This fishing season has meant extreme, uncomfortable conditions. The wind is blowing and the rain pounding almost constantly. On 06-06-06 the day we are supposed to fear all that changed. The sun came out, the wind died down and the temperatures hit the mid 70’s. I made the phone call to my wife that said your husband and son will not be home for dinner, we are going striper fishing. To my surprise she replied not without Kayla (sons girlfriend) and I going along. So it went, a packed picnic dinner, a sandy beach, a calm seas and great company. The stripers did not disappoint either. The first hour everyone on the beach went fishless but then things really lit up. There were schools of fish swirling along the beach. The fly fishers were doing some real damage while the bait and spin casters seemed to be lagging behind. Most of the fish were in the 14-16 inch range but I did see a 27” fish land. Most impressive was the large swirls we were all seeing. It appears there are some bigger stripers around albeit last night they remained off shore far enough we could not reach them. Today we are back to rain and wind I can’t wait for the next late spring evening that matches last night in beauty, comfort, and company.
The stripers surely love flies … Many times, I have seen them outfish spin artificial lures 10-1 … don’t know what it is .. but they just love clousers and sometimes won’t even look at those rubber jigs and all that stuff….. not always the case … but many times i have found the fly to be incredibly more productive …. spin fishermen must realize this too – because in Rhode Island it is popular to put a weighted floating wooden egg on a spin rod and behind that attach a fly … the wooden egg give the spin fisherman the ability to cast his spinning rod and use a fly as a lure … the wooden egg usually gets placed about 20 inches or so ahead of the fly … anyone else ever seen spin fishermen using this setup?
Sounds like a nice outing, Wish I could share some of the things I experience with my family.
We have been dodging rain up here in NY as well. Can’t escape it. HAs left our fishing options limited.
Pat, those photos are awesome!