Mike Anderson
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It was 1980 and I was ten years old standing on a neighbors dock at Todd’s lake. Todd’s lake was a small community lake that was chocked full of aquatic vegetation. I had missed a couple of Largemouth Bass on a Hula Popper in this spot already. The strike on a Hula popper from a ten year olds perspective is almost enough to bring you to your knees, at least in my case it was. So it was with great anticipation when I cast out my brand new Big Bad Leroy Brown lure that I would hook and finally slay that giant Bass of Todd’s lake.
First cast, nothing but weeds. Hmm maybe a sinking plug wasn’t my best choice for a weed-chocked lake. To late now I’d spent my allowance and I was gonna make the most of it. I studied the lay of the weeds and found a path just wide enough to get my lure thru free of snags, if I got my cast just right. Made the perfect cast and started the retrieve when outa nowhere a boil appeared and my line went tight. My hookset was followed by a giant Largemouth leaping what looked like 2 feet out of the water. Well to make a long story short after a battle of epic proportions,,,, I landed the fish and ran home as fast as I could to weight it. It was a solid 2.6 pound Largemouth and by far the largest one I had ever seen on the end of my rod.My mom had the fish mounted for me that Christmas and today it hangs over my tying desk. It’s tiny in comparison to the fish I’ve caught since but it’s the one I remember most.
Well this is pretty much the response I expected. Had I shot in raw I could have fixed the Bonita shots from my last Fl trip. I had left the camera WB setting in tungsten mode and everything was blue, real blue. Of course it could be argued that had I taken the time to fire a couple of test shots first I could have prevented it just as well.. In the heat of battle when you’re balancing busting fish on one hand and a potential problem with your fish shots on the other, the busting fish always take precedence in my boat.
Memory is pretty cheap and if you can save just a few shots it might just be worth it. I think I’ll switch over to RAW fulltime for awhile and see how it works out for me.
Not to worry Zach, after 17 years anytime I get home from a river trip before 10 during the summer I get “why are you home so early”. It’ll throw you for a loop first time it happens. :-/
Mike,
Out of curiosity, what combination of head, running line, guides, water, etc., are you having that cuts through guides, and how fast?
Asking solely from trying to understand what is weak link in system, and whether it is actual gear, or fishing conditions (some huge silt load in water, coating line and abrading guides).
Thanks
Buzz
I fish 250 to 500 and sometimes 600 grain integrated Orvis lines. I cast out and strip back
You don’t plan to use the shoes for hiking right. Because you’ll end up with a broken foot if you do. They stay on you feet just fine under “normal” situations. What you want to avoid with crocs is walking on steep inclines of any kind. Other than that you’ll be extremely pleased with them.
I saw those ridiculous claims too but come on, one look at it and you know right away it might be many things but waterproof isn’t one of them. Shame on the folks who tried to fool people. It’s buyer beware these days….
I’ve worn out guides by just using dirty lines. The shooting heads and the style of fishing most commonly associated with them is extremely hard on guides. This is one of the reasons I build my own rods and use ceramic guides. I wish I had taken a pic of the Tip top I had to recently replace on a factory 8wt. It was almost cut into.
As for the sharkskin I just can’t see how it can be $50 better then other lines. ::)
I’d stick with the regular crocs if you plan to wade in them. The top of those might prevent some gravel from getting in it will also make removal harder.
Thanks for the response everyone there’s enough information here that’ll keep me busy for a spell. Again thanks for the time!
Thanks everyone. My above the water camera is a Sony Alpha DSLR and below an Olympus P&S with a big honking waterproof case. It’s big and heavy to carry around but its safe to 200 ft. I’m uploading these thru a dial up connection with acceleration on so they aren’t as high res as they should be.
Here’s the grill. I don’t use it as much as I intended. Its been too hot to camp lately but that’s about to change.
John Sunday is fine just let me know a date ASAP.
Joel I’d be glad to spend a day with you and Ron.
Thank you for the reply John. It was pretty short sighted of me to just ask Zach or David considering the talent I’ve seen on this board. You work is superb as well.
