Techniques – Page 14

Stripers on the Fly: The Basics

January 16, 2014 By JD 7 Comments

Striped bass are awesome fly rod fish — they respond really well to colorful wads of feathers and glue, they fight hard and often run in large schools. What’s not to love?

If you’ve never tried it, here’s a look at the basics to get you started:

Tackle

Fly fishing and spending big bucks are often synonymous, but one of the great aspects of fishing for stripers with the long rod is you don’t need any particularly fancy gear. A No. 8 or 9 rod is ideal. It needs to have enough backbone to punch a weighted line and big fly into the wind. You’ll also want a reel with a smooth drag — just in case you hook Moby.

As far as lines go, my all-time favorite is Teeny’s Professional Series’ Dan Marini Striper Line, which features a heavy 32-foot head. I’ll run the 525-grain and then cut it back to make it lighter if necessary. It’s the least prone to coiling line I’ve found and also cuts the wind like a champ…all great attributes when fishing stripers – especially on the California Delta where I spend a lot of time.

Rather than run a tapered leader and tippet, I run straight 25-pound fluorocarbon (mono when fishing poppers) and the length depends on what I’m doing but usually 4 to 7 feet of leader is fine.

Flies

In the mornings and evenings, I like to toss poppers and chuggers in the shallows for some heart-stopping surface action. When a big bass decides to take your fly off the top of the water, it’s an explosion of adrenalin that’s highly addictive! Plop…plop…plop…KER-SPLOOSH!!

During the brighter period of the day, the fish don’t respond so well to surface offerings but no worries…they’ll munch a well-presented baitfish imitation all day long, provided that the boat traffic isn’t too extreme. Weighted 2/0 Clouser Minnows are the top getters but a whole host of barbell-eye streamers will work.

As far as colors go, think shiny, silvery baitfish with green or dark backs. However, the old adage about striper patters that goes: “If it does not contain chartreuse, it is of no use…” is a very good rule of thumb to live by. My favorite patterns feature a chartreuse back, white belly and some silver flash in the body.

Technique

I target shallow flats, points, tule banks, pilings, channel edges and rock walls. The fish like different strip patterns every day, so experiment until the fish tell you what they want. I generally start out by letting the fly sink for a second or two (depending on the water depth) and then do a strip-strip…pause…strip-strip-strip…pause type of retrieve. Again, mix it up until you figure out the hot cadence on a given day. Also, keep in mind that the fish may change throughout the day so if you’re formally hot retrieve rate falls flat, try another pattern.

Often fish will bite on the pause, so pay close attention to what you’re doing, as those grabs can be quite subtle. Other times, however, stripers will clobber a fly so hard that it’s all you can do to keep the rod from going in the drink.

Training Wheels

If you are feeling a little insecure or overwhelmed as a beginner, try this: Take some conventional gear with you and toss poppers, swimbaits and cranks until you locate a concentration of fish and then switch over to the fluff chucking gear. Tossing a big fly and a heavy line and then stripping it back all day can wear you out. Rather than give up before you get to experience the rush of a striper on the fly, try this “bait and switch” technique. It can help you get the hang of things early in your career.

Well, I don’t want to overwhelm ya with too much info on the first go-round. Start with these simple tips and get out there and have some fun!

Lightning & Boat Safety

June 10, 2013 By JD 9 Comments

When there’s lightning out on the water, what’s the best course of action for a boater? This question seemed apropos this morning considering we had an amazing lightning show on the way to the river.

Well, the easy answer is: STAY OFF THE WATER! According to Boatsafe.com, the voltages involved in lightning are so high that even materials that would typically be considered non-conductive become conductors (including the human body…YIKES). The voltages are so massive that if they start to travel through a boat’s structure — say through its mast (or a graphite fishing rod!) — then meet with high resistance (for instance, the hull skin) the current discharge, in its attempt to reach ground, may simply blow a hole in the non-conductive barrier.

So, if you show up like we did this morning to electrical activity, wait the storm out before launching. But, what’s the story if you are caught by weather out on the water?

