More topwater madness

[mar]

Stopped by Kiene's early in the week to pick up a medium firetiger poledancer along with some running lines and tying stuff. Anticipation was high as the weekend neared. I must say that the TW bite is still in full swing. I was lucky enough again to fish both weekend days with my wife. Both days were really good.
Got an early start yesterday. Overcast skies with a bit of wind and rain. Perfect TW conditions. Fished shallow spots next to deeper water. Didn't get our first bite until the third stop and it was lights out. 'Anchored' the boat with the i-Pilot in fast water and fished a soft eddy right next to the tullies.

Nice early morning TW eat on the newly purchased poledancer:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/topwater_eat2_zps91b07479.png

Fight was on:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0523b_zpsd37afa21.jpg

Almost there:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0527b-1_zps20026983.jpg

Nice chunker to hand:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0532b_zpsb4e9a154.jpg

A smaller stripe, then a couple of 3-4lbers in the next few casts. I was in TW heaven.

Then another nice blow-up and another nice chunky fish:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0534b_zps004369db.jpg

These fish were attacking the fly. No timid swirls. Just straight out hard charges and very aggressive slurps.

A few casts later another good eat from way out:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/topwater_eat1_zps0f5d07ae.png

This fish felt much bigger:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0545b_zps270c6e23.jpg

The one that didn't get away. Biggest TW fish of the day. 12 lbs on the boga:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0554b_zps8472ffaf.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0547b_zps2af4ead2.jpg

The bite slowed down so I figured I'd mop up with the clouser fished deep. Not a single tap. Chucked the poledancer again and within 3 casts, got another nice blowup. Fought the fish for about one minute. Felt almost as big as the 12-lber but inexplicably, the fly came off. I was a bit bummed but I already got my share of fish. Can't get greedy. Called it quits at 9am.

At it again early this morning. My lucky charm surprisingly committed to go again but she is not used to this type of early morning fishing stuff that only fishing junkies can endure. She was deep asleep when we got to the ramp so I let her get her beauty sleep in the truck as I fished solo for 1 1/2 hours.
A little bit more wind and favorable tides as I got to my first stop. It didn't disappoint.

Within a few casts, got this nice schoolie:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0566b_zpsa01411d2.jpg

Got another identical schoolie and a couple of smaller fish. No bigger fish this time. Moved around for a bit with no more takes. On my way back to the ramp, I stopped at spot with similar features. Didn't expect much since I saw at least two boats work this spot while I fished my first spot. No takes for the first few yards of the drift. Made a cast in front of a point and walked the dog. I looked away for a second and was startled by a loud, aggressive slurping sound. Instinctively set the hook and the fight was on. This fish turned straight to the adjacent flats and didn't stop until I was 10 yards into my backing. Chased it with the boat to gain some line. I could tell this was a big fish by the shear power of the runs and the huge headshakes.
A few heart-pounding minutes later, I boated my biggest TW striper to date.

17.5 lbs on the boga:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0569b_zpsf4c499b9.jpg

Thanks for officially turning me into a TW junkie:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0576b-1_zps3d1c45aa.jpg

Battle-scarred PD after a tussling with a few feisty stripers:
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh134/mar224177/DSC_0557b_zps508dd27f.jpg

I ended the session on that high note and rushed back to the ramp to find my wife still deep asleep in the truck :D
Her 'good luck charm' prowess works even if she's not on the boat.
What a weekend indeed! Till the next adventure.

[Scott V]

Wow, what an awesome day.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Excellent......those fish are very fresh.....black & white.

[Rockman]

Mar,
Your reports are killing me. Way to go!!! My hearts pumping right now and I'm not even out fishing. How did you get such great shots? Are you using a gopro with the remote?
Rockman

[Tony Buzolich]

Way to go Mar. Topwater is totally visual and like the old saying "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"

Have you seen any spilling milt down that way? What about the water temps? Up here we're getting both, some that are ready to spawn and some that haven't even started. They need mid-sixty degree water that is moving to keep the eggs viable and not settle to the bottom and die.

Go get some more now, Tony :)

[mar]

Thanks all.

Rockman,
My wife gets all the credit for the shots. I just do my thing and she snaps pics in the background. The blow-up shots are screen captures from a Go-Pro movie clip. So she was manning the Go-Pro and the other camera. It really kept her busy :D

Tony,
I would say 80% of the fish, including the two larger fish, spilled some milt. Water temp was 62 if I remember correctly.
And yes, I would like to get some more. But this thing called a job keeps getting in the way :D

[Randy Lee]

OMG! You are both very talented. It dulls my pain and brightens my day. Gives us all hope. Work sucks when the fishing is good, not so bad when its not.
Thank you both,
Randy

[Andy Guibord]

My hat goes off to you. Very cool!!!!!!

[mar]

Thanks Andy and Randy.


Andy, sent you a message. Let me know.