It all started about five years ago. We discovered that during the 2002 flood, stripers had washed in from the lake into our trout tailwater. A local
guide with his drift boat was tied off in the shade below a bridge, at the top of a hole.
His fare was trying to land a nice 18" rainbow. As he got it to the boat, a 40" striper appeared and devoured it.
Since then, these mild-mannered catch-and-release cold-water conservations have manifest a blood lust. We meat-fish for stripers.
"I think I'll go striper fishing."
"RIP THEIR GUTS OUT"
I think the guy is an accountant by day.
OK, maybe I'm not so violently anti-striper. But I love to catch them, and no fish I can think of makes prettier fillets with less effort.
Took a bunch of guys out to some beautiful water, the same hole that I caught stripers during the few days of low-release they gave us this summer. But now, the river has dropped to excellent wading flows.
OK, I was fishing graphite - my Fisher Original 6/7 with Young Revolution. Eric was fishing glass - he is hooked up here to a big fine bluegill.
Turns out I was the only one who caught stripers - same line (T130), same technique, same flies (green and gray cats whiskers) - sometimes that's the
way it goes...
The technique was as simple as could be - cast across the flow to the slow pool, let it swing until it was straight down, strip it back in and start over. It
was just a wet-fly swing, and the fish would hook themselves up on the natural swing.
I landed these two and broke off two bigger fish - just didn't give them enough room when I got them in close and their second wind ripped down my
spine...
anyway, I'm tired.
