Mike Anderson
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Thanks Zach, it was a good to finally meet you and spend a day on the water. Good weather or not, Striper fishing on the fly is tough period! My favorite slogan when Striper fishing is feast or famine. The water we were on rarely gives up numbers of Striper but usually makes up for this inadequacy with brute size. We witnessed a few fish feeds that looked more like giant Tarpon then Striper but these were isolated rouge fish and not the schools I was hoping would be feeding on this years Shad hatch. Catching a giant rouge Striper on a fly would be right up there with a 20 pound Brown on the fly.
You know Zach, if you didn’t cast ALL the line off the reel every cast, maybe you wouldn’t be so tired… 😮 Folks, this dude can cast. Hell, he even had the bank fishermen that usually chunk the big 4oz bait rigs at my boat ducking and running for cover! No wonder you’re tired…
My tying skills are limited at best. If we do make a video we’ll need to have lots of film to compensate for all the times I forget a step and have to back out of the last step. Man I hate trying to undo a dubbed body! Thanks for the confidence building though Zach, maybe one of these days I’ll get it right.
You know we were back and forth about when to go, last weekend,,,, this weekend. Have you seen the forecast for Sat and Sun? Sucks don’t it?
The Center console is going to be down for a little while. Seems the fuel tank has sprung a leak (explains the gas smell all day)! I’m pulling the console and the tank hatch in the floor this week and I hope to have it done in a month or so. Still got two other rides till I get that one going again so anytime your ready just give me a shout! We really need to do that Trout trip we talked about sometime.
Never Give Up!
Mike AThis most likely isn’t the best, but it is a fine site run by a nice guy.
Heron Zach? I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to blast one of those loud mouthed Pterodactyl looking dinosaurs out of the sky. Spooking everything in the river for a mile downstream… Aaarrrrkkkh acccchhh arrrrrrrch BOOM! ;D
ohh yea, Borax worked good for me.
Steve the Cabelas SLI, FT, and PT fly rods are made in USA. They are all fine rods. Most likely St Croix and Loomis blanks. The one you have is a new model I think and I am not sure where it’s made.
Man such harsh talk of Cabelas. I have a dry plus jacket, its three years old and has never let me get wet. I have a Cabelas Gore Tex Wading Jacket that has given the same good service.
Customer service??
Once I was Striper fishing with a Shimano Calcutta 400 and an innerflow rod. The rod was in a Cabelas rod holder when a huge Striper hit and literally broke the rod holder sending my rig overboard. I wrote Cabelas explaining the situation and how a faulty rod holder caused me to lose my $300 outfit. The next week they sent me a letter telling me that a new Calcutta reel, new rod, 200 yards of Power pro and a new rod holder was in the mail.
Another time I built a rod on a St Croix blank I bought from them. The rod broke (my fault) and Cabelas replaced the blank, handle, grip, thread, glue, and the guides. How’s that for customer service?
I do understand the conflict with the mom and pop stores and I now buy all my rod building components locally. However we all don’t have easy access to a fly shop so Cabelas is the best thing going.I have many Cabelas products that I am happy with the price that I paid and the value that I received. Where I live Bass fishing dominates and if your into something else, well too bad. Cabelas has filled the gap nicely and has better customer service then [glb]ANY[/glb] outdoor store I have dealt with period! Bass Pro Shops is not even in the same universe as Cabelas and they shouldn’t be compared to each other.
Devils Advocate
I usually just motor back up the honey holes a few times if they feel fishy or the light is right. It would seem this would put the fish down but more then once we have caught good fish on the second or third pass. The last big Brown was a nice 6 pound that hit on the third pass. Interesting idea about anchoring however. Once I was anchored on the inside of one of my favorite bends eating a sandwich with about 40’ of fly line over the side swinging in a soft current. It had been there for a good twenty min when I decided it was time to go. When I picked up the rod and stood up a huge boil erupted below my fly. I wondered how long this fish had been looking at my fly, why didn’t he eat it, how big was he? Had I caught it my buddy would still be giving me all kinds of crap about my technique or lack of, hehe. From now on I’ll strip it back prior to standing up.
