Does SIZE really matter?

[Katz]

After my trip to the A on Sunday and catching so many shakers (and having a beast follow one of the small striper) I really started wondering about the size of the clousers I am using.

I have been fishing the standard Kiene's 2/0 chartruse and white, or black Clousers. I have hooked fish to 6lbs, and lots of fish under 18 inches.

Do most of you use larger flies than that?

If so, do you tie them yourself or can they be purchased somewhere?

Katz

[Darian]

Last spring, when visiting Tony B., in Yuba City, he gave me one of his Clousers. Right away it was apparerntly larger than my own Clousers (by an inch). He has a lot of success catching Stripers in the Feather/Yuba Rivers (and elsewhere)

On the other hand, I've caught quite a few on smaller flies. Maybe there's a difference in the size of the forage fish in the areas we fish At any rate, I now, carry patterns rnging in size from 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" for Stripers. Also, I carry a few in larger sizes just the H___ of it.

[flygolf]

I have been tying my own clousers on a 3/0 60 degree jig hook. This makes about a 3 to 4 inch fly. I have caught shakers as well as big fish on this fly. Personally I think the retrieve is as important if not even more important than the fly or size of fly. I'm interested to see what others have to say and the experiences they have had with this.

[Tony Buzolich]

At least with some things anyway As for flies, Darian touched on it partly when he referred to matching the hatch.

Stripers are opportunists, they'll eat whatever comes by and they can fit into their mouths. Both the American and the Feather, and for that matter all of the valley river, have shad moving through right now. Do you think those BIG stripers are going to chase little threadfin when they can get an easy shad banquet. They're going to key in on a big fly way before they chase little ones.

Another thought about size is color in slightly dirty water. When the water is a bit off, a larger size fly can be more easily seen. No one can argue that chartruese and white aren't the two most popular colors in off color water. When there's a larger patch of this color, it's more easily seen as well.

Now, with all of that said, what about "clear"water? Same holds true as to size, but, now you have to go to more realism. Make that fly resemble something REAL. Use more natural colors of the bait you're trying to immitate. Use EYES ! Tape on, stick on, tied on, anything you can, but use eyes. They are a real trigger for preditory fish.

So, with all of that said how do you explain this? Last year in Kona we landed several Mahi-mahi in the 20/30# range while trolling medium size skirted jets. When brought aboard they started flopping around and coughing up hundreds of little 1.5" minnows of some kind.

Think they would have taken a large fly even if tied very realistically in very clear water? Maybe. But they sure were keyed on these little one inch baits.

Just a little food for thought. Presentation does matter a LOT. But, they still have to see it to find it.
TONY

[Katz]

I'll throw in my two cents on the importance of the retrieve.

IT'S CRITICAL!!!

I have fished with other flyfishers and noticed that a quicker retrieve makes a huge difference.

I used to think this meant to bring the fly back in as fast as you possibly can. NOT TRUE

What has been critical for me is that the strip itself is VERY quick. You can still have long pauses, short strips, long strips, etc, etc, but the "quicker" you actually move the fly while you are "moving it" the better.

Katz

[Dustin Revel]

Katz,
Do you do the two handed retrieve, or just stick with the single-handed?
Dusty Revel

[Katz]

I have just stuck with one handed retrieve. I have never been able to feel coordinated enough to pull off the two handed retrieve. Would definitely be fast thought. Would be kind of cool to have a fish take the fly while you are basically hand lining them in too.

Katz

[JerryInLodi]

While stripers are opportunists it's good to remember that in the spring the new "hatch" of threadfin shad and crayfish are small and they grow throughout the summer and into the fall. I use a 1/0 fly in the spring and graduate to 2/0 and 3/0 in the fall.

As to stripping, the colder the water, the slower the strip and more pauses, at 47-55 degrees, fairly slow pause every three strips, at 55-60 degrees speed it up a little but still pause every three to four strips, 60-65 degrees, 5-6 quick strips between pauses.

[Adam Grace]

It's not the size of the fly but the motion of the materials

Seriously, I think big flies catch big fish.....in general. Like Darian said, sometimes you gotta match the natural forage fish, even if they are 3" long.