Gear for stripers?

[Jeff T.]

Folks-

I May be heading to the delta next week for my first striper outing. Heres the gear issue:

For rods, I have a fast 6wt and and a mod fast 8wt (with appropriate reels). For lines, I have 8wt floating, and 6wt floating and SA Streamer Express 200 gr. I dont want to buy new line prior to my outing. So,

1) Will my 200 gr sink line load my 8wt ok? Gonna try it in backyard this weekend, but wanted some initial feedback from board.

2) If not, is it ok to use the 6wt on (assumed schoolie) stripes? I realize all bets are off on big fish .

Thanks,

Jeff T.

[JerryInLodi]

Jeff, go with the six weight and the 200. I'd stay away from heavily weighted flies with this outfit but it will be great for schoolies. On Thursday I stuck 25 fish, nine between 18 and 22 inches and nothing bigger. You would have had a blast catching those fish.

Also, move around lots to find fish. Don't give any area more than 15 minutes if you don't get a grab. Move on to the next fishable water, it doesn't have to be far and can be in sight of where you were fishing. If you have a way of reading water tempertures, look for water above 51 degrees.

Don't worry about getting there early, the fish are taking a little while to wake up with the colder water temperatures.

[Hairstacker]

Jeff, with respect to your questions 1. and 2., I totally agree with Jerry -- go with the 6 wt. rod for the 200 grain line. You'll have a blast with this combo and shouldn't have any trouble tossing Clousers with it.

[Dave Sellers]

Hi Jeff,

I respect Jerry and Hairstackers advice because they are appropriatly trying to get you on to fish with gear you have, and likely gear you know how to cast. Also they may be very skilled at landing stripers quickly with light tackle. However, given that you own an 8wt, I suggest that you go out and buy yourself either a full striper line to match that rod or use your 200 gr. streamer express on your 8wt. The 200 gr willl work fine on your 8wt. especially with flies from 2 to 3 inches.

I suggest your moderately fast 8wt. because stripers should be fought hard and and quickly. A 6 wt is no problem in the hands of an experienced fish fighter but assuming your experience with big game fish is limited, you don't want a rod that tempts (or forces) you into fighting a fish like a fresh water trout. That is the likely outcome of light tackle to a fisher new to stripers. Ideally you want a rod that will give you the light tackle thrill but has the backbone to whip fish fast. The 8 wt will do that. Whiping fish fast is the way you fight stripers. It's good for you and good for the fish. It's good for you because it results in more pull back from the fish, it get's you back into the game faster and for the fish.....simply put, it can save their lives.

In my opinion, ultra light striper fishing is for the birds. Literally! After you leave, the gulls will thank you! Long arduous fights can result in belly up fish, even in our current low water temps. An 8wt is an appropriately light rod for an angler new to striper fishing. I would also suggest 20 pound leader and a determination to pull absolutely as hard as you can when you hook a fish, even a small fish. Your only limitation should be consideration for high sticking the rod........(bending it too deep especially near the top of the rod and especially at the end of the fight).

Finally, getting into this game with appropriate gear from day one is the way to take the plunge!

Dave

[JerryInLodi]

Dave, I agree with everything you say except the 200 on the eight weight. Unless you really slow down and are an excellent caster the line is just too light! Especially on a windy day, even a 250 is a little light. At least thats my experience with people that come underlined. Most are trout fishermen used to a floating line and the transition is sometimes painful. An underlined rod on a windy day is just pure hell!

There is an excellent compromise though. Bill sells an SA line (SA Custom Tip) thats perfect and can be cut and tuned to an eight weight and is only $30 bucks.

Right now the fish are rather sluggish and of the fish I stuck on Thursday, not one could pull out an inch more line from when hooked and I hooked nine fish from 18 to 22 inches. Every fish hooked was stripped in rather quickly. In October some of these fish would have been able to put themselves on the reel.

Jeff, if you don't want to spring the $30 for a new line what's wrong with taking both rods and if the 8 won't cast the line, drop down to the six. As Dave says, put at least 15# Maxima on and lower your rod angle when fighting the fish, making the line and you do more work and the rod less. Litterally pull them in! Also, instead of raising your rod vertically, always drop the rod to the side and in the opposite direction of where the fish is moving, that will create maximum resistance and tire the fish quickly.

[Hairstacker]

Welcome aboard Dave, glad to have you here!!

