DeepSea
08-22-2012, 01:54 PM
I went on my second striper trip with Andy yesterday and I have to make a promise to myself not to let another 3 years lapse between trips.
I had forgotten about how beautiful and peaceful it is out on the American. The weather was perfect and I got to see wildlife like beavers splashing their tail as we got too close to them, turkey's flying across the river, huge dragonflys doing aerial ballet as they catch insects and of course stripers!
It never ceases to amaze me how a small slice of the wild can be so close to civilaztion. I count my blessing on living in this great city and having this resource available to me and my children.
As to fishing, it was a little slow but I didn't mind. Andy worked hard to get us to the spots and didn't complain about my terrible casting. I saw what appeared to be humongous logs that sprouted fins and moved. Stripers in very nice sizes are out there. Andy spotted a large school of what he describes as the smallest being 20-24 inches and larger ones over 36 inches. We tried but had no luck finding them again. Someone needs to get out there and find that school!
BTW, we fished from 3:30 to almost 8:30 straight. No stops other than to retie flies. My setup was a TFO BVK 9' 8 wt with a Nautilus CCF 8. Using Rio OBS T6. I was very surprised that my right arm didn't fall off. This is an awesome rod and even today, there is no soreness or pain. The last trip I took with Andy, I was using a Loomis GL3 and I was begging Andy to stop at the end.
For anyone thinking about a striper trip on the American, call Andy. His 4 hour floats are very reasonable and you will learn where the fish are, get casting lessons and a freebie whitewater rafting experience. :D
Bill
I had forgotten about how beautiful and peaceful it is out on the American. The weather was perfect and I got to see wildlife like beavers splashing their tail as we got too close to them, turkey's flying across the river, huge dragonflys doing aerial ballet as they catch insects and of course stripers!
It never ceases to amaze me how a small slice of the wild can be so close to civilaztion. I count my blessing on living in this great city and having this resource available to me and my children.
As to fishing, it was a little slow but I didn't mind. Andy worked hard to get us to the spots and didn't complain about my terrible casting. I saw what appeared to be humongous logs that sprouted fins and moved. Stripers in very nice sizes are out there. Andy spotted a large school of what he describes as the smallest being 20-24 inches and larger ones over 36 inches. We tried but had no luck finding them again. Someone needs to get out there and find that school!
BTW, we fished from 3:30 to almost 8:30 straight. No stops other than to retie flies. My setup was a TFO BVK 9' 8 wt with a Nautilus CCF 8. Using Rio OBS T6. I was very surprised that my right arm didn't fall off. This is an awesome rod and even today, there is no soreness or pain. The last trip I took with Andy, I was using a Loomis GL3 and I was begging Andy to stop at the end.
For anyone thinking about a striper trip on the American, call Andy. His 4 hour floats are very reasonable and you will learn where the fish are, get casting lessons and a freebie whitewater rafting experience. :D
Bill