during the weekend.
    2. best time to fish, daybrake to around 11:30
    3. spring, south end of the lake
    4. summer, north end of the lake



    Thanks! Might take the boat out a second time but def wanted to hire a guide first

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    DarDys
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 08:09:23 (permalink)
    Do keep in mind that stripers at Raystown are a very low percentage deal.  Look up the results of the tournaments held there and see what those that are dedicated striper guys are catching before having dreams of boating that 30 pounder just because you hired a guide, many of whom also compete in the tournaments.  Also, when looking at those results, understand that these are two person teams who are fishing a 24 hour per day block fo time, not four hours, six, hours or eight hours.

    While I can't produce data to attest to the coming statement, I did fish Raystown alot from before boats were permitted until somewhat recently and I worked there for ten years in the fishing industry (and I know all of the guides mentioned and a few more that aren't), so I got a first hand look at what was caught and what wasn't.  That being written, I would place hooking and landing a striper with any of the guide services there -- good, average, or poor -- at somewhere in the less than 10% catagory.  And that is under ideal conditions.  Throw in it being any time other than prime and any unusual weather patterns and those odds go down.

    I am not trying to discourage anyone form going, just trying to put some perspective on the fact that going on one trip will more than likely not result in catching a striper.  But if you do, oh boy, oh boy, are you going to enjoy it.
    post edited by DarDys - 2012/01/05 08:11:25

    The poster formally known as Duncsdad

    Everything I say can be fully substantiated by my own opinion.
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    Jefff
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 08:46:15 (permalink)
    Thanks! Is it better to go in May when the lakers are hitting so you have a better chance of catching something big?

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    beerman0303
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 08:57:28 (permalink)
    Honestly, I would call Fred Davoli (I'm sure any honest guide would do the same) and tell hem what you want to fish for and when you could plan the trip. He would tell you the best time for each species and you could go from there.

    And absolutley plan for mid week if possible. Weekend fisherman (there was a tourny) made it tough for Fred to fish the spots we wanted to on the weekend.
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    DarDys
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 10:01:14 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: Jefff

    Thanks! Is it better to go in May when the lakers are hitting so you have a better chance of catching something big?


    May is a good month for everything at Raystown.  However, fishing for lake trout and fishing for stripers are two different games.  Sure, both can be trolled for at that time of year, but the baits (live bait vs. spoons), locations (Raystown is 28 miles long and more often than not lakers and stripers don't frequent the same areas), speeds, etc. are all different and trolling may not be the most effective method at that time of year for either -- casting may be better for lakers and bottom fishing with live bait may be better for stripers.

    Also, the average Raystown lake torut is probably on par with the average Erie trib steelhead, if not smaller, so you might not exactly catch "something big" even if you do get into the lakers -- especially if they are caught trolling using equipment that is more suited for stripers.

    Beerman0303 makes a good point, call the guides and tell them what you have in mind and see if they can tailor the trip to what you want to do.

    The poster formally known as Duncsdad

    Everything I say can be fully substantiated by my own opinion.
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    thedrake
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 13:25:59 (permalink)
    Spring and fall are the best seasons for stripers on raystown. Even with a guide, it's low percentage fishing.

    I've spent a lot of time fishing for stripers on the lake. My brother is one of the better anglers on the lake, and puts us on fish most days, but we are talking about very long days, and few fish each time out. That's not to say there arent exceptions, where you can do get into a bunch of fish in a days time, but it doesn't happen often.

    To me, striper fishing is somewhat boring. It's a lot of fishing for few fish, and trolling to me is about as fun as setting on the bank with a rod propped up on a forked stick. I will say hooking a fish more than makes up for it.

    Stripers are much more fun than lakers. They put up a good fight, and are good eating. Lakers, on the other hand, barely fight, and taste the way catfood smells.

    On the topic of guides... I've heard good things about Matt Davoli.
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    beerman0303
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 13:32:35 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: thedrake


    On the topic of guides... I've heard good things about Matt Davoli.



    When we went we had 6 people for two 8 hour days. 3 in Fred Davoli's boat and 3 in Matt's. I fished with Fred the first day and Matt the second. I highly recommend both.
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    Jefff
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/05 17:03:21 (permalink)
    Awesome. I'll give them a call this week and see what we can work out. Much appreciated guys!

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    DarDys
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/06 08:14:13 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: beerman0303


    ORIGINAL: thedrake


    On the topic of guides... I've heard good things about Matt Davoli.



    When we went we had 6 people for two 8 hour days. 3 in Fred Davoli's boat and 3 in Matt's. I fished with Fred the first day and Matt the second. I highly recommend both.

     
    Just out of curiousity's sake, how did you guys do?

    The poster formally known as Duncsdad

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    beerman0303
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/06 10:30:33 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: DarDys

    ORIGINAL: beerman0303


    ORIGINAL: thedrake


    On the topic of guides... I've heard good things about Matt Davoli.



    When we went we had 6 people for two 8 hour days. 3 in Fred Davoli's boat and 3 in Matt's. I fished with Fred the first day and Matt the second. I highly recommend both.


    Just out of curiousity's sake, how did you guys do?



    Well it was October 2009 I believe, so I can't give you exact numbers. The first day, Each boat caught 3 or 4 stripers, as well as a few smallmouth, largemouth, and channel cats. None of the stipers were huge, (like the pictures on the web site) but I'm guessing in the 10lb range. The SM & LM were among the biggest I've ever personally seen caught.

    The second day Fred & Matt were pretty upset by fishing pressure caused by a SM tourney. They could not troll the same spots they did the day before and I think 3-4 largemouths were caught total.

    Fred even offered us a free day if we booked with him the next year to make up for the poor second day, but due to work schedules, ect, we never took him up on it.


    As someone said above, we stayed in his cabin (which I didn't see on the web site anyomore). It was clean and comfortable. As a side note, there is a stream right across the cabin which I caught trout and SM out of by wading.

    Additionally, Matt cleaned our catch (all the bass) and gave us packages of wrapped fillets, at no extra charge. They usually do charge I think but we tipped them pretty nice, though. Real nice white meat on the stripers.

    It was a great experience overall.
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    DarDys
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    RE: Raystown Striper Guide Recommendations 2012/01/06 14:00:10 (permalink)
    That was a good trip.  Congrats!

    The poster formally known as Duncsdad

    Everything I say can be fully substantiated by my own opinion.
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