A Good Day Striper Fishing

[Jereme Thaxton]

With spring in full swing, a couple weeks ago I got the urge to do some striper fishing and I wanted to check out the Susquehanna Flats.  So, I tried to soak up as much fly shop knowledge, including talking to Captain Russ Wilkinson (a well known fly/light tackle guide) about streamer patterns and notorious striper hideouts.  With all the kayak chatter, I also recently picked up a new inflatable kayak and so I was wanting to take that out for a spin as well.  I was starting to realize that a sit on top or inflatable kayak was more stable and safe than my hard boat (even with a spray skirt).  So, due to my limited space I opted for the Advanced Elements Straightedge inflatable, it will track in flatwater and handle class III's so I was pretty excited about it's versatility.  

Russ's input was spot on, he gave me a couple locations as a starting point and then from there I was able to get in the general location to find the fish.  Launched the kayak this morning about 6:30 AM and pulled it off about 5:30 PM, landed 34 stripers total, six were in the 27-35 inch range and the majority in the 17-24 inch range (the 35 incher is the last photo).   A six inch blue/white half and half was my favorite, and Russ mentioned bunker patterns are also popular as well.  Another angler on the water had success on olive/white deceivers.  Depth was aprox. 7-10 feet, and I liked to strip it deep and fast. 

A lot of the guys in the saltwater boats using conventional tackle would come by and ask what I was doing special, I was like 'start using a fly rod and fish from a yak!'  Seriously though, I am on cloud 9 right now and feel pretty lucky as I met some guys who didn't catch a fish, I didn't either the day before.  To me there is something special about catching big fish on a hand-tied fly, a home-made rod and out of a simple object like a kayak.  I can't wait to do it again but I will need a couple days to recover as it took a lot out of me.

-Jereme

PS, just to head off any speculation, the fish were out of the water at most a couple seconds for the photos, thanks to my GoPro I was able to do it pretty quickly in order to get them back into the water unharmed.  These are spawning fish so I tried to keep that in mind when handling them and urge others to do so as well.  

 

 

[John Bilotta]

jereme,

nicely done.

john

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[Richard Lin]

Oh….my my my……I wished that I was in the picture and hold the huge striper bass. Maybe I can do it in Photoshop. The pictures are AWESOME! Hopeful I can catch first striper this year!

I looked up the flies on Internet and It is hard to say the different between Half and Half vs. deceivers vs. clouser? Can you or somebody explain the different?

GoPro – Hero2 or Hero you used?

 

Richard

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[Charlie Church]

awesome!

Would love to see that footage. I fish out of a kayak fairly often (ok
prowler 13). Might have to take it up there sometime soon!

[Bert]

Jereme, you totally rocked the rocks. 

I had often thought about fishing those flats but chickened out because of the tidal flows. I assumed that a paddle boat would end up at the CBBT!

[Lane Thurgood]

Ha!  A half-and-half is a cross between the other two, so that is why you have a hard time seeing the difference.  Tie some saddle hackles on the shank before you tie an otherwise normal clouser and there you have a half-and-half.  It makes a bigger fly.  --- On Thu, 4/19/12, Richard Lin <rlin...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Smallies&Shad]

OUTSTANDING Jereme!

 

Is that the same rod that you had in Williamsport or a shorter one?

 

Great decisions -- the boat, the rod, the flies, the technique, the regard for those regal fish.  KUDOS.

 

 

On Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:37:28 PM UTC-7, Jereme Thaxton wrote:

..... Launched the kayak this morning about 6:30 AM and pulled it off about 5:30 PM, landed 34 stripers total, six were in the 27-35 inch range and the majority in the 17-24 inch range (the 35 incher is the last photo).   A six inch blue/white half and half was my favorite, and Russ mentioned bunker patterns are also popular as well.  Another angler on the water had success on olive/white deceivers.  Depth was aprox. 7-10 feet, and I liked to strip it deep and fast.... 

[Jereme Thaxton]

Yep, used the Hero 2, I have a few that I take with me on my video shoots and they worked great for recording a fishing trip as well.  It rained a good part of yesterday so I appreciate that they are waterproof!

And, as Lane mentioned, the half and half is just the addition of a hackle to a clouser to make it longer, I wanted about 6 inches and couldn't get it with a normal bucktail.

-Jereme

[Jereme Thaxton]

Charlie,

That Prowler 13 is an awesome boat, another guy was out there with a similar rig and I wish I could stand up like he could. So I just stood up on my knees instead. The inflatable part is really nice to paddle in, it is a nice smooth ride and it absorbs a lot of the shock from the waves. I told my wife as soon as we get a bigger place I want a sit-on-top like that, just no room at the moment.

I think we should take both our boats down to Florida and catch some of those 5 foot long tarpon you mentioned! I am always keen for a good road trip when I am not traveling for work.

-Jereme

awesome!

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[Jereme Thaxton]

Thanks S&S!  I believe I had this rod at the casting rendezvous but I was playing around with my 7wt spey for most of the day, of which I am still in the process of mastering.  I have a new 9wt that I need to finish, something with a little more backbone to throw those large streamers.  So many rods, so little time!  Still waiting on a part to come in and it will be ready...

-Jereme

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[jayden sparenborg]

That is amazing!  My first striper was in high school on the susquehanna just below the conowingo dam. I was wading and had a very light spinning rod going after smallies. The striper surprised me and took me on a bit of a swim. It was 31 inches and just one, but enough to make stripers my favorite fish ever since. Thanks for sharing those great pictures.

I saw in another post in here that DNR suspects the warmer winter meant more stripers wintered  in the bay so more were caught by commercial fisherman hence fewer are around for us to pursue in the Potomac this spring.  Your success in the Susquehanna makes me question this theory. I suspect far more go to the flats to spawn than come here on average, (do any come here to actually spawn or just feast on herring?) but I'm wondering now if the flats are seeing fewer stripers this year too.  Do you happen to know?

Congrats, again, and now I really really want to get back to the Susquehanna soon! 

[Trent Jones]

Sweet!

 

-T

1:37:28 AM UTC-4, Jereme Thaxton wrote:

On Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:37:28 AM UTC-4, Jereme Thaxton wrote:

On Thursday, April 19, 2012 1:37:28 AM UTC-4, Jereme Thaxton wrote:

[Richard Lin]

Jereme – what was the leader length you use? Size X0?

[Jereme Thaxton]

I used a fast sinking poly leader and then a 3 foot section of Berkely Vanish 20 pound fluorocarbon as tippet.  

-Jereme

[Richard Lin]

Great – Thanks!

[Charlie Church]

yaks to florida :P

I have done it a few times and would definitely consider it again.
You'd definitely be in for a sleigh ride.

I have been involved with kayak fishing / pirates of lynnhaven for the
past couple of years. If you get proper winter attire, I'd say itd be
an awesome idea to get down there in the winter. We could carpool if
need be. Heres a pig from 2 years ago. Not on a fly but was definitely
a load of fun.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2766/4195770197_b9348ed898.jpg

[Terry C]

Jereme,   I think I'm heading up there Sunday with my kayak,  where did you put in.  Thanks

[Jereme Thaxton]

Terry, 

You have a few options for putting in, Elk Neck State Park, Perryville Community Park and Havre de Grace.  I went to Perryville and Elk Neck, both are good, but Perryville doesn't let you in until 7:30.

-Jereme

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[Terry Cummings]

Thanks, I will probably leave around 6:00 and get there around 8:00 am.  Looking forward to getting into some big fish, need to wear my lucky hat ;).  Will do one last weather check to make sure winds won't be a factor. Being shallow does it get very choppy. 

Terry Cummings

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