I Love Stripers

[John H]

Especially when they are big. I bought a new line and tied up a new fly and got this one on about the fifth cast. It was right next to my lucky rock. I have had the boga in the kayak for awhile and finally got to use it - 13 pounds. I caught a 13 pound striper in about 1980 on bait up at Knights Landing. I think I was asleep when it bit. Forty years between 13 pounders is a long time. The bass bite was in the toilet today which I suppose was because of the cool weather the last few days. I might need to start fishing in the afternoon to let the water warm up.

http://i.imgur.com/cFZDcE3.jpg (https://imgur.com/cFZDcE3)

http://i.imgur.com/3mdrTLS.jpg (https://imgur.com/3mdrTLS)

http://i.imgur.com/ege7tUf.jpg (https://imgur.com/ege7tUf)

[Tony Buzolich]

Way to go John.

Stripers are starting to show pretty good lately in the delta. Hope they hurry and get up here too.
Tony

[MThompson]

Nice fish John. Love the big eyes on that fly too. Don't see many like that anymore. I'm going to go look around the San Joaquin tomorrow but I'm not expecting to see much. I don't think you'll have to wait another 40 years for another.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

That middle picture of the Stripers is magic..................

That fly is pretty sexy looking too....

A Striper on a fly over 10 pounds is getting rather rare.

November should be wonderful fly fishing on the Delta for Stripers...as usual.

[John H]

I also like the middle shot. The trick on it is spot metering. If the camera does it right the fish gets exposed correctly and the water ends up dark or black. Steelhead in the winter benefit a lot from spot metering because they are so bright and the background in the winter is usually dark. Without the spot metering the steelhead ends up badly overexposed.

I should say the way I shot the fly in the rod guide I got from Andy G. He had a shot like that in a magazine a few months ago.

Hopefully there are a few November stripers out there for me.

[Jay Murakoshi]

Was this using your Olympus TG

[John H]

Jay - yes.

[Jay Murakoshi]

I think I better switch back to my Olympus TG4 instead of the Canon DSLR

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

From what I hear Oct/Nov/Dec is Fall Striper time in the Delta with Nov the top month.


There are some really great guides in the Delta so get out with one if you need some help.


You can Google Mike Costello, Maury Hatch, Bryce Tedford, Andy Guibord, Steve Santucci, and Toby Uppinghouse.

[OceanSunfish]

I also like the middle shot. The trick on it is spot metering. If the camera does it right the fish gets exposed correctly and the water ends up dark or black. Steelhead in the winter benefit a lot from spot metering because they are so bright and the background in the winter is usually dark. Without the spot metering the steelhead ends up badly overexposed.

Hopefully there are a few November stripers out there for me.

Am a novice at photography.......... is "spot metering" a function done by the TG or is it a manual operation you employed? Sounds like the camera automatically does the adjustment. I've been dragging my feet on the TG for some reason.

You're doing the whole fishing thing right. Nice balance.

[John H]

Ocean - There is a spot metering setting. Most cameras have it. I don’t think phones have it. You have to spend some time messing around with the camera to get it figured out.

[OceanSunfish]

Ocean - There is a spot metering setting. Most cameras have it. I don’t think phones have it. You have to spend some time messing around with the camera to get it figured out.

Great insight. I first need to purchase said camera.... then mess with it, then...... hook a gullible fish ;) As always, your photos are inspiring. Beautiful fish.

[Jay Murakoshi]

The Olympus TG is a great camera. Also water and shock proof. I can't tell you how many times I've dropped mine. I've been kicking around the idea on getting the new GoPro.

[John H]

I got a GoPro last year. I will say it is pretty handy for getting video but it is not a very good photo camera. It can’t handle variation in light and does not lock in and focus on your subject. A sunny afternoon landscape is okay but shadows or low light and it does not do well. I got much better fish shots with the Olympus so I stopped using it for photos. I need to do some video so I have a use for it. Maybe others get good photo results but I have not.

[Jay Murakoshi]

I might have to call one of the boys and set a date. Cabin fever has set in.

[DLJeff]

A buddy and I took our pontoons down the lower Deschutes yesterday. I had my DSLR in a SealLine waterproof bag, strapped to the back of my pontoon. We saw two groups of otters playing, porpoising, sitting on a rock munching on a fish,etc. Saw a nice golden eagle right along one of the lava buttes, and had some dramatic sunlight on a columnar basalt butte late in the day. Couldn't get pics of any of that because my camera was in the waterproof bag, zippered and bungied to the rack behind me. Got a couple nice fish photos but that's because we beached and had access to the camera (illegal to fish from the boat on that stretch). So I think I'm going to put a TG on my Christmas list for trips like this.
16233

That's a size 6 golden stone in the fish's beak, just for scale. Love the colors on a native redband.

16234

[John H]

DL - Awesome fish. I wish the Deschutes was not 15 hours away. The DSLR gets some great shots but you do have to protect it. There is a trade off between a camera that is available all the time and a better camera that isn’t. So far I have kept my DSLR out of the water but I did break the polarizing filter getting out of the canoe once. I had it in a protective case and a dry bag but must have set it down too hard as I got out. I suppose I could have damaged the lens at the same time so I may have been lucky there.

[DLJeff]

Thanks John. Coming from you that's a true compliment.

I don't think the lower D is 15 hours from you (if you're in Davis). We drive to Benicia in 8 hours, including a stop in Weed or Shasta for lunch. So add another hour to the boat ramp and you're talking 9 - 10 hours.