Favorite Striper fly !!!!!

[SullyTM]

I've never flied for stripers on the American or any other body of water. You just can't take me anywhere! I'm going to tie a couple of surface "Gurglers" (came across the pattern this week) to have at the ready. Thank you.

[LostInTheFog]

Chartruse/White H/H's are getting quite popular in the salt ...

Actually... I haven't tried them in the salt. From Auburn, the "salt" is about a 3 hour drive. I HAVE tried them in the Delta, and in the rivers.

I should also add that they are only first by a whisker (or a calf hair) over the Clouser, in either chartreuse, olive, or gray. I've caught more fish on the H&H, but bigger fish on the Clouser. Hard to go wrong with either pattern.

All this may change this year however: at the San Rafael show, I attended Ken Hanley's River Striper program, and came away with lots more ideas, so ask again after the season.

For all who haven't seen Kens program, it is quite excellent. I was delighted with the info he provided, but appalled at some of the slides he showed. for anybody who knows the local rivers and was paying attention, he sure showed a lot of "X marks the spot" shots.

[David Lee]

Lost in the fog - Chartruse/White H&Hs ARE getting to be quite popular in the salt . Just an observation unrelated to this thread on my part . Sorry if it sounded funny .

Most people I run into on the river after Stripe have a Clouser-type fly tyed on .... David

[k.hanley]

Say Hey Foggy,
I'm fascinated by your response...
"I was delighted with the info he provided, but appalled at some of the slides he showed. for anybody who knows the local rivers and was paying attention, he sure showed a lot of "X marks the spot" shots"

It was an educational show. "Information" is key to education. If you were paying close attention I never provided a name for any specific location (other than stating it was shot on the American and the techniques applied to our valley rivers). I never said upper or lower river. I never named a pool or run. I guess what I'm trying to point out is that the folks who knew the "X spots" certainly knew the territory in some of the slides, and the folks who didn't know the "X spots" still don't... BUT everyone does have an idea of what to look for and how to approach the game.

Please don't take my post as a challenge. Just an onservation. Heck if you show an environmental shot anytime, anywhere, it falls into the category of someone's "X spot." If not yours... it's someone else's to be sure. At any rate, I hope to have been respectful of the fishery and the environment. I truly believe education is the key to good stewardship. Thanks for attending the show and participating.
With respect, Ken

[David Lee]

Ken - you better not be showin' off MY spots -
Thet are MINE - mine-mine-mine-mine -

When the fish come in , they are stupid . They get pecked away at ... over , and over , and after a while , they wise up . Certain runs always have Stripers in them , but after 500 or so casts (mostly w/ Clousers :P ) , they won't bite . I'll beat a run to froth for a few hours ... then send my wife down w/ a mask . Guess what's down there ?
THAT'S RIGHT ! Big piggy Stripers , just sittin' there lookin' around .
If Stripe is active , hungry , and hunting , you have a chance .

Or try something different . David

[LostInTheFog]

Ken:

Please don't take my post as anything approaching criticism! I was delighted with your talk. It affirmed techniques and strategies my buddy and I worked out for ourselves last year, and provided new ideas for us to explore this season. I can't wait to get to it!

However, throughout the talk, I did find myself wincing at just about every second or third slide you showed because they were of spots that I not only recognized, but had caught fish in... in exactly the water where you were telling us the fish should be! Your information was right on point, but it was kind of like finding one's private bass pond written up in the Fish Sniffer. However (again) I don't own the river, and as you said "good information is good stewardship", so thank you for the ALL the info.

Finally, on Saturday in San Rafael, after the seminar you were trying to get back in the auditorium, and as you went by, a fellow shook your hand and remarked that there were too many "pictures of X's" in your talk. I hope you remember the smile on my face, and the laugh I shared with you as we parted. My buddy and I do what you do to avoid the crowds on the American, and I hope someday you and I can share that laugh again with stripers busting bait all around us.

Dan

[k.hanley]

Dan,
I appreciate the post. You're a good man. I do remember the hand shake (while moving upstream) and the smile. I hope you make it to Kiene's Fair where we can sit down and share more striper adventures.
Cheers, Ken

[Jasonh]

i will alos have to go with the striper caviar. It has certainly accounted for more bigger fish for me on teh american. I mean more fish in the double digit range. Don't know if the fly has much to do with it but i just have a lot of confidance fishing it. Second favorite would have to be a clouser clouser or flashtail clouser with red eyes. Thats my 2 cents worth.

Jason

[Los Rios]

I'll vote for a 2" olive over white clouser as my first choice. My second would be Andy's Striper Caviar. Stripe just loves them flies....

[Darian]

After thinking over the info abouyt crawdad's in stomach surveys posted by Ken Hanley, I decided to put the Lamprey Eel pattern on the back burner for now....

Now, I'm tying some large size (3/0) Galloups Crawdads. This fly was developed as a streamer for Trout in the Michigan/Minnesota area. It's an easy tie and lends itself to weighting. Rabbit strips are the main materials in this fly. So it has a lot of action in the water....

Gotta try it in rust brown, olive and black for the American/Delta.....