What year did you catch your first Striper on a fly?

[Katz]

David, would you mind sharing a few details about the catching of that beautiful (monster) striper.

I know we all dream about one that big and I would love to add a few details to my daydream about that one!

Thanks.

Katz

[Mike McKenzie]

was in October 1966...caught it while fishin' top water water for largemouth in Whiskey Slough..It was 31" long, didn't have a scale in those days. Probably 12lbs...Forgot about largemouth fishin' after that! (for a while anyway )

[David Lee]

David, would you mind sharing a few details about the catching of that beautiful (monster) striper.
I know we all dream about one that big and I would love to add a few details to my daydream about that one!
Thanks.
Katz

OK , my friend !

I was 'grab-baggin' - swinging 'food' for whatever was in my run . The fish bit , I thought a small (12-15 lb. King) .... I simply beat the crap out of it - I've caught several hundred Kings before , so I wasn't worried about losing another Salmon ....

Beat the fish for about 10 minutes ..... then , it rolled - I thought "Nice !! Bright fish !!" - one more run , I checked it .... then ... saw the SHAPE .

I thought 'Oh , shit ....'

Pulled her from the water , she was quite heavy . Flopped onto the bank , took five shots of her , then back into the water . Couldn't have been out for more than 20 seconds ...??

A lady comes down the bank .... she can't quite believe what I'm hanging on to - I tell her it's a BIG Stripe - it didn't dawn on me to pass the camera to get the 'hero' shot ..... I rock her back and forth .... she pulls hard , then gone .

I NEVER would have landed that fish had I have known what I had - I just thought a fresh-run small King . The fly was a #6 Olive Crystal Bugger , tippet was Seagaur 8 lb. , rod was a Fenwick Eagle 7 wt. , and the reel was an OLD 1495 .

Best guess (by the rod/reelseat measurements) is 46-49 inches , 44-48 lbs . A nice suprise , to say the least !!!!!!

David

[flygolf]

David you da man!!! Awesome fish. My first stripe on the fly was summer of '99.

[David Lee]

David you da man!!! Awesome fish. My first stripe on the fly was summer of '99.

Right .

Every few years ... someone figures out the spots/retrieve , and spends the TIME on the water ....

Flygolf (Mark) has been the TOP ROD for 2005/2006 - Anthony has been in the running , as well .

When those two guys talk about wading for Stripes .... LISTEN very closely - they KNOW how to play the game

David

[Katz]

Thanks David!

Amazing how leaning on them relly works sometimes. Especially when you think it's something else.

I remeber deep sea fishing in my teens and I was so afraid of loosing anything that I always kept the drag really loose. Lost a lot of fish that way.

Katz

[David Lee]

Funny stuff , Katz .....

Every time I hear someone tell me that I NEED #20 lb. to beat a 12 lb. fish ..... I just grin .

I dare ANYONE to pull more than 8 lbs. on an 8 wt. rod with a bend in it - Even with a 20 lb. tippet on a 12 wt. rod ..... Harro couldn't break 13 lbs. . I've tried to smash 10 lb. tippets on an 8 wt. , and I PULL . It ain't gonna happen .

Do this - set your 5 wt. w/ a 6 lb. tippet , tye your best knots , and have a friend hold the digi-scale . I'll lick your feet if you can break said tippet with more than a 30 degree bend in that rod . Most Flyfishers have NO IDEA how much pressure can be applied with the right knots .

Try it sometime - you'll be suprised .

David

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The first people around Sacramento who were seriously fly fishing for Stripers were Al Perryman, Jim Potter, Larry Cullens, Al Fong and Cal Guin. We learned the basics from them.

These guys all fly fished from small prams for salmon, steelhead, shad and stripers in Nor Cal starting in the 1960s. I never saw or heard of them fly fishing for anything small like trout much.

I know Hal Janssen fly fished for Stripers in the Bay 'way back when'.

Outdoor writer Larry Green wrote about fly fishing in the Bay years ago.

Back in those days we did not believe you could catch a Striper in the day time on a fly. This was a popular belief by most Striper fly fishers. In the past few years this has been disproved.

We fished early and late with white flies and all night long with black flies.

We mostly used Mustad 3407 cadmium plated hooks and they desperately needed to be sharpened with a file.

We used large 9 weight fiberglass fly rods with 30' shooting heads and lead core heads.

We had to also learn how to 'strip-strike' the Stripers to get the hook to penetrate their jaw.

The two most popular place to fly fish for Stripers (and Shad) back then in April, May and June was the mouth of the American River and the mouth of the Feather River.

We would Shad fish in the day time and Striper fish at night.

In the past 5 years or so fly fishing for Stripers has gone wild in Nor Cal.

[lee s.]

Hey David,
We just exploded the spool on a 1495 today on a wild buck steelie with an 8# tippet. Yahoo! \/
.....lee s.

[Katz]

I totally agree. We catch salmon in the feather in august on 8-10# tipet with an 8 wt rod. I have pulled has hard as possible on those fish and never lost one to the line. Have broken one rod, but never the tipet.

That, and I want no part of you liking my feet. Wife's the jealous kind

Katz