On the Water

The National Weather Service says that the vast majority of lightning injuries and deaths on boats occur on small boats with NO cabin. If you are out in a small open boat and cannot get back to land and safety, drop anchor and get as low as possible. Large boats with cabins, especially those with lightning protection systems properly installed, or metal marine vessels are relatively safe. Remember to stay inside the cabin and away from any metal surfaces and stay off the radio unless it is an emergency!

There’s no surefire way to avoid a lightning strike on the water, but you can have your boat equipped with a lightning protection system that can minimize damage from a hit. Also, Boatingmag.com says you can do things like Lower all antennas, Bimini tops, fishing rods outriggers and downriggers. Disconnect all power, antenna and interconnection cables to the electronics and electrical gear. Do not touch two metal surfaces at the same time (engine controls, a railing, helm, etc.) or you may become a convenient conducting path yourself. Also, wearing rubber-soled shoes can help. These legal protections should be in place if you work on a boat, and if you are injured due to them not being provided then you should seek advice from an attorney such as lamber goodnow to see if you have a case, as your safety in such conditions is paramount.

Again, the bottom line is to stay well clear of the water when an electrical storm kicks up — or immediately head for shore when you see a storm developing. Learn how to read the signs too: Electrical storms typically feature dark skies, growing cumulonimbus clouds that look like anvils and sudden wind. But just because you have blue sky overhead doesn’t mean you’re in the clear!

Here’s a quick video of what we say this morning at the boat launch, to go with the above photo. Thanks to B.D. for the vid…

A better way to spoon: Assist Hooks

January 12, 2013 By JD 4 Comments

One of the things that drew a lot of interest from the big crowds at my striper seminars the past couple days at the International Sportsmen’s Expo was the way I rig my jigging spoons.

We had a lot to cover in one short hour so I didn’t linger too long on this subject. If you missed it, here’s a closer look:

I simply remove the stock treble and replace it with an Owner assist (size depends on the size of the spoon).

These hooks come with a looped end so all you do is run it through the line attachment eye and loop it back over the hook…Done!

Soon, I will do a full blown post on striper spooning but for now, I’ll tell you that this rigging style is more snag resistant, never flips over and hooks the main line on the fall and is easier on the fish (fewer gill hooked fish). Give it a try!

Catch More Steelhead with “Sploosh Balls”

December 21, 2012 By JD 10 Comments

Everybody’s first-ever reaction to seeing a “sploosh ball” is pretty much the same. Something like…

What the $#&% is that?? Or perhaps: You’re frigging kidding me…this is a joke, right?

It’s easy to understand, too, considering these black sinker balls that have taken the side-drifting world by storm look like they’re better suited for back-bouncing at first glance. Because they’re made of plastic, the balls are much larger than other drift weights and a ½ ouncer looks like it should weigh about 4 or 6 ounces. And the big ‘ol 1-ounce jobbies wouldn’t look too out of place being loaded into a cannon. When rigged up on typical side-drifting gear, these jumbo plastic weights look downright ridiculous. And the “splooosh” sound they make when they hit the river is just plain goofy. The whole thing seems so stinkin’ silly…

That is until fish them. Pretty quickly you’ll begin to see the light. Sploosh balls have several key attributes that make them very attractive to side-drifters. Here’s a look…Click here to read more…

How to make Spawn Sacks for Steelhead

December 6, 2012 By JD 28 Comments

Winter steelhead season is upon us and that means it’s time to bust out the eggs!

Regardless of the watershed you’re on, drifting eggs is very hard to beat for winter-run fish. But eggs aren’t without their inherent problems: Roe is a delicate bait and the constant casting and drifting in fast current and bouncing off rocks means your offering takes a beating. Depending on your cure and the water you’re fishing, a cluster of roe may last only one to five casts

What that means is you’re going to spend a lot of time re-baiting. And when you consider the fact that steelhead are often referred to as the “fish of a thousand casts,” time spent out of the water is time wasted. So, what’s the answer?

Spawn Sacks, of course!
Click here to read more…