Spruce Run help

[JMaese9]

Hi everyone i am going to spruce run for the first time on Saturday and was wondering if i could get any advice on how to fish for hybrid stripers and spruce run overall. I'll be targeting largies and smallies for the most part but any advice on what to throw and where to look such as depth would be greatly appreciated! thank you so much everyone

[Mikey topaz]

Do you have any downriggers or boards? That’s what most of us are using... try to find some marks and set up at that depth... this year guys have been doing well with lures and live bait trolling or drifting.... if you have any other questions shoot me a pm

[Hookmanski]

On top of what Mikey said, it is possible to catch em without this stuff, just gotta do a lot more looking. I have a buddy who's been doing really well on them jigging vertically. Some kind of fish or depth finder is crucial!

[JMaese9]

Originally Posted by Hookmanski

On top of what Mikey said, it is possible to catch em without this stuff, just gotta do a lot more looking. I have a buddy who's been doing really well on them jigging vertically. Some kind of fish or depth finder is crucial!

Yes i have a fish finder on the boat are they going to deeper this time of year? like the 40-50ft range?

[Chrisper4694]

Originally Posted by JMaese9

Yes i have a fish finder on the boat are they going to deeper this time of year? like the 40-50ft range?

No, that’s way too deep. Aim for above the thermocline. 15-20’ or less

[Mikey topaz]

Originally Posted by JMaese9

Yes i have a fish finder on the boat are they going to deeper this time of year? like the 40-50ft range?

What Chris said.... this year they have been a little off... few times I had em shallow few times they went deep, search for the marks and set your rods to them marks... if you have a few rods experiment with different depths til you Get dialed in then adjust. Good luck

[JMaese9]

Hey everyone it was a tough day on spruce run saturday for me at least was out for 6 hrs and got some blow ups on topwater but no hookups and only got 4 smallies in deep water.couldnt get bite at all between 3-10ft of water. Any advice on how to fish this place or is it a hit or miss kinda place?

[FASTEDDIE29]

Troll Herring and Shiners say 10-20 feet down over a variety of depths. Or you can think outside the box and troll other stuff which I won’t mention at this time. There are definitely schools of fish out there waiting for you. You do not need fancy stuff to troll. You can troll with 1 ounce sinkers as long as you know line to depth ratios and stuff like that. Spruce is a tough place for many but once you learn it the reward leads to mayhem. Hope this helps somehow.

[reason162]

Originally Posted by JMaese9

Hey everyone it was a tough day on spruce run saturday for me at least was out for 6 hrs and got some blow ups on topwater but no hookups and only got 4 smallies in deep water.couldnt get bite at all between 3-10ft of water. Any advice on how to fish this place or is it a hit or miss kinda place?

Plenty of specific advice in this thread, did you expect to pound fish left and right on the maiden voyage? Sounds like a great first trip on ANY Jersey lake - you saw fish, you caught fish, you explored the lake.