TFF Striper Trip 2010

Today was the TFF Striper trip and I was hoping for a day as good or better than the one I had a couple days prior. A buddy and I arrived at the boat ramp at 8am and were quickly in the water. The parking lot was full and the boat traffic was pretty thick. I was trying a new set up that I wasn't sure was going to work. I took my sinking 5wt line and put it on my 8wt rod with a T14 25ft. A pink and white clouser was the hot fly for me last time, so I tied one on and through it over board and let some line out. I stripped in getting ready to make a real cast and a fish hammered the line. While bringing the fish in I was excited to see it was bigger than any striper I have caught.Catching a fish on your first cast can be a blessing or a curse. It usually means the day is going to be outrageously good or horrible. Unfortunately for us it was the latter. It was nice being the water and enjoying each others company but the fishing was tough. We tried places all over the river with little success. There were people using bait that seemed to be catching fish some what consistent. Even when we tried fishing the same seem they were using we couldn't hook up. The place we began ended up being the only spot that was productive. The day ended with a couple fish for the both of us. I had fun but it was a pretty forgettable day otherwise. Brian was good company as always and I think we do a good job of keeping the mood light. It was fun seeing other club members on the water. Many of them were having the same kinda day. I'm thankful there were no mishaps or injuries. A few more fish wouldn't have hurt.

Great Day at Weldon

Striper fishing is something I am still getting used too. There is definitely a certain technique to it. I have a friend who is an expert at striper fishing and he was nice enough to invite me fishing. Since it was a weekday I figured the river would not be that crowded. When I arrived in the parking lot there were quite a few trucks with trailers parked. It was surprising how much traffic was on the water. We gathered our gear and launched the boat. This was the first time I've been to Weldon where you could see the rocks and rapids.The last few times the water was so high you couldn't see these rocks. It didn't take long to hook into my first striper.The fly used was a tutti-fruity. The fly is a chartreuse and pink clouser. we continued to drift with out much success, so we decided to try the little river. After some wild life watching and good conversation. Jim hooked up with a fat catfish.It looked like it swallowed a softball. A couple more fish were caught and we made our way to a usual hot spot. It was here that we spent the rest of the day. The fishing wasn't really hot but we were averaging a fish every 30min.I was starting to get the hang of how to catch the fish. It seemed quick strips with a short pause in between was best. Jim was doing the same but with an even shorter pause. The retrieval really seemed to be the key more than what fly you used. We did have success on pink/white, green/white, green/yellow and some con caution I made. It is green and orange with a pink chenille body. More pics to come. The highlight of the day came when Jim hooked up with a lunker. It was giving a nice tug on his 9wt rod so I figured it had to be a good fish. I asked if he needed the net and he responded with "OH YEAH!" I could tell from how he was telling me what he was gonna do that he might not forgive me if I knocked the fish off. I ended up netting the fish fine. It was a fat 25-30 inch striper.Close to 10lbs.It had a tag on it and we meant to get the number off for the fishing biologists but we didn't and released the fish. Maybe they would recognize the fish if we sent them the picture. They only tag a few thousand a year.

First time for Striper

I went up with the Raleigh TU to do some striper fishing this weekend. A buddy was nice enough to let me use his boat. Preston let me use his rod and helped me tie some clousers the night before. I would be useless without that guy. The wife actually let me free the day before mother's day. I decided to make the most of it. I carpooled with another TU member and made a new friend on the way to the river. The anticipation was high and everyone was ready for a crazy day. Some people had came up a few day early. They said the fishing was ok not the best. I couldn't wait to get in the water. We put in and were off to a place called "the big rock". It's a common spot up at Weldon. Jim was the capt on the boat and decided we should anchor by the little river first. We cast for a while with no luck but we did see one striper rise about 5 ft from the boat. It was a pretty good size and if that was supposed to be a small one, I couldn't wait to catch one. The day went on and no one on the boat was having much luck. Jim had been fishing a few days prior so he let Ed and I fish. We tried various casts and different retrieves, not even a bump. It was rough watching the bait casters catch fish as we'd drift past them. They weren't doing it consistently but you'd see someone with a fish on here and there. In between fishing we enjoyed the view and conversation. We were lucky enough to spot a bald eagle. After what seemed to be 10,000 casts I had a fish on. It was a nice striper. We couldn't get the camera to work in time to take a decent pic. Jim said "don't worry you'll just have to catch another one." From how many casts it took me to catch that one, I knew it was gonna be no small task. All day long the water exploded with spawning activity. I've never seen this before and it is a spectacle. A ball of fish rises to the surface, it looks like pirahna swarming around a carcass. What is in fact happening is a female is coming up and the males are surrounding her. They are veracious in their intensity. The water literally boils and their is just flashes of fins and fish jumping. Then they disappear and you'd never know they were there. Every time Jim got up to try his hand at fishing he would hook a striper. I guess it goes to show you, it really is the fisherman and not the rod, reel or fly. Ed picked up a few stripers but I was stuck on my lone one. We decided to call it a day when the weather looked threatening. It was a good call to, while parking the boat lighting shot across the sk in a way I've never seen before. First it was right in front of us then seemed to brans further and further and further. It had to be the longest lightning strike I've seen in my life. Lasted about 5 seconds. The thunder was twice as long. The rain started to pelt us at that point. The boats were loaded and we were on to Fraziers to discuss the reports from the other boats. Only a few had stellar days. The fly of the day seemed to be a blue and white clouser. It was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again. I was really lucky to be paired up with some excellent fisherman. They were great company as well. If you're going to be stuck on a boat with someone for 6hrs, better be someone you can get along with.

At Least I'm Fishing....

I finally had my Weldon Shad Fishing Experience. I have heard about this place for years and was eager to try it. Preston recently got a sweet flats boat and this was it's maiden voyage. It's been out on a lake a few times but never on an official fishing trip. We got on the water at about 11in the morning, apparently the water was about 15ft or so above normal.The Roanoke River reminded me of the Neuse. It's color was a murky brown with a visibility of about 2ft. We started hitting the banks casting here and there. We talked to fisherman as we passed. A few had caught some, but more said they had been skunked. We came to a spot where we saw one boat catching fish consistantly. We threw various flies but Preston was the only one who managed to hook up. We started to try a different spot when the boat sputtered then died. I saw the look on Preston's face that said it all. Our fishing trip was most likely over. After several attempts to restart the boat we decided it wasn't gonna start, dropped anchor and waited for someone to give us a tow. We ran into a Guide we had previously used to for a Red Drum fishing trip. His name was Dean Lamonte. He was nice enough to get contant another boat with a big engine to tow us up stream. It was a dissapointing way to end the day but I'm glad we got to fish for a couple hours.