Since Jeff seemed determined to avoid buying a new line and appeared to only want to bring one rod, I just thought he would end up more focused on the fishing than fighting with his fly line if he went with the 6 wt. and the 200 grain line. I like Jerry's suggestion that he take both and see if the 8 wt. will work out for him, as you suggested. Your point is very well taken, though, that he needs to be conscientious about fighting these fish hard in any case.

[lee s.]

Good advice to play the fish hard as possible.
Just remember though, if you can break your tippet with the rod in your hand, a heavier rod will NOT put more pressure to the fish. Only a heavier tippet will allow that.
....lee s.

[Hairstacker]

Good point Lee!

I think Dave also makes a good point about how a lighter rod can lure one into fighting a fish less aggressively. For one thing, a light rod can mislead some into thinking they're applying more pressure on the heavy tippet than they really are. Moreover, with a 20 lb tippet, maximum pressure on a good fish with a 6 wt. rod would give many the impression they're on the verge of actually breaking the rod.

With the heavier tippets we typically use for stripers, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to tie up to a tree or Volkswagen and test the particular rod combo against the chosen tippet just to see how much pressure is actually needed to break off. I think many would be surprised.

[Mike McKenzie]

I hope I don’t come off preachy, critical or holier than thou but there are several points that need to be made and this thread hits all around them. I’ve got far too many hours invested in striped bass conservation efforts to sit this out in silence.

Most all the suggestions made in response to Jeff T. question are good, to a point! Some are better than others, with that said here goes..

The following is presented as food for thought for new and potential striped bass fly fishers with respect to catch and release striper fishin’!

I think one needs to approach your chosen endeavor first by giving some thought to whether you are going to catch and release stripers or catch and kill them.

Judging by many of the posts I see on a lot of Bulletin Boards, I think that far too many people that practice catch and release are unintentionally killing their fish.

When I read about folks fishin’ for stripers with any leader or tippet combination of less than 20lbs and taking longer than a couple of minutes to land any striper 10 lbs and under... or longer than 5-7 minutes to land any striper over that weight (yes, even a big one 30-60 lbs) more often than not, I’m reading about a striper that has died within a day or two of release from lactic acid build up. Especially in water temps above the mid 50’s. You can believe this or not, it is, however, a biological fact. Do a Google search on “Lactic Acid build up in striped bass” and see what you find. Hook wound mortality comes in a distant second place.

My point is that we all should use the proper tackle and work to develop the fish fighting skills necessary to land striper as quickly and as effectively as we can. As lee s. alludes to, rod size doesn’t matter, tippet or leader size does!! In fact the more you point the rod at the fish the less it’s even involved and you can pull as much as the leader will take. You cannot break any rod as long as you keep the angle between the rod and your line “open” (no u-bends allowed!!) With the correct fish fighting skills and proper boat handling one can land any size striper with even a rod on the light end of the scale, in a timely manner.

Using light rods (5-7 wt.) for stripers is perfectly O.K. however using light tippets is not! (unless you plan on breaking a big fish off rather than trying to land it). Your leader should always be heavy enough to pull a big fish in quickly (should you hook one)!

I would suggest that anyone new to striper fly fishing not fish with a rod lighter than an 8wt. and never use less than a 20lb straight leader. Another suggestion would be to trust your knots and pull like hell and get that fish in and off the hook as fast as you can! Its O.K. to take pictures as long as the fish isn’t out of the water any longer than you can hold your own breath. Period!!

As for Jeff T., either buy a Scientific Anglers type IV 10 wt shooting head for the 8wt. Rod…(have the shop put braided loops on it for you if you’re not equipped to do it ) and get a spool of Rio Slick-shooter running line reel it up, attach to the head and finish it off with a 6’ 20lb. Berkeley Big Game mono leader…or stick to your 200 grn sinkin’ line. 200 grain line is close enough to AFTMA line weight for your 8wt. Rod. It should work just fine. Just remember the game isn’t above havin’ a long fight with a striper.. Its about getting’ them in QUICK and savin’ them for another day!
I hope some of this helps!
Mike

[Hairstacker]

Mike, I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression. I wasn't trying to imply that you would break a 6 wt. on 20lb test if you apply maximum pressure. Rather, I was merely trying to say that a lot of guys will think that to be the case when fighting a good fish with a good bend in the rod; thus, they might be inclined to back off on the fish rather than, for example, lower the rod. I think those folks would definitely be better off with a heavier rod.

My suggestion to tie up to a tree is so folks can get a feel for just how strong 20lb test is when weighed against the backbone of their particular rod. I think 20lb test is a lot stronger than some folks give it credit for when they're actually into the fight.