I never, ever, anchor a small boat during generation. It can be done from the front of the boat but it is just too risky IMO. I like to drift and cast the banks during this time.
These boats stability will blow you away. You can literally stand on the gunnels. TWRA uses a B60 with a 9.9 OB to run low water on the weekends and check fishermen on the Caney. Those guys swear by that boat.
Almost 16′ with a 5′ beam and only 200 pounds!
It’s not a “Drift Boat” but for functionality the Riverhawk floored B60 would be my dream machine for river fishing. I have seen many of them set up like Drift boats with oars, outboards and even a polling platform. They offer Canoe like feel with skiff stability. The fact that you can buy one for $2000 is nice too. Well equipped they are way more versatile then a drift boat but not as pretty or traditional.
Had the fish seen you? I would have tried something very large as my last try. If she won’t eat a nymph then you should try to invoke the predator in her. Those big Browns won’t usually tolerate an intruder in their territory. A big bulky fly that moves a lot of water, stripped fast and erratic might do it. When you come down I’ll show you one of my favorites. I talked to a friend today who fished below Cordell and had on hookup and one miss. The hookup went into the backing and the Striper found something to get tangled in resulting in a broken line and a broken heart. This weekend might be good, I’ll keep you posted. I stayed home all day and wrapped a rod for a friend ???. I may go out tomorrow.
The DanCraft FT (fast taper) is a super fast rod, maybe more so then the TCR. It is a little heavier 53 million modulus blank. He also has a Sig V series that is a 57 mil mod that is very thin walled and super light. It is not as tough as the FT though. I have the Sig V in a 5 wt.
I was looking at a TFO pro series rod today and noticed the female ferrules are not wrapped but just have a coat of finish over them. Hmmm,, I have to wonder what happens when a real bone crusher takes the fly and puts max bend in that rod. I would want to be wearing some glasses in case it explodes! I am puzzled by this since TFO has such a good reputation. Could it be these rods were defective???
Funny you mention that. I have been searching everywhere for some sheets of 1/4″ or 1/2″ foam. All I can locate are the 1/8″ sheets. I just glue them together with some spray adhesive. It works ok, but I sure would like to get my hands on some thicker stuff. The bricks would not work for me unless I used a band saw to make sheets of it in the thickness I need.
Got up early and got out for a short trip to the flats. I use a center console with a remote control trolling motor. I can stand on my console and get a birds eye view of the flats. Several fish spooked at the fly (I think they are learning) but I managed to catch four before it got hot and ran me off the lake.
Thanks for the tips Zach. The Striper were not at home this morning. It’s a little early yet. I’ll keep you posted.
Mike
That helps a lot! Yellow huh, that seems odd but so does UT orange. The lake carp here love a WB with a copper tinsel body and UT orange marabou tail. I like it because I can see it from far away. I cast several feet past a tailing fish and strip it right up to his face and let it drop. If the fish moves on the fly, set the hook!
For the most part anything shiny scares the daylights out of these Carp. I suspect it’s the gazillion rooster tails buzzed by their heads over the years that gives them this fear. We haven’t tried plain yellow but we will! I know where several of these “safe zones” you mentioned are located on my river. I will make it a point to watch them next time instead of just casting madly and moving on in frustration.
Thanks for the reply!
Mike
Yea, I have had a few Olympus cameras and have always been very pleased. My OM1 is a great camera but I like the convenience of digital.
Did you get my email Zach?
It’s just an Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom. I have less then $500 in the whole thing. I got a great deal from Beach Camera on the camera and I won the case on Ebay direct from Olmypus. The case is a beast but it hangs from my wading belt nicely.
Next I need a Scuba class and a wet suit .
