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

[JerryInLodi]

The rain should be minimal on Sunday and nil on Monday. Good time to go fishing!

[Mike McKenzie]

I guess I should of reread my poor attempt at injecting a little humor before I posted it. In retrospect it was way over the top. I was not meaning to belittle David's fish at all, you can't demean a fish like that. In my mind's eye I was poking fun at the stripers that live to a ripe old age gettin' fat off of all the pikeminnows and shad the river provides them. I guess my "mind's eye" was pretty blind at the time. I'm not going to make a bunch of excuses for my lack of judgement. Anyway with that said, I humbly apologize to David for the inane remark.

Mike

[jbird]

No one "needs" to use 20 lb tippets or leaders. I think that it is better to err on the side of fish survival as opposed to the "sport" of the "fight".

I really like this quote. I think its really important for new flyfishers to learn this concept. There are many veterans on this board that already know it, and it sometimes rubs the wrong way whether its meant to or not. But its really important stuff.

David....that striper is just rediculously huge!!! I aways saw it on your avatar and knew it was pretty big, but...DANG brother! That thing 'sick' huge. What an acomplishment!

Jay

[Hairstacker]

Jay, I hear ya! I remember when David first shared those photos with me, I thought, "Holy Mackerel!!!" The rod and reel next to it really puts it into perspective, doesn't it? What the pictures don't show as clearly is just how thick that fish was. Just an awesome, awesome catch! I'd truly be ecstatic with one fully half that size.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I am advising the use of 20# tippet for Stripers for several reasons.

You loose less flies.

You might land a big fish you might otherwise loose with lighter tippet.

You might have a "wind knot" in you leader.

If you land a big fish you might get more excited about fly fishing and buy more and better tackle.

Then maybe someday I will be able to retire with enough money to have a nice motor home and a nice boat to pull behind it.

[andanb]

I caught my first striper on a fly on my first trip fall 06. I had just attended a talk from a guy who guides out of disco bay. He gave very helpful advice on presentation and general types of water to look for. So I loaded up my drift boat and my 4 hp and headed out to the delta...I felt a little intimidated by the water so I hugged the shore and stopped to fish the tules from time to time. I got one fish about 5#. The fish wasn't the only thing hooked that day!!!!