My dilemma is that I have the Sony Alpha and I can’t decide if I want to keep it or switch over to Nikon or Cannon. I Kind of hate to buy a lot of glass and then decide I really want another brand body. Though I think the Sony has more potential then I’m utilizing right now. My gut tells me I’ll just stick it out with Sony and see what happens.
I searched Ebay and found a few lenses. Aside from the perils of buying on ebay,,, are these more in line with where I need to be looking or would I need to spend more?
The famous Beercan lens. I’ve had my eye on this one for some time now. It isn’t a hige priced lens but it is well known for being a high quality lens.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Minolta-Maxxum-AF-70-210mm-f-4-lens-beercan-Sony-EXC_W0QQitemZ270164211099QQihZ017QQcategoryZ3342QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemAll I did was drive the boat on that one. My buddy did the catching. You should have heard the sound of his knuckles getting popped by the reel handle as this fish was headed for cover, thud, thud thud thud thud. I was telling him to put max pressure on it and running the trolling motor full throttle in the opposite direction trying to keep it outa the wood but she still made it into a log jam.
Close but its actually a decaying Sauger. They are night feeders so the eyes look freaky like that. He took a clouser and was above the limit so he made a nice fish sandwich. These are perhaps the tastiest fish swimming in our waters. FWIW the trout were all released.
Stripers are normally a saltwater species that spawns in Freshwater. After accidentally finding out they could live in freshwater they were used as a means of Gizzard Shad control and recreation in lakes rivers across the US.
The Tennessee Wildlife Association began stocking Striper in the lakes and rivers of TN in the mid 50’s. They do quite well in our cooler lakes ands river systems and even grow to trophy size (64 pounds is the TN state record and it came from the same river as the fish pictured above) in several of them. They are a population that relies completely on stocking although some say there could be a little natural reproduction going on?
They are stocked in many of the lakes in the US along with the Hybrid Bass (AKA the, Cherokee, Sunshine Bass, Wiper, etc) which is a cross between a Striper and a White Bass. The Hybrid only grows to just over 20 pounds but has a reputation for being a tackle buster. They really are Striper on Steroids! We’re blessed with both species here in middle TN and they keep me busy when I’m not targeting Trout or Muskie.Here’s a pic of our Hybrid Bass. They are one of my all time favorite fish to catch period! Our hot summer months get the lakes a little too warm for these fish so I don’t stress them anymore by catching them. The lakes are starting to cool rapidly so it’ll be on again real soon. If or when you come over don’t pass up a chance to fish for either of these guys. They are awesome powerful fish.
It depends a lot on the type of water you’re fishing. I target them frequently here in TN so here’s my .02.
For River Striper I like a 9, 10 and yes even a 12wt rod. We have Striper to 60 pounds and a river 100 to 200 yards wide with downed trees everywhere. The Xi2 is my all time favorite stick and I can’t say enough good things about that line of rods. I’ve got two and I’m trying to figure out how to get a third or fourth. Reel isn’t that big a deal, last sat I landed a 20 pound Striper on an Orvis BBS V. Stripers just don’t run off a hundred yards of baking like saltwater fish do so I wouldn’t spend over $300 for a reel unless you plan to use it in the salt often. Also the saltwater reels are much heavier. I really like the Lamson LS for its weight and great drag system.
For lake fish I like an 8wt. The lake I fish has lots of Hybrids to 20 pounds and Striper to 30 pounds. Most of the time these fish are in open water so you can let em go if they want to. I use an 8wt with a Ross Evo (overlined) or Lamson LS.
For lines I use integrated shooting heads. Orvis IMO makes the best integrated line on the market (Orvis Depth Charge) . I base this opinion on the number of lines I’ve seen other folks go thru while mine keeps on going. The only time I’ve had to scrap a depth charge line is when one gets hung up and breaks or caught in the trolling motor. I keep a 250, 350, 500, and 600 grain line in the boat at all times. You’ll have to have a good fast 9 or 10 wt for the 5 and 600 lines. Being a casting instructor you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
I don’t understand why intermediate line is so closely associated with Striper?? I hate it for just about everything, it don’t float and it don’t really sink either…. I rarely fish a floating line unless it’s a time of year when a topwater blitz might occur. .
Good luck it’s a bit of a journey to get them on the fly but well worth every bit of